Refuse to be defeated or refuse to waste your time?

[Jenny, honorary mod - inactive]

When I start reading a book I HAVE to finish it no matter how much I dislike it! Does anyone else have this habit? Or are you sensible and refuse to have your time wasted by a rubbish book?

[The Book Whisperer (aka Boof)]

I used to, but now I'm really, really picky. So many books, so little time. If a book hasn't grabbed me by 50-100 pages (sometimes shorter) I abandon it - there are quite a few books that end up in my book graveyard. There are plenty out there that are more deserving of my attention :o)

[Melissa]

I'm pretty stubborn, so I usually refuse to put it down. But, lately, since there are so many books that I want to read, I might set it off to the side for a while with every intention of picking it back up again. Doesn't always happen, though, and I can't say it makes me sad to not finish a book that I just think sucks.

[Jenny, honorary mod - inactive]

Luckily I haven't read a crappy book lately. not one I've loathed any way! Maybe in the future I will be less stubborn! (the other half will be happy to hear this :P)

[Julianne]

Nope, I end it. I didn't used to, but...over time I couldn't see wasting my time doing something I didn't enjoy. I found I would read less, then not start another book, and then get bummed that I wasn't making a dent in my TBR list. So now, I "set the book aside to read later..."

Much later.

[Nic]

Yes, i too suffer from this habit! i have wasted many precious hours reading crap!
My problem aside from OCD (!!) is that I cant decide how much of book is enough to judge it ?? I have read some past half way and still not found them enjoyable - surely this is pointless??!! even if the second half is tremendous, (not sure where that word came from!) the book is still more pain than pleasure??
All that said I have started some books, really struggled with them (House of Sleep, Amsterdam for expample) to begin with and then throughly enjoyed them...so sometimes it is worth perservering!

[Jenny, honorary mod - inactive]

That's exactly how I feel. If I don't keep reading am I going to miss the most amazing second half of a book ever written!

[Melissa]

Jenny, I made that mistake with The Memory Keeper's Daughter (holding out, hoping that there would be a fabulous second half -- I was sorely disappointed) and decided I'll never do it again.

[Melanie]

Melissa - So did I!

Now I usually give up on a book if I find myself doing other things to avoid reading it.

[Melissa]

Melanie, glad I'm not the only one!

Yeah, I figure, if I've added three more books to the pile of ones that I've started, there's no need to finish reading the one I initially started with, as I'm obviously avoiding it!

[Heather]

Jenny & Melissa,

I am also in your boat. I absolutely hate to put down a book, no matter how awful it is. I have read a couple of horrors this year so far, and no matter what I just had to finish it. Ex. Wideacre by Philippa Gregory. I HATED this book, but I kept reading it (yes, all 600 or so pages) just because I wanted to make sure the horrible main character died a horribly painful death. I just wish I could put these books down and toss them away, but I always have to finish them otherwise I feel like I have just wasted my time and accomplished nothing.

[Jenny, honorary mod - inactive]

The Historian was the one I really should have put down. That was over 600 pages long as well. I only read it less than a year ago and can't remember any of it apart from the beginning (the only good bit in my eyes)!!

[Cecily]

I agree absolutely with the opening comment about going to the end no matter what. But a week or so I broke that rule for the first time since I tried to read the Hobbit when I was about 8 (I have read it since). I already had a Goodreads bookshelf called Overrated, but I created a new one called Avoid, which has just one book: Summer Things by Joseph Connolly.

I'm trying not to feel guilty! LOL

[Terri]

Oh dear! I'm afraid if a book doesn't grab me within a few chapters, maybe 100 pages but maybe less, I'll give up on it! I have way too many books on my TBR pile to be wasting time on a book I'm not enjoying!

[Stephanie]

Wow its nice to know I'm not the only obsessive one...once I start I have to finish even if I really don't like the book. Sad but true!

[Maurean]

I gotta weigh in with Suzie here, and say I usually end my suffering if the book hasn't grabbed me by about 100 pages or so....however, if the book is only 200 pages or so to begin with, then I have this *need* to finish it off...so maybe I'm somewhere in the middle (just like my politics, LoL)

[Beth]

I used to force myself to finish a book no matter how much I disliked it. Two years ago I came to the conclusion that there are just too many good books out there to waste my time reading something I really don't care for.

[Mads]

I usually get distracted and start another book, so I don't really stop reading the difficult one, I just set it aside until later. I'm trying to let go of the books I haven't gotten to in years, though.

I'm also really bad with series. There are times when I absolutely MUST finish a series, even if I don't like the latest book; I read Twilight, and thought it was fun fluff I shouldn't take seriously, then read the next two and strongly disliked them. Even though I don't care for the series now, I still feel obligated to read Breaking Dawn.

[Jenny, honorary mod - inactive]

A series is probably the only thing I can go without finishing. I've only read the first three Harry Potter books :S shame on me. I've still not finished Lord of the Rings either!

[Kipahni]

If the book is not capturing my attention around pg.100 I have a bad habit of reading the last chapter to find out the ending. If it doesn't make sense I go to the chapter before the last one and read that and so on until I can satisfy my curiosity enough and feel like I didn't waste my time.

[Mads]

I just about died when my mother told me that she'd read the end of the fifth Harry Potter book before finishing it, but for some reason I was okay with reading the Lord of the Rings out of order...Maybe I'll have to try that, Kipahni, it may save me a lot of grief!