Books you wish you hadn't read but not really

[Ann]

Have you ever read a book and half way thru you want to quit? But you want to know what happens, so you finish. And when you are done, you are depressed and wished you never read it. But at the same time you are glad you read it for some reason. For a book inspired by real events #5, I read Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest It was that way. Since I felt unfulfilled I am now reading another book for #5, Saint Mazie. I don't want to finish it, because it is depressing, but I keep waiting for the good part. Have you been there?

[EllenZReads]

My Absolute Darling was that book for me. Beautifully written but pretty depressing throughout most of the book.

[Sophie]

I'm moving this thread to the 'Off topic' folder.

[Kelly]

I was not a fan of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things: A Novel I know that others liked it... But UGH I really didn't!!!

I am really a finisher by nature hard for me to quit on a book without feeling what if its going to get better or I got this far might as well finish it! lol I am not sure if the compulsion to finish really helps me cause I end up finishing a lot of stinker books!

[Jody]

Twilight. Ugh. I wanted to see if the hype was warranted - it was not. The completionist in me had to finish not just the first book but the entire series. On good thing came out of it though - I can now (sometimes!) abandon books, and I can absolutely discontinue a series that doesn’t grab me. Most of the time.

[Tracy]

Ann wrote: "Have you ever read a book and half way thru you want to quit? But you want to know what happens, so you finish. And when you are done, you are depressed and wished you never read it. But at the sam..."

About to crack open Starvation Heights today. We can compare notes. I didn't look to see if you posted in the A-Z folders yet.

[Ann]

Tracy wrote: "Ann wrote: "Have you ever read a book and half way thru you want to quit? But you want to know what happens, so you finish. And when you are done, you are depressed and wished you never read it. Bu..." I was waiting for you

[Tracy]

Ann wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Ann wrote: "Have you ever read a book and half way thru you want to quit? But you want to know what happens, so you finish. And when you are done, you are depressed and wished you nev..."

Starting in the next hour - should be finished tomorrow😏

[Sabrina]

Ugh maximum ride series started so well but the last few I read are awful and I never ended up finishing the series

[Ann]

Sabrina wrote: "Ugh maximum ride series started so well but the last few I read are awful and I never ended up finishing the series" The question is, Why do we finish them even if we don't want to? What moves me to finish, that need to know what happens? Doesn't it kill you NOT to finish?

[Tracy]

Ann wrote: "Sabrina wrote: "Ugh maximum ride series started so well but the last few I read are awful and I never ended up finishing the series" The question is, Why do we finish them even if we don't want to?..."

I have to finish because I HAVE to know what happens, and also if I hate the whole thing. Sometimes, I hate the beginning and by the end I realize its one of my favorite books...(*Frankenstein*)

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I often find myself finishing books I hate because I've already invested time into the books, and if I drop them, then that is so many pages I read that won't go towards my challenge... #anythingforthechallenge.

[Sabrina]

most of the time i feel the need to finish the book itself, but if its part of a series i don't feel the need to finish that if the last couple of it drop in quality

[Katie]

What Emily said. To a T.

I don't think this is what you originally meant by this question because this book isn't depressing or sad, but I really hated The Maze Runner but wanted to know what was happening. By the end of that book even my desire to know why they were in the maze couldn't compel me to move on with the series. So I looked up the other books in the series on Wikipedia and read all the plot summaries. Man did I dodge a bullet there.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I felt the same way about The Maze Runner!!! I’m so glad to see that because I felt like I was alone in this.

[Ann]

Katie wrote: "What Emily said. To a T.

I don't think this is what you originally meant by this question because this book isn't depressing or sad, but I really hated The Maze Runner but wanted to know what was ..." Cheater! I did that too once. Need to know, don't want to read it, but REALLY need to know.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I did that with the Selection series. Meh. Better than wasting time on books you hate, right?

[Tracy]

Katie wrote: "What Emily said. To a T.

I don't think this is what you originally meant by this question because this book isn't depressing or sad, but I really hated The Maze Runner but wanted to know what was ..."

This was a brilliant call on your part, lol. I actually liked the first book in The Maze Runner Series, but the rest of them....OMG. By the time I got to Death Cure I wanted to die. It was the worst!

[Rachel]

I agree 100% with Emily's reason. If it's a book that I'm reading for a challenge and I've already invested time in it, I don't want to "lose" that time by not finishing. At least it will still count. The main example of this for me was Inkheart. I just couldn't get into it at all, and it took me forever to get through it. I wouldn't quite say I wish I hadn't read it either, since I gave it a fair chance, but I probably would have enjoyed something else a lot more. Same goes for A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

[Michelle]

I'm with Jody on Twilight... the whole series. I read the first book and I was so disappointed but somehow I decided to push through them all. By the time I got to the last one where (view spoiler)[Bella is pregnant and drinking blood smoothies and Edward's trying to get the baby out of her and Jacob is in love with it... and just all that mess, (hide spoiler)] I was like, "What am I doing with this book series?"

The book I just finished for the ATY Challenge made me feel that way. I was about 30% done and so badly wanted to toss it but, like Emily said, that would have put me so behind for the week with the challenge.

[Kelly]

Oh yea the maze runner was very boring!!!

I also hated fifty shades of grey!!!!! Kind of glad I read it so I know what's it's about!!! But had no desire to continue the series or watch the movies! Hated the way it portrayed women as weak/mindless/ with no autonomy!!!

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I usually have no issue abandoning books. There was one recently where I really wanted to know what happened and I had already invested almost a week in it. But in the end, I abandoned it because I could tell I was moving through it so slowly because I just didn't look forward to reading it. So I decided to abandon it and just eat the time. Better to move on to a book that I'd want to read and end up getting more reading done.

[Anastasia]

I agree Laura. It took me many years to learn this lesson though.

[Ann]

Thanks for the advice. Maybe next BAD book I will have the courage to quit.