What Makes You Put Down a Book?

I love John Irving. However, I have started Son of the Circus at least a half dozen times. I can't get past the first 100 pages. I keep promising myself that I will try again, but, every time I do, I quickly lose interest. Maybe one day......

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..."

It took me a while to get into this because of the language, but once I got comfortable with the language and cadence I loved the book and the next two in the series. I was glad to have continued on.

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..."

My daughter said it was a horrible book-don't bother.

A few years ago I realized life was too short and there are too many GOOD books out there for me to read one that just doesn't grab me. If I don't like the characters, the writing or I've figured out the plot or villain in the first or second chapter, I'm done.

I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It was a little hard to get into, but I knew it would be worth the wait and it was!!!! So glad I did not give up on that one. I also read Wicked (and no I have not seen the musical) and loved it!

I can sympathize with The Dragon Tattoo. It is VERY slow in the beginning. Even worse is the 2nd book, which insists on being slow even though we already know most of the characters, and the plot doesn't need a slow build like it did in the 1st. At least the 3rd book did start off with a bang and keep going.

I can also sympathize (somewhat) with LoTR, especially people who came to it through the movie and aren't familiar with Epic Fantasy or the myths the story was based on.

I finished Wicked and wished I hadn't. When I was younger I felt compelled to finish books even if they stunk. I don't anymore.

I've refused to pick up Casual Vacancy or any of the Shades of Grey books. I started "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" at least twice, before I finally made it past the first 50-60 pages, and then I loved it. I read "Eat, Pray, Love", but really only enjoyed the 2nd part of the book. And I only read "Wicked" after seeing the play-and I hated it. I think I finished it, but I really did hate it.

I find I give up on books a lot easier these days. Life is too short to read books you are "supposed to" (like the classics, or the ones on the 1001 books to read list). I've tried, I really have, but I would rather enjoy the story than feel like I'm being stupid because I just don't "get it".

Most recently I've abandoned The Host, probably a couple hundred pages in. I just could not get into it. Shantaram was another that I gave up on. I really wanted to like it enough to finish, but just couldn't do it. I got about 500 or so pages in, the good 'ole college try.
Never got further than the first two pages of Atlas Shrugged. I didn't like the writing style. I have picked it up a few times over the years and always the same result.
This sounds awful but I gave up on Anna Karenina. I was young though, maybe I'd enjoy it now.
Someone above mentioned Cervantes, I couldn't finish Don Quixote either. Maybe that's another to try again eventually.

Kendra wrote: "The only book I have ever abandoned was Stephanie Meyer's "The Host". I plan to try it again someday, but I just couldn't get into it."

Yup, me too. Nothing kept me interested. Don't even want to see the movie.

Gail wrote: "I also abandoned East of Eden, The Corrections, and I Am Charlotte Simmons."
East of Eden is a tough one to get into. I muscled through the first quarter, and I'm glad I did. It's one of my favourite books; I've read it several times of the years and I always get something new out of it. This may be one worth a second chance.

I will be honest. When I first started reading the TWILIGHT series I found it to be too high-schoolish for my taste and put it aside after a few chapters. Then I saw the TWILIGHT movie and fell in love with it and went back to the book and the rest of the series and I'm so glad I did.

Now if a book doesn't capture my attention within the first 50 pages I quit reading it.

I've only read the "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" on this list, but I devoured the whole series. Completely AWESOME!

We were reading "Cutting for Stone" for book club, and I was having a hard time getting into it. Finally, it caught me and I couldn't stop reading - wished there was more. You never know what's going to grab you, or even if the timing is right.

Kimberly wrote: "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 gr..."

It's difficult to get into this, I guess, at least that's what I've heard from several people. I don't recall that problem, but it definitely is one that grows on you, and gets more compelling as you go along. It's graphic and intense, so I imagine it's not everyone's cup of tea, but there's something about it that's really wonderful. I've read it twice, and consider it a keeper.

I try to NEVER EVER 'see the movie' before I 'read the book'. I have read ALL of Tolkein's books several times since the mid 60's, including the Simarilian and Lost Tales (and they were real struggles). What kept me going through those is a huge fantasy sense...putting myself into the book. I find it hard to do with many of the newer authors.

Kathy wrote: "Colleen wrote: "I couldn't read the Outlander series, even after rave reviews from friends. I just couldn't connect with the characters."

I loved the "Outlander" series"

Surprising -- I've only heard from people who got so into the series that they consider themselves addicted. I've re-read the whole thing twice, and will likely do so again.

I have abandoned quite a few books if I can't get into them for 1 reason or another. I'm rereading all the John D. MacDonald mysteries that have just been released as ebooks and am surprised how well they've held up. I am also reading a bunch of sci-fi that I picked up on sale. I read Wicked but couldn't get into the sequels. Under the Dome couldn't keep my attention. Moby Dick & Heart of Darkness were school assignments that I never finished and glad of it.

I loved Eat, Love, Pray. I have yet to read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
I have abandoned quite a few books, if it feels like torture to try to read another word it gets the boot.

☯Emily wrote: "Courtney wrote: "What?! I really enjoyed Casual Vacancy! But hated 50 Shades and Dragon Tattoo. Currently struggling through We Need To Talk About Kevin...I think it's going to get abandoned."

How..."

I have just reached halfway and I'm going to persevere because I'm mildly interested. However I work in a bookshop and some idiot customer told me the twist at the end! Rargh!

I typically try to finish a book if I start it, but I'm getting better. I did finish 50 Shades, and even managed to get through the second book, but just couldn't stomach any more of the terrible writing to get more than a chapter into the third.

I absolutely love Wicked, but I read it before it became a hit Musical. If you start it expecting the musical, you will be disappointed. The plots have little in common, although both are enjoyable. I will admit that I put down the sequel, Son of a Witch, but it is a book I'd like to go back to.

I have been about half way through Atlas Shrugged for four or five years now. I can't remember anymore, but I remember what was happening in the story. I really liked some of the books in the list though. :)

Books I have abandoned include:
The Yellow Birds, by Kevin Powers -- no plot
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Laarson -- too confusing
Beach Trees, by Karen White -- boring
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville -- couldn't relate to Queequeg
Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James -- had to leave it at the B & B
Life is way too short to waste time with books you don't like! There are loads of great books and too little time to read them all!

Jean-Pierre wrote: "Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. I had heard his work praised as genius; but a few pages into that book proved to be nothing more than drug-induced nonsense. Chariots of the Gods by Erich Von D..."

I agree about Naked Lunch. I was listening to the audiobook when I decided NO MORE.

From GR top five most abandoned books: I haven't attempted (didn't interest me), Wicked (didn't know there was a book from which the stage show stemmed, or vice versa) or Eat, Pray, Love (also didn't interest me), but I really enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and while I didn't enjoy the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy I wanted to see how it ended and so, managed to push myself through those famously horrifying scenes.
From the top five most abandoned classics: I have only read Catch-22 which I enjoyed but it took me a couple of months and a few dollars in overdue library fines to read. The rest I haven't read, but they're all on my to-read list - I can certainly see myself abandoning Ulysses.
I was surprised to see that Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury wasn't on the second list, that was just impossible with all the different time periods and the unreliable narrator. I read about half of that and I have absolutely no idea what was going on, reading the plot summary on Wikipedia was a revelation.

*Glamazon* wrote: "There are just way too many books I want to read to waste my time on an awful book I've picked up. If it's awful, I won't read it til the end. There are better books out there that deserve the time."

That has always been my mantra and justification for abandoning a book!

Courtney wrote: "☯Emily wrote: "Courtney wrote: "What?! I really enjoyed Casual Vacancy! But hated 50 Shades and Dragon Tattoo. Currently struggling through We Need To Talk About Kevin...I think it's going to get a..."

I'm about halfway through too. i don't know why, but I really love it so far and in my head imagine it potentially making a an Oscar-worthy movie in the future with the right actors. it is almost entirely character driven, with the plot being the backdrop, not the focus.

I think this is why readers have issues with Casual Vacancy - so many people expect books to get them 'hooked' after the first few pages, and unless they 'just couldn't put it down', it's poorly written, boring, and not worth the effort.

I enjoy many books that I can't put down, but I also think a lot of popular and successful books rely too much on being page turners. many (not all!) are actually really poorly written with clichéd characters and predictable plots.

I find this one compelling because I love when an author manages to create fictional characters that are so believable you're pretty sure you know or have heard of people like them. Maybe I am just a cynic but I actually laugh out loud at many points throughout this book. The characters are all so real but unloveable in many ways - and the subtle ways Rowling describes them and their behavior is some great dark humor.

I find it refreshing to read something where there is no protagonist or hero - but a lot of confused, petty, selfish, and repressed individuals - some so depressingly predictable and others disturbingly unpredictable - just like people in real life.

Usually for me it's been books that are supposedly "classic" and "edgy" but that are now embarasssingly sexist and outdated...'The Dice Game', My Uncle Oswald', and 'Slaughterhouse 5', for example.

Katy wrote: "I typically try to finish a book if I start it, but I'm getting better. I did finish 50 Shades, and even managed to get through the second book, but just couldn't stomach any more of the terrible w..."

I loved Wicked too! I read it before I even knew about the musical - I think in 2003 or 2004 when the musical was released. I loved the musical too (seen it around 5 times) but they are very different. it did make the musical more enjoyable though as I picked up on a lot of things I'm sure people who hadn't read the book did not - some similarities but it's basically like the Disney-fied version of the actual story, which isn't a bad thing! it's like all the Disney animated classics that are loosely based on the disturbingly dark fairy tales of the same name. They have broader appeal and make more money. i think this explains why most fans of the very popular feel-good catchy musical Wicked hate and don't finish the book. it's pretty dark and twisted.

I abandoned The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo because of excessive violence. I abandoned Wicked because it was just weird and I wasn't enjoying it in any way.

I never started Eat, Pray, Love because I thought it would didactic. 50 Shades = no interest.

I've tried several times to read Speak Memory and The Intuitionist. I've also tried Reading Lolita in Tehran, but never made it through.

I plan to read Ulysses. I am doing a Great Course on it now.

This is an interesting post and I appreciate it. Good discussion for our next book club!

Done with Eat Pray Love and 50 shades..struggled but I must finish the books no matter wot...Read LOTR halfway gave up..Will try again

Tina wrote: "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 boo..."

I try to finish books I start. I just have to know what happened. I've only had 3 books I completely abandoned -- Atlas Shrugged, Gone With the Wind, and Shosha. I lost Shosha and forgot all about it. I almost abandoned The DaVinci Code. I'm glad I didn't. Wicked wasn't worth it, though.

Kendra wrote: "The only book I have ever abandoned was Stephanie Meyer's "The Host". I plan to try it again someday, but I just couldn't get into it."

I really loved it. It does take some time to get into it, though. I felt the same way about the Twilight series. I didn't get it until halfway through the last book.

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 had to read that one in high school, I did not like it. It was a good story in the end but the mentally challenged narrator was too challenging for me to read

Back when Oprah first started tagging books, I read two on recommendations. What dreariness! I find it amusing that others feel that same as I do - if I see an Oprah sticker on a book spine, I go the other way. More recently though, I picked one up accidentally, I didn't notice the sticker and halfway through it someone commented that I was reading one of her picks and I practically shrieked! Too late, I had to finish it and of course I hated it.

catch 22 is one of my favorites. kept me laughing, but I finish a book because it is a good story and I want to know what happens

I liked The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and read two of the abandoned classics. "Classics" I wish I'd never read include Of Mice and Men, The Old Man and the Sea, Babbitt, and The Great Gatsby. (I know that's practically heresy.) I used to finish every book I started, but I have since quickly put down books that don't hold my interest. I have a list of contemporary authors I'll never read again. There are so many books out there that "fit the bill" at different times that I see no reason to read something that isn't engaging.

I try to go with positive reviews [GR and annotations on our local library books plus positive reviews I might read elsewhere or hear word-of-mouth]. I zero in on only those books which might interest me. I try NOT to be seduced by a striking cover or super glowing blurb. Yes, I have tried to read and abandoned or forced myself to read until the bitter end gritting my teeth, my share of "dogs" or "turkeys." I just finished Broch's Death of Virgil, a difficult book. It took me a long time to read it, but it was worth it. I look for a good story, sympathetic characters, good language and style, plausibility [except fantasy]... I hate crudeness and vulgarity in books and will abandon quickly if I see that is the book's style.

I've read 2 of the 5 books on the frequently abandoned list are books that I've read-Ulysses and Atlas Shrugged. I had to read Ulysses for class and Atlas Shrugged was for a scholarship. It took me 6-8 weeks to finish it and I didn't actually start enjoying it until I was more than half through. The movies aren't all that great though.

Saul Bellow - only author I just couldn't force myself to finish

I am abandoning 50 Shades of Grey after 200 pages. Didn't expect it to be a 'Harlequin style' with more biology lessons... lol

Might continue reading it, if the mood comes.

I'm usually good at picking books I will like. If the writing style is easy enough to understand, I'm good to go.

If trouble comes, it's usually in the thick of it 1/3-2/3 through. The narrative loses steam (or hasn't gained any), I find myself struggling to maintain interest.

I've been able to finish books I had to put down (I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, but it has a slow middle) but I'm still sitting on The Porcelain Dove by Delia Sherman. And I think I've given up on Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels.

I like to give a book a chance. If I abandon it, I will still keep it on the bookshelf. I usually pick it up when I have nothing to read, and am desperate. There are many abandoned books that I am glad I picked back up. However, one that still sits on the bookshelf is A Storm of Swords. I will have to be REALLY desperate to pick that back up.

I'm surprised that Vanity Fair, Catcher in the Rye, and Madam Bovary weren't on the list. I had no choice but to finish them for a class I had, but I hated every page, despised all the characters, and wanted to spit on the writers for writing them in the first place. Why they were considered classics, I'll never figure out. I sped through them as fast as I could, just to get it over with. It was like peeling off a stuck bandage.

I mostly finish a book. I think I can remember a handful of times when I haven't finished a book, and once when I actually threw a book across a room (I revere books and treat them with utmost love usually, so this was pretty severe) because it was so stupid. Usually it was a combination of things - bad writing that annoyed me, characters that were 2 dimensional and couldn't see their way out of a paperbag, let alone the inane plot they'd found themselves in, dialogue that was stilted, and pacing that went on at the same monotonous pace ad nauseum. I will persist with a book with 2 of these things, always in the hope that it will get better (sometimes my faith is rewarded and sometimes not). But out of the thousands of books I've read, a handful of bad ones hasn't made my love or reading alter 1 iota. I keep the books I like for rereading and throw/give away the rest.

I read most of those books on the most abandoned and I couldn't put them down. I guess everyone has a preference.

I read The Lord of the Rings every couple of years, but I do usually skim over the ballads... I can see how it would be laborious to finish if you weren't invested in the characters. A Confederacy of Dunces was my reading Kryptonite.

Eliot's "Middlemarch" was just another tedious soap opera. I actually abandoned it twice, the second time after someone praised it to the skies. It went to the local library book sale drop after the second time. (But "Silas Marner" I loved and have read several times. Go figure.)

I also didn't finish Casual Vacancy, Ulysses or Catch 22, but I intend to really read Catch 22 some day. I've abandoned lots of other books, too, although I did finish Eat, Pray, Love, Wicked, Atlas Shrugged (that was a chore) and Moby Dick (had to for school). Have not read one word of 50 Shades of Grey. There are so many great books to read, and life is too short to read them all, so if I really am not enjoying a book, I generally will not force myself to finish. On the other hand, if I am enjoying a book, but it is not a real page-turner, and requires a little extra mental effort to get through it, I will usually plod on. That's why I want to go back and read Catch 22. It wasn't that I didn't like it, I just started reading it at a time when I didn't have the energy for a "mental effort" book. I also don't always feel the need to finish certain non-fiction books, like very lengthy, scholarly biographies or history books. They usually start off great, and then slow way down, so sometimes I'll skim some parts, or skip to the most interesting parts.

Jody wrote: "I've abandoned Eat, Pray, Love (absolute apathy for the character/author) and 50 Shades of Gray (out of embarrassment/bad writing and editing). I also abandoned the Lord of the Rings series because..."
Atlas Shrugged is the worst, run away now. You can get the message elsewhere from a better writer.

This is fascinating. Some books are loved, some are hated, some are read more than once, some are never finished. I'm so glad there's diversity and different tastes of readers and writers! For me, I loved Casual Vacancy, Eat, Pray, Love, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and liked 50 shades so so. Never read Wicked. The 2 books I absolutely could not finish were The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco (tried, but could not get into it), and Stealing Athena (Karen Essex). I was looking for a historical fiction and this was more like a Harlequin novel!