What Makes You Put Down a Book?

I usually go to about a 1/3rd of the way... unless it's really bad

Am so glad to see I'm not the only one who couldn't stomach Eat, Pray, Love. I tried, but just couldn't stick to it. The more I try self-published Kindle books, the more I give up, it seems -- so many of them could use an editor in a serious way. The risk is low, though, and since they're electronic, I don't feel bad about deleting them or never reading them.

I got through Eat, Pray, Love...but I hated every moment. I gave up on A Casual Vacancy..glad to see I'm not the only one.

Using the library makes it so much easier to abandon a book. I often bring home seven or eight books and read three or four of them. Good thing is I DO tend to try things that are out of my usual comfort zone since it costs me nothing to try. I never feel guilty about giving up on a book that doesn't hold my interest.

Forgive me, Leo Tolstoy.

I really loved Love, eat, pray!...Being divorced I really could feel her need for getting away - and wow - how she did it!

Being a norwegian, I should love the triology of Sigrid Undset, a Nobel Prize winning author from many years ago. Many do, but I just can't read more than halv way through. It doesn't feel realistic. A historic novel about a woman in the middle ages told by a woman in the 20th century. I just don't believe in it!

Yesenia wrote: "The only book I've put down without finishing so far is On the Road by Jack Kerouac. I started it cause I felt that it was one of those books that you should at least read once in your lifetime. ..."
Isn't that something, I loved reading "On the Road!" Sometimes it's just a mood or life situation - I've started books, put them down, picked up later and found myself incredulous as to why I ever put it down.

If a book doesn't grab my attention by the second chapter..or even the first..I usually give up on it..Or..In case of Library books..If I am reading one,and another comes in I have been dying to read...the first book goes back.

Sunipa wrote: "War and Peace. Lost count of the number of times I've attempted it! Hard copy, soft copy... Still haven't been able to get through more than one-third of it. I live in hope though :)" Yes, yes, yes - agreed about getting into that one.

I've only given up on one book (I can't even remember the title) and I only gave up on it because the translation into English wasn't smooth.

Out of the books mentioned, I've only read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with a group of friends. It's definitely rough to get it going, one needs to give it to about the half way point before things start to progress, and soldiering through it to read the entire series was worth it.

I'm also one of those people who likes to finish a book in order to at least give a proper opinion about it, and deep down I always hope the book will finally come together before it's too late.

Cheryl wrote: "Wicked is an interesting one. I remember when I read it, I found the first 100 pages a bit of a slog, and then it took off like a rocket. Should the first 100 pages been edited down, even though it..." Guess I gave up too easily. I needed to find the rocket ride!

As a whole I feel a compunction to ride it out and finish books. I didn't like "Cloud Atlas" at first but once I got about halfway through the characters mattered to me more and I was hooked.

I am embarrassed to admit that I've read the first 2 "Fifty Shades" books...I thought the writing style of the first was horrendous, but thought maybe it would redeem itself for the second book. It did not. I'm not even wasting time on the 3rd.

There are a few I just couldn't get through over the years: Wicked, Pride & Prejudice (although I love the story, I can't get over the writing/grammar), and, for the same reason, any by Mark Twain (pretty sure I failed my "Huck Finn" test in high school). I'm also trying to reread "Les Miserables"...it's very slow going!

50 Shades of My Inner Goddess Can't and Won't. I have hope for people seeing that's it's on the most abandoned list.

Some books are a roller coaster of interest. One of my favorite books is "Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann but there were parts that I struggled to get through and other parts I couldn't read fast enough. I've read it twice though. It isn't an easy read (lots of philosophy) but it is definitely a wonderful classic.

Gladys wrote: "Very interesting. I abandoned Eat, Love, Pray. Maybe someday I will finish it because as a rule, I don't leave books halfway. I hoped to see the devil wears prada."

Don't, it only gets worse!

gabiiescobar wrote: "I used to read every single book I started, until a teacher told me that "life is too short to read a bad book. Put it down, and move on." I never forced myself to finish a book after that."

Yes!

I couldn't finish The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. I just didn't like it at all. I didn't finish Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell at first but now it's one of my favourites. I agree with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Too many characters and names and situations in one go. I hate not finishing books so I will return to those unfinished at some point. I'm struggling with War & Peace now. But I will finish it. The classics define us!

Linda wrote: "I'm having that problem with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right now. I'm on page 59 and am just forcing myself to keep on. It must get better at some point. I've read a lot of great books that..."

I abandoned it twice. Then it turned up as a kindle daily deal for $.99 and I bought it and it sat in my cloud for months. I eventually did read it, and actually liked it. I didn't love it, and I never read any of the follow ups.

I gave up on One Hundred Years of Solitude. As far as I'm concerned, if an author gives multiple generations of characters the same name AND jumps back and forth in time, he obviously just hates his readers.

Of the first group the only one I read was "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo." I liked it and then read the next 2. I liked the real sense of Stockholm, which I'd visited only once, and the many insights into Swedish and modern life. A difficult, perhaps autistic, girl locked up for a while for being different. Computer hacking - obviously it can be done! The conservative, even Nazi, underside of Swedish life.

Of the so-called "classics" (Ayn Rand is classic???) I took Moby Dick on a month long trip to Tibet, of all places, when I was 60. It was the perfect book. A rich story from New England, where I live, utterly different from Tibet, short chapters full of great observations. It took me a month, just the length of my trip.

Otherwise, I agree that it doesn't make sense to struggle through a book you're not enjoying. Even if life isn't short, there are so many good books none of us should worry about the ones we haven't read, or read yet. My daughter read "War and Peace" twice before I did a few years ago. When I did read it I enjoyed it immensely.

Laura wrote: "My own personal most abandoned classic is The Sound and the Fury. I tried to read it several times. I would come back to it, perhaps get a bit further and then abandon it. It always made me sad a..."

Laura wrote: "My own personal most abandoned classic is The Sound and the Fury. I tried to read it several times. I would come back to it, perhaps get a bit further and then abandon it. It always made me sad a..."

I was going to write down the same book. However, there is an explanation for Faulkner's style in the beginning. Don't give up and deprive yourself of a great book.

Deb wrote: "Could Goodreads create a button or star type thing for abandoned books? I just created a list for when I give up on a book. It cracks me up when I get recommendations based on that shelf."

Must create a 'meh' list, to raise a similar sardonic smile ;-)

Ooh, I feel good. I've read 3 of the 5, but you won't catch me starting a James Joyce any time soon. Rick loves it, though.

As one gets older, it's very difficult to devote time to a book you don't like. Having always subscribed to the "100 page rule", I chuckled to see the thread about subtracting your age from those 100 pages. I like that...a lot!!

I liked Wicked and Casual Vacancies and, had I not had a cheering section of people who'd read beyond page 75, could have abandoned The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but didn't and loved the series. I think Fifty Shades of Grey was loved by mostly non-readers and Catch 22 is one of my all time favorites (how could you not like the dead man in Yosarian's tent or Major Major?)?

Joan wrote: "I may be the only one but I hated The Kite Runner, boring, boring"

Kim wrote: "Aiza wrote: "Gladys wrote: "Very interesting. I abandoned Eat, Love, Pray. Maybe someday I will finish it because as a rule, I don't leave books halfway. I hoped to see the devil wears prada."

Yes..."

I wanted to abandon Fifty shades but I didnt. Just because I wanted to have all the weapons to criticize it in the right way

Of the ten shown, I've finished every one that I started. Never read Catch-22, 50 Shades, or Ulysses. I generally try to finish a book, especially if I'm reading it for the book club, although I am coming to accept the "life's too short" rationale to move on! The book club is the only reason I finished (and started) Wicked. Read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but have no desire to continue in the series. Atlas Shrugged and Lord of the Rings are worth the time :)

Zoe wrote: "Once you come to accept that The Casual Vacancy isn't anything like Harry Potter and see it as it's own individual book it is a lot easier to read. I will admit that I did force myself through the ..."

Me too, Zoe.

I abandoned Eco's Prague Cemetery. I found it weirdly offensive and I just counldn't bring myself to believe it was all irony. And sign me up for ditching 50 Shades. There's only so much inner goddess any one girl can take!

Sadly, it's hard for me to finish books. Those that have kept me reading intently are often written by the great Russian novelists, especially Bulgakov and Nabokov.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was VERY hard for me to get into, but just as I was about to quit, the story picked up, so I finished it. Each of the three books had their dry spells, but I'd say it was worth drudging through overall.

Fifty Shades of Gray I "returned" it to Amazon somewhere around chapter ten, before any of the "good stuff" happened. I honestly don't know how it wasn't sold as a romance novel. The plot is about as well developed as pornography and the writing is worse than Twilight. I know, I didn't believe it was possible, either, but it's true.

If it's terrible, I don't force myself to read it. Plain and simple.

Hated Atlas Shrugged but slogged through it. I almost put down Magister Ludi, but realized at the end that Hermann Hesse had taken me on an amazing journey.

This is my motto, plus there are just too many good books out there to put up with the lousy ones.

gabiiescobar wrote: "I used to read every single book I started, until a teacher told me that "life is too short to read a bad book. Put it down, and move on." I never forced myself to finish a book after that."

I put down the Kite Runner...picked it up later and put it back down. I read Eat, Love, Pray and felt like I was slogging through mud the whole time. I love the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy and even researched the author I was so intrigued with the theme of cruelty to women. I did read 50 Shade of Gray so I could know what everyone was talking about. Not real impressed with it.

Eat, Pray, Love and Casual Vacancy are on my abandon list. Along with Gone Girl. If I cant get into the book in less than 50 pages, then it's time to put it down! The only reason I finished 50 Shades was because the writing was so grade school that it was easy to read, not because it was even slightly interesting!

In general, I don't abandon books (although sometimes I probably should). Of the top 5 listed above, I've only read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (5 stars), 50 Shades of Grey (4 stars), and Eat Pray Love (3 stars). I will admit that Eat Pray Love drove me nuts, so much twaddle and prattle! ...an unusual case where the movie was much better than the book.

I didn't abandoned Moby Dick because I had to read it for a class. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone past 100 pages. It is one of the worst books I ever read that is considered a classic. I don't like stream of consciousness books, so I don't plan on reading Ulysses.

That's pretty interesting!

I read Wicked before it was a play or else I probably would have had that as an answer. People warned me about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so I pushed through. I have not picked up 50 Shades or Eat, Pray, Love. I do have the Casual Vacancy on my to read list.

As for the classics - I abandonned 1. I just couldn't get into it. I have it still, hoping that the years will make me more apt to finish it. I read the Lord of the Rings and Moby Dick (voluntarily) and enjoyed them. I never even tried Ulysses because I have heard that it's a tough one and I am intimidated by it, despite it being considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. And as for Ms. Rand - I read the Fountainhead and that was more than enough for me.

I tend to finish almost every book I pick up (with the exception of Catch-22) because it's a bit of a compulsive habit. It's part of the reason I'm still reading Sense and Sensibility and haven't run screaming from it.

I always finish. Sometimes I will read the first book of a series and quit.

Linda wrote: "I'm having that problem with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right now. I'm on page 59 and am just forcing myself to keep on. It must get better at some point. I've read a lot of great books that..."

The best reason to finish reading it is so you will laugh until you wet your pants when you read Nora Ephron's take off on it, The Girl who Fixed The Umlaut (I think the humor is lost on those who haven't read the original) : http://nyr.kr/184WmYZ

I've abandoned many books - I am not going to waste my time on something I simply do not like! Losers include those with writing styles that don't appeal to me (Alexander McCall Smith), long descriptive passages (just get on with it already!), tired story lines (themed mysteries ie. books with recipes, scrapbooking hints, etc), gratuitous sex (I think I grew out of all sex scenes), and ones that just dont catch my interest.
Where one falls down, there are always 50 more waiting for me to try!

Celia wrote: "Joan wrote: "I may be the only one but I hated The Kite Runner, boring, boring"

You're not the only one!

Kim wrote: "Aiza wrote: "Gladys wrote: "Very interesting. I abandoned Eat, Love, Pray. Maybe someday I will finish i..."

I thought it interesting how many people abandon a book because they didn't like the main character. I don't have to like the main character to keep reading, but I do think I keep reading in hopes they will get their just desserts in the end.

Linda wrote: "I'm having that problem with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right now. I'm on page 59 and am just forcing myself to keep on. It must get better at some point. I've read a lot of great books that..."

I understand your dilema. I too had a tough time getting into this book, however, I was told make it through to 100 pages and it picks up after that. You don't have to remember all that is thrown at you in the beginning, it will make sense later. I'm SO glad I stuck with it, it was one of the BEST series I'd ever read, truly. Hope you can hang in there.

I used to finish everything I started. Now I have no qualms about not finishing. My To Read list is longer than years I have left on this planet, and forcing myself to finish a book I'm not liking--for whatever reason--just seems a waste of time.

Last book I gave up on: Searching For Zion. Reason: it's a Kindle book and yet it would not allow me to look up words or highlight passages. I have no idea why, but--bing--I was gone. It was also dragging in the middle.

I rarely abandon a book. It has to be really bad for me to do it. For one I always hope it might improve. For two I think I can't form an opinion about a book I haven't finished.

But then again, I pre select books so I'm unlikely to pick up something I don't like.

Linda wrote: "I'm having that problem with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right now. I'm on page 59 and am just forcing myself to keep on. It must get better at some point. I've read a lot of great books that..."

Linda wrote: "I'm having that problem with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right now. I'm on page 59 and am just forcing myself to keep on. It must get better at some point. I've read a lot of great books that..."

I would advise you to continue. I thought it started out slow, as well. But, it gets much better. Especially when "the girl with the dragon tatto" becomes involved.

awesome! thanks for all the stats

Agree 100% about "Eat Pray Love". I finished it but it was a struggle. I just wanted to shake her and say "Get over it already". Whiny, self-centered, prissy... you get to go to Italy and Bali and you're STILL WHINING???? Ugh!

Right with you on Atlas Shrugged. Wow, terrible.