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What would be the most compelling reason for you to stop reading a certain book?
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Ramla Zareen
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Apr 22, 2015 10:47AM
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If the writing fails to retain my attention and interest, and does not provide me pleasure, then I will not read the further books by that author.
Other compelling reasons for discontinuing a book or a series would be too much profanity, indecent humour, graphic sexual scenes, vulgar descriptions, gruesome details, prevailing cruelty and nastiness, abusive behaviours, and focus on violent incidences.
Here I should mention, that I don't mind if there is a little profanity sprinkled here and there throughout the book ...as long as it's not very frequent.
Moreover, I can also accept few intimate scenes, as long as they are not very descriptive and prolonged, and there are not too many of them ... though I very much appreciate it when an author is able to maintain decency by exquisitely manipulating words to imply physical chemistry between the lead characters, without going into intimate details.
In any case, it's basically when the overall ambience becomes unpleasant and uncomfortable for me ...that I will stop reading a certain book and will avoid other books by that author.
If a book stops being interesting, whether it's the characters or the plot line, I'll put it aside regardless how far along I am in the book.I don't like erotica so I won't read that at all, and if the sex scenes in a book get too graphic or the vocabulary gets too vulgar that is also a turn off for me.
I don't like gratuitous violence, I can handle SOME, but if it has nothing to do with the story, I don't have a problem putting a book aside.
For me, if a book is too boring, and too slow, that is when I am most apt to stop reading. I don't mind intimate scenes :-/ as long as it's not totally gratuitous or, as some of you mentioned, not riddled with vulgar language. But even if I'm not too crazy about a particular plot, I'll keep reading as long as it's interesting/fast-paced.
Boring I will usually put aside and read in between other books. Vulgar I will put aside and not bother with.
When a sex scene gets gross. Enough said.
If the author likes the sound of their own voice too much. This could mean: too much unnecessary description (people and places), preachy dialogue, or boring sub-plot tangents. I don't mind steamy romantic scenes, as long as they are useful for character development or if they're well written, although I prefer them sensual, not vulgar.
Everyone has already covered my pet peeves, except for one...I absolutely detest when an author has the hero rape the heroine and then has her fall in love with him! IMO,those authors deserve to be raped, for perpetuating the asinine myth that women enjoy being raped! :[
To be honest, I am that type of a masochistic person that strives to finish a book even if it is bad, because I feel as if I cannot make a good opinion of it until I have read it.The sole reason for me stopping a book somewhere in time is when I have a lack of time, and I feel as if I forgot too much of the book to continue on from where I have stopped. But I have an intention of finishing those up, too.
For me it is when the story doesnt make any sense,when the author changes the charaters and way the story is going midstream.i also dont like double standards for the certain characters.I also hate the cheating in the triangles,it makes the heroine look bad.
Graphic scenes, constant profanity or an way to stretched out love triangle. I can stick through a slow moving book but there is something about a love triangle that makes me roll my eyes and move along.
The main reason I would stop reading a book, is if I found nothing redeeming about the characters. There should be something relatable or at least likable about the main characters, otherwise I lose interest.
Dorottya wrote: "To be honest, I am that type of a masochistic person that strives to finish a book even if it is bad, because I feel as if I cannot make a good opinion of it until I have read it.The sole reason ..."
I find I'm a bit like you, Dorottya. Boring is not so much a compelling reason for me to stop. It just kind of causes me to sputter to a stop but then don't return.
I'm also interested in the love triangle thing. I pretty much stick to Christian books so I don't read that, but it seems that problem would create some kind of interest. Gratuitous scenes, of course, are a complete turn-off. They also ruin the suspense that comes from a great romance.
Pervasive strong profanity, gruesome gore, detailed abuse of any kind to a child, ridiculous unbelievability in a book that is supposed to be taken seriously, and if it's unengaging.
I think a book is a book If I decide to read it I do it. But if the book has extra sex, like every other page is full of it, it becomes boring.I like a good plot and romance to some point. Characters should be strong and witty. If a book has some incidents which the author wants to be known to readers we can not put the book down just because we think we can not even bear to read it.....we feel too sheltered to even read about it much less do something to help.
I love Colleen Hoover's books which have decent amount of tragic and romantic moments....she has the talent to point out gruesome details of the society in a way reader feels engrossed.
The most important thing about the book you read is, it should have the power to grasp your interest and make you feel every single emotion the characters are feeling....
Dorottya wrote: "To be honest, I am that type of a masochistic person that strives to finish a book even if it is bad, because I feel as if I cannot make a good opinion of it until I have read it."I'm with you, not because I can't form an opinion of whether it's good or bad, but I'm OCD about finishing the books/stories I start. I may skim-read if something turns out to be really awful, but I do finish.
I can say one thing I DETEST in stories is poor editing. I recently read a book where a character's bulge became a bugle. Though I could see how "bugle" may have fit in the scene almost as a malaprop, it was just one typo among many. I get that editors can't catch everything -- heck, I even have to re-edit postings I make because I notice something later as I reread it -- but numerous typos and poor grammar drive me crazy, most especially when authors/editors don't know the difference between subjective and objective pronouns (e.g. Him and his friend were...; ...They came to the party with John and I...; etc.) I get that characters sometimes speak in the vernacular. I'm talking about unintentionally poor grammar.
I read a series of stories about a family. The stories and characters were engaging enough for me to read 10 entries to the series, but the author's grammar and editing were horrendous -- at least in the editions I read. I started keeping a list of things to put into a review, but it was so long after the first bundle of stories that I gave up. However, even that wasn't enough to make me stop reading the series -- again, partly because I finish what I start and partly because other than the horrible editing, the stories were very good. There is a follow-up series that I want to read featuring the family's next generation, but I've "back-burnered" it because of the first's problems.
