Giving up on a book

[Just RY]

So, you've chosen a book, you like what it says on the back cover, or a friend recommends it - there is just one problem, basically, it's a pile of crap. The sory is lousy, or the writing is garbage. How far into the book do you go before you give up?

There was a time when if I started a novel, I would struggle through it until the end, regardless of how bad it was. These days, I am not into self-torture, and a book had better get its hooks in to me fairly quickly.

[Harriet]

I just read until I don't want to read anymore, or can't. Even with some books I stop halfway through because I get distracted, and I only go back to the good ones. So I guess I read about half or a little bit under before giving up.

[Opal]

Depends on how/where I'd heard about the book I guess....

A book a friend recommended: If they're sure I'd like it I'd probably struggle on, but not get further than half way without being distracted. Either that or give up and come back to it later. For example the Thomas Covenant books by Stephen Donaldson. I first tried reading them when I was probably too young to enjoy them, but I'm told each one gets better, so I plan to re-try to read them at some point this year.

If its by a writer whose work I've previously enjoyed: I'd struggle on as far as possible with the hope that it would get better. Here I'm thinking of the Harry Potter books. The latest one was awful. It felt like it was written by someone other than Ms Rowling. But I kept going out of curiousity about the characters, and made it to the end. I haven't re-read it though, and considering how often I've read Prisoner Of Azkaban (I'm guessing 10-15 times) thats a baaaaad sign.

A book I picked because of the blurb on the back cover: I'm sad to say if I'm not hooked within the first chapter or so I probably won't read it. I know some books take a while to get going, but there has to be something about it that makes me want to keep going - thats what makes a good story.

[Darkstar]

It depends why I'm reading it and it depends on the book. If it's 'improving literature' :rolleyes: that I'm reading because I think I ought to then I will persevere longer than with a pot boiler I don't like. Sometimes I give up simply because it's not that interesting and I start reading another book at the same time that I like more, ending up somehow never going back to the first one.

[Kate Allan]

I'm probably quite a sticker. There is one book I've thrown against the wall in the last year or so.
(I literally did - cos I thought... this book deserves to be thrown at the wall. Luckily my wall in made of stern stuff.)
Apart from that I tend to finish things. Probably only one book in a hunded gets abandoned.

[Andrea]

I'm fairly ruthless on this - if it's not at least intriguing me by the end of the first chapter it's on the return-to-library pile. I never persevere because if an author hasn't grabbed me by then I reckon it's either not for me (in which case it's an amicable parting), or they've done their job badly in which case I can't be bothered offering them anymore of my time. Anyway, there are so many fantastic books out there just waiting to be read I'm not going to let a bad book keep me away from them any longer than necessary ;)

[Lady Lazarus]

I like to give myself the benefit of the doubt, so will carry on reading past the point of enjoyment for a while. However, when it gets to the point where I'm thinking 'actually i don't care what happens to these characters in the rest of this book, or i don't care if i never finish it', then I stop reading. That happened to me with Lord of the Rings and Captain Corelli's Mandolin (sorry, popular choices, I know!!).

[My Friend Jack]

I've got very ruthless on this. If it's a library book, I will give it one chapter before deciding to ditch it. If I've paid for it out of my own pocket, I will give it a bit longer! I absolutely refuse to read "improving" literature - I read for enjoyment - if I need improving, I'll get it via my job or my family life, thank you very much! Having said that, I suppose one man's "improving" book is another man's "entertainment," but I read what I want to (which is why I'm not joining the monthly book group forum - sorry, folks!).

[Claire]

Until recently, I would have ploughed on with a book to the bitter end. If I did give up on one, it would be with a real sense of failure. But now I figure that I've got better things to do with life than struggle on with books that I'm not enjoying. So many wonderful books out there - why waste time on the rubbish ones.

I normally read about half, I think, before giving up. There are a few exceptions, though, where I read the first page about seven times but never get any further. ("Tale of Two Cities" falls into that category. I'd love to read it....but I never get beyond the first page before getting distracted and wandering off to do something I'll enjoy more :rolleyes: ....like cutting my toenails, or doing the washing up....Sorry, Mr Dickens - I'm sure it's a great book really)


There is one book I've thrown against the wall in the last year or so.
(I literally did - cos I thought... this book deserves to be thrown at the wall. Luckily my wall in made of stern stuff.)


Do tell us....what was it? Or was it so bad you don't want anyone to know you even started on it? ;)

[Dream Weaver]

There are a few exceptions, though, where I read the first page about seven times but never get any further. ("Tale of Two Cities" falls into that category. I'd love to read it....but I never get beyond the first page before getting distracted and wandering off to do something I'll enjoy more :rolleyes: ....like cutting my toenails, or doing the washing up....Sorry, Mr Dickens - I'm sure it's a great book really)

Have you considered starting from page 2? You must know what happens on page 1 by now. ;)

[Claire]

What an inspired idea :D

[Purity]

I tend to stick with it for quite a while but it does depend. I recently started reading The Impressionist - the writing is superb but I couldn't get to grips with the amount of historical information. Just as I got engrossed in the characters, the author digressed into the history of India and I lost the plot! Gave up after about 100 pages :(

Then there are books that are just awful from the start, those where the writing style just isn't right, the characters are stereotyped or so one dimensional that you just can't be bothered. One book that springs to mind is Want to Play? by Tracey........???? The spiel on the back cover was the best bit of writing IMO!

Then there are books that you just need time and space and effort to read properly. Ones that I have attempted to read, given up but still want to read in the future - The Silmarrillion, Crime & Punishment, Captain Corelli, Ground Beneath her Feet, War & Peace!

[purplebongowoman]

I won't persevere with a library book if I don't get into it after the first few chapters. With "classics" I will try a bit harder. I tried to read Crime and Punishment :( a few years ago, but gave up after about 100 pages. the characters were so stilted and self-absorbed, I could not empathise with any of them. Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a slow start, but worth the hard work at the beginning. It suddenly starts rolling along.....

[Nic_S]

I'm afraid once I've started a book I have to finish it and I'm hell to live with when I'm reading a book that I don't like. Maybe I should make a late new years resolution to not carry on past a certain page :confused:
I remember a friend telling me I must read 'Enduring Love' because it was the best book in the world, I hated it but I had to read the whole damn thing to make sure that i did really hate it!!

[My Friend Jack]

Can't remember who wrote them, but the Duncton Wood books (about a bunch of moles) did me in. I read the first book, tried the second, and part-way in I suddenly started to wonder why on earth I was bothering. Fantasy stories are great - talking animals are great - but they need to be set in an alternative world. I just couldn't cope with the idea that they were supposed to be trying to find a way across the A40 (or whatever road it was)!

[happyfriday]

I'm afraid once I've started a book I have to finish it and I'm hell to live with when I'm reading a book that I don't like. Maybe I should make a late new years resolution to not carry on past a certain page :confused:
I remember a friend telling me I must read 'Enduring Love' because it was the best book in the world, I hated it but I had to read the whole damn thing to make sure that i did really hate it!!


I do the very same thing i'm afraid, I just can't stop myself, my friends have been known to hide books on me that i'm not enjoying and give out about non stop, but i have to finish them no matter what, its a curse i think, because when i think about the amount of great books that i put off reading until i was finished the just awful ones, its very upsetting!! :(

[megustaleer]

I feel an obligation to read bookgroup books to the end, but sometimes i dislike them so much that I will do almost anything to put off picking them up, so take for ever to finish them....and waste time that could be spent reading enjoyable books

Fortunately, the really bad ones don't come along too often, and there are some books that start off badly, but are really rewarding if you perservere.

[Starry]

If the book hasn't gripped me within the first chapter, I generally put it down and try again at a later date - with a few exceptions.

I read wanted to read Captain Corelli and Possession but they were both really hard books to get into so I got the unabridged audio books and listened to them on my commute to work - because I couldn't get up and do something else I could concentrate on the books and I'm really pleased I did because both were excellent.

The other one worth mentioning was Foucault's Pendulum. I read the first few chapters of that one four times before I finally cared enough about the characters to continue with the rest of it. I wouldn't have bothered, but a friend insisted and she was right, I loved it.

Then there are the ones that I read about three quarters of and just have to give up, fortunately these are few and far between. I think the last one was The Feng Shui Junkie - I really disliked the lead character!

[Grammath]

I tend to perservere to the end with the vast majority of books and there are some which, looking back, I'm glad I did. "Catch-22" springs to mind as a prime example.

I think one chapter isn't really enough to form an opinion, especially with longer books/series - sometimes all the scene setting can take 100+ pages.

I'm more likely if I'm struggling to leave a book alone for a little while then try and pick up where I left off or shortly before. I try to have several diverse things on the go - a long/classic/"difficult" book which I might take months over, a lighter novel, an audiobook and an item of non-fiction. I pick up whichever I'm in the mood for at the time. Occasionally, this means some things are never picked up again.

There can be practical considerations too. A fair chunk my reading is done on the train hardbacks are likely to be read more slowly because they don't come out with me so often.

I'm also a member of a face to face book group, so sometimes for practical reasons I have to break off from something so I can read that month's choice, irritating when you don't really fancy it :( .

[omega]

This has been a very interesting thread....

Like many other members, when I was younger I would soldier on with a bad book, but as I've got older I find I can just simply put it down and not pick it up again. (I feel a bit cheeky doing so, however. ;) )

If I've bought the book I put it back in my bookcase in the hope that one day I might come back to it and be able to appreciate it. But with library books, it's a guilt free experience, just put it down, and forget all about it!


I often rely on the reviews found on the back of a book, and if it is highly praised, I will doubt my own negative reaction, and persist to the bitter end. Then I've found myself thinking "What was all that about?" :confused: It's great to be a part of this BGOL, because now when that happens, I will ask my fellow members!

[Radders]

I was having a discussion with a librarian at my library about what makes me choose a book and I have to say I don't know. It's not that often that I don't get through a book because it's crap but I have just given up on a book at about 5 pages in - it was just awful.....

[David]

It's not that often that I don't get through a book because it's crap but I have just given up on a book at about 5 pages in - it was just awful.....
Go on, then, spill the beans! What was it?

[brightphoebus]

Go on, then, spill the beans! What was it?Yep, dying to know :yup:

[SlowRain]

I give up if the writing hasn't engaged me by about the 10% mark. Even if the plot hasn't kicked in fully by that point, I generally have a good idea of the writer's style and ability; the story may develop, but the writing is usually pretty consistent from the first couple of pages to the end. I can take slow moving plots, I can even take very little plot, but I can't take a poor or thin narrative.

[Flingo]

A few rescued replies from 2006!

Momo 24th January 2006 05:26 PM
I usually read until page 100, if I haven't reached that in a week, I finish then. So, it's both a matter of time and space. :)
Unless - it's a book club book, I always finish them even if I hate them, I have never put away one of them.

Hazel 24th January 2006 06:44 PM
Page 100 for me as well - how fast I get to it, if I notice reaching it, how much I enjoy the book up to this point - all factors in deciding if I continue.

Cathy 25th January 2006 09:56 AM
I have just given up on Fahrenheit 451 on page 62. I really hate it and even though its a short book I figured life it too short to spend any more time with a central character I can't stand.

Beerqueen 25th January 2006 12:41 PM
Some books I actually make a decision to stop reading, others just drift away, I realise I haven't picked it up for a few days and haven't really wanted to, so I take it as a sign that I don't really want to read it. I 'opt out' of books far more readily than I used to - in the last year, I've stopped reading a Le Carre (Smiley) one which seemed dated and seemed to me to go into unnecessary detail about the smallest things - I'd read about 80 pages and nothing had happened! Also Possession - one of the few book group ones I haven't finished, On Green Dolphin Street - didn't grab me. A Secret History by Donna Tart. This was one I just sort of drifted from but might go back to - can anyone tell me whether it's worth it?

crispychez 25th January 2006 01:43 PM
Is that the one about a child who's brother or sister dies? If it is I have listened to it on audio book. It is OK but if you didn't get on with it first time I wouldn't bother - its not that great. I may have completely confused a couple of books here but I think I remember the ending having an air of The Lovely Bones about it. Sorry to anybody who can tell me I am wrong.

Hazel 25th January 2006 02:32 PM
'A Secret History' is the one about a group of college kids in America who kill one of their number with lots of Greek mythology and tragedy thrown in. Personally I love it, but I know alot who have been disappointed by it.

Mungus 25th January 2006 05:49 PM
I can remember an English teacher at school urging us to always read until at least page 32 before giving up on a book. I would have been 11 then, so 32 pages seemed like a lot of effort, but now seems early to give up. I'm fairly random about when I admit defeat these days, the 100 pages favoured by some seems a bit too fixed to me. And a chapter is definitely too short.

[Barblue]

I usually read through to the end just becaue I don't like the feeling of personal failure. There are a few exceptions. Midnight's Children I stopped reading because I was doing it for a module I decided not to take, but I think one day I will go back to it.

Another recent non-read was Translation of Beauty by Mia Yua; a recent library reading group selection, chosen by the Librarian. I got a third of the way in and realised I didn't care what happened to the characters and they didn't seem real enought to worry about. On our next meet I discovered I was not alone. Those of us who felt this way decided not to waste any more eyesight on the book.

[Momo]

It's not that often that I don't get through a book because it's crap but I have just given up on a book at about 5 pages in - it was just awful.....That sounds just like the kind of book we would like to join you in ranting about :rant: or starting a fight with you. :swordfigh :D So, come on, which on is it??? :naughty:

[Radders]

That sounds just like the kind of book we would like to join you in ranting about :rant: or starting a fight with you. :swordfigh :D So, come on, which on is it??? :naughty:

I am a little worried about saying which book it was in case you all shout!! But....I guess that's the point huh?

When I said it was rubbish I suppose that's not true - it was written well and I felt bad giving up but I just couldn't get along with it.

It was called "The Wave Theory of Angels" by Alison Macleod.

I got it from my library - not sure what made me get it - the blurb in the back I suppose. I found it a little too weird. On the front it says 'Part Philosophical, Part Thriller'; I think it's the philosophical part that turned me off - not really my bag.

So has anyone else read it - should I have stuck with it?

[Momo]

Can't say I ever heard about it. Must look into it, though.
And don't worry, everybody here seemed to like The Time Traveler's Wife, I hated it and said so. As you can see, I'm still alive. :D And there have been a few that were the other way around (The Historian comes to my mind but that's surely not the only one) and I didn't kill anyone either. So, just come up with your thoughts about any books you read. I always thinks it adds to your understanding of a book if you see how someone else perceived it.

[Jen]

This list (http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/news/article2350053.ece) of the 'most unfinished' books has been discussed widely in the media today. The top five fiction books that are least likely to be finished (according to this survey) are:

1. Vernon God Little
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. Ulysses
4. Captain Correlli's Mandolin
5. Cloud Atlas

I didn't finish the first one, have never tried the third but have completed and enjoyed the other three. I bet Captain Correlli is there because it's one of those books that people give other people, insisting that they will love it, but they don't.

[Hazel]

Mr. InBetwen was the only member liable to commit violence if you didn't agree with him - but sadly, no longer with us. Rest easy Radders!

[Radders]

Phew! Good to know I will survive the day.

(I have just typed a post and don't know where it's gone so if a half finished message appears then I apologise).

Captain Corellis Mandolin was, I thought, good but it did go on a bit, I can quite see why people give up on it.

I have Cloud Atlas sitting on my shelf waiting for me to pick it up and delve in - I've just not been too motivated to do so yet. What with that and it being in the top 5 of the 'most unfinished' books it doesn't bode too well.....

[FirelightSpirit]

The top five fiction books that are least likely to be finished (according to this survey) are:

1. Vernon God Little
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. Ulysses
4. Captain Correlli's Mandolin
5. Cloud Atlas
I haven't read 1 or 5, but I have finished the other three. I can see why Corelli is there: having just finished it it seemed over long to me.

[Momo]

Mr. InBetwen ... sadly, no longer with us.:confused: :confused:

I thought this was exactly the right time to start an own thread on Captain Corelli. Please, join me in discussing this book.Captain Corelli (http://www.bookgrouponline.com/forum/showthread.html?t=1308&highlight=vintage+future+classics)

[Lady Lazarus]

As I've just posted on the Corelli thread, I just couldn't bring myself to finish it! That and Ulysses, which I got about a third of the way through and realised I had no idea what was going on! I will return to it one day tho...

[Minxminnie]

I just said on the Corelli thread - I'm sure a lot of people give up at chapter two, which is one of the chapters narrated by Il Duce. I missed it out, on good advice, having stalled at it on my first attempt.
I think Birds Without Wings is even more overwritten - that's one of my Can't-Be-Bothereds.

[Momo]

I think Birds Without Wings is even more overwritten - that's one of my Can't-Be-Bothereds.Oh dear, I got that for Christmas last year. :rolleyes:

[Minxminnie]

It came highly recommended to me, so pay no attention - it was probably just me!

[Momo]

I wouldn't be too sure, usually I like the same books as you do.

[Minxminnie]

That's the great thing about hanging out on BGO - you know whose opinions are likely to match your own! :D

[Momo]

That's the great thing about hanging out on BGO - you know whose opinions are likely to match your own! :DExactly!http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/sign0060.gif (http://www.thesmilies.com)http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/sign0060.gif (http://www.thesmilies.com)

[Royal Rother]

I am about to start Ian McEwan's Saturday, so from the look of earlier threads on said book, I might have cause to contribute to this thread soon...

I very very rarely FTF and the only one I can think of is Ian Pears' "An Instance of The Fingerpost".

[Jen]

I very very rarely FTF and the only one I can think of is Ian Pears' "An Instance of The Fingerpost".
I gave up on this one too (not such a rarity for me) and quite a long way through. I found that I couldn't care less 'whodunnit'.

[tagesmann]

I used to be very good at seeing a book through to the end, but lately I have become less patient with authors who don't or can't grab my interest and I will give up on books if they don't work for me. I do try to give the plot time to develop (half-way or so) although I recently gave up on a book after three chapters because the style of writing put me of finding out whether the plot would be good enough to compensate (for the style of writing).

[FirelightSpirit]

I have given up on books in the past, not at any specific point or page number, just if I couldn't get into it - Conrad's Lord Jim for instance. Lately, I haven't given up on anything I've read, I just can't bring myself to do it once I've started reading, even if I find I hate it. I'll just never read it again.

[Tay]

When I was younger, working and playing hard, most of the books I read were popular fiction. Stephen King/Agatha Christie/Wilbour Smith etc. Time and sobriety were scarce and so was concentration.

But as the years passed I started on the 'classics' and would always try to finish them. The old 'these are classics and everybody should read them' thing, ringing in my head. And with a few exceptions (Moby Dick/Conrad/Don Quixote) I've finshed and enjoyed most of them.

Now though, as time's horizon is approaching faster with every day and the chances of reading eveything I want to is fading away, I can be quite ruthless.

Some books a couple of chapters, and I've given up. If I'm going to read a novel I want characters I can engage with, characters I care about. Doesn't matter if I like them or not I just have to care enough to want to know what happens to them. When an author forgets that then I just discard it.

There are some where I've persevered and still given up. Possession is one of those, I read three quarters of it and still didn't care about the characters. Similar with Shadow of the Wind, a third in and I still couldn't care less about these people so out it went.

There are too many books out there to waste time reading something we don't enjoy.

[Squirls]

There are too many books out there to waste time reading something we don't enjoy.
I couldn't agree more. Life's too short.

[Minxminnie]

I couldn't agree more. Life's too short.
Me too.

[lunababymoonchild]

I couldn't agree more. Life's too short.

Me too.

I agree too.

ETA I usually give it around 150 pages before I definitively give up on a book.

[Calliope]

I recently gave up on a book after two paragraphs. This was very quick, and showed a lack of tolerance, even for me. (It was somethingompletelyunmemorable by an author named Karen Rose, by the way).

The beginning of a book should be an author showcasing their best possible writing. If they can't get it right there - if I'm rolling my eyes at the cliches and obvious novelistic trickery - what hope is there for the rest of the book?

[Hazel]

ETA I usually give it around 150 pages before I definitively give up on a book.Page 100 is usually when I run out of steam and I know the book isn't going to get better, but I do try to at least give it till page 100. Fellowship of the Ring though...page 93.

[hannibalheyes]

It's a rare thing for me to give up on a book. I even made it to the end of Labyrinth by Kate Mosse - that proves I'll keep flogging dead horse.

If something is really bad, I might speed-read through it, to find out what happens at the end.

[The Maid]

If something is really bad, I might speed-read through it, to find out what happens at the end.

Me too.

Also, I've been thinking of late since I restarted Les Miserables (which I gave up on last year and am now enjoying) whether sometimes my short attention span for some books could be blamed on watching too much TV/Film and expecting to be "hooked" straight away? Also, as with other things in life sometimes I just have to be in the mood for reading certain types of books. Another excuse is "don't believe the hype!" which is true of some films which don't live up to the preamble and plugging.

[Apple]

I think the record is half way down the second page!! but that was a book I found disgarded in a hospital waiting room and picked up out of curiosity and the fact I had forgotten to take my current read with me and was rapidly losing the will to live, and had I carried on that book would have tipped me over the edge I think!! ;)

Out of books I have bought myself if its not grabbed me by the 3rd chapter I know pretty much the writing is on the wall for it, but I try to make it half way before throwing the towel in.

[*.dragonfly]

Usually, I can tell within a few sentences if a book is going to be good. However, I'm more likely to see it through to the end than give up.

[A_J_Lath]

The only book I ever made a concious decision to give up on was 'Lisey's Story' by Stephen King. It was just too much like hard work reading it.

Unusual, because I like most of SK's stuff.

[Literaturekitty]

I'm not really a stubborn person but I find the idea of giving up on a book hard to deal with! The only novel I have ever consciously decided not to finish was 'The Idiot' by Dostoyevsky, partly, I think, because it was a bad translation, and partly due to the fact that even when I was over halfway through the novel I still had no idea who each of the characters were and what they were doing! I looked up the rest of the plot on Wikipedia...

Otherwise I tend not to give up on novels, I just take very long breaks from them (we're talking years at a time...). Though of course by the time I get round to them again I have to re-read everything I've forgotten. I try to persevere to the end, especially if it's a classic or something I've spent my own money on.

[Y Darllenwr]

Like a few have mentioned I'm quite stubborn when it comes to reading books. I feel I have to finish them. However what usually happens is I get to the half way point, realise that I'm not enjoying it that much and so I pick up another book instead, I usually end up picking the half read book up again though as I feel I should read it all the way through. After reading other's comments though I think in future if I dislike a book I'll just pass it on and try my best not to feel guilty about it haha.

[nonsuch]

If I get to half-way I usually finish it. Not true of the monster Wolf Hall though.

[MarkC]

If I get to half-way I usually finish it. Not true of the monster Wolf Hall though.

This is usually true for me as well. Anna Karenina was an exception, I just sort of stopped after 500 pages or so. Left the bookmark in place and it's still there, 17 year later.

edit - just realised this topic is five years old. Wonder if Opal ever read Donaldson's Thomas Covenant novels.

[nonsuch]

I agree too.

ETA I usually give it around 150 pages before I definitively give up on a book.
Sometimes 50 pages is more than enough. Only rarely does a book begin to spark for me after 50 pp. Moby-Dick maybe did.

[Grammath]

I have been stalled a very long way into a couple of books for some years now.

I have had about 400 pages of the last volume of Stephen King's 7 volume "Dark Tower" series left to read for about 4 years now. That's well over 2,500 pages into the story as a whole.

Similarly, I ground to a halt at about page 350 of "The Confusion", the second volume of Neal Stephenson's epic "Baroque Cycle", after having ploughed through all 800-odd pages of "Quicksilver", the first volume, as well.

As to whether either will ever be finished, I have no idea.

[Jeremy DEagle]

I read halfway through 'The Dice Man' before becoming tired and bored of it. I still plan to finish it when I can be bothered.

[Radders]

JdE - Both MOH and I were the same with The Dice Man as you. I do hope to pick it up again in the future, perhaps if I ever run out of things to read!

I thought the first half of the book was good but found it got boring and repetitive.

[Valr]

I empathise with those who have said they feel they ought to finish a book once they start. This has been true with me too, with two notable exceptions; Rob Roy and Captain Corelli's Mandolin. I know that one day I will take up the mantel again and have another go, but just now...I don't have it in me!

[supergopher]

I've only completely abandoned one book - House Of Leaves and I gave up on it after 100 pages. If the story had grabbed me then parts of it being upside down,back to front or in boxes wouldn't have bothered me but it didn't so the gimmicks got on my nerves.

[Hazel]

I've just given up on Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. It felt like reading a list. I started to imagine "And then..." popping up all the time.

[Clandestine]

I've started White Tiger twice now, but couldn't get beyond the first few pages so I'm really going to make a conscious effort to make it third time lucky, otherwise it's off to the charity shop.

[dorothygale]

(hi i'm new) I just HATE giving up on books, I feel like I'm letting it down in some odd sort of way. Even if the book is crap I still feel awful closing it midway and placing it back on the shelf. I found 'Marilyn Monroe' by Barbara Leaming was one of those, have tried twice now but just couldn't get the feel for the way she was writing. Also Marianne Faithfulls autobiography was the same, it didn't pull me in how I like books to do. :(

[smilerbabeuk]

I don't feel guilty for giving up on books, there are too many great books out there to waste time on one that isn't. I try to give it some time to get into, as my favourite read of this year so far didn't get me until chapter 2, but I don't give too long because I always think if it starts being good at page 100, why couldn't the author have started it there? I'm impatient with the idea of a slow start I'm afraid, why would an author or publisher assume I have time to waste reading the slow bit first? If its going to get better, then START better! :D

[Tay]

why would an author or publisher assume I have time to waste reading the slow bit first? If its going to get better, then START better! :D


I'm with your on that! :)

[iff]

i gave up on No Logo after 13 chapters.

it just was tiresome and boring read. it sounded alot better on the back of the book then the actual book

[Madibelle]

I really don't like giving up on books. But sometimes a book I'm reading is so utterly dull, that I can't continue.

I gave up reading the third book in the Well of Echoes series by Ian Irvine. I'll eventually finish it, but I've got far too much to read, and that's on the bottom of my to read list.

I've tried several times to read the Discworld series. First time I got partway through the second book, The Light Fantastic, but got bored with it. I've had these books recommended to me by so many people, so I am determined to finish them. I've been told not to read them in order, and that the Nightwatch books are the best. I finished Mort, which I did enjoy.

[brad33]

Only fiction book I can remember giving up on is The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. It was quite a long time ago but I remember finding the writing style almost impossible to read. Shame really as I love the film.

I have given up on a fair few autobiograhies though because I struggle to get past the informative years, regardless of how interesting I know the later years will be.

*I totally agree that you dont need to read Disc World novels in order, if I was reading them again I would jump straight to the Witches books.*

[Momo]

just realised this topic is five years old.Which shows that - other than some books - some subjects never really get boring. ;)