Kell Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moussecake Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted July 2, 2007 Author Share Posted July 2, 2007 Good question! As we've had a recent discussion about this, I've merged the threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 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!! 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leona Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedge Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carm Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 the one book i remember not finishing is iberia by james michener- it was just tedious -carm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I honestly say I don't see myself in the near future, picking up 'Vanishing Acts' by Jodi Picoult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 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! 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!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 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. Course that's not to say I won't pick up something else in between. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Now I am back in the swing with my old love. History. So I'll be reading Greek history for awhile now. Course that's not to say I won't pick up something else in between. 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted July 12, 2007 Share Posted July 12, 2007 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. , buying more books than I will read in, oh...about 10 years or so. Well!, ya never know...might be a paper shortage.. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Watie Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 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 (), it just bores me to tears. :sleeping-smiley-009I will eventually pick it up again - I mean after all, it's Stephen King. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteffieB Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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