When to Ditch a book?

[Vanessa]

I've been reading A Visit from the Goon Squad lately and I just can't get into it. The only discussions I see on the challenge page for the book are positive so I can't figure out what I'm missing. Of course I don't expect to see much negativity there, I figure people think the author will be more likely to see their posts there. So here is my question to all of you. After how many pages, or a certain % of the book, should a person throw in the towel? What is an acceptable amount for saying 'okay this book is no good, lets move on to the next one'? I've hardly done any reading this past week and it's because I just started chapter 3....

The only other books I've ever tossed were Catch-22 and Jane Eyre. The first I tried 3 times and got as far as page 76, and the latter I just didn't understand what she was saying so after about 10 pages I gave up. Though I plan to try that one again since they just made a movie.

I also made a poll for anyone that would prefer to answer there. http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/50...

[Brenna]

Depends on how bad it is. Some books, I don't make it past the first chapter. Others...I give it three or four. I keep hesitating at going back to Twilight. Friends I trust tell me the last two books are MUCH better than the first two, but I'm not sure I could ever make it past the first chapter or two of the first book.

[Mairead]

Brenna, the third book is great, but I don't think Breakind Dawn is fantastic in any regard.
The best are Twilight and Eclipse.
If a book starts to infuriate me big time, I leave it down and never let it darken my doorway again.

[AH]

I generally try to read the first 100 pages of a book, just to give it a chance. Sometimes the world building can be a little complicated and I find that usually by page 100 I can tell if I will finish a book or not. If it is a first book in a series, I tend to give it more leeway than a standalone book.

I think I have 2 books on my dnf shelf. One book was well written, but I just could not get into it. The other was an audio book and I kept getting distracted while listening to it.

Re the Twilight books, if you can't get into them, move on. There are many great books out there. I loved the Twilight series (hated the second book until Edward made his reappearance), was ambivalent to New Moon until Edward made his reappearance. I've moved on to more interesting books.

[Mairead]

I generally give it until page 42, and if I'm not interested after that, then it's kaput.
I know it's specific, but I just always look out for the 42nd page.

[Sandra J]

I'm usually willing to give a book a chapter to get going. It doesn't necessarily have to be compelling, just interesting enough to make me want to keep going. If I'm not sure, I skip to page 100 and read that (just that). If I'm interested enough to find out how the characters got where they are, I'll go back to the beginning and give it another shot. There are too many good books out there to waste time on one that doesn't really capture my interest.

[Shawna]

If I paid full price for the book or it's by an author I love, I'll finish it no matter how bad it is. If I got it for free and I can't get into it, I'll stop after the first chapter and move on.

[Joseph]

I read at a pretty good clip, about 100 pages an hour on average, so if I feel like it is too much of a fight to get that far in one hour of reading and I'm just not enjoying the read, I often dump it.

[Michelle(Chelle) aka Nightshade - Cake Whisperer]

I personally have only run into a handful of books that were so bad that I had to stop reading them. Bonfire of the Vanities being the worst book I have ever held in my hand and I gave it my all reading well past 200 pages before throwing in the towel.

I have been pleasantly surprised when I kept at a book that I wasn't sure of and ended up loving the book and reading all in the series. Two such examples were The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which took well over 100 pages to get into but was well worth it and Mistress of the Art of Death - I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this series but it was definitley a slow start in book One.

[Dee]

I normally do 20% of the book...unless someone has told me that there is a certain turning point (i.e. GWTDT)...

[Sandy]

I usually read about 50 or 60 pages. If I still haven't gotten into the book then I'll go onto something else.

[Joyce]

I usually try to get to at least the 5th chapter. I figure most of the world building and character creating should be done by then and the story should start. I have only a handful of books that I haven't made it through and it sucks that some people rave about them and I can't get into them but it happens. Don't sweat the small stuff.

[Teresa]

I give it 25% to hook me and then give up. I also give up if reading it is painful or causing me to dread reading.

[Laura]

My OCD doesn't let me put down a book :( . However, I would give till about half way through. I have had plenty of books turn around on me, and turn out to be much better than I originally thought.

[Desiree M ~*~*~]

It depends on the length of the book but I usually try to make it to pg 75 before I give up completely.

There are of course a few that I just can't stand to read any more and I stop before then.

[Karen ~ Divhine]

I try for half-way, but if it does not hold my attention, I will skim the book to find out how it ends.

[Lisa M]

I'm with Karen~Divhine. I read about half the book before deciding. If I'm not into it, then I skip or skim to the end.

[A book away from an episode of hoarders]

Mairead wrote: "I generally give it until page 42, and if I'm not interested after that, then it's kaput.
I know it's specific, but I just always look out for the 42nd page."

I know by the 84th page whether I'm going to continue the book or not.

If it hasn't grabbed me by then, I'll give up and move on to another book.

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer)]

I always like to give it at least 10o pages regardless of how much I spent on it.
I use to finish all the books that I started and then recently I decided that was just a waste of time when I could be reading something I love instead. The last book I made myself finish was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I had a really hard time getting through it but everyone kept saying how good it was so I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt.

[Cee]

If the book is really, really bad, I will give up reading within 20 pages. If it's just very slow, but the writing itself is good, I'll stick with it till proximately page 100.

[La La]

I generally won't give up on a book unless reading it is an extremely painful chore. I usually give till about the halfway mark after that I'll usually do a skim job just so I can say I read it. Sometimes I find that I'm just not in the mood for a certain book and will revisit it later. Many times that book becomes one of my favorites.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ]

Depends on the book. I always give it at least one chapter. If it's truely horrid by that point, why bother. If I just havn't gotten into it yet, I'll give it another 1 or 2 chapters. By then I'm about 50 pages in at least if not more. If I still don't care by that point, no point continuing reading. It's really rare, but I have quit reading half or 2/3rds through a book if it truely is a pain. lol

[Lizbeth]

A book has to be reeeeaaallly bad or boring for me not to finish it.

But normally I give it half of the book and if it hasn't peaked my interest I just don't finish it.


Unless it's really, really, really bad then I read as much as I can take until I feel like my brain is going to shrivel up.

[Kiersten]

When to Ditch a book?
Lizbeth wrote: "A book has to be reeeeaaallly bad or boring for me not to finish it. "

ஐ Briansgirl "Book Sale Queen"ஐ wrote: "I always give it at least one chapter. If it's truely horrid by that point, why bother. "


I agree with both of you. If the first chapter doesn't hook me I'm done. But If the first chapter is good and the rest of the book sucks, I almost always have to finish it. I might do a ton of skipping but I need that ending.

[Katie]

Wow, I have finished every book i've started. I have only come across 2 that were hard to finish, but i have to know how the story ends regardless.

[Rayna]

im a glutton for punishment.......there has only been one book that i have stopped reading after the first few chapters and i still feel guilty about it! and what erks me the most is it was one of the more expensive hardcovers ive bought!

[Vanessa]

Thanks for all your input guys. I can see both sides of the spectrum which is why I'm so torn. I am afraid I might be missing out on something great if I don't finish it, plus I've already started. There have been so many books where I hated the beginning or thought they were poorly written (Twilight for example). At the same time I agree with everyone too that there are so many 'other' great books out there why waste my time with something I don't like. The problem is knowing weather or not the end makes it all worth it. I have crystal ball syndrome I guess.

@Laura - I think I have OCD too, lol, makes it hard for me to throw in the towel on this one.

@Rayna_FantasY_BecOmes_ReaLitY - I know what you mean about the guilt. I don't feel so bad about Catch 22 since I did try 3 times. I finally gave it to my Grandpa and told him to make sure I never see it again ^_^

[Henna]

There is one book I've not finished this far - Paradise Lost (just because the language was so hard to read for someone who isn't speaking English as first language). I usually read book to end just so that I can say I read it and therefore I can have an opinion about the whole book. But then again haven't read really a book that is totally outside of my genre or that was honestly too bad to continue to end.

[Katie]

I'm still trying to convince myself to give GWTDT some more attention (the movie helped - a little) Unfortunately the ones that deserve to get ditched are the ones my fiancee has decided to give me so....

[Temperamental Angel]

I'm like Laura... I can't just not finish a book, even if I really really hate it. Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire being one of those... I meen, come on... 3 chapters in an hole book??? it really pissed me of. But I read it anyway

[Vicci]

I think if you keep finding reasons not to pick it back up and you read at least 3 other books before attempting to read that unfinished one; then maybe it's time to just set it aside.

[jD]

I give 3rd person POV more time to grab me than a 1st person narrative. 1st person narrative told by someone with an annoying inner voice or is just plain stupid is a quick turn off, 50 pages tops.

[Susan]

I really hate giving up on a book, but if its really bad I try to at least get through a hundred pages. If it hasn't grabbed me by then, I doubt it will.

[ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ]

The last book I remember struggling with was The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Now it was a great movie starring Sean Connery. lol So I thought I'd like the book. However, the mystery doesn't even start until several chapters in, so you're bored long before then. And the author at times did stuff like take 3 pages to describe the gate to the abbey before they entered. I'm not kidding. Perhaps it helped that I already knew the ending from the movie, making it easier to put it down, but the author was just too tedious in his writing and after struggling for a month I just gave up.

[Dee]

I just ditched Land of the Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel - after struggling for nearly 3 weeks and only being 35% of the way done...it was time for it to go

[Missyb]

Vanessa wrote: "I've been reading A Visit from the Goon Squad lately and I just can't get into it. The only discussions I see on the challenge page for the book are positive so I can't figure out wh..."

Putting is down and reading something else then coming back to it may help. As you mentioned, after trying 3 times to get into the book, give it up and ditch it. Sometimes it's just not the right time

[Missyb]

I would say to put the book away, read some others and then try it again. Read about 100 - 125 pages, it should give you enough time for things to start to pick up. If you've put a book up 2 or 3 times and maybe even given it 7 or 8 months in between, then ditch it.

[Missyb]

Michelle wrote: "I personally have only run into a handful of books that were so bad that I had to stop reading them. Bonfire of the Vanities being the worst book I have ever held in my hand and I gave it my all r..."

I started Drink of Me by J. Frank back in the winter, and gave up on it. It was so so but dragged. Eventually I think I'll give it another shot, but sometimes a book just doesn't cut it. I read the first book by Kate McCallister and started the 2nd and gave up on it. I think that one was more because it had nothing to do with the first book, yet it was a series, and I purchased the whole series.

[Vanessa]

Missyb wrote: "I would say to put the book away, read some others and then try it again. Read about 100 - 125 pages, it should give you enough time for things to start to pick up. If you've put a book up 2 or 3 ..."

This sounds like a good idea. Though each time I would have to start from the beginning again since I have the memory of a goldfish. I'm still on Chapter three >.< I might force myself to read it for an hour tonight and see if it picks up or not.

[[deleted user]]

I will read to the bitter end, and I've been pleasantly surprised. A friend recently told me Discovery of Witches had this affect on her.

Sometimes finishing a book can be so arduous and exhausting that there's this kind of sweet relief when I get to the end. But I'm talking boring books. Like the history of calculus and stuff the husband likes us to read together. :)

[Danyelle]

I will try to read to the end but if it there i not even 1 good part before pg 100 of at lest half way I dich it

[[deleted user]]

By "good part" do you mean or just, ya know, something interesting? :)

Danyelle wrote: "I will try to read to the end but if it there i not even 1 good part before pg 100 of at lest half way I dich it"

[Danyelle]

Cecilia wrote: "By "good part" do you mean or just, ya know, something interesting? :)

Danyelle wrote: "I will try to read to the end but if it there i not even 1 good part before pg 100 of at lest half way I d..."

Cecilia wrote: "By "good part" do you mean or just, ya know, something interesting? :)

Danyelle wrote: "I will try to read to the end but if it there i not even 1 good part before pg 100 of at lest half way I d..."

well....I read teen and adult so for teen-interesting for Adult I alway read tell the end becouse it never gets boring ;)

[Lauren]

If a book isn't grabbing me I put it aside and read something else and then go back to it and read a chapter or two. I repeat this once or twice and if it still isn't going anywhere then I ditch it. I try not to force myself to read books I'm not enjoying. There are so many good books and so little time.

[Zuany]

If I started the book, I really try to finish it. If I really hate it, I ask someone that's read it if there's something in it that's worth reading. Depending on the answer I make my decision.

[Aimee]

I have to say I've quit on page one. I've quit on page 2, 10 and 100. You'd think if I made it to 100 I would have kept going, but if I'm not being pulled in and reminded why I'm reading and learning from the characters, I'm just done for. Then again, just like in food (where I am a particularly picky eater) I am particularly picky reader. I only have a smidgen of time in my day, I want to spend it with a story and characters that won't leave my head alone. :) So I gotta love 'em right from the start. :)

[Jacquel]

I am very peculiar of what I like to read. If a book fails to hold my interest after the first 3 pages, then it's not worth reading at all.

[Eliza]

An author friend once gave me excellent advice...it't one thing to have wasted your money; it's another mistake to waste your time.

I follow that advice now. Thank you Frank Strunk

[Jessica]

It depends on what's going on. If it's boring me to tears, I'll quit pretty fast. If it's feels like it's taking too long to get to the point, I'll try to hang in there. I'll ditch boring or annoying characters pretty quickly. Sometimes if it's just not grabbing me, I'll cheat and skim ahead a little to see if things are picking up.

[Adriana]

Jessica wrote: "It depends on what's going on. If it's boring me to tears, I'll quit pretty fast. If it's feels like it's taking too long to get to the point, I'll try to hang in there. I'll ditch boring or ann..."
i feel the same i dump a book when it takes too long to get to the action when its too damm boring that it literally takes you one week to read a chapter cus its not interesting enough to actually pick it up and read then i dump it.....or skip straight to the end to see what happens but this has to be a really boring book for me to do this....