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When do you give up on a book?
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Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* wrote: "Wendy let me add...if it bores me to the point where my mind wanders to work related things while I am reading.....And I do review books I do not finish - I say that I did not finish it because....."
I have done reviews where I have said "It may have been me, but "X" just didnt interest me"
I always finish books, and not finishing movies is unthinkable (I mean they are at most 2-3 hours). Though there are books I wish I had stopped reading midway, I had rarely come across a book that improves substantially beyond the halfway point so that might be a good cut off point. Though if I don't like a book I will probably take much longer to finish it reading at a snail's pace.
Ive got way too many books on my TBR list to struggle through a book.
I wish I could finish a book in 2-3 hrs. My eyes just get too tired after an hour to an hour + half.I'll never be able to read all the terrific books out there, so any book that doesn't grab me in the first 50 pages is tossed (or donated)....
Almost never. I have on occasion been rewarded for my persistence and found that a book with an unpromising beginning actually turned out to be pretty good. Usually, though, a book with a bad start will have me thinking "Thank god that's over with" at the end. I just can't seem to abandon a book once started. Sometimes I wish I could.
I usually give up on a book when I see promo/spam urging me to purchase it...
I give when I find myself looking for excuses to put the book down. I find myself giving up on books more often than I used to. Not sure whether that is due to a shorter attention span, less tolerance of bad writing and BS, or too many other choices on what to spend my "down" time.
I generally try and get to half way before I give up, like I just have with Clean Break by Val McDermid.
Mostly when I lose interest when the story is dragging along. I try and give it at least 100 pages. fast moving
Steve wrote: "Mostly when I lose interest when the story is dragging along. I try and give it at least 100 pages. fast moving"Same, 100 pages is a good general rule for me (unless it's a short book in the first place).
There's too many times I haven't had my interest captured at the beginning, but ended up loving the book.
I rarely give up on a book but if I'm like three to 100 and some pages in it and I'm not enjoying it then I'm done because I know that if I put it down I won't pick it back up aver, another is if I'm reading it and I first was enjoying it and then after 50 some pages it starts to put me in a reading slump I'll sit it down and after a while I'll pick it back up ,but if the same thing happens a again after that I'm done because there's some thing about the book that I just don't like.
Steve wrote: "I try and give it at least 100 pages. fast moving"100 pages puts a lot of books at 1/3 (or more) through. If I've invested that much, I may as well finish. I'd rather avoid a book completely than not finish something I've started. I had a hard time reading Foucault's Pendulum, but if I'd stopped after the first 100 pages, I would have missed out on one of the best books I've ever read.
I admit, most of the times I've had to force myself to finish a book I've started it doesn't turn out like Foucault's, but I've been surprised enough times to make it worth my while.
Loretta wrote: "...but sometimes, it's just painful! "Oh... I know the pain! I'm working my way through a book now I started reading a couple of months ago. I've been allowing myself to get distracted with e-freebies because I just can't get into it. I have just hit page 80, about 1/3 the way through. However, I now have a goal. It's on it's last renewal period so I have to return it to the library in a couple of weeks. I will have it done by then.
To be fair, I can't say that it's painful per se, more than it's a struggle. It has a pretty good plot and I personally like the author. I just can't get into the author's voice. This is the second novel I've read by this author; he usually writes non-fiction (none of which I've read, but I like him). The first was a slow-go, too, but I finished in within a couple of weeks. I don't know that I would read another novel by this author. I'm hoping this series ends with book 2.
I have occasionally given up on the first page if the writing is so clunky that I know I won't be able to finish it even if the story is good.I almost gave up on The Da Vinci Code for that reason but felt I should finish as it was such a bestseller. Wish I hadn't - probably the most overrated book of all time. Dreadful writing, cardboard characters and hackneyed plot.
Life is too short and there are too many good books out there to frce yourself through rubbish.
If you dread reading anymore from that book it is definitely time to put it aside. It doesn't matter who the author is, how many rave reviews it got, if it is a best seller. If it is not for you, it is not for you. The only exception would be if you are taking a course in school or college and the book is required, then of course you need to finish it. Look at it as a lessen in discipline.
I give a book 100 pages to interest me. If it can't, I say goodbye and pick a new one.
I rarely give up but think 100 pages is about enough. I agree with previous analysis of Da Vinci Code. What a waste of ink!
When my eyes begin to droop or my mind completely wanders or I physically dread reading the book again
Alice, good point, I definitely use Kindle samples to make up my mind these days. Alice wrote: "Kris wrote: "How many chapters/pages will you give a mystery/thriller that is not "grabbing you" before you give up on it?"
Usually about two chapters, or as much as a Kindle sample gives me."
Lisa, agreed, there are books I feel I "should" finish, but dread going back to. And it's only then that I give myself a pass! KrisKris wrote: "Alice, good point, I definitely use Kindle samples to make up my mind these days.
Alice wrote: "Kris wrote: "How many chapters/pages will you give a mystery/thriller that is not "grabbing you" b..."
Lisa wrote: "When my eyes begin to droop or my mind completely wanders or I physically dread reading the book again"
I just think there's no point wasting time on a book I'm not enjoying like recently I attempted to read Ulysses and I just couldn't , I was literally falling asleep!
I find that if it is a cozy mystery and it follows the same old, same old pattern that they all seem to follow then my patience is very short and it amounts to one to two chapters, at the most. That's why I basically stick to one cozy series that I love and then it's hit or miss on the rest of the cozies.
Betsy,Curious, which cozy series do you love? Kris
Betsy wrote: "I find that if it is a cozy mystery and it follows the same old, same old pattern that they all seem to follow then my patience is very short and it amounts to one to two chapters, at the most. Th..."Betsy wrote: "I find that if it is a cozy mystery and it follows the same old, same old pattern that they all seem to follow then my patience is very short and it amounts to one to two chapters, at the most. Th..."
I don't have a set formula. I maybe the subject, the way it's written, or that maybe the author somehow missed the mark with the story.I try to listen to a sample before I get the book. With so many publishers changing narrators in the middle of a series, is important to know if you will like the narrator.
Kris wrote: "Betsy,Curious, which cozy series do you love? Kris
The Darling Dahlias series by Susan W. Albert. I like that it takes place during the Great Depression, and doesn't have one main character.
Marilyn wrote: "I rarely give up but think 100 pages is about enough. I agree with previous analysis of Da Vinci Code. What a waste of ink!" As to the style of writing in Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code", I do enjoy the way he wove serious research together with good fiction and made it a fun read. It's a matter of taste though. Otherwise we'd all be reading the same books. And woe to those of us who write with a different voice!
Marilyn,I agree with your comment about "a different voice", that's why I'll give a book a chapter or so even if I'm not in love from the start, sometimes it's a matter of getting used to atypical writing that can still be good. Kris
K.A. wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "I rarely give up but think 100 pages is about enough. I agree with previous analysis of Da Vinci Code. What a waste of ink!" As to the style of writing in Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Co..."
I sometimes put a book down for months but I usually go back to it.
Karen wrote: "I know the pain! I'm working my way through a book now I started reading a couple of months ago. I've been allowing myself to get distracted with e-freebies because I just can't get into it. I have just hit page 80, about 1/3 the way through. However, I now have a goal. It's on it's last renewal period so I have to return it to the library in a couple of weeks. I will have it done by then."YEAH!! I have finished my "white whale!!" It took a total of 21 weeks out of the library -- though I don't think anyone was clamoring for it -- but I finally forced myself to finish.
The story was good. I like the mystery, the characters, and the humor. I just could not make the words and paragraphs flow into an easy reading style. I don't know what it was, but I am so glad it's off my back and I can read for fun again.
And I do review books I do not finish - I say that I did not finish it because......and that I do not recommend it.
I am currently reading one that I am considering giving up on (I will read at least 1/3 of it before I relinquish it). It started out well but has become quite maudlin and depressing.