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Do you always finish a book you start reading?
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Ana
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Jan 07, 2020 06:42AM
Agreed. I try to pick titles carefully and do finish most books, even if it takes a little longer to get through any particular title. But there are titles I end up finding unreadable, either because I'm bored out of my mind or the writing is distractedly bad. I definitely don't feel like I owe it to anyone to struggle through and get to the end.
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There's only been 3 books that I couldn't finish that I remember. It has to be something unreadable to me to not finish it. I can usually find something in a book that's a redeeming quality even though it's not a good book for me
I seldom stop reading a book once I start it. A recent exception was William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying . Instead, I usually leave my book mark in place and put the book on a shelf until I want to pick it up again, maybe in a month or a year. I usually have 2 or 3 books waiting for me to pick them up again.
Absolutely, can't help myself. I tried to leave a book a couple of weeks ago, it haunted me, and ended up picking it up several days later to finish it - still didn't like it.
I usually finish every book I start but there have been some that I just couldn't finish. When I was young, I did finish every one. Now, I feel I don't have to finish something I'm not enjoying. There are so many books to read, so little time!
No, as I have got older I find myself failing to finish ever. more often. There is some really dreary historical fiction out there, far to much emphasis on accuracy and no fun at all.
I try to, but as I've gotten older it's not a must. I've gotten pickier in my choices, so I find I pick books I'm more likely to finish in the first place. However, with that said there have only been three in the past two years I just couldn't finish and gave up on. I don't feel bad for not finishing them. There are just too many really good books out there to waste my time on a bad book. To each their own is the motto I live by. I find a lot of highly reviewed and heavily hyped books are the ones I tend to give up on, I don't know if it's because I go into them with such high expectations that they never meet or what, but there have been a couple I just couldn't finish.
I don't, sad to say. I get invested in every story and if it starts grabbing me in the beginning, but starts loosening its grip on me during the progression, I begin to flag. Even then, I give it time, but if the original promise is gone, I close the book.
No. I do the 50 page rule: if I'm not liking it by then, I generally put it down.
99.9% of the time yes. It has to really upset me to give up. My DNF shelf on Goodreads is quite small.
If it's for a book club discussion, then I persevere. And sometimes, if I need it for a challenge, I'll suck it up and finish. But for general reading ... no need to finish a book I'm not enjoying.I used the Nancy Pearl rule: (And she states that if it's a school assignment or for book club, you MUST finish)
If you are age 50 or younger: give the book 50 pages, then quit (at least for now) if it's not floating your boat.
If you are 51 years old or older: Subtract your age from 100 and that's the number of pages you need to read before giving up. For me, I need read only 31 pages.
Nancy jokes that if you are age 100 you may judge the book by its cover! LOL
K.J. wrote: "A friend said he always reads a book to the end, no matter what, because he'd feel like a quitter otherwise. His tenacity is admirable. On the other hand, why should I stay with a book that's espec..."I know right. I just started reading Freeman by Leonard Pitts Jr but it is just so not grabbing my full attention so I stopped reading it.
Lately, I've been abandoning a lot of books. I don't know if it's stress making it hard for me to concentrate or if I'm just picking the wrong books.
If the book is for a group, I keep going. If its one I am reading that I chose myself. I will stop. I have even gone as far as flinging a book out a car window because it was annoying me. LOL I actually was trying to throw it into the back seat of the car. Both I and my husb were surprised when it went out the window. He asked if he should go back. But we decided not to when I couldn't promise to not do it again
No, life is too short to spend it on a book you just aren't into! Books are kind of like dating!
Melissa wrote: "Lately, I've been abandoning a lot of books. I don't know if it's stress making it hard for me to concentrate or if I'm just picking the wrong books."I've been doing the same thing!! I think it's the stress (I'm a healthcare worker), I find myself looking for something brainless to read so I don't have to concentrate!! Glad I'm not alone!!
Renee wrote: "If the book is for a group, I keep going. If its one I am reading that I chose myself. I will stop. I have even gone as far as flinging a book out a car window because it was annoying me. LOL I act..."Hilarious!!!
The variety of these responses is what makes the world go round. Maybe it's my age and my saturated CNS resulting from the effects of the rough spots in six decades of life. For example, murder mysteries, true crime, blood and gore fascinated me for years because I loved the process of solving the puzzle. Alas, no more. Maybe it's the current world crisis, but I seek gentler historical fiction now. Which leads to the dilemma of finding a book I can tolerate...any suggestions? The book Growing Up by Russell Baker described the personal impact of life in the depression. It was not woe is me, but rather anecdotal delights that helped gloss over or diminish the suffering. I mailed a copy to my MIL who adored it because the author's particularly gentle way of handling the experiences she had as a young lady. Maybe I'll re-read that...I read it in the 70s.
oh I loved Growing Up. Its not similar but I read one called Cold Sassy Tree It is a coming of age story that is gentle and beautiful
I'm sorry to report that I'm struggling with Lonesome Dove. I have read other novels by Larry McMurtry and enjoyed them, but Lonesome Dove is not holding my interest. I'm hoping the plot grabs me as I get further into it.
I hated Lonesome Dove. I think I am the only one in my group that disliked it. It just went on and on and on telling a story about people I didn't care about
Renee wrote: "I hated Lonesome Dove. I think I am the only one in my group that disliked it. It just went on and on and on telling a story about people I didn't care about"I also couldn't make it through Gravity's Rainbow. Too many characters, not enough plot.
For me, it really depends on the book/series. If I hear that a series doesn't really live up to the hype of the first one or if I didn't really care enough for the first book to continue I'll quit a series. As for quitting just a book in general, again it just depends on if I feel like the book isn't going anywhere or in a direction I like, but I've also stuck with a book till the end especially if I'm anywhere from 40-60% done. I would just rather finish a book and give a review on it, whether it's good or bad than feel I've spent time on a book for nothing. However, I've read books that have really annoyed me I've just had to call it quits.
I used to force myself to go to the end but not any more. I remember the first time I put a book down with the intention of never picking it up caused me a deal of existential angst - it meant I was no longer entirely the person I thought I was. I'd given up on a book!!!But it was just terrible, not to mention boring, so the pain of failure to live up to my own self concept was outweighed by the freedom of not having to read that dreadful book.
The older I get, the more ruthless I've become, although it is still comparatively rare for me not to finish. And through persevering there are a number of books I've read, which I might have put down, but am very glad ultimately that I didn't.
Sometimes a truly excellent book can take a while to grab you.
I very seldom don’t finish a book. I guess I’m just too curious to see how it ends. I am however very particular about the books I choose and since I read almost exclusively on kindle I have the advantage of trying a sample. I love Goodreads and am very much guided by reviews, particularly from friends I trust and love the selected groups to which I belong. Here I participate in book nominations and polls and these are so valuable in the all important book selection. These days I rarely read books which I rate less than 4 stars! Hooray for Goodreads and Kindle.
Since I am a senior citizen my time reading books is rather important, I don’t always finish a book. But I do read the last 10 or 15 pages and then fill in the blanks.
I try to finish everything I do. Made a promise to myself a long time ago. However, if a book doesn't interest me at all then I will not finish it and move on to the next one
Most of the time : D
I love hearing everyone’s take on this subject-to finish or not to finish. I definitely do not finish many books. I sometimes go back later to finish but not always. I have a very good example of my reasoning. My personal line that I can’t read about or watch in movies or tv is cruelty to animals. It’s personal to me and is more pronounced in my advanced years. But for an in person book club we were reading the very popular The Life of Pi. I couldn’t do it. Reading about the animals threatening each other in the lifeboat. I’m shuddering about those scenes now. I gave that darn book 2-3 tries & never made it. Maybe I’ll outgrow this problem some day!
It all depends on the book. Books that I do not enjoy, that do not keep me excited and interested to find out what happens next I do not keep for long in my hands. I give them a fair chance by pushing myself to read 1 or 2 more chapters but after that I throw it away. Life is short and there are so many books out there!
I tend to finish every book I start, but I view it as a vice not a virtue. If I don't finish something, it will haunt me. The only time I can put something down is when I am truly offended, for instance by lots and lots of rough language, graphic violence, or very explicit sex scenes. Otherwise, I'm stuck with it! I am a bit better about choosing what to read because I know I won't be able to put it down if I don't like it.
Nope. I slogged my way through Dickens' Bleak House several years ago because I like Dickens and so many people said it was his best. Nope. To me, it was just a really, really long lawyer joke. Since then I never finish a book that doesn't engage me within the first 50-100 pages. I didn't finish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for that reason. And, I know it sounds almost sacrilegious, but I also didn't finish Wolf Hall for that reason. I know, I know, I have to try Wolf Hall and again and I am planning on doing that.
Kellie wrote: "I tend to finish every book I start, but I view it as a vice not a virtue. If I don't finish something, it will haunt me. "This used to be me, but the first time I forced myself to abandon a (truly dreadful) book, despite the initial anguish, was liberating.
I am no longer haunted but it's still rare I don't finish.
Before I begin a book, I read the cover info, then if interested I will read the first chapter. If I do not feel the book is what I expected, I stop reading the book, and I find a different book.
I don't think 1 chapter should do it. I think the 50 page mark is much fairer. Though I do NOT recommend my grandfather's system, he read the last page to see if it was worth it.
LOL My mother reads the last chapter first of almost everything, She does not understand the spoiler concept. I never let her know if I am reading a mystery. If she has read it she will always say can you believe ...... did it? Knowing the end spoils a mystery.
Renee wrote: "LOL My mother reads the last chapter first of almost everything, She does not understand the spoiler concept. I never let her know if I am reading a mystery. If she has read it she will always say ..."I have a very good friend who does this ... read the ending first. She also has no concept of "spoiler" so I just refuse to discuss any book with her if I haven't already read it.
Many years ago I was at a friend's place and we were playing Trivial Pursuit. He had been raving to me about a book he was reading but in the meantime, he was cheating at TP - clearly having read all the upcoming cards before I arrived. Well, after a while, I needed to visit the bathroom, and there on the floor is the book he'd been raving about - bookmarked about halfway through. So naturally, I did the only possible thing: ripped out the last page and flushed it.
Don't cheat when playing Trivial Pursuit...not against me.
LOl oh Adrian that is cruel but so funny's hope it wasnt a mystery
It would have stayed a mystery to him...
The idea of reading the end of a book out of order feels as sacrilegious to me as any totally non-moral issue ever could! (LOL)
The construction of a plot is little more than the careful drip feed of information to the reader. It is entirely dependent on the reader consuming the book in the order it was intended and any departure from that rule completely subverts the writer's art.Outrageous!
Renee wrote: "LOL My mother reads the last chapter first of almost everything, She does not understand the spoiler concept. I never let her know if I am reading a mystery. If she has read it she will always say ..."I want to share a few beers with your mom. My kind of reading friend x 100.
Adrian wrote: "Many years ago I was at a friend's place and we were playing Trivial Pursuit. He had been raving to me about a book he was reading but in the meantime, he was cheating at TP - clearly having read a..."You’re one cruel dude. At least in 2020 he can pay for it on Kindle and read the ending. Had you done this to me in 1970 or so, I might have considered a duel as the only fair solution.
But you wouldn't have known it was me.He never did.
Never cheat at Trivial Pursuit is the moral to the story.
Adrian wrote: "But you wouldn't have known it was me.He never did.
Never cheat at Trivial Pursuit is the moral to the story."
That’s one moral :)
I guess you could also say: Never leave books in toilets...
Adrian wrote: "But you wouldn't have known it was me.He never did.
Never cheat at Trivial Pursuit is the moral to the story."
What's the point if he never knew it was you? That's just passive aggressive and if he never knew it was you or why you did it, he doesn't learn anything from it. There is no moral of the story because he didn't learn any morals from it. If it was me, I would have called him out on the cheating and if he denied it, I would have read the last page of the book and told him the ending, and if he complained about me spoiling it for him, I would have said "well, don't cheat and I won't."
What's the point? I was an agent of karma, restoring the balance of cosmic justice.I did call him out, and naturally he denied it. But he couldn't deny karma.
At page 40 I threw Interview with a Vampire IN THE TRASH! Why did someone even recommend this? It was part of an online book club’s October pick. learned a lesson on that read for sure!
Historical Fictionistas
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