Question 5: Have you ever disliked a book so much that you couldn't finish it? What book was it, and why?

[Max]

For myself, that book would be Everest Is Hollow by Indigo Jones. I received this book as a birthday present in high school, and I couldn't get farther than about 40 pages. It was so cliched and poorly written right from the start, and it made me wonder how it even got published. Maybe it was made for a younger demographic, but that doesn't excuse such blatant unoriginality.

[Dylan]

few books I was stuck on for a while. zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. just a lot of hard ideas to come to terms with and a lot of figuring out your own mind and values. but it paid off getting to the end

[Max]

Dylan wrote: "few books I was stuck on for a while. zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. just a lot of hard ideas to come to terms with and a lot of figuring out your own mind and values. but it paid off g..."

I've been wanting to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values for several years, actually... Do you think it was worth it / did you gain anything from the experience?

[Dylan]

yes I questioned how we have come to give fictional values based on our own context in life. our minds have created morals that have been evolved through the successful arguments of ancient minds. helps you see important trains of thought in life

[Imogen]

Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen because even though I could relate to Ambrose with having an overprotective mother, it was just poorly written.

Girl Online Going Solo by Zoe Sugg because it got a bit cringy and the plot seems similar to Girl Online On Tour

[Heather]

I had started (and abandoned) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt twice before a friend convinced me to finally read it all the way through. At first, I really didn't enjoy it... It felt too raw and dark for my taste. However, the writing was superb and I was finally hooked by page 200!

Typically, I find it difficult to abandon books!

[Tracy]

The Girl From The Woods by Chris Keane. I read to the 10% mark. This is usually my "If I don't get into this book by then, I quit." And that is what happened. I felt it moved way too fast at some parts, and it just felt like things were thrown in there with very little to no transition between sections. Because it was for a read it and review it type of thing, I had to make sure I could stop. But I am one of those people that if I don't like a book, I put it away. If I was hoping to like it, I try reading it again a few months/years later. But if I just couldn't get into it at all, like this one, then I am done with it.

[Matthew]

Yes , books by William Shakespeare , I was forced to read them at school , the reason is purely that I cant understand all the old language used and especially in play form in the end my teacher thought I read them all but that's because I put the front cover of the Shakespeare books over the cover of my james bond books and enjoyed reading them . now I would have enjoyed English at school if we could have read books of our choice ie , Alien , star wars , james bond , Jackie Collins , Robert ludlem. well actually I did read them lol , the school exam for English was questions on of mice and men and answerd all the questions as if id just read the bourne identity . now if that was what the test was actually about im sure I would have got an A or a B but alas at my school they wanted me to have the worst school live in the world with a side order of bullying . free advice on bullying if you want it to stop punch the guy in the nose then knee him in the nuts , the bullying stops there and then , listen to the teachers and the bullying goes on for years

[Max]

Matthew wrote: "Yes , books by William Shakespeare , I was forced to read them at school , the reason is purely that I cant understand all the old language used and especially in play form in the end my teacher th..."

I hate to admit it, since doing so could make me seem like I don't appreciate classic literature, but I had a similar experience with Shakespeare. I've only read one play of his, Romeo and Juliet- and I hated it. I think it has aged terribly, and that its ideas of love are problematic at best, harmful at worst. And it didn't help that the old-timey language bored and confused me. I like your story about hiding the james bond book inside the shakespeare, it's very funny! And yes, I agree with your methods for dealing with a bully who simply won't leave you alone. Sometimes there's no other way to win than to make it clear that you won't be a victim anymore.

[Adriana (Mea)]

I am having the hardest time finishing Emotional Intelligence 2.0: With Access Code. It's a short book and if I wanted to I could spend an afternoon and finish it. The problem is... I never want to pick it up! I would rather start something new rather than grind through the last half of the book.

(Un)fortunately, Goodreads makes it hard to forget a book and so it continues to gather dust on my currently reading section by my desk.

Does anyone else have a similar completionest mentality? It's a blessing and curse!

[Sebastian]

I really loved James Clavells Shogun and Tai-Pan but I couldn't bring myself to finish Gai-Jin. I found it incredible boring and I found Shogun to be one of the best books I have read.

[Janna]

This happened to me for the first time recently. It wasn't the book I couldn't finish (I forced myself to finish it due to time already invested), but the series. And I may attract some haters for this, so I apologize in advance. I had finished "A Wizard of Earthsea". I'd decided that while there were parts that really seemed to drag on, the story was good and I'd like to read the next one. "The Tombs of Atuan" drove me insane. It elicited no emotional response from me, I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen, and when it finally did, I felt like a kid who just got a hand-knitted sweater for Christmas...I decided I wasn't going to read any further in the series, which is unlike me.

[Elias]

Definitely The Death Cure and Allegiance. They were horrible!

[Sukanya]

I found "Daughter of the River: An Autobiography" very depressing. It is set in China in the early days of the famine of the 1960s. The narration, the struggles, and the poverty of the people put me off. I could not finish it.

[Saira]

Last part of divergent series.. Allegient... The worst ending i have ever read

[Karma]

I would have to say the book that stands out for me like this would be A Passage to India by E. M Forrester....talk about just a dry book with barely anything to peak or even sustain interest. The ONLY reason I read the whole thing was because it was about of the Rory Gilmore reading challenge and I didn't want to lie and said I read it if I had put it down and stopped reading it midway through. I couldn't tell you how many times I fell asleep with this book in my hand when I would try to read it in bed....just awful

[Sarah]

The Fate of the Tearling

The first two books of "The Queen of the Tearling" series was fantastic! Then there was the ending of the trilogy "The Fate of the Tearling"... the ending of this series was CHEAP! I will not spoil anything for those who are reading it/ want to read it.. The first two books and 95% of the third is still worth reading.. but that ending, which I unfortunately did finish, was TERRIBLE!

The film rights have been purchased too, with Emma Watson promotions, so hopefully it will be one of those rare occasions when the movie is better?

[Ally]

Most recently for me it was Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. It wasn't so much that I couldn't finish it but I actually hated having to sit down and read it. I just really didn't like it. I didn't enjoy the way Pratchett wrote all these storylines going on at once and either they weren't intermingling or they would out of nowhere and such. I know this is probably a controversial dislike because everyone I've talked to about this book have praised the hell out of is and loved it, but I just really didn't like it! I credit my dislike to the fact that it was a required read for my English uni class and it is the 14th book of the Discworld series/the 4th book of the Witches series, which I didn't know until it came time to actually read the book. So basically I was jumping into the middle of a series completely blind, and I just really didn't enjoy it at all.

[Matthew]

simply die to that fact the shouldn't have made you read that its like not reading any of the alex cross books and starting with book 20

[Matthew]

due not die

[Bridgesm6081gmail.Com]

Quite the oppose feeling actually. I always enjoy books and even if I dont like it I still try to finish it.

[Matthew]

if i really don't enjoy a book i won't finish it either , why force your self to read some thing your not enjoying ?

[Hailey]

The one book that I couldn't finish was called Tender Morsels. I think I read the first sentence and then closed the book. The sentence went a little something like this:

"There are plenty would call her a slut for it."

It's been a while since I've read it but from what I remember, I felt that this sentence was written so badly, that it didn't make me want to read the rest of the book.

[Eva]

Crazy Rich Asians
by Kevin Kwan

Yes I bet you all are wondering what's wrong with me. But it was barely impossible for me to finish this book....... Simply not so amusing so I plan on finishing this story when the movie is out :P

[Kirsten]

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

Just could care less about any of the characters

[Eva]

Eh, base on the book most of the family of Nicholas Young, it's just another kind of Gossip Girl Episode but Asians.

[Nora]

Yes, I actually have felt the feeling a few times, even though I am a book lover who loves every book. The book Zane And The Hurricane was quite boring, since it zoned on and on about the same things Zane and his dog would do. It didn’t have any action or actually interesting parts in it that would be one where it would excite you, or would bury your head into it. I left the book and put it down a day after I started reading about half the book. But it has a great storyline to it so far!

[Heather]

Orphan Train

[Sandie]

I don't think that feeling has ever happened to me, I love books that much, until 50 Shades of Grey, which I avoided for the longest time. I finally gave in to my curiosity and what the hype was all about. painfully horrible! The writing, editing, was sophomoric, (I'm sorry,, that's probably being a bit of a jerk.) I could not relate one iota to any of the characters, especially the main, I thought she was pathetic. I think I may have gotten a quarter of the way through...Needless to say, I wouldn't go near the movie with a ten-foot pole! Thanks for listening...

[Matthew]

Sandie wrote: "I don't think that feeling has ever happened to me, I love books that much, until 50 Shades of Grey, which I avoided for the longest time. I finally gave in to my curiosity and what the hype was al..."

lol i think that theyre brilliant

[Matthew]

Sandie wrote: "I don't think that feeling has ever happened to me, I love books that much, until 50 Shades of Grey, which I avoided for the longest time. I finally gave in to my curiosity and what the hype was al..."

I find it really interesting how opinions differ , you really don't like it I really do , we totally respect that , its crazy how year or so a go I said my opinion about a movie called IT on the Stephen king group and this guy called Kennith just couldn't take it he woulnt stop hounding be down and has stalked me across 2 other group same with a guy called steve parsons its crazy really id only just joined the new group and in a matter of seconds Kennith was there with the stalking and the insults I emaild the mod straight away said what had happened with the guy and that I was blocking him . the strange thing is when ever I use the good reads app on my phone the guys messages show up and hes still insulting me the mod sees it because shes commented to other people on the threads and yet she lets it continue . it really is crazy what opinions can do and show the true craziness I people

[Sandie]

ooh. That's creepy. hope that doesn't happen!

[Matthew]

dam straight it is , reporting it to the mods on the group seems to get you kicked off for being a victim it sure is strange on good reads

[ROBERT]

I started and could not come close to finishing Pride and Prejudice 3 separate times. It is so well regarded that I assumed I would get hooked at some point. It never happened. It might be because dialogue driven books like that do not capture me.

I might try the movie.

[Paula]

Adriana (Mea) wrote: "I am having the hardest time finishing Emotional Intelligence 2.0: With Access Code. It's a short book and if I wanted to I could spend an afternoon and finish it. The problem is... ..."

I used to have the Bookworm Duty syndrome, but have been spontaneously healed. I no longer suffer from that horrible sensation which requires I finish a book that is a grind, uses raw language, or gratuitous sex scenes. That's just me; others may quit a book for other reasons. I believe it's okay to do so. Perhaps a reader will find a reason to pick it up again later. I found that to be true for a certain Pulitzer winner when I was making my way through the list. On the second attempt, I think I was just more in the mood for the author's style of writing.

[Paula]

Matthew wrote: "dam straight it is , reporting it to the mods on the group seems to get you kicked off for being a victim it sure is strange on good reads"

It's too bad that happened to you, Matthew. In my opinion, when something like that happens too often, leave the group for good. If it happens very often with reporting to the moderator not working, you might try deleting your account and starting a new one with a new "name." People do it on other social media all the time. It's a lot of work to build up your "lists" again, but might be worth it. I'm sorry you had that experience. For what it's worth, that says more about that person than it does about you.

[Paula]

Heather wrote: "I had started (and abandoned) The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt twice before a friend convinced me to finally read it all the way through. At first, I really didn't enjoy it... It felt too raw and dark ..."

The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer for fiction that year and I pretty much enjoyed it, but thought it could have been better edited with about a fourth of it cut. Some of it seemed to drag.

[Matthew]

i did that twice once to do as you say then good reads deleted it and i that and my original one and now ive started my normal profile again see the stalker stalked me that much i think he recognised my writing or something

[John]

I hated The Wind-up Girl by Paulo Baccigaluppi. I tortured myself in an attempt to finish it, then decided by to waste valuable reading time. The narration was too Sin City-esque. The dialogue between characters uninteresting.

[Ash]

Oh man... Some of my most recent DNF...

The Road: This one was so confusing and slow to even try to finish.


Numbers: Oh lord, this one was awful. It was all whining all the time. And the main character was just annoying!


Dark Eyes: Once again, whining and annoying


The Lucky Ones: I don't know, I couldn't get into it. It was just... weird.

There are more, but these ones stuck out the most to me!

[Shar]

Definitely Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm a big J.K. Rowling fan and I've watched every movie and I've gotten through majority of the books but I just couldn't get through this one. I read like 9 chapters just to give it a chance but the next day, I was putting it in the return slot. The plot was so slow. Like, if Voldemort had killed my godfather and friend and then taken over the Ministry of Magic and was after me, then I'd be running for my life...not taking a stroll to the nearest coffee shop.

[Kirsten]

John wrote: "I hated The Wind-up Girl by Paulo Baccigaluppi. I tortured myself in an attempt to finish it, then decided by to waste valuable reading time. The narration was too Sin City-esque. The dialogue betw..."

Sad to hear that. I absolutely loved it!

[Matthew]

i love all the hp books including cursed child

[Rohit]

by Mark Owen

I started reading this book as I absolutely loved Zero dark thirty and 'Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden'. I thought it would be interesting to read a book written by the navy seal who shot Osama. I started reading the book but the book isn't well written and eventually, I found it boring. And this is how this book went into my 'Abandoned' shelf.