Poll

If it's in the "bad" range (as in innapropraite) then I stop right then, but if it's not terrible, and it's just a few things and it gets better, then I try to continue on. Not if it gets worse though.

I honestly can't stand leaving a book unfinished. I'll fight my way to the ending. I actually just finished a book where I couldn't stand the lead female character, she was way too annoying to read about. I just wanted to smack her.
The only book I ever left unfinished is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Cannot stand reading the dialogue of the book.

I hate leaving a book unfinished but I just abandoned both lord of the flies and 1984. Just couldn't finish them...

Becky wrote: "If it's in the "bad" range (as in innapropraite) then I stop right then, but if it's not terrible, and it's just a few things and it gets better, then I try to continue on. Not if it gets worse tho"


Same.

Foul language, political nastiness (of the rightwing or war-mongering sort) or just boring stuff make me wanna give up... Even so, I rarely do!

I can happily leave a terrible book unfinished - there are far too many books out there to waste time reading bad ones.

However, if a book has been highly recommended to me or is considered a classic, and I find it abysmal, I will keep reading to the end to find out why, although I'm often none the wiser after all. Catcher in the Rye, I'm looking at you.

I'll usually give a book a few chapters before I set it down. Depending on the book and the reason why I put it aside, I may come back to it in later years as tastes change.. also mature and growth, you may understand it differently etc.

Don Quixote - got halfways through and decided I had had enough. Felt really guilty since that was the first book I didn't finish. Have added maybe two more to my list of "did not finish" books.

I don't like to leave a book unfinished. But if it is so horrible that I just cant go on I will stop reading it. I have done that with one book in my life, it was just so horrible I could not even attempt to finish it, it make absolutely no sense what so ever. It jumped around way to much too.

Usually i know when its a book that is going to be one i'll never finish so i dont even try. But sometimes i'll be like, well i kinda like it so i well differently force myself to read. Or like if its something a friend recommended then i have to read it, to me if they liked it i probably well to so even if it starts out a little boring i'll finish it anyways!

when i read a book and am not interested in it i usually leave that book unread (whats the fun reading the book if you don't like it)

I used to finish EVERY book I started, but now I don't have that kind of time. I have to be a lot more selective and when I notice that I would not enjoy a book, I drop it, fast.

I usually make an effort but if the book doesn't appeal to me I leave it unfinished. Life it's too short to waste it in books that you don't have fun with.

100% agree with Filipa.

If a book turns nasty I just put it down or if I just can't get into it and am unable to even remember what I just read. I cannot continue reading it. Other books, I will sometimes just soldier on to the end.

I tend to abandon books which bore me to the point where I avoid reading. I don't read for the sake of reading, I read to delve into another world. If the book isn't taking me on that journey, then I'm going to toss it aside for another book which will...

Well said Megan! I agree 100%.

there are some books that i leave when they start to bore me whats the fun reading something just to complete and gaining nothin!!!!!!!

I voted for "I move on to the next read easily", but the book has to be REALLY bad.

I'll try to read it more until the story captivates me, but if it still gets boring, I'll stop!...I will go on with the next read!

I do all three of these. Frequently with the same book.

I frequently "leave" a book and come back to it weeks, months, or even years later, sometimes continuing from where I left off, other times starting over. This is because I often find a book terrible if I'm in the wrong mood for it. I'm awful about that. What I'm in the mood for and what frame of mind I'm in almost always has the top say about how I feel about something I've read (or watched/listened to, for that matter). Unless I've read it two or three times, all ratings are tentative at best.

I'm getting better at not finishing bad books, unless I have too. Life is too short, and my tbr list is loooong.

I've only ever not finished one book. I had to read it for school and I just hated it beyond measure. But even to this day I want to find a copy and just finish the damned thing!

I have to finish a book, if i don't, i'm just left wondering...

I'm pretty careful with my book choices so don't come across a truly terrible one very often. The few I hated, I still finished though.

i always give a book a fair go. I always go past the first couple of chapters.
Because for one aLOT of really great books start of sucky...(start of 'edge of never' was a little slow... but its one of my fav books)
secondly - authors have got the tough job of immersing me and you in their little world and (especially for first time authors) this is hard!!!! ...you gotta give them time to do that.

WhyYesIYA wrote: "I have to finish a book, if i don't, i'm just left wondering..."

lol... ive slammed a book down in protest and picked it up again more times than ill like to admit ...out of damn curiosity (does it get better?,do the characters grow?, does he finally man up and tell her how he feels?, does she stop playing these stupid games?, does he cheat on her again and does she take him back?)

If I don't like it, I don't like. I'll read on a couple more chapters but if it dosnt catch my eye I stop. I read to escape, if it dosnt fill out its purpose I see no point in finishing it.

I've never not finished a book but I don't randomly check out books either. Obviously take into consideration the blurb, genre, ratings, author. I have not enjoyed books before but not enough to not finish.

If I'm not enjoying the book after the first 15 or so pages I stop. Unless it's for school or book club, then I have to keep reading.

i really don't like not finishing a book, but if I'm not enjoying it or it's got something in it that I hate, then I have to slam it down.

I need to warm to at least some of the characters, or I just don't care what happens to them. I am one of those that has to read the end, after I get a little into the book and grow to like a character, I won't finish it if they don't make it to the end, that way they are sill alive.