Unfinished books.. will you pick them up again?

[Michelle]

Recently I've been starting books, having trouble sticking with them, and putting them back on my shelf. I'm telling myself that when I'm 'in the right mood' I'll pick them up again, but I'm wondering if I will.

What do you do.. have you picked those books back up, and never gotten back to them? And did you finish them second time around?

[Janet]

In my experience, I rarely go back to something I've stopped reading. I've given up on a Robert Ryan, a book about Shakespeare and a Bill Bryson in the last 18 months or so, and the only one I'm likely to go back to is the Bill Bryson book.

[Icecream]

Interesting..

I put Emma down because I just could not get to grips with it. I couldn't find anything to keep me interested, and was disappointed as I always wanted to read it (namesake and all:lol:) I don't see myself picking it up again.

There is a book that my minister write about finding his real mother which I started. I'm not sure why I put it down, perhaps because I was at uni, but I will definitely read it (not becasue it is personal but because it is an interesting story).

I started Lyn Andrews' My Sister's Child before christmas, but then started a number of other books for different reasons (one I had wanted to read for a while, the others reading circle books that interested me - two of which I received from here). I kept telling myself I would go back to it, but at the same time wondering whether i should as it was a slow start, but when I did I ead it in no time and found it really interesting.

[Liz]

There have been a few books in which I have read the first few chapters or so of and then put down and changed to another book. However I have ended up going back and finishing them. That's usually due to being curious and wondering what happened later on in the book.
The curiosity is just too great, sometimes.

[Kell]

There have been quite a few I picked up then put down - mostly I haven't fancied going back to them at all. One of them, Notes on a Scandal, was later chosen fr the Posh Club read and so I read it, but I was heartily disappointed - my initial impression of boredom at it turned out to be spot on.

Sometimes I do go back and am pleasantly surprised, but I can't think of any off the top of my head...

[Gyre]

I started 'Eldest' by Christopher Paolini, I am hoping to get back to it eventually, I have quite few actually that I have started and finished.:D

[Icecream]

I think I would rather start and put down than never open and regret not trying a certain book.

[maclsj]

I don't think I could pick up the books I put down because I disliked the book intensely. There have been some I've read where the storyline & characters did nothing for me so I don't think they're going to magically improve and make me want to read them :) Thats just me I guess.

[aromaannie]

I never give up on a book evem if I hate it, just in case it gets better - it never does:roll:

[angerball]

I can't think of any specific titles, but I know there have been several that I can't get into at that time, but have read and enjoyed them months later. If it's a book that I put down because it bores the heck out of me, or I dislike it, then I won't ever pick it up again. However sometimes I read a book, that I know is my kind of book, but for some reason I'm just not into it. Those are the ones that I know I will come back to at some point. :D

[KW]

I usually try 2-3 times before officially tossing the piece. Sad but true.

[maclsj]

I work at a county council and recently someone at the library services decided to get some reading groups going throughout the county, including one at the main council buildings. I joined and the first time we met we discussed lots of different things about reading, as a way of getting to know each other. One of the things we discussed was about how as a nation we somehow feel duty bound to finish a book even if we don't like it. The group leader said that really we shouldn't feel like that and if we didn't like any of the books we were reading for the book club it was ok, fine, even good to stop reading it and come back to the group and say that. Must say it made me feel better about all the books I've given up on.

When I think about it more and more I think that if I truly don't like a book it is better to stop reading it because there are so many other books I want to read out there and there will never be enough time in my lifetime to do so :)

[Kell]

When I think about it more and more I think that if I truly don't like a book it is better to stop reading it because there are so many other books I want to read out there and there will never be enough time in my lifetime to do so :)That's how I feel - if I'm really disliking a book, what is the point in continuing with it when there are so many other books out there waiting to be read? So many books, so little time!

[LittleLijah]

I can usually tell within the first 10 pages whether I'm going to like a book and with the exception of one (Dean Koontz's False Memory, which turned out to be a good read) I have never tried to read a book a second time. Maybe I give up to quickly and should persevere!

[Michelle]

Well, these are the books that have been started, and put back down. Some were a while ago,some recent, some after the first chapter, some further in...

Nora Roberts - Morrigan's Cross
Sophie Hannah - Little Face
Pratchett - The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Jodi Picoult - Perfect Match
Kate Harrison - The Starter Marriage
Gregory Maguire - Wicked
Philippa Gregory - The Queen's Fool / The Virgin's Lover
Stef Penney - The Tenderness of Wolves
Margaret Atwood - The Robber Bride / The Handmaid's Tale
Sylvia Plath - The Bell Jar
James Herbert - The Secret of Crickley Hall
Stephen king - Lisey's Story
Kitty Neale - Outcast Child

Yikes, that's quite a few! Any advice on what to pick up, and what to ditch?

[Michelle]

That's how I feel - if I'm really disliking a book, what is the point in continuing with it when there are so many other books out there waiting to be read? So many books, so little time!

I usually feel that way Kell, but recently I'm wondering if I'm missing out on some good reads by not persevering.

[Polka Dot Rock]

I usually try to persevere until it becomes a huge struggle to keep my attention - because when I put a book down unfinished, it normally remains unfinished. I just never have the will to pick it up again.

However, when I've had to read unfinished or re-read books I didn't enjoy first time around for courses, it can be surprising how my opinion changes (Catcher in the Rye, for example).

I've only put one book down unfinished this year which was Murakami's Norwegian Wood as I just wasn't interested in anything that was happening. And I should have abandoned Restless by William Boyd but I couldn't quite believe how awful it was!! :lol:

[Oblomov]

I do it quite often as a matter of fact, but then I read a lot of non-fiction, short story collections and anthologies. I have read some full-size stories in instalments simply because I could not get 'into' the plot right away. For example, it took me 3 months to finish Ken Follet's Night Over Water and even longer to get through the translated version of Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf.

[FishAndChips]

Some books I put down with the intention of never picking them up again like White Teeth by Zadie Smith. Some I give up on because of lack of perseverance or not being in the mood, like Pride and Prejudice and The French Lieutenants Woman. I would definitely like to pick the latter up again. I also intend trying Rebecca again. Its years since I attempted it.

I think there needs to be a huge passage of time between attempts otherwise I just cannot face going over old ground again. Rebecca was over 15 years ago, which is probably enough :) The French Lieutenants Woman was less than 5 which is too soon.

I'm trying to think of any books i've successfully read after an initial failure but I can't off the top of my head. Its usually fatal for me to give up which is why these days I try hard to persevere unless I know I really don't care about the book.

[Nici76]

I once started a book and couldn't get into it so i put it back on the shelf and then a few months later i picked it back up again and loved it!

I have a couple of books on my bookshelf that i have started but couldn't get into and i will try to read them again but not until I am really desperate!

[Renniemist]

There are some books that I have put down and know that I will never pick up again. ‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell’, ‘The Shipping News’ and ‘The Historian’ which I almost finished, fall into this category. (I know this is controversial and lots of people liked these books. Sorry.)

There are others that I have put down because I think that I am in the wrong mood and I hope to finish them someday. :D

[happyanddandy]

There have been quite a few I picked up then put down - mostly I haven't fancied going back to them at all. One of them, Notes on a Scandal, was later chosen fr the Posh Club read and so I read it, but I was heartily disappointed - my initial impression of boredom at it turned out to be spot on.



Oops 'Notes on a Scandal' is my current book - liking it so far!!

I would rarely stop reading a book I have started but then I am v fussy about what I read. Those I have stopped reading are given away - the 'Undomestic Godess' by Sophie Kinsella was the last one to be ditched

[Rosie]

Two books I've left unfinished over the last few months are The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and The Virgo Club by Susanna Power and I don't think I'd ever go back to them especially the latter. I did put aside Untold Stories by Alan Bennett but I will return to it later because I was enjoying it and it is the sort of book you can dip into often rather than reading it from beginning to end.

[clockwork frog]

I usually get a feeling, fairly early on if I am not going to get on with a book, but will usually give it to about half way through before throwing in the towel and putting it back on the shelf. It's not a decision I take lightly but if I'm not enjoying it by half way, it's not going to get any better. I wouldn't then go back to it, as (and it's already been said), there is too much else to read.
Yesterday I closed Stephen King's 'Cell' and put it back on the shelf, half way through. A promising start but I felt it quickly went downhill and I lost interest in the characters/plot.

[Fiona]

I hate stopping reading books I've started, especially those that I've made a suffecient dent into them. It just feels like such a waste of time.

I mean, this crappy Hemmingway book, I'd like to dump it and stamp on it, but I'm 200 odd pages in and it'd just feel like I'm letting myself down. Besides, I do want to read a Hemmingway...

I got about 3-400 pages into Diana Gabaldon's Fiery Cross several times and had to stop because it got so tiresome and boring - which is a shame really, isn't it? I really want to finish - I think I will finish it but I just won't keep starting again. Unfortunately, boredom won me over once and I peeped at the end. It's like 1400 words long which is another problem. It didn't feel so much of a dent to really make myself continue reading.

I hate this. Forcing yourself to read a book you obviously hate does sometimes ruin the passion a bit.

[Kell]

I hate stopping reading books I've started, especially those that I've made a suffecient dent into them. It just feels like such a waste of time.I know what you mean. It feels like such a waste to put it down after a certain point, so if I get, say, halfway through, I'll continue to the end, but if it's before the halfway mark and I'm really not getting into it, I don't feel so bad about quitting it. I used to find it impossible to leave even the worst book unfinished, but now I see it as time that could be spent reading something I enjoy instead, so I don't feel so bad about it.

[Icecream]

It is a shame to put books down. I am glad I put Emma down and will not pick it up again, however, it has not put me off Jane Austen. There are certainly too many books and such a short space of time. I wold one day like to own a nice little library of books on my shelves that i am happy to call my own and have enjoyed reading.

On the other hand, I nearly didn't pick up My Sister's Child again when I put it down at christmas (about a quarter of the way though) but am glad I did. It turned out to be a great book after a slow start.

[moussecake]

:blush:

The last book I started to read was 'The Girls' by Lori Lansen, but Im rather embarressed to say that after reading about half of the book, I gave up:motz:!!! I know, I should be ashamed of myself, but I just couldn't get into it ( it took me about a month to get to where I was!).

What books have you attempted, but gave up on after a few pages?

[Michelle]

Good question! As we've had a recent discussion about this, I've merged the threads. :)

[Echo]

I mean, this crappy Hemmingway book, I'd like to dump it and stamp on it, but I'm 200 odd pages in and it'd just feel like I'm letting myself down. Besides, I do want to read a Hemmingway...

Don't worry about it, Fiona! If you don't like the book, it's the book's fault, not yours. I for one quit on For Whom the Bell Tolls more than halfway through. It was a waste of time, but I found the book incredibly boring. However, I loved The Sun Also Rises, A Moveable Feast, and A Farewell to Arms. If this is your first attempts at Hemingway, move on and try something else! You deserve to enjoy what you read!! :friends0:

I may try to read For Whom the Bell Tolls again, but probably not. There are some books that I will, like Middlemarch, which I plan to read this summer.

[Leona]

great idea for a thread!
i used to obsessionally finish every book istarted even if it was really painful, in the last few years i've decided there are too many brilliant books out there to read and i don't finish a book unless it grabs me by the tonsils by page 100.
i've chucked 'mr strange and dr norrell'(or is it mr norell an dr strange)- i just can't read fantasy. don't see myself ever going back to it.

the first book i remember chucking was 'sophies world'. it was such hard work! did anyone ever read it?it was supposed to have this amazing ending and that was the only thing that kept me going for a while but in the end i gave up.

i tend to get rid of a book if i've given up on it-i used keep them on my shelf inthe hopes that i'd read them someday but now i give them away because they stare down at me from the shelf making me feel guilty!

[Sedge]

I have to finish a book once I've started. Even if I'm halfway through and it's painfully bad, I fear if I give up, I might be missing the best part!

[Janet]

the first book i remember chucking was 'sophies world'. it was such hard work! did anyone ever read it?it was supposed to have this amazing ending and that was the only thing that kept me going for a while but in the end i gave up.
Is that by Jostein Gaarder (sp?)? I read The Christmas Mystery and quite enjoyed it (it's a children's book) and I have another of his on my enormous 'to read' pile, but I keep putting it to the bottom! :lol:

[angerball]

i used to obsessionally finish every book istarted even if it was really painful, in the last few years i've decided there are too many brilliant books out there to read and i don't finish a book unless it grabs me by the tonsils by page 100.

Same here, though I do feel guilty not finishing a book. If it doesn't grab me, and I know I can't stick with it, then I at least skim through to the end, so I can see how things turn out.

the first book i remember chucking was 'sophies world'. it was such hard work!

I bought that book when it first came out, as there was such a fuss over it. I must have tried reading it 4 or 5 times, but I just couldn't get through it. I still have it lying around somewhere. It's one of those books that I'm convinced I will enjoy if I read it when I'm in the right mood. :lol:

[carm]

the one book i remember not finishing is iberia by james michener- it was just tedious -carm

[Kylie]

great idea for a thread!
the first book i remember chucking was 'sophies world'. it was such hard work! did anyone ever read it?it was supposed to have this amazing ending and that was the only thing that kept me going for a while but in the end i gave up.


It took me such a long time to read Sophie's World! I think it put it down and went back to it about a year later. I persevered but it was hard work. I found the history of philosophy interesting, but I don't think I will read it again. And my copy has the ugliest cover you've ever seen on a book :irked:

[Echo]

the first book i remember chucking was 'sophies world'. it was such hard work! did anyone ever read it?it was supposed to have this amazing ending and that was the only thing that kept me going for a while but in the end i gave up.


I really loved Sophie's World! But I also couldn't get through it the first time around. But the second time I read it, I found the story so compelling, I didn't mind the endless philosophy lectures. I've now read it about 3 or 4 times, and it's become one of my favorites!:)

[madcow]

I remember trying to read The Four Winds Of Heaven, can't remember who by now, and just couldn't get past the first chapter. Luckily at the fourth attempt I forced myself to continue and glad I did because I really enjoyed it in the end.

[Gyre]

I honestly say I don't see myself in the near future, picking up 'Vanishing Acts' by Jodi Picoult.

:D

[Polka Dot Rock]

I hate stopping reading books I've started, especially those that I've made a suffecient dent into them. It just feels like such a waste of time.

I know what you mean. It feels like such a waste to put it down after a certain point, so if I get, say, halfway through, I'll continue to the end, but if it's before the halfway mark and I'm really not getting into it, I don't feel so bad about quitting it.

i used to obsessionally finish every book istarted even if it was really painful, in the last few years i've decided there are too many brilliant books out there to read and i don't finish a book unless it grabs me by the tonsils by page 100.

Same here! I've only just started getting the backbone to dump books if I've well and truly had enough and am ready to beat myself over the head with it, rather than carry on reading! :lol: I tend to read a good chunk in case it picks up (but, let's face it, that rarely happens! But it has happened, so I presevere).

(Oh, and Fiona, if regards to you saying:
I do want to read a Hemmingway...
Have you considered his short stories? I had to read some for a fiction writing class and they were very good. My friend really likes his short fiction :))

What books have you attempted, but gave up on after a few pages?

The most recent was Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami as I just got to a point and found myself thinking, "Y'know: I just really don't care what happens". Which is never a good thought to find yourself thinking when reading!!

[pontalba]

After I finished The Woman in White [a terriffic book BTW], I could not settle on anything...picked up and started 3 books. Finally found one I could finish, but barely.

Now I am back in the swing with my old love. History. So I'll be reading Greek history for awhile now. :readingtwo: Course that's not to say I won't pick up something else in between. :mrgreen:

I don't mind putting a book down that I am not able to get into and appreciate.....why beat oneself over the head with what is supposed to be a pleasurable passtime? Life is too short for that nonsense.

[Echo]

Now I am back in the swing with my old love. History. So I'll be reading Greek history for awhile now. :readingtwo: Course that's not to say I won't pick up something else in between. :mrgreen:



My boyfriend is a history major, and his first love is Greek history. He's going to be taking a Roman history class this fall and he's very excited. I can't wait to tell him that you're reading Thucydides!

As for me, I've abandoned The Tommyknockers for now, but I hope to finish it later this month!

[pontalba]

My boyfriend is a history major, and his first love is Greek history. He's going to be taking a Roman history class this fall and he's very excited. I can't wait to tell him that you're reading Thucydides!


I wonder if he has read A War Like No Other by Victor Davis Hanson.
Hanson juxtaposes the Peloponnesian War with present day conflicts and is supposed to be excellent. I have it to read right after Thucydides.

Re Roman history...Cicero is probably my stand out favorite.

[Paul]

I buy many more books than I read, and may have many more books now than I'll ever read, so I dip into quite a few books to get initial impressions. Some books I absolutely will not buy to begin with (Lovely Bones, Never Let me Go, Life of Pi), and most books that I do have I figure I'll read someday. It is a rare book that I seriously start to read and then put aside feeling that I don't care if I never look at it again (100 Years of Solitude, perhaps, The Shadow of the Wind, almost certainly). When I start a book seriously I usually read it right through (Christine Falls, Woman in White, Jerusalem 1913, The Lover, any Nabokov or any Virginia Woolf, If on a Winter's Night, a Traveler . . ., The Name of the Rose, Murakami's After Dark), even though I may end up being quite uhappy with it (For One More Day, The Alchemist). But a beautifully written book with a wonderful story (Dreams of my Russian Summers) will survive any number of putting-downs and pickings-up as I make my way through it piecemeal while reading other things.

[pontalba]

I did buy Never Let Me Go, and that was one I did not and will not finish, also 100 Years of Solitude. I just could not get into them. I still have The Name of the Rose in one of the many stacks around here...I have the same disease. :mrgreen:, buying more books than I will read in, oh...about 10 years or so.
Well!, ya never know...might be a paper shortage.. :roll: Just anything could happen.

Maybe there should be a thread for started and not finished books, or first 5 pages read and put aside for later, something along those lines. :tong:

[Lone Watie]

I got to within probably the last 100 pages of Stephen King's follow up to The Talisman, 'Dark House', (Or was it Dark Light? Black House? I forget), and put it down. It wasn't a very good book, and i found myself caring less and less about what was going to happen. I just wanted to get through the thing. I couldn't make it.

[Echo]

I loved The Talisman, but I never knew there was a sequel! Maybe I'll try it out, but I'll keep your initial reaction in mind...:)

[angerball]

It wasn't a very good book, and i found myself caring less and less about what was going to happen. I just wanted to get through the thing. I couldn't make it.

You're thinking of Black House. I loved The Talisman, but have not been able to get past the first 100 pages of Black House. I've tried several times, but it's so long-winded and overly-descriptive (:drama:), it just bores me to tears. :sleeping-smiley-009I will eventually pick it up again - I mean after all, it's Stephen King. :tong:

[SteffieB]

I work at a county council and recently someone at the library services decided to get some reading groups going throughout the county, including one at the main council buildings. I joined and the first time we met we discussed lots of different things about reading, as a way of getting to know each other. One of the things we discussed was about how as a nation we somehow feel duty bound to finish a book even if we don't like it. The group leader said that really we shouldn't feel like that and if we didn't like any of the books we were reading for the book club it was ok, fine, even good to stop reading it and come back to the group and say that. Must say it made me feel better about all the books I've given up on.

When I think about it more and more I think that if I truly don't like a book it is better to stop reading it because there are so many other books I want to read out there and there will never be enough time in my lifetime to do so :)

Wow, this does make me feel better! I always feel TERRIBLE when I put a book down, like some sort of crazy work ethic or something...but is it better to have that irritated feeling after finishing a book you hated?

I put The Historian down, too, and haven't gone back to it.."so many books, so little time". It feels so derivative. Like Angels and Demons after The Da Vinci Code (yes, I put that one down, too). That said, I picked Revere Beach Boulevard back up and loved it.

[Polka Dot Rock]

Sadly, I've just given up on Regeneration by Pat Barker. Again, I realised I wasn't at all curious about what was happening so have abandoned it.

Only thing is, now I'm totally stuck about what to read next, as I feel strangely demotivated. Pants...

[JudyB]

I tried to read Ulverton by Adam Thorpe on two separate occasions (years apart) and got bogged down at the same bit. It was a shame as I'd read good reviews about it and would have liked to have made it to the end. Maybe it will be third time lucky one day.

Just edited this to ask - has any on here read it?

[carm]

many moons ago i started the oldest living confederate widow tells all and put it down because i got distracted by another book-- when i picked it up the second time i actually enjoyed it

[NiceguyEddie]

Books I couldn't finish:

Fingersmith Sarah Waters
Unless Carol Shields
Autograph Man Zadie Smith
Month of Sundays John Updike

Odd about the Updike one, as normally I like his novels, but to be honest this one was just too clever for me.

I'm amazed that people didn't like Life of Pi or Never Let Me go, but I guess people may feel the same about my list of "great unreads".

[NiceguyEddie]

And I should have abandoned Restless by William Boyd but I couldn't quite believe how awful it was!! :lol:

I liked it a lot. He's one of my favourite authors. Try Armadillo or Brazzaville Beach. Any Human Heart was brilliant too.

[Freewheeling Andy]

There are lots of books I shouldn't have finished.

Having finally read War and Peace, now the only books I've failed to finish that I might finish are Don Quixote and Peter Ackroyd's immense Biography of London, which I got half-way through and thought I'd wait before I ploughed on with, and which has been in that state for about three or four years now.

[Maureen]

Maybe there should be a thread for started and not finished books, or first 5 pages read and put aside for later, something along those lines. :tong:


Of course. At your service ma'am http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2859

[Polka Dot Rock]

Books I couldn't finish:
Unless Carol Shields

Ah, now that's one of my favourite books and I've known quite a few people who didn't like it. I love its melancholic nature. John Mullan does a really good analysis of it in How Novels Work.

I'm amazed that people didn't like Life of Pi or Never Let Me Go

I enjoyed Never Let Me Go but it's certainly a book that polarises opinion! There's a couple of threads that discusses it and it's amazing how strongly people feel about it!

Re: Restless
I liked it a lot. He's one of my favourite authors. Try Armadillo or Brazzaville Beach. Any Human Heart was brilliant too.

Urgh, I really can't stress how much I loathe this novel! It's completely put me off reading anything else by Boyd. Probably the least enjoyable reading experience I've had in, ohh, at least 5 years :lol: I had a near apocalyptic rant about it in the first part of my 2007 blog (http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showpost.php?p=68275&postcount=38).

[Gyre]

Tried 'Vanishing Acts' again by Jodi Picoult, but nope, its back on the shelf x

[Ruth]

It's rare for me to give up on a book, although sometimes I wish I could...I just try not to. Occasionally I have picked up a book and after reading a couple of pages have known that I am not in the mood for it at that time. When that happens, I read something else instead, but I think I have always gone back to the first one at some point. It happened with one of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, by Charlaine Harris. I love those books, but when it came to reading the 3rd one, I just couldn't get into it. I did read it at a later time, and loved it.

[angerball]

Tried 'Vanishing Acts' again by Jodi Picoult, but nope, its back on the shelf x

I have this one out from the library, and will be reading it shortly. The only other Jodi Picoult book I've read is My Sister's Keeper and I quite enjoyed it. :)

[KW]

Probably not pick up SOME lying around...if I've tried three or more times to get into a book and it still hasn't sunk its teeth into me, it's time to sell it on Amazon!:blush:

[Karen]

I do like to try and finish books if I start them, but if it's that bad or I'm really struggling I will put it down and try again at some other time. But if I have the same problem again then I probably wouldn't try a third time.

[madcow]

So far this year I've given up on 3 -
Shirley - Charlotte Bronte
Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
Pride & Predjudice - Jane Austen

I will probably pick up Bronte's and Austen's books in the future when I'm in the right frame of mind :) but not Silent Spring that was just soo boring it felt like I was revising for an exam!

[kelly2008]

If I start a book I will finish it but will read a few inbetween if its really bad :)

[burghead lass]

I put down The Stand by Stephen King for me it was a huge book and I think that put me off a bit. I will pick it up again somtime.

Heather

[O's]

If I put the book down and leave it, I very rarely go back. It has to be dire to stop me reading in the first place - By the light of the moon, D. Koontz - I'm looking at you.

[The Library Nook]

I put down Wuthering Heights because I couldn't get into it all but then a couple of years later I tried it again and loved it!

[kb.marsh]

I rarely go back to a book. If I put it down, I put it down for a reason which is unlikely to have changed

[supergran71]

I put down The Blind Assassin by Margaret Attwood. I just couldnt get into it. It is still on my bedside table, so will probably give it another go quite soon.

[NiceguyEddie]

I HATE giving up on a book, so I must really hate the book to do so. So here listed in order of how early I gave up are the few books I ditched and the reason.

Carol Shields Unless - dreary.

John Updike A Month of Sundays - couldn't follow the religious references & just hated it. This one really pained me to ditch.

Zadie Smith The Autograph Man - Just dire. It was a long time ago & can't remember exactly why. I had a really nice copy as well, with the fold out dust jacket, but I hated it.

Sarah Waters Fingersmith - The lesbian intrigue and the supposed realisation that the only true love is woman to woman started to bore me to tears. Don't get me wrong, I have the same fantasies as most males but I felt that the political agenda destroyed the book.


JEEZ.. How did I miss this thread. It was only updated yesterday!!

[kb.marsh]

I agree Eddie, I don't like giving up on books either. But if I've put it down I won't pick it up again

[tbain]

It's not often I give up on a book , I tend to see them through to the end even if I'm not that keen. The three I have given up on are in the past couple of years are:

A Suitable Boy- Vikram Seth

The Time Travellers Wife

War and Peace - Tolstoy

The think the size put me off with a couple of them and I just wasn't keen on the Time Travellers Wife. Would like to read war and Peace all the way through and will definitely try to tackle it someday!

[kb.marsh]

It's not often I give up on a book , I tend to see them through to the end even if I'm not that keen. The three I have given up on are in the past couple of years are:

A Suitable Boy- Vikram Seth

The Time Travellers Wife

War and Peace - Tolstoy

The think the size put me off with a couple of them and I just wasn't keen on the Time Travellers Wife. Would like to read war and Peace all the way through and will definitely try to tackle it someday!

I enjoyed The Time Travellers Wife - what about did you not enjoy?

[tbain]

I enjoyed The Time Travellers Wife - what about did you not enjoy?


I didn't read the whole book , or even half but I just wasn't keen, couldn't get into it and I didn't find the dialogue very goodMaybe one day I will read it right through.

[nursenblack]

There are two books that I recall beginning when I was a teen, but just could not get into and had to put them down. The first was The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, which I may have gotten through a couple of chapters. I think the other was The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Someday I may just give them a go again.

[LucyD]

I hate to abandon a book but life is just too short to plough on through rubbish sometimes, isn't it? Especially when you have some goodies lined up on the TBR pile!
And the relief you feel when you actually decide, You know what? I can't be bothered to finish this one - and close the book...ahhh, it's liberating, somehow!

[kitty_kitty]

I started 'Eldest' by Christopher Paolini, I am hoping to get back to it eventually,:D

Me too in fact i have started it twice but i will finish it

[Loopyloo100]

I put down Wuthering Heights because I couldn't get into it all but then a couple of years later I tried it again and loved it!

I did the same with"Jane Eyre"

The three I have given up on are in the past couple of years are:

A Suitable Boy- Vikram Seth

The Time Travellers Wife

War and Peace - Tolstoy

The think the size put me off with a couple of them and I just wasn't keen on the Time Travellers Wife.

I started to read "The Time Traveller's Wife" too and I too gave up on it - can't put my finger on why, but it's one I definitely intend to go back to and try again as a friend of mine really rated it.

[Michelle]

The Time Travellers is one book that I did go back to, and I'm glad I did! I started it the first time, got a little confused, and gave up. I then decided to give it another go (I think we had it as a reading circle on here), and really enjoyed it. If I recall correctly, the key is to not worry too much at the beginning trying to work out what's going on, what the time line is etc.. just read it as it is, and after a while, it starts to fall into place.

[kb.marsh]

I hate to abandon a book but life is just too short to plough on through rubbish sometimes, isn't it? Especially when you have some goodies lined up on the TBR pile!
And the relief you feel when you actually decide, You know what? I can't be bothered to finish this one - and close the book...ahhh, it's liberating, somehow!

I completely agree. I don't like to give up on books but if it isn't enjoyable, why stress over it? In fact, I gave up on a book just last night, Ian McEwan Enduring Love. I felt better for it.

[Severnlad]

I have struggled with "A Traitor to Memory" - Elizabeth George and have managed to get three quarters of the way through (with difficulty). I was reading this on recommendation of OH who said it was a great book she couldn't put down. I have put it down couldn't take anymore. :motz: :motz:

[Loopyloo100]

The Time Travellers is one book that I did go back to, and I'm glad I did! I started it the first time, got a little confused, and gave up. I then decided to give it another go (I think we had it as a reading circle on here), and really enjoyed it. If I recall correctly, the key is to not worry too much at the beginning trying to work out what's going on, what the time line is etc.. just read it as it is, and after a while, it starts to fall into place.

Thanks Michelle I certainly will try it again, I'm still not sure what to pick up for the moment though!

[slywaka1]

A Room With A View, by E M Forster is the only book I've ever started and not finished, I don't know why, but I found the characters annoying and bland, and nothing about the story compelled me to read. I'm disappointed that I never finished it as I see it as a classic and want to like it. I just don't.

Anna

[Babe*With*Brains]

usually I flick through the book, reading small sections and if it doesn't appeal to me straight away, i find i lose interest. The book I'm reading at the moment is like that (warlock by Wilbur Smith). I want to get stuck into it, but i just can't seem to.

[thelastwatcher33]

I m trying to plough through Bleak House, and its not the story thats not interesting its just the drawn out nature of it. I m so used to reading something shorter! I want to read it though...I think.

[Tiresias]

I've never not finished a book, though several have been torture and I will never read anything by those authors again.

[tbain]

I m trying to plough through Bleak House, and its not the story thats not interesting its just the drawn out nature of it. I m so used to reading something shorter! I want to read it though...I think.


Bleak House is extremely drawn out, it seemed to take me forever to get through.

[Simonsays]

Don Quixote - two hundred and ten pages down... and no, I don't think I will go back to it!

[Tiresias]

Don Quixote - two hundred and ten pages down... and no, I don't think I will go back to it!

How odd. I'm reading it now and loving it.

Different horses, etc.

[Freewheeling Andy]

How odd. I'm reading it now and loving it.

Different horses, etc.

I was about 120 pages in when I gave up. Someone told me that it's a book you suddenly get at some point in your life, and it's worth going back to every 5 or 10 years and reading a few pages of it to see if it suddenly makes sense. But I'm wondering if I've not got better things to do with my time.