The book you like most discussion
How do you decide to abandon a book?
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Alexandra
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Feb 01, 2025 12:08PM
How much of a chance do you offer them, before deciding they are not for you? I am always undecided whether I should give them more or less of my time. Sometimes I set the limit at 100 pages, other times at 50. Other times I try to work with percents...but whatever I do, still feels a bit weird to not finish something, even if I did not resonate with it.
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I usually do 100 pages too. One book I had about 150 pages left but I was so bored so I stopped. If I can't let go of the book but I know it's supposed to be really good I'll soft DNF it and maybe go back and try it again another time.
I know when I know. Sometimes I read a sentence... and I reread the sentence, and then I ask myself "the eff just happened?" And then I know. Other times I will feel the longing for death to take me before I read further.
Usually, by 50 pages. If they are book club books, I always complete the book.
If it feels like I have to force myself to finish, then I quit and move on to something else
For me, when it feels like I'm forcing myself to read the book and it starts to feel painful, I move on to another book
If a book has not grabbed my attention after 100 pages, it is probably not for me.
If it's an ARC I'll always try to give the author the benefit of the doubt and I'll finish it, although I might read it in bite size chunks with another book in-between if I'm not really enjoying it. If it's from my own collection, I usually put it down and come back to it later. Often I'll find that it's a good story and don't know why I didn't finish it in the first place! If I don't enjoy it the second time, I don't try again.
Writing style is big for me. If I feel unengaged or as if the author isn't thinking about the reader, I will often resort to just reading plot summaries.
1-Read first 50 pages of "new to me" author 2-First reference to animal abuse any author 3-I may read greater than 50 pages if it is a known author
I rarely DNF. If it's an arc I for sure will read the whole thing so I can give a fair review. Otherwise, I say to myself "I'm not a quitter" and power through.
I give a book 100 hundred pages to grab my attention unless the book specifically says it has a slow build up.
I try hard to but some I can not keep reading. I give the book about 50 pages, if by then I am just not liking it at all because it is too slow or too boring or I just could care less about characters or what is going on in the book then I am done.
If it is a book I win from here I will read it even if I have to suffer through it. I feel I have to so I can give an honest review.
I hate to give a book less than 4-5 stars, same with most product/service reviews as well, so unless the book or service is really horrible, and I paid for it, I usually put a book down when there is content I can't handle or lack of quality/interest. If the book does not get me after a while, I'll put it down and usually not review it. The rules say I have to comment on the book I like most; that is a tough one; the few that come to mind are: The House in the Mountains by Averil Demuth, The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, Sonny Boy, by Al Pacino, Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly, The Judge by Randy Singer, and Deception by Randy Alcorn...and most anything by Dick Francis, but especially Reflex...
I don't know, I have trouble doing it. I am usually listening to my books, and when I'm not enjoying it, I will speed it up just to the point that I can still understand what's happening, but it's going so fast I don't have enough time to be super annoyed. lol.
Honestly I just like to torture myself?? I refuse to stop a book no matter how much I hate it… makes the book in question circle back around to hilarious 🫡🗣️
If I don't like it I don't read it. I have DNF'd several. They were not for me and I won't suffer through them. I have better things to do with my time than read something I don't like. Someone else will appreciate the book, where I can't.
I recently abandoned "The Silence of The Lambs" after reading over 200 pages. Just couldn't motivate myself to read further (220 pages remaining). Maybe I've read too many investigative thrillers, this just felt like a template novel. Then I watched its movie, glad that I abandoned the rest of the series.
I tend to set aside books that lack quality writing
With pleasure reading (ie, reading for fun and not for an assignment or something), I think I've only ever DNF'd one book, and that was after I got bored with it and didn't pick it up for over a year. At that point, I realized I probably wasn't getting back to it anytime soon, if at all.I'm generally pretty good about finishing the books I start, but if it's been a year and I haven't thought about the book or had any desire to read it again, then I'm probably better off setting it aside and moving away from it.
if I hate it, I don't continue lol. whether I'm 5 or 500 pages in lol
When I can't engage with or like any of the main characters. That happened just recently with 2 books. I tried to overlook that I wouldn't want to these people in my life, but just couldn't make it happen. Gave up!
The book I’m reading right now I was into maybe 30% of the book when I started thinking this is taking me forever. Should I give up? Then I found the audio version on Libby and it’s going much faster.
depends on my connection with the book. Most times I just book the book aside and try it another time. sometimes it's my frame of mind as I'm reading it at the wrong time
I don’t. DNFing a book feels like unfinished business - makes me itch
I shelve books I feel irritated with/ don't really feel the vibe with enough to finish. Then I return a few days later to see if I feelmore in the mood, or if it really was just... not for me.Just a gut reaction? Usually I also flip to 2/3 through and see if stuff picks up there. It's kinda like reverse-Freytag's-pyramid
The Invisible Hour, Blackbird House, and The Red Garden all three by Alice Hoffman and all are terrific reads. 😊
I've always tried to finish any book started...but after this last one...l'm changing my ways.
I am an older, experienced reader. I give it 100 pages…more if it’s a door stopper maybe and then I move on. Life’s too short….and all that jazz.
I usually read 50 to 100 pages before I DNF, but it varies on the genre, author, and writing style. First time I don't like something, I put it down and try it again later. If I still do not like it enough then yes, DNF. I have read a book so bad I just kept reading for a good laugh or to see if it gets any worse. Some writers started out writing really badly and then found their footing, so I figure some errors I find, or writing styles, are due to what the proofreader missed and what the book market/publishers wanted at the time.
I think as a reader this is always going to be hard. Its that feeling of an incomplete read that despite it not being your cup of tea you almost feel attached in some way and want to finish it rather than leaving.
For me I think it depends, If it 300 pages or more I go for 100 to 150 pages. For a shorter book I go for about 50 or more.
It will always be hard to determine, and it isn't always possible to push through if you are just not enjoying the book.
Another thing I have tried in the past is having a quick read of Goodreads reviews. Now, I don't usually do this but if I'm not enjoying the book sometimes via reviews you can get a sense for when the book may pick up or improve.
It's all personal preference and I think we are some times made to feel like criminal if we don't finish a book and we leave it half way through. If you aren't enjoying a book and you have given it a go you don't have to endure it for it's entirety, just move on.
Happy reading :)
I abandon books when I find myself starting to shop around for a new book to start. Not intentionally- just not holding my attention. Another sign is when I forget what the heck happened after only a few days. I also need for the book to be somewhat believable within the parameters of whatever world they’re in. If it starts getting ridiculous then I have to stop.
Lastly, I have to like the MC- if I hate them or find them annoying, I don’t care what happens to them.
I have a very limited time to read so have a lower threshold to DNF. The WORST is when I’ve paid for the book based on the sample (versus kindle unlimited) but then don’t want to finish it. I still DNF but it stings when I do so.
Boring books without writing that sounds like "prose" will definitely get a DNF (I'm so sorry Prince Harry - maybe one day). I want to add a note to some of you that abandon books for people you can't identify with. Reading the book with an open mind - allowing your imagination to emerge will allow you to learn about people, cultures and time periods that are completely unfamiliar to you. I say to approach them with curiosity and open mindedness. Look at what the characters are going through and how it affects them - even if it makes you uncomfortable.OK, let me just be up front. Many people don't explore cultures different than their own because they can't identify with the experience --- it's OK. Just check it out. Don't feel personally hurt by things that may pop up for you that a character says or experiences. Just flow with it, baby. Be water, not the rock....We all could benefit from learning about "others". Not approaching it even in book form... well, think about that on your own time - no judgement here but I KNOW we can all do better... TOGETHER.
Oh and PS - don't forget your public library system! No need to pay for books to read - only buy books that really reach the mark for you - otherwise? BORROW THEM.... this is a PSA for the library system which has supported me reading probably thousands of books that I didn't include in my library (which sadly, was burned to ashes last month - I'm still in mourning)
Glenda wrote: "I am an older, experienced reader. I give it 100 pages…more if it’s a door stopper maybe and then I move on. Life’s too short….and all that jazz."That's the spirit! Yay to experienced readers. Some really great books took a little while to really capture the reader!
I try my best to get it finished but usually after second chapter it gets chucked out, but it stays in the back of my mind for months before I can actually either let it go or try again.
I try to finish it. Sometimes I finish it out of spite specifically to come here and give it a 1 star review followed by a thourough explination on why I hated it so much and why no one should read it.
However, some people don't use anger as a motivator... ( which is prolly really healthy so good for you if you don't :D ) So what I used to do is read the first 100 pages.
If you can't find a reason to like the book or like the plot within the first 100 pages then it's probably not the book for you.
if I'm 100+ pages in and not liking it at all or dreading reading the book that's when I put it down
I rarely abandon a book. I have read books that are 600 to 1000 pages long and 90% of it kills me to read, but the last 10% are worth it and I rated them highly.On the other hand, I started to read books and I loved them, but by the middle I was hating it and it all went downhill from there.
The moral of the story is: you don't know how a book is going to go, and I actually prefer to read to the end to actually give it a chance and an honest review. You might be surprised.
I think it's difficult to judge a book if we don't read it till the end.
But I have abandoned books, mostly because so much of life has gotten in the way that I forgot I was reading the book.
I abandon it if it pulls me in a reader’s slump while other books still read easily
If by 30 pages it dont get good the story and ciontinues to be boring or hard to enjoy it, then ill quit and start a new on.
if at any point I start procrastinating reading thats when I know im not hugely enjoying it - but most of the time as I read anything and everything I chalk it down to not being in the mood and will try again at a different pointthat or if a book that should take say 8 hours in total to read and im still reading it a week later I generally know its time
You will never have the time in your life to read all the books you want to read. Life is too short to read books you don’t love. If by page 100 you don’t love it (and you have NO OTHER reason to finish it - buddy reads, book clubs, ARCs aside) then quit it or skip to the end. If you read the end and love it, it will give you the ability to go back and enjoy reading it. If not, you know how it ends and can go on in peace.
I abandoned the night circus because I have read almost a 120 pages and it got nowhere. It was only a book full of flowerey language and writing.
life is too short to be spent reading books you don't vibe with, so that is how I decide if I'll DNF a book - read about 20% and if I have no interest in knowing what happens next, I abandon it
I never DNF a book. I set it aside and pick it up later sometimes months later and complete it.
I decided that if I wasn't interested after 50 pages I should jump ship. If I know that it is a good book that I should be liking ai am more patient.
