How Do You Decide If You Want to STOP Reading a Book?

[Iulia]

I rarely give up on books, but it's usually because the book is too depressing or too boring. I recently failed to finish The House of Mirth because it was too depressing. And I kinda abandoned Wives and Daughters, although I love the book, because I knew the movie, the book is huge, and I got caught up with other books.

[Sarah]

Iulia wrote: "I rarely give up on books, but it's usually because the book is too depressing or too boring. I recently failed to finish The House of Mirth because it was too depressing. And I kinda abandoned Wiv..."

I know what you mean! If a book gets too depressing, I just can't do it. And if books get boring, I usually end up just flipping mindlessly through the pages without really reading anything, and I abandon it. Or if it just gets SO ANNOYING that I can't stand it anymore (whether it's the characters or the plot or whatever), I usually stop reading. I can handle bad plots and bad characters and bad writing (I usually just rate the book lower later), but if it's really, REALLY bad...

Other than that, I usually finish books, no matter how bad or offensive it is. I just rate them really low later, or I finish it just because I think it's funny how bad it is.

[Karissa]

I have never not finished a book before in my life. Sometimes the books end up surprising you! It will normally just take me longer to read the book than normal. I have never read a really bad book though. All have been manageable, great, or awesome!!

[Maria]

I decide to stop reading a book when it begins to repeat itself and the book becomes really predictable. I hate it when I can predict what will happen next because of the obvious clues the author may provide.

[Keep Calm]

I have to finish even if is painful to continue.

[Sunny]

I sometimes take breaks to see if I am reading too much so I will not burn myself, then I go back to the book to see if it was just me or the story was just not to my liking.

[Alyson]

I normally finish a book, but usually after the first couple of chapters I usually know.

[[deleted user]]

If I put it off for more than one month, it's done.

[Laycie]

Maybe this makes me a prude, but I'll risk it. I don't mind a little profanity in a book, but I honestly really can't stand when an author is prolific with the F-bombs. A few sprinkled here and there I can tolerate, but when EVERY. OTHER. WORD. is the F-word, I just can't do it. I think that's one of the reasons I'm drawn to YA, since it tends to be a little bit on the cleaner side.

[[deleted user]]

I rarely stop reading a book, I read much books at the same time, so if a book really don't interests me it can stay on my nightstand forever. If I haven't read a page in 3/4 months I 'officially' stop reading it. But it doesn't happen much.

[Ilana]

i'm one of those readers that feels like i have to push through a book no matter how awful it is - and i've been rather fortunate that there's only been a handful of books that i found i suffered through.

really the call that i make is when i've been stuck in a point in the story for a prolonged period of time, put that book down, picked up another one and then when i've finished that other one, still can't get through the 'bad' one.

The good news is that i've always gone back at some point to read the book and make myself finish it. The last time this happened actually i had started to read a book, got about 100 pages in (it was 300 pages) - kept trying to read it for about 2 months, and gave up - then picked it back up about a year later and finished it. the issue then became that the book 3 in the series was just as bad - but i sat myself down and finished it since i couldn't suffer through that again.

[Trinity]

Also, I feel the need to add this. I am an escapist reader. I have no interest in reading a novel that is true to life. I do not care about some girls struggle to find herself and true love unless she has an action packed story to go along with it. I can not stand sappy love stories (I honestly have one and only one exception to that) and I don't care to read about the plight of others (that is what a newspaper is for). I want to be swept away and taken on an adventure. If I am not entertained I will put the book down.

[[deleted user]]

I hate not finishing a book but sometimes you just can't help it. I will typically stop reading a book if I'm not stuck with it glue to my hands and I can easily out it down and occupy my time doing something else this just happened with a book yesterday and now the book I'm currently reading is amazing and I'm happy with my decision to put the other one down.

[Roots]

When you just have no interest in the story anymore and you can't get yourself to break things down. Just put it down and save your self some time for a better book.

[Madeleine]

I stop reading the book if it makes me want to gag or throw the book in any non-existential dump pile.

[Michelle]

I never really never finish a book. There are times when I'll put a book aside and only end up finishing it years later. However, I normally choose to put a book down if I don't like the main character. Even if the plot and other characters are amazing, an unappealing protagonist ruins everything for me.

[Maria]

Usually i dont leave books unfinished but if I have reached the middle of the book and i dont find an interest in it then i just stop reading it..

[Nicole]

If a book isn't holding my attention at all and I find myself skimming more than reading. There are so many good books out there, if really not enjoying reading a book I will move on to the next and sometimes I will try to read it again later. Sometimes I'm just not in the right mood for some books.

[Sherrie]

I usually finish books once I started.
But sometimes, if I really hate/ don't like the main characters
(Usually characters that are self-centered, selfish, bratty, mean and all that.)I'll probably stop reading it. For me, I have to like the characters in order to enjoy the book :/

[Rebecca]

@Nicole: I feel the exact same way! There are so many books to read, that I don't want to waste time on books I'm not enjoying.

[Nicole]

Rebecca ~ Silvan Elf ~ wrote: "@Nicole: I feel the exact same way! There are so many books to read, that I don't want to waste time on books I'm not enjoying."

Especially if they are super long :) I always try to read a sample first, but they can be tricky!

[Nicole]

Caitlen wrote: "If you look at my shelves, you'll know I'm no stranger to quitting books. Life's too short and there are too many books I want to read to force myself to read books I don't enjoy. Most recent book ..."

I totally agree! There are just so many books out there!

[Nicole]

Nicole wrote: "Rebecca ~ Silvan Elf ~ wrote: "@Nicole: I feel the exact same way! There are so many books to read, that I don't want to waste time on books I'm not enjoying."

Especially if they are super long :)..."

Oh I have been duped so many times! :)

[Nicole]

Rivka Ray [Rebecca ~ Silvan Elf ~] wrote: "@Nicole: I feel the exact same way! There are so many books to read, that I don't want to waste time on books I'm not enjoying."

Exactly!!!

[Rosie]

I always try to finish a book because I have this fear that the last 50 pages or so will turn out to be completely fantastic and blow me away, even though chances are they won't. If I'm not going to finish it, I just let it lie around my house until I forget what happened. At that point, I'll put it on my TBR shelf and pretend that I'll get around to it later.

[Marla]

I am a chronic finisher, but the most persuasive argument I've heard against was from a friend on GoodReads who shared this article with me:

Rebecca: Marla, I used to be the same way until I saw a quote on a Starbucks Cup about reading to a certain page number based on your age. In doing a quick google search, it appears to have been written by Nancy Pearl - here's her thoughts on the matter:

Nancy Pearl's Rule of 50 for dropping a bad book

I've realized that there are always more books out there to move onto. The only rule where I have to finish is if I've spent money on it. Hope you enjoyed the article!

Maybe someday, but today, I'm still a finisher...

[Bella]

I actually don't "decide" not to finish a book, but I have a ton of books that are DNF. Some I will return to because I think it's a good, well written book, but I'm just not in the mood for it. Others are permanently DNF- will never read. I read multiple books at the same time, usually 10-20. So over time, there are books that don't get picked up and read. If they're real books, they get buried and eventually the stack the books is in (on my desk) gets transferred to a bookshelf or box. (As I run out of room, once the stacks start tumbling over, etc.) If they're ebooks, eventually they drop off the "front page" of my ereader and I forget about them. Or if they're library books, they get returned to the library unread.

[Tommy]

1. Am I bored: if I'm not bored with it, I don't even consider not finishing a book, unless . . .

2. Am I annoyed: annoying can be worse than boring, since dullness seems to bottom out, but aggravation can go up and up to infinity haha.

If I'm both bored and annoyed, I'm probably done with the book, because, really, why? If it's only one or the other:

3: Is it interesting enough to dredge through despite not being the most enjoyable read?

If no to that, I'd just stop. I rarely give up on books, though.

[Ren]

I rarely DNF a book, especially when I got a physical copy of it (I always think I just wasted money if I don't finish it), but when I DNF a book, it's always because of either of these two things:

1. The writing is terrible or is not my style. The pacing is too quick and doesn't fit the plot.

2. The plot isn't interesting enough or it gets boring overtime. I like being drawn into books with every chapter I encounter, so if the book isn't gripping enough and I feel like I'm just finishing the book for the sake of saying I finished it, then I might just put it on my DMF list.

[Stephanie]

If the plot is uninteresting is a really big reason to stop reading a book, even if it's just for a short time. Sometimes I will stop reading if the plot is not original or if the characters are really annoying.
If the book is super slow I tend to give up on that book, or if the writing style isn't meant for that book...

[Aliyah]

If I find myself really losing interest in a book or bored

[Ashlee]

I have 5 chapter rule. If I am not hooked by the 5th chapter I'll put it down. If however, I see the book has potential OR have been told it is slow until say chapter 9 then I will continue reading it but usually if I'm not interested in a book I will find other things to do and not read the book until finally I put it back on my shelf and pick another.

[Jennifer]

I have this annoying habit, with books I'm exited about, of reading like the three last chapters.
For some books I'm hooked and want to know how we got there; for others, like , I'm too dissapointed to want to know about them ever again.

[Siya]

Sometimes when I feel like not reading it anymore I tend to reach for the book less and less when it comes to a point where I just dont touch it. I stopped reading Insurgent right in the middle, then 2 months later I forced myself to finish it and carried on with the series. And like the Heir (4th in the Selection series) I couldn't stand Eadlyn so I stopped reading it.

[Sofiraindrop]

I usually don't give up on books. Usually I just put them down when I don't feel like reading them because on another day they might suit my mood.
If a book is too tedious, then I´ll just go to the end to see what happened and if reading it is worth my time.

[The Book Crusader]

I find it's way easier to quit reading a book that I own, since I know I can go back to it whenever I want.

I tend to be more motivated to finish library books, even those I'm not particularly enjoying. Though if over a week has passed and I've only gotten 25% or less read, I tend to say screw it and take the book back. Life's too short (especially mine, because I eat mostly fried food and drink tons of beer) to dwell on a bad book—especially when there's thousands of better written, more interesting books that could be read.

[cali 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧]

I've only ever done this 4 times. I was so miserable, and I didn't want to read anything more. Every sentence made me want to rip my eyes out. I usually start to skim. Sometimes that's unbearable.

[R.S.]

I have a hard time stopping. Unless it just really sucks I'll probably beat my way through it and then just hate myself for wasting my time.

[J.S.]

I very rarely stop reading books unless A) there are too many mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, or both; B) the characters are uninteresting, or C) the plot veers off into Never-Never Land.

I can forgive some mistakes in grammar or spelling or formatting; it happens, even with the big-name writers out there, and goodness knows, I've made a few myself in my earlier novels. (Thankfully, the readers forgave me!). However, if the mistakes are consistently there--i.e. writing "defiantly" instead of "definitely"--then I want to toss said book across the room.

Sometimes, I may not like the characters, but if they're interesting, I stay with it. But if they're too whatever, nope. Done.

And, sometimes, the book is written so badly, I just have to go "NO!" That's just me. I can't and won't speak for anyone else.

[Mallory]

I've done this a few times, where I take too long to finish a book because I'm busy with other things and slowly loose interest. If I don't care about the characters or what will happen to them or don't care where the story will go, I will stop reading it.

[Kendall]

I stop if I can't remember the story or characters after not having read it for a couple of days. Clearly it wasn't engaging me, though there have been rare instances when I've got back later and gotten into it.