I rarely give up on a book once I've properly started reading it, but I reject plenty of books based on what I see when having a look inside them in a bookshop or on Amazon.
For example, I rejected Wolf Hall once I saw it was written in that odd, 3rd person, "he, he, he" style and after looking at some pages at random; but if I ever sit down with a copy I own and start reading, I'll most likely keep going to the end.
Yes, that annoyed the hell out of me as well.
I found myself backtracking over whole paragraphs of dialogue, trying to work out who said what. It was a stupid, affected way to write that impeded the reader and made the book more difficult to comprehend for no artistic benefit.
I tend to give up on ebooks, that have been on my Kindle for ages. They have, either been poorly written or simply not suitable for my taste They are usually free or cheap ones most of them are dreadful.
But with real books I really make the effort to finish the story.
I rarely give up on a book once I've properly started reading it, but I reject plenty of books based on what I see when having a look inside them in a bookshop or on Amazon.
For example, I rejected Wolf Hall once I saw it was written in that odd, 3rd person, "he, he, he" style and after looking at some pages at random; but if I ever sit down with a copy I own and start reading, I'll most likely keep going to the end.
I rarely if ever give up on a book, maybe two in recent times. Wolf Hall is one I wish I had given up on, her writing style was annoying and pretentious. I fought through to the end, because I thought it won a prize, it must be good. Those are about two weeks of my reading life I will never get back..It's taught me something, sometimes winning a prize does not mean your going to enjoy it.
I found myself backtracking over whole paragraphs of dialogue, trying to work out who said what. It was a stupid, affected way to write that impeded the reader and made the book more difficult to comprehend for no artistic benefit.
Totally agree. I don't attend to read the other two in the series.
I rarely if ever give up on a book, maybe two in recent times. Wolf Hall is one I wish I had given up on, her writing style was annoying and pretentious. I fought through to the end, because I thought it won a prize, it must be good. Those are about two weeks of my reading life I will never get back..It's taught me something, sometimes winning a prize does not mean your going to enjoy it.
No, and you don't get a prize for finishing a book. (Not normally, anyway!)
So if I'm not enjoying it, out it goes. Next!
No, and you don't get a prize for finishing a book. (Not normally, anyway!)
So if I'm not enjoying it, out it goes. Next!
Exactly! I will abandon any book I'm not enjoying to a reasonable degree. Why waste time ploughing through a dull book when I could be enjoying the start of a better one?
My overall abandon rate is pretty low - about 1 in 20 books or less. But that's because most are by authors I've already tried and liked, so I'm unlikely to abandon those. One Ruth Rendell/Val McDermid/Erica James is much like another.
If I don't count those and just think about books by authors who are completely new to me, the abandon rate is much higher - probably 1 in 8.
I've abandoned prize-winners and classics aplenty. I don't care if other people rate a book highly - my only criteria is whether I'm enjoying it or not.
(*I should point out, mine are nearly all library books or those given to me - if I was paying for books I might have a different attitude.)
God knows I've tried, but the whole thing is just so exhausting (from the dialect to the convoluted descriptions of violence) that I can never get more than a third of the way in.
The only books I've given up on in recent years are The Hunger Games and a Lee Child one (forgotten the title). Sometimes it takes me months to finish a book but I usually manage it.
The only books I've given up on in recent years are The Hunger Games and a Lee Child one (forgotten the title). Sometimes it takes me months to finish a book but I usually manage it.
The Hunger Games, really?
I did abandon the sequel. But that was because I had a nagging feeling that the first book was complete in itself, and reading on might spoil it.
I suspected the story had been artificially stretched out because everything seems to have to be a trilogy these days ^_^
I might go back to it one of these days, and it was a charity shop buy so no money wasted.
I'm a Stephen King fan, but Lisey's Story was just dire!
I struggled with King's so-called 'literary masterpiece' for a long time, but I hated it so much I had to give in.
Lord of the Rings, I had it all in one edition and made it to just before Frodo got to Shelob's lair. I did that twice.
One of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but I can't remember which one. I'd loved them all before, but that one just bored me so I gave up halfway through. I've never read another of his books until his Long Earth books. I wish I hadn't bothered with those either.
Novelisation of the Crysis 3 videogame. No idea why I bought it, but I got 10 pages in and thought it was terrible.
Not one I abandoned, but when I was a kid I bought the Amityville Horror and was too scared to ever read it
It's very rare that I totaly abandon a book. Sometimes I can struggle with the first half, and then enjoy the second half so much that I crash through it in one or two sittings. Others can sit on the shelf half-read for a few months but I usually go back to them as I never start a new book when I have one unfinished.
I’m generally pretty stubborn with books, and will always finish a book that I’ve started. It’s rare for a book to bore me enough that I’ll abandon it completely.
The only book I’ve truly abandoned was Lord of the Rings. I’ve tried several times and just can’t get past Tom Bombadil’s house, the whole set up bores me. I’ve decided the films are good enough for me in this instance, and won’t be attempting the books again.
I abandoned Wuthering Heights a couple of times, I just couldn’t get past the language, but eventually persevered and finished it. I can’t honestly say it was worth it.
The only book I’ve truly abandoned was Lord of the Rings. I’ve tried several times and just can’t get past Tom Bombadil’s house, the whole set up bores me. I’ve decided the films are good enough for me in this instance, and won’t be attempting the books again.
Bombadil has his fans, but I reckon most LOTR readers would agree that you can safely skip that entire episode. It adds nothing to the story, and is confusing at best. I don't think Bombadil was ever properly explained, even in the extensive back stories. The character is completely incongruous.
The only book I ever gave up on was Jude The Obscure.
Many years ago I remember reading a recommendation for it on a forum, by somebody who said it is a book that will change your life.
The first few pages made it seem quite weird and mystical, possibly about someone who had almost super-human powers of recollection.
It soon turned into a very ordinary story that I think is massively over-rated. I know I finished it, but I can't remember much about it, except the revolting bit where a pig was killed.
I also gave up on a couple of the later Tom Sharpe books. I loved them when I first started reading them, but I think they became a bit predictable later on.
I recently gave up on The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins, it was just pretty dull and not a patch on his earlier stuff.
I believe it was written in the last years of his life, whilst in very poor health.
I very nearly abandoned And The Ass Saw The Angel, by Nick Cave, after the first couple of pages, because the dialect style of writing irritated me at first. I'm glad I didn't though, as it became one of my favourite books. Definitely one to read after you've been put into the mood by The Wasp Factory
Only one I gave up was War and Peace - heard so much about it so thought "hey I know what I'll do, I'll read the darn thing". Didn't make it past the first page - too many loong place names and looon peoples name - life's too short.
One I found v. difficult to get into was William Shatner's Man O'War - must have re-read the first chapter a number of times before I got it. Once I was able to make it thru to Chap2 it was plain sailing from then on and I got myself a cracking read.
Very rarely do I abandon a book as I, for some strange reason, feel I should see it through to the end.
Read 2-3 books a week and have only failed to finish about 4, as I remember.
i can't not finish a book, although there are plenty i wish i hadn't bothered ploughing my way through
the only exception to this is The Silmarillion - i have been 'reading' this book for over 20 years every cpl of years i'll have another go at it, and every time i get a little further, one of these days i will finish it (if i dont die first) and i will consider it a major achievement
Comments
The only book I've repeatedly given up on is Catch 22.
* edit *
and Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
And The Ass Saw The Angel is one of my favourite books, but this left me cold.
Yes, that annoyed the hell out of me as well.
I found myself backtracking over whole paragraphs of dialogue, trying to work out who said what. It was a stupid, affected way to write that impeded the reader and made the book more difficult to comprehend for no artistic benefit.
But with real books I really make the effort to finish the story.
I rarely if ever give up on a book, maybe two in recent times. Wolf Hall is one I wish I had given up on, her writing style was annoying and pretentious. I fought through to the end, because I thought it won a prize, it must be good. Those are about two weeks of my reading life I will never get back..It's taught me something, sometimes winning a prize does not mean your going to enjoy it.
Totally agree. I don't attend to read the other two in the series.
No, and you don't get a prize for finishing a book. (Not normally, anyway!)
So if I'm not enjoying it, out it goes. Next!
Next time I will be doing this
Exactly! I will abandon any book I'm not enjoying to a reasonable degree. Why waste time ploughing through a dull book when I could be enjoying the start of a better one?
My overall abandon rate is pretty low - about 1 in 20 books or less. But that's because most are by authors I've already tried and liked, so I'm unlikely to abandon those. One Ruth Rendell/Val McDermid/Erica James is much like another.
If I don't count those and just think about books by authors who are completely new to me, the abandon rate is much higher - probably 1 in 8.
I've abandoned prize-winners and classics aplenty. I don't care if other people rate a book highly - my only criteria is whether I'm enjoying it or not.
(*I should point out, mine are nearly all library books or those given to me - if I was paying for books I might have a different attitude.)
God knows I've tried, but the whole thing is just so exhausting (from the dialect to the convoluted descriptions of violence) that I can never get more than a third of the way in.
The Hunger Games, really?
I did abandon the sequel. But that was because I had a nagging feeling that the first book was complete in itself, and reading on might spoil it.
I suspected the story had been artificially stretched out because everything seems to have to be a trilogy these days ^_^
I might go back to it one of these days, and it was a charity shop buy so no money wasted.
I struggled with King's so-called 'literary masterpiece' for a long time, but I hated it so much I had to give in.
I agree with the sentiments in this review from 2006 : Wish I had read that review before I picked up the book.
Lord of the Rings, I had it all in one edition and made it to just before Frodo got to Shelob's lair. I did that twice.
One of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but I can't remember which one. I'd loved them all before, but that one just bored me so I gave up halfway through. I've never read another of his books until his Long Earth books. I wish I hadn't bothered with those either.
Novelisation of the Crysis 3 videogame. No idea why I bought it, but I got 10 pages in and thought it was terrible.
Not one I abandoned, but when I was a kid I bought the Amityville Horror and was too scared to ever read it
It's very rare that I totaly abandon a book. Sometimes I can struggle with the first half, and then enjoy the second half so much that I crash through it in one or two sittings. Others can sit on the shelf half-read for a few months but I usually go back to them as I never start a new book when I have one unfinished.
The only book I’ve truly abandoned was Lord of the Rings. I’ve tried several times and just can’t get past Tom Bombadil’s house, the whole set up bores me. I’ve decided the films are good enough for me in this instance, and won’t be attempting the books again.
I abandoned Wuthering Heights a couple of times, I just couldn’t get past the language, but eventually persevered and finished it. I can’t honestly say it was worth it.
Bombadil has his fans, but I reckon most LOTR readers would agree that you can safely skip that entire episode. It adds nothing to the story, and is confusing at best. I don't think Bombadil was ever properly explained, even in the extensive back stories. The character is completely incongruous.
The first few pages made it seem quite weird and mystical, possibly about someone who had almost super-human powers of recollection.
It soon turned into a very ordinary story that I think is massively over-rated. I know I finished it, but I can't remember much about it, except the revolting bit where a pig was killed.
I also gave up on a couple of the later Tom Sharpe books. I loved them when I first started reading them, but I think they became a bit predictable later on.
I believe it was written in the last years of his life, whilst in very poor health.
One I found v. difficult to get into was William Shatner's Man O'War - must have re-read the first chapter a number of times before I got it. Once I was able to make it thru to Chap2 it was plain sailing from then on and I got myself a cracking read.
Read 2-3 books a week and have only failed to finish about 4, as I remember.
the only exception to this is The Silmarillion - i have been 'reading' this book for over 20 years