The Sword and Laser discussion
Giving Up for the First Time
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I think my first "gave up" was Mistress of Mistresses by E.R. Eddison, I tried reading IT a couple of times because it's supposed to be a classic. But never got very far, it just doesn't work for me.But my biggest disappoinment was recent - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. This has been so hyped up, and I liked his SF so much, that I was really disappointed to find it too boring to finish. It's very long, and after what would be half of a normal novel nothing has happened (apart from a taster in the Prologue). I just couldn't keep plodding on.
I know I'm in a tiny minority, and everyone else raves about it. I wish I could see it, but I just can't. (And I managed to finish the whole of the first Thomas Covenant trilogy, so I'm no wimp...)
The first - and as far as I can remember only - book I gave up was Thomas Pynchon's "Against the Day". I read 400 pages and it was a pain and then I realized I had no idea what had happened 50 pages before so at one point I just had to stop.I might give it another chance if it comes out for Kindle. I tend to read better on the Kindle, so who knows.
I nearly gave up on Vanity Fair, but somehow I made it through. I still don't know how I did that.
You know I can't recall actually giving up on a book, more a slowly forgetting to continue reading as I continued to read other books or picked up new ones. I know it amounts to the same thing, but I always have the intention of finishing everything I start, even those I don't like.
Not sure if it's the first, but the most memorable is "Lord Foul's Bane" by Stephen Donaldson. A friend gave me the entire series in paperback ages ago. I've tried reading the first book five times and have never finished it. Sad, because the first chapter is excellent.
I used to be quite a "completionist" and "slogged through" every book I started. But I'm getting older now and so my rule of thumb is I give a book 50 pages...then another 50 if it is "okay". But if I'm not liking it by then I realize I never will so I give up completely.
I excel at giving up on books. I think it's like channel surfing on tv. How long will you give a show before you change the channel?
I have always finished books until this year. It never occurred to me to quit until I heard someone say on a podcast that they gave a book 100 pages. Reading used to be very hard for me when I started, many decades ago. So my habit has always been: if I start I must finish. I love my new freedom. So many books, so little time. If it doesn't work for me, move on!
Spook Country was weird. Not the best of the three, that is for sure. Zero History is better though, but from your critique of Spook, that probably doesn't mean that much.
I don't usually give up on a book but there have been a few books that I found so boring that I could not finish them. The last was The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert Heinlein. I know it is a sci fi classic and I have given it multiple chances but I just can't get through this book. To be honest I don't really care for any of Heinlein's writings. It makes me feel like a real crappy sci fi fan to admit that.
I know a lot of people that stopped at book five or six of the Wheel of Times. They told me that is when the series became boring.
I don't think it's our responsibility as readers to "persevere" through a book: rather, I think it's the writer's job to give us enough to keep us interested.I "give up" on books all the time. I'll never read Ulysses.
Until my later teens I considered it a point of honour to always finish - perhaps there would be something to redeem any book before the end. Then I had an epiphany; life's too short for bad books. I was reading Interview With The Vampire. I think I made it to page 100 or so. Sometimes I'm just not gelling with a book so put it aside, but if I actively dislike it I'll usually give it 50-100 pages to turn around.However, a bad book isn't the same as a book that's hard work. I may need to be in the mood work at a difficult book, but the difference is they are worth the effort.
Two books for me:1. "Bourne Ultimatum", this was before I learned that the movies had nothing to do with the books aside from the original premis. I used to love books by Jack Higgins and similar but this one just seemed to hit every single cliché nerv for me.
2. "The Handmaiden's Tale", I loved Oryx and Crake but when I started reading Handmaiden's Tale I only got halfway through before I gave up. The book wasn't so much a story as a premis. I'm told had I stuck it out a few dozen more pages things would have started to actually happen but there was nothing, and I do emphasize nothing, in that book that made me feel to continue would be worth my time. I was just getting into George R. R. Martin as well.
Colin wrote: "Spook Country was weird. Not the best of the three, that is for sure. Zero History is better though, but from your critique of Spook, that probably doesn't mean that much."So funny, I had the opposite experience. Spook Country was okay, Pattern Recognition was enjoyable, Zero History made me mourn the Gibson of Neuromancer.
Books I've abandoned are plenty, because I only give a book 50 pages to catch me, maybe 100 if someone SWEARS it is worth it.
Books I remember giving up:
Wetlands (if this is post-feminism, ugh, no thanks)
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (because books about people using drugs really aren't that interesting to people not using drugs)
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (great story, terrible, terrible writing)
Last Night in Twisted River (too bad I won this from GoodReads, since I never finished it, I think I've been blacklisted from any more free books... I read a good 75 pages about logging and gave up)
The first book I can remember giving up on was The Lord of the Rings back in middle school. After loving the Hobbit, I started reading LotR and thought "man, I hate Frodo. I wanted to hear more about Bilbo!". I came back to it a few years later and absolutely loved it. I try to look at books that way now; if I don't love it, I'll quit and maybe come back to it later once my perspective has changed.
I'm dangerously close to quitting Reamde at 50% because I keep getting sidetracked by other books, most recently The Making of Prince of Persia. That's the worst way to quit a book to me: simply forgetting to finish it.
The first book I remember is John Grisham's A Time to Kill. I kinda figured it out and said to myself, I already know what's going to happen so why bother. I tried 2 times to read Da Vinci Code and could not get through because it was in my mind the same book as Angels and Demons. Most recently, I gave up on a Biography of Sammy the Bull Gravano. I just found that I had no more interested reading about a gentleman that I did not like. I like Jared's idea of taking another look at it later. Maybe in the future. But right now there are way too many good ones to read.
I gave up reading Perdido Street Station (China Miéville, of course) after about...5 pages. I'm fine and encourage elaborate use of language but this seemed...overwrought. After an immaculate description of a guy scratching a grub out of his butt, I decided that I'd had enough.I also stopped reading after about 5-10 pages of Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead. It just wasn't what I was looking for in a book at the time.
Jason G wrote: "I gave up reading Perdido Street Station (China Miéville, of course) after about...5 pages. I'm fine and encourage elaborate use of language but this seemed...overwrought. After an immaculate description of a guy scratching a grub out of his butt, I decided that I'd had enough..."Aww, you missed him having sex with his insect wife.
Tamahome wrote: "Aww, you missed him having sex with his insect wife."He..what?!?
I have one on my bookshelf that still has a bookmark in it so I haven't given up on it yet, How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday. If I have given up on other books I don't remember them at all. I usually force myself to finish reading books even if I hate them.
I've heard almost nothing but great things about Neal Stephenson. So I decided I wanted to check out his work. I did a lot of research, and to me it seemed The Baroque Cycle was his most celebrated achievement. Yeah, I couldn't get through Quicksilver. I was listening to it via an Audible credit, maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe if I had actually read it things would have worked out different. But I just couldn't follow it.I even restarted the Audio Book and listened to everything again. Maybe I'm dumb, and it was just all way to over my head. It just seemed like if you didn't have a general understanding of this time period, specifically who invented calculus, then you had no business enjoying this book.
Anyway, I've slogged my way through a great many books, but this was the first one I couldn't finish. And I really wanted to like it. Because of Quicksilver I haven't even attempted to read any of Stephenson's other books, and I totally have a copy of Cryptonomicon sitting on my bookshelf, because I found it for like 2 bucks at a used book store way before I read Quicksilver.
If anyone has any other suggestions as to where I should start with Stephenson, fire away. Maybe I'll give it a shot. I always thought the premise of Snow Crash sounded kind of cool.
-Phillip
Phillip - I felt the same way. I felt stupid, and that the author wanted me to feel that way. Snow Crash is my favorite, absolutely.
I gave up on my first book in a LONG time yesterday. I almost never give up on books but I just couldn't keep reading it. I actually felt a little bit of remorse on giving up the book - I had committed a good bit of time to it at that point and I would not know how it ended.Today though I feel good, I can transition to a new book that I might enjoy and reading will not be a chore. Relief and remorse in one action... Odd but interesting.
Phillip wrote: "I've heard almost nothing but great things about Neal Stephenson. So I decided I wanted to check out his work. I did a lot of research, and to me it seemed The Baroque Cycle was his most celebrat..."Cryptonomicon may be my favorite book ever. I really liked Snow Crash too.
Boots wrote: "I have one on my bookshelf that still has a bookmark in it so I haven't given up on it yet, How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday. If I hav..."
Ooh, that totally reminded me that I too have a book with a bookmark still in it. I'm 80 pages from the end of Atlas Shrugged and can't bear to finish it. It's been almost 10 years now, so I'm guessing I never will. Anyone who's read that book probably realizes the part I'm in the middle of.
Jared wrote: "Phillip wrote: "I've heard almost nothing but great things about Neal Stephenson. So I decided I wanted to check out his work. I did a lot of research, and to me it seemed The Baroque Cycle was h..."I have to agree, I love Cryptonomicon - although perhaps Snow Crash or the also superb The Diamond Age may be less daunting for a Stephenson newbie. I keep thinking about reading Atlas Shrugged, but really am not sure I could take it...
Jason, I'm currently re-reading Perdido Street Station and I had forgotten quite how rich the language is - Mieville's writing has certainly become sparser, although far from the spare, crisp language of many modern writers - but I do think it works wonderfully in the gothic, grotesque setting.
I made it through Quicksilver just fine, but the subsequent books in the Baroque cycle alternated between being interesting and being a chore. I felt like Neal really needed a firmer editor. I absolutely loved Cryptonomicon, enjoyed Quicksilver, but man...The Confusion almost made me give up on the series.My first China Mieville book was "The City and The City," and his took some getting used to. I might be the only person who didn't begin at Perdido Street Station. It was dense, but at no point did I want to abandon it. Partly because my job has made me feel like I'm getting dumber and dumber, I was determined to decipher his style. About a third of the way through, I had made the mental adjustments and found it much easier to read. Less complex but still similar, I also had to spend about a third of "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell" just getting used to the style. Once I did, it was a much more fluid read.
Some day I will push through Spook Country, grim death march that it may be. But now every time I see Zero History, I sort of rear back like Frankenstein's Monster yelling "Fire bad!"
I hated the "Song of Fire and Ice" books when I was reading them. Only got half way through the 3rd book and vowed to never read them again. Now I am listening to them on audio books. I can't stop listening to them. Quitting on a book half way through is rare for me.
"Tamahome wrote: "Aww, you missed him having sex with his insect wife."Well, that made it to the top of the READ pile right there!
The first book I can remember giving up on was Twilight. I know,I know, but my girlfriend loved it and we usually have similar tastes in books. Not that time.Since then, though, I've been more willing to give up on books I couldn't stand, or found boring. I've given up on Lord of the Rings trilogy (and I don't feel bad about it one bit) and I too have given up on Spook Country. I just couldn't get interested.
There are a few others I've dropped the hammer on since. I'm less reluctant to give up these days, because, hey, time is short and there are better books out there that I'll enjoy. No point slogging through something just to say I did it.
I stop reading books all the time. Sometimes I'll go back to them and other times I'll never feel the pull. I read SFF for pleasure. If it is not fun, I'm not going to waste my time with it.
I think we all have given up on a book or two (or three or four...) through the years. It doesn't necessarily mean you think the book sucks. Sometimes, for whatever reason, you don't get pulled in or, especially it it is a long novel, you lose the momentum and just have to drop out of the race. It happens. This topic would make a great confessional: books we started but just couldn't finish!
If I cant get into as book after 100 pages, I typically stop. There are too many good books waiting to be read. I even have a goodreads folder called Started But Didnt Finish
I rage quit "The Help" about a quarter of the way through it. Outside of that I cannot recall the last time I didn't finish a book. I'll quit a series, but usually, even if I hate a book I'll get through the end just so I don't have to hear someone tell me that the ending saves it.
Jared wrote: "Boots wrote: "I have one on my bookshelf that still has a bookmark in it so I haven't given up on it yet, [book:How to Argue & Win Every Time: At Home, At Work, In Court, Everywhere, Everyday|89539..."Ha-ha I read that and I decided that only someone as charming as Gerry Spence can actually win every time. But I thought it was an entertaining book.
I have a sometimes started a book and not finished because it was due back at the library- but I consider that just like putting a bookmark in -- I intend to finish it later.
Two books I put down after the first couple of pages and have no regrets: Twilight and The Help.
The language in The Help just didn't ring true to me. And frankly, Twilight was one of most poorly written things I've ever picked up-- and I don't see why YA fiction can't at least be well-written.
Tina wrote: "Twilight was one of most poorly written things I've ever picked up-- and I don't see why YA fiction can't at least be well-written, ..."It CAN, but Twilight is horrifyingly bad.
I *almost* didn't finish The Shipping News-- I got to about chapter 9 before it all came together, and then I loved the book. So sometimes I think it's worth it to persevere (but I also want to enjoy the journey).
I can't say that I have ever given up on a book, but I have given up on more than a couple of series. I read the Wheel of Time up to Book 11 (should have given up at book 5 and 6 like everyone else). I could not go on to Book 12. I also could not finish Anne Rice's Vampire series.
I have never completely given up on a book. For me, it's the completionist compulsion. However, it's been a very close call several times. If the book is about something I just can't stand, I'll try to find something else about it that redeems it. I simply hate not finishing.Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood for the book I'm reading. I'll put the book down and come back to it later. That was the case on 4 separate occasions with The Gunslinger. I finally finished it (and the rest of the Dark Tower series) last year. It took me to be in the right frame of mind to get into it. I'm VERY glad I did.
I also didn't finish The Lord of the Rings the first 2 times I tried. I got to Tom Bombadil and couldn't continue the first time. I don't think I made it that far the second time. Finally, in college I finished it and really enjoyed it.
As you said, I think some books you just have to come back to. I didn't overly like The Gunslinger the first time I read it and didn't go on to the others. Debated it a few times, though.
I rarely give up on books, but I do it more now than I used to. I have a lot less time for reading (going from being a student to being a full-time working mother of 2) so my reading time should be spent on something I like!I recently gave up on Think of a Number, I was listening to it on audio, and it suceeded in annoying AND boring me so much that I gave up after about 30 min.
Others, well Marked - just SO badly written, and Lord of the Rings. As a long time roleplayer and fantasy fan I was really looking forward to reading this classic, but it was so slow paced that I just couldn't be bothered - I saw the movies instead.
I've also decided that Bret Easton Ellis' books are not for me, way to twisted and depressing.
And I gave up on Absalom, Absalom! - books where you have to read several other sources to have an inkling what they are about, aren't for me!
I couldn't get all the way through Lord of the Rings the first time I tried it. But, then again, I was 9 at the time. I came back to it a few years later and have read it a couple of times since.Off the top of my head, though, I can think of four books that I started but intentionally stopped reading (see if you can see a pattern here):
The Scarlet Letter
Little Women
Gone With the Wind (although I really would like to go back to this one. I was enjoying it, I just couldn't bring myself to take it to school when I was in 10th grade)
David Copperfield
I don't know of any SF/F books that I've started and not finished. I've had to fight through some (The Baroque Cycle, for example) but they turned out to be totally worth the time and effort.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Marked (other topics)Think of a Number (other topics)
The Lord of the Rings (other topics)
The Gunslinger (other topics)
The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (other topics)
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But today I'm giving up on a book for the first time. And what pains me the most is that it's a book from one of my favorite authors. Pegging William Gibson as a game changer, both in general and for my personal tastes, is nothing new. Since I first read Neuromancer in 1990, I've been a huge Gibson fan. I've loved every book up to and including Pattern Recognition.
But Spook Country has done me in. A third of the way through, i just can't go any further. It's terrible. Maybe it would have been a good blog post about someone's art show, but as a novel, it's like reading Gibson does Devil Wears Prada. I couldn't stand it. And I am giving up on it.
For those who have done it, what's the first book you couldn't finish? Was it a new to you author, or was it a stabbing disappointment from an author who had done great work in the past? Did you ever return to finish the book you abandoned?