Have you ever given up reading a book in the middle?

[Connie]

Not very often, but some I just can't get through if they are poorly edited or the subject matter is not what I am interested in. Too much horror will definitely make me stop.

[Skye]

Connie: I am the same: too much gore, I stop reading.

[David]

Several times.

I try to finish every book I start but some are just so bad for one reason or another I can't stand to reach another page.

The last two were Nelson DeMille's The Gold Coast and Joe Haldeman's Work Done For Hire.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a midwinter break)]

Twice recently; and both Harlan Coben novels - Six Years and Long Lost. Really enjoyed The Woods, so don't know what has gone wrong there.....

[Connie]

I am reading SIX YEARS right now and I think it is good so far, but I have only read 30 pages or so.

[Donald]

This was one I could not finish, Cry of the Fish Eagle by Peter Rimmer. My review,http://gutreactionreviews.com/2014/06...

[Will]

I gave up on Creole Belle by James Lee Burke. It was the first Burke novel that I read. I got about one-third into the book and lost interest. I've always heard good things about him as an author. I didn't like the Louisiana setting, reading the Creole accents and the characters (contrived). Just not my cup of tea.

[[deleted user]]

No. I am a nosy person by nature and I would just keep wondering what happened. Even if I didn't like it, I just have to know how it ended. Then I can complain.

[Renee]

Oh, you've all made me feel better! Good Omens was one of mine that I felt terrible about not loving enough to finish. Sigh, I am not as morally or intellectually stunted as I thought I was.

I take comfort in the words of Nancy Pearl, author and librarian. Basically, she says life is short and there are more books than we can read in a lifetime as it is.

Has anyone put down a book after too many grammar indiscretions or typos?

[Ashley]

@Renee exactly my thinking. Too many books not enough time haha. And yes, I've put down books because the grammar and stuff was not up to snuff. I particularly dislike reading books where authors have added "accents" to the characters. Most notably for me was the butler from Wuthering Heights. I couldn't decipher any of what he was trying to say haha.

[Zoe]

^^ thank you at last someone who find withering heights unintelligible lol

[Malcolm]

I rarely give up in the middle, convinced that even from a narrative which fails to satisfy completely there might be something to learn. I'm a two-books-per-week addict and I can recall only two mid-story bail-outs. One was a novel by Brad Thor whose politics I could no longer swallow. Then two days ago I dropped out of "The Lure of the Falcon" by J Jackson Bentley. I reviewed it and three of his earlier books on Goodreads. I may pick it up again but I felt when confronted with his yarn set in Dubai (a city I know) that I needed a change... badly.

[VickiLee]

At one point in my life I would determinedly complete any book I started. That was simple cussedness. Rather than speeding through the words, exhilarated, I would plod along at a glacial pace. No more. I have only so much time on this mortal coil, and I am determined to use it happily. So, to answer the question, I have indeed tossed books aside half read when I was no longer enjoying the journey.

[Laura]

Yes I have and I should have done so with "Her Fearful Symmetry" I kept hoping it was going to get better. What a mistake!

[Sandysbookaday (taking a midwinter break)]

Renee wrote: "Oh, you've all made me feel better! Good Omens was one of mine that I felt terrible about not loving enough to finish. Sigh, I am not as morally or intellectually stunted as I thought I was.

I ta..."

Yes, but the story wasn't that great either. BUT, I have been known to contact the author and advise them to employ a proofreader (more than once)!

[Trevor]

Frequently. I got to about the last 12 pages of Lucky You by Carl Hiaasen and just never picked it up again. The phrase in my head "I just don't care." But I do struggle with comic fiction...

[Rhian]

I gave up on the girl with the dragon tattoo after 30/50 pages I just couldn't get into it but I'm definitely gonna try again because I've bought the trilogy, also gave up on the executor by jesse kellerman at about 50 pages, it was like one huge intro to the characters and nothing happened, not sure if I'll bother going back to that even tho it kills me not to finish a book

[Trevor]

Tried a couple of times with Jane Austen. Failed.

[Nancy, Co-Moderator]

Mary wrote: "Oh I love Wuthering Heights. It's a love/hate book I've noticed. I'm one who loves it."

me too!

[Nancy, Co-Moderator]

Trevor wrote: "Tried a couple of times with Jane Austen. Failed."

I enjoyed her Northanger Abbey, because I'm a huge gothic fiction fan and this one sort of pokes fun at the genre.

[Chrisl]

Give up in the middle, give up ten pages from finish, give up on the majority I start. After 33 years opening boxes of new library book, I became ruthless.

[Trevor]

Nancy wrote: "Trevor wrote: "Tried a couple of times with Jane Austen. Failed."

I enjoyed her Northanger Abbey, because I'm a huge gothic fiction fan and this one sort of pokes fun at the genre."

Ah, maybe I will try that one. It's not like I'm averse to old, dead, women writers (!) of that period -- loved Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre...

[Renee]

Trevor wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Trevor wrote: "Tried a couple of times with Jane Austen. Failed."

I enjoyed her Northanger Abbey, because I'm a huge gothic fiction fan and this one sort of pokes fun at..."

Austen's Northanger Abbey and Val McDermid's Northanger Abbey are side by side on my night-stand.

I have a cousin in Amsterdam who teaches English lit. She tells me she's never gotten through a Jane Austen novel except Northanger Abbey. I felt like I had her blessing to --at last-- admit that I hadn't and/or couldn't read Jane Austen. She's a professional, right? If she says it's okay then it is okay.

And yes, I love Jane Eyre and Wuthering Height and Silas Marner! Why do we think we're supposed to love Jane Austen too?

[Russell]

Yup. All the time. Usually I can tell right away and stop quickly so as to move on to other good stuff, but sometimes I stick with it a long time because it's a best seller or came so highly recommended. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, for example. I read over 300 pages before finally deciding it was a boring and sometimes offensive piece of junk going nowhere. She won the Pulitzer Prize for that?!

[[deleted user]]

It has happened to me, more than once, but not often. There are those books that do not seem to go anywhere after reading halfway through the book. I don't like it when that happens, I feel like I'm being cheated. Especially when the book I'm reading isn't really my genre, I get frustrated when I don't like the way the plot lines are going. Sometimes, I think it's better to give up reading the entire book than proceed when my heart isn't into it.

Ruth Ford Elward
Author of Diverse Mysteries

[Sue]

I have finished many a book that I shouldn't have but lately I've become picky. A couple of years ago I gave up on Gumbo Limbo...title more interesting than book. Also abandoned Killing Mr. Watson which I never should have started but a friend insisted. True crime can be too slow and redundant.

[Malina]

Yes a few, I can remember giving up on
American Pastoral
The Casual Vacancy
And others

[John]

Yes, I've done it, but I hate given up on a book. I agonize over it for days, if if I continue to feel that way then I just stop reading it.

[Daniel]

just this year with Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes. I found myself wincing at how painful it was to read a bad book from a "master."

[Sue]

Interesting you mention The Casual Vacancy, Malina. I picked that up at the library as an audio book to listen to in the car on a trip. I agree that it was very slow and disjointed. But I continued listening because I continued driving and eventually I involved with the characters.

[Tom]

Malina wrote: "Yes a few, I can remember giving up on
American Pastoral
The Casual Vacancy
And others"

The Casual Vacancy was a tough read in the beginning. There were so many characters it was hard to keep everyone straight. Once I figured it out though it was awesome. I think I gave it 5 stars

[Malina]

Tom wrote: "Malina wrote: "Yes a few, I can remember giving up on
American Pastoral
The Casual Vacancy
And others"

The Casual Vacancy was a tough read in the begin..."

Hmm maybe I'll give it a second chance, I read about 100 pages and couldn't keep going, I disliked every single character!

[Tom]

right. and you will.

[Malina]

Tom wrote: "right. and you will."

Ok, I'll take your word for it , good thing I have this one on my kindle so I can restart any time :)

[Amber]

I loved The Casual Vacancy. It has an unusual plot structure, multiple story lines, but they are interwoven well. It's fascinating to find out which books other people have found dull or "bad."
I did a blog post a while back on finishing--or not finishing--books.
For your amusement should you care to read the whole thing:
https://amberfoxxmysteries.wordpress....

[Ron]

I have problems with small print books. Such as many smaller paperback books. My eyesight just isn't what it used to be and I need a larger font. Read a lot of large print books, but, don't really want to limit myself to just them as not all books have been printed in large print. Or, if they have, my library doesn't have them.

I have given up on books with small print because it's so hard for me to read them. But, I've also struggled through it if the book really grabbed me.

So, it kind of depends on the book and the size of the print.

[MissJessie]

I just abandoned one tonight. I just realized my mind was drifting away while attempting the read. I think I'll read the last chapter to see "what happened" so to speak, but it's a DNF otherwise.

Life is just too short.

I agree Ron about the small print; I have given up on most paperbacks. Reading should not be a struggle.

[Amber]

I have never needed (yet) to enlarge the font on my Nook but I just discovered that I can. Duh. After using it for how many years? I found this out after reading that e-readers were popular with the Boomers because of this feature. So,if you buy e-books you'll never have to give up because of font size.

[Jan C]

Amber wrote: "I have never needed (yet) to enlarge the font on my Nook but I just discovered that I can. Duh. After using it for how many years? I found this out after reading that e-readers were popular with th..."

I have given up on a physical book because the print was too small so that I could switch to a Kindle copy. Maybe I just need new glasses.

[Barbara]

I've occasionally given up reading books, generally because I found them boring and couldn't stand to read another word.

[Ron]

Amber wrote: "I have never needed (yet) to enlarge the font on my Nook but I just discovered that I can. Duh. After using it for how many years? I found this out after reading that e-readers were popular with th..."

I only have Kindle for PC and I have discovered this feature. However I hardly ever buy books, I use the library, and my library collection of ebooks is very limited. I'm sure this will increase, but, for now, my access to ebooks is limited. I have gotten a lot of ebooks for free from things like the Gutenberg Project, BookBub, and Book Gorilla. However, it still don't have a lot of accessible books that I want to read. And, I'm not about to give up on reading a book simply because I can't get it in ebook format. However, that does also limit me as I have problems with smaller fonts that I have to either eliminate or struggle through. And, I've done both.