Do you always finish a book you start reading?

[SherryRose]

I have to be hooked pretty quickly. Some books start badly and follow through to a lousy ending. You can see the writing style within the first few chapters. Why torture myself with a bad book. I can change a tv channel and I can switch books.

[Carmen]

The book has to be really, really terrible for me to abandon it. I usually try to stick it out, especially if I'm a fair bit into the book. If I'm not enjoying it, I sometimes start skimming though. However, if the first chapter turns me off I'll stop.

It happened recently with this historical fantasy novel I picked up. The characters were ridiculous and the writing was pretty bad, but I kept on until the author said of the main female character, "she was padded in all the right places." I said "nope" and shut the book. That line reminded me of bad fanfiction and I couldn't continue.

[Valerie]

I feel that there are too many books out there that I want to read. Why waste my time on something that doesn't interest me? I usually give it a few chapters. I have to say that sometimes I feel that it's just not the right time to read a particular book. So, I set it aside until another time. It may be years till I try again and sometimes I find I love it!

[Kirsten]

I very, very rarely stop a book I've started.

[Nancy from NJ]

NO. Although I will try to read a book I didn’t finish the first at another time.

[Mary]

Absolutely not. Too many books, too little time. More and more often I'm giving myself permission to put down a book after 30 pages or so. Why did I used to feel badly about doing this?

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

Before I started working full-time again, I finished everything I started. My attitude has recently changed. Between a two jobs and three kids, my free time is at a premium. My TBR is too big for me to stick out books I'm not enjoying.

I will put some books aside and mark them as wanting to come back to. I think there are certain books you kind of have to be in a mood to read. Example, anything by Wally Lamb. His books have a tendency to make me terribly depressed before uplifting me. I have to be in the mood to be sad before I can start reading any of his works.

[Susan]

I'm 69 years old, a former English major back in the 60's and I considered it a 'you're going to Hades sin' if I failed to read a book all the way through. I've got more days behind me than I do ahead of me. Yes, I will quit a book. If I'm not reeled in by the first 50 pages, I don't feel like I have the extra time to sludge through 200 more pages when my mind will be elsewhere. I spend a lot of time reading reviews, looking at book lists, National Book Award winners and so on. If possible I like to read the opening chapter or at least the opening pages before I make my decision. Life is to short to spend an afternoon with a person (character) you can't connect with in some way.

[Christopher]

Susan wrote: "I'm 69 years old, a former English major back in the 60's and I considered it a 'you're going to Hades sin' if I failed to read a book all the way through. I've got more days behind me than I do ah..."

Basically I entirely agree with Susan. But it probably depends upon why you are reading in the first place. There is an article by Sam Leith entitled 'Literary highs. In praise of difficult novels' in last Sat 10th November's copy of the British newspaper 'The Guardian' (Sorry, I don't know how to reference this properly.) This is in response to descriptions of the recent Booker prize winner as 'odd', 'impenetrable', 'hard work', etc. Unfortunately, I started reading the article but seemed to have given up. Hmm.

[Jen]

I used to read almost everything, but now I turn aside rather more quickly. If it is boring (to me, of course but possibly not everyone!) or a clunky writing style, too many Americanisms that mean little or nothing to me, or if it is about a culture I know little of...I used to read of other cultures avidly in my youth, but I think there comes a point in life when that sort of interest wanes.

[Rajesh]

Most time I do and sometime I don't

[iasa]

I used to finish all the books I started although I don't really have any idea why. I have gotten much better about quitting ones that I am not enjoying. Also I'm sure the family and the dogs are much more relaxed now they don't have to worry about random flying books.

[Ingrid]

Hi everyone
I always try to but there have been times that I really couldn’t get into the story or I was totally lost. So I stop but mark then page and come back to it later, sometimes years later but I all those cases even after years I still couldn’t get into it but I always feel bad and guilty for having unfinished books!
Ingrid

[Simona]

I will quote Pennac Daniel here:
Reader's Bill of Rights

1. The right to not read

_*2. The right to skip pages*_

3. The right to not finish

4. The right to reread

5. The right to read anything

6. The right to escapism

7. The right to read anywhere

8. The right to browse

9. The right to read out loud

10. The right to not defend your tastes”

[Lila]

Hello everyone,

I always try to finish a book because I find it unpleasing if I don't! The only book I can vividly recall is "Every Note Played" I always make sure to finish book club books no matter how terrible they are! :) - Lila Smith

[Luci]

I'd say I finish 99% of the books I read, mostly because I research them some before I commit my time and effort to obtain the book (either library or purchase) . Goodreads is a pretty good resource for that. There are a few I didn't finish and I can't even remember what they were. They just didn't resonate for me.

[Susan]

Simona wrote: "I will quote Pennac Daniel here:
Reader's Bill of Rights

1. The right to not read

_*2. The right to skip pages*_

3. The right to not finish

4. The right to reread

5. The r..."


I love this. Thanks for sharing.

[Kymm]

I try my best to always finish a book. I feel like a failure if I don't, but there's been a couple that I just couldn't read. I'll give the ones I'm not into about 200 pages and if I'm not hooked by then, well then I'm just not going to like it. I've been very lucky though and have only had one this year that I just couldn't read. That one book was Outlander, just not my thing.

[Carrie]

There's only a handful of books I've stopped reading and have no intention of picking up again. Sometimes it's just my mindset at reading, so I'll try once more at a later date if a book isn't working for me.

[John]

No. I cannot read some people - there is something about style which is very subjective. Any Joseph Conrad I have tried to read, I gave up on.
And when I tried to read Steppenwolf I got so edgy that I threw it across the room.

Horses for courses I think- I had a woman last year tell me she could not read one of my books though she had tried. I understood completely.

[Jean]

Life is too short to read bad books! If I am not captivated by the third chapter or so, it's back to the library!

[Kymm]

I try to finish every book I choose, but I don't feel bad anymore if I just can't do it. There are too many good books out there to waste time on one I just don't like. I've been pretty lucky in the books I've chosen and only had to put away 2 books in the last 2 years.

[Zsófi]

Simona wrote: "I will quote Pennac Daniel here:
Reader's Bill of Rights

1. The right to not read

_*2. The right to skip pages*_
AMEN
3. The right to not finish

4. The right to reread

5. The r..."

[Arlene]

Life is too short. I gave myself permission long ago to stop reading a book if I'm not getting anything out of it. If a book doesn't do it, I say screw it.

[Kymm]

I try to finish every book I start and I try to pick books I really think I'm going to like, but if that doesn't happen I'm the first one to put it away. I used to feel guilty for not finishing a book, but not anymore. There are too many good books to waste my time on one I don't like. I've been pretty lucky lately and have only had to put away 2 in the last 2 years.

[Teresa “Teri”]

I feel much better reading this from others! I’ve stopped reading several books lately. I may go back to them at another time, but for now, I’m just not invested enough in the subject matter to keep pushing through. Often I go completely “overload” on a subject and I only know I’m done with it when I try just one more book in the same venue. But, I feel lost when I’m not completely engrossed in a subject. I guess I’m hard to please :(

[Pkulkarni]

If I am honest, there are times when you simply cannot continue with the book you are reading. But I have also experienced books where if you get through the initial chapters, they grow on you, and you start liking the book.
Also, I almost feel guilty if I do not finish a book I have started. So sometimes, I just say I will pause reading it, and continue some other time, and make myself continue reading it some other time.
In all my life, I have 'paused' say around 20 such books.

[J.N.]

There are two types of books in the world:

1) the books you choose to read
2) the books you're forced to read

I usually finish every book in #1.

Books in #2 include books for academia, books for work... those are not books I would ever read cover-to-cover anyways; they are mostly reference types, or things The Man asked me to read. Because there is little or no vested interest (usually), they are easy to skim or drop.

Books in #2 can also include such "masterpieces" as Hamlet (in the original Klingon). And if you're like me, and your Klingon is a bit rusty, reading such a text, while clearly interesting from a variety of perspectives, would be challenging to the point where most, including myself, would abandon it pretty quickly.

Finally, as an eternal optimist, I remind myself that every text has its gems. Sure, sometimes they might be hard to find. And sometimes I might be slogging like a gold prospector in the Yukon Territory during winter, sifting and sifting until my back gives out in hopes of striking that elusive pay dirt. But by Jove, that gem is there somewhere. It might be dust, or it might be a lump of pyrite, but I am determined to find it.

Of course, being selective up-front makes every journey smoother. Fewer tears of agony that way.

My 2 cents' worth...

[Jay]

I'm reasonably picky when I select a book, and once I do I almost always finish it.

Of the many hundreds of books I've read I've maybe abandoned a couple, and I don't even remember what they are.

[Kymm]

I'm pretty good at picking my books and therefore have pretty good luck with finding good reads. I used to hate not finishing a book, but now I feel there's too many good books out there to waste my time on one I don't like. I've only had to put away 2 books in the last year, so it's not a huge problem for me.

[Martha]

Valerie wrote: "I feel that there are too many books out there that I want to read. Why waste my time on something that doesn't interest me? I usually give it a few chapters. "

Me, too. I used to make myself read to the end, but no longer. It just makes me cranky if I'm not enjoying it.

Martha

[Anna]

For me I often find the challenge to be classics vs non-classics. Non-classics I'm cool with putting down if I'm not enjoying them after 50 pages or so, but with classics I feel much more of a "responsibility" to finish it. Maybe it's my inner English major. Does anyone else feel this way?

[C.R.]

Yes, I feel this way too about classics or "well-received" books. I think I might be missing "something" that other readers have seen in the book. I hate that, so I soldier on!

[Eirian]

Oh gosh, when I was growing up it would drive me mad that my Mum would read the last chapter of a book first to see if it was worth her time!

For me, I read every book until the end. Occasionally it can be a slog and a relief to finish. But more often than not, books I wasn't sure of at the beginning surprise me, and by the end I find I've really enjoyed them. It would be sad to miss out on those experiences because I gave up too soon!

[Jill]

This is why I am a HUGE fan of the public library. Not only can I check out many books at a time (if I'm feeling greedy); I can return one or more of them, no harm, no foul, if I discover that they are not my cup of tea.

[Dawn]

Jill wrote: "This is why I am a HUGE fan of the public library. Not only can I check out many books at a time (if I'm feeling greedy); I can return one or more of them, no harm, no foul, if I discover that they..."

Yes, totally agree.

[Nancy from NJ]

There was a time I had to finish every book I began. But not anymore. There are too many books that I want to read to read to stick with something I don’t like.

[V.M.]

The main reson I don't finish a book is, and sadly, this does not only apply to iself-published books, if the writing is poor, with grammatical errors etc. I recently stopped reading a book I found confusing because the author didn't know you start a new paragraph for each new speaker. I got totally confused as to who was speaking. He also had very similar names for his characters.
But I hate not finishing any book.

[Francesca]

Hi everyone, happy new year. I tend to always finish a book even if I might find it boring because I can’t write. I think I owe it to the writer.

[Jean]

I always finish a book, even if I don't like it because I don't like to leave anything unfinished. It may take me much longer but I finally will finish it.

[Kymm]

There's only 3 books I didn't finish that I can remember. Two I gave at least 100 pages, the third I put it down after only 20 pages. I hate not finishing a book, but some are just unreadable to me. There's so many good books out there to read I hate wasting my time.

[Gregory]

My rule for myself is if I make it to page 100 I have to finish. As a result it’s important to ditch a book early if it’s awful!

[Robin]

Francesca wrote: "Hi everyone, happy new year. I tend to always finish a book even if I might find it boring because I can’t write. I think I owe it to the writer."

Why? The author won't even know whether you've finished it or not, unless they're a Goodreads author and you tag it as unfinished or mention it in your review. The only thing you owe the author is the money you paid for the book.

[V.M.]

Gregory wrote: "My rule for myself is if I make it to page 100 I have to finish. As a result it’s important to ditch a book early if it’s awful!"

There is only one thing wrong with this. Some books are slow to get going, but in the end are most enjoyable.

[LemonLinda]

Years ago this was more of a decision for me. In the past few years I have been better about reading more about the book and reviews of it before starting a new one so generally I know ahead it is one that will hold my interest.

Goodreads has helped immensely with that.

[Gregory]

That’s possible, but considering the size of my “to-read” list that’s been a good rule of thumb for my patience. And so many other potentially great books await my attention!

[Robin]

V.M. wrote: "Gregory wrote: "My rule for myself is if I make it to page 100 I have to finish. As a result it’s important to ditch a book early if it’s awful!"

There is only one thing wrong with this. Some book..."

That's not really been the case in my experience - if I dislike a book enough in the beginning to stop reading it, it's unlikely my opinion will change dramatically by the end. That was my experience back when I did used to think I had to finish every book I started and it was that experience that made me start thinking "why am I doing this?"

Plus, it's not just about a book being slow to get going - I don't mind a slow paced book sometimes, but there's a lot more that goes into making a book enjoyable and if it's not doing it for me, it's not worth forcing myself to read it just to see if by some miracle it gets significantly better by the end.

I don't, however, put a page limit on it - for me, it's just a feeling, I stop reading it whenever I feel like I gave it a fair chance and I'm still hating it, and that tends to vary.

[Margaret]

I rarely don’t read a book to the end.

[Carol]

Robin wrote: "V.M. wrote: "Gregory wrote: "My rule for myself is if I make it to page 100 I have to finish. As a result it’s important to ditch a book early if it’s awful!"

There is only one thing wrong with th..."

Exactly. I stop reading whenever reading stops being rewarding. There are probably 30 books a year that I abandon, and thank goodness. Otherwise I wouldn’t have an opportunity to read the 30 excellent ones I finish instead. The older I get, the more valuable my reading time is to me.

[Frank]

I agree with Carol. I'll read a few chapters over a day or two and if I'm struggling to enjoy it I ditch it and move. I value my reading time to much. Finishing everything you start is an admiral goal but I think it's fine not to finish a book.