LucyD Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitty_kitty Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I started 'Eldest' by Christopher Paolini, I am hoping to get back to it eventually, Me too in fact i have started it twice but i will finish it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopyloo100 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Severnlad Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopyloo100 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slywaka1 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babe*With*Brains Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelastwatcher33 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tiresias Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I've never not finished a book, though several have been torture and I will never read anything by those authors again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbain Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonsays Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Don Quixote - two hundred and ten pages down... and no, I don't think I will go back to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tiresias Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 If a book doesn't hold your interest how long do you struggle on before giving up. I use to always finish no matter how bad it was but now with so many good books out there i don't see the point in finishing something you are not enjoying. I know some books start slow, i tend to give it about 100 or so pages if it hasn't grabbed me by then i start another. Just out of interest how many books have any of you given up on this year if any. I've been lucky so far enjoyed everthing read in 2009. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I never give up on a book! Even if I am not enjoying it, I just can't give up - I wouldn't advise this course of action to anybody else though! I often wish I could give up, but once I've started investing time in a book, I have to see it through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I hate to give up on a book, I always feel like a failure if I do. But, I think I've done it three times (that I can remember). The first was with PS. I love you. I'm not sure entirely sure why; it seems very popular with everyone else! Maybe I'll give it another go someday I also gave up on 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold. Again, I can't remember why. I did try and read it again but I had the same reaction to it. The plot sounded so interesting. Maybe it was just her writing style. And...I also gave up 'We Need To Talk About Kevin'. I was only 15 when I tried to read it and the writing style wasn't to my taste. I would like to try again with it though. If I'm going to give up, it will be in the first 50-100 pages I think. Any further than that and you may as well finish it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I will give a book around 50-100 pages and if I still can't get into it I have no hesitation in giving up on it! The way I look at it is there are so many good books out there, why waste time on one I don't like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I have so nearly given up on a book this week, but have carried on and will see it to the end. I was ~100 pages in, but decided to give it another chance. I have given up on a couple of books though through sheer boredom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Life's too short (and my TBR pile too big) to read a book I'm not enjoying. I'll try and read at least a third of the book, but if I'm finding it too tedious, I will give up earlier. In the last four years, I've given up on 15 books and finished 246. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipread Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I keep going as long as I can, but when reading it becomes a chore I have no hesitation in abandoning it, no matter how far (or not) I`ve got with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I can't give up on a book. Sometimes I wish I could but I always have hope that it will get better. Case in point: I wasn't particularly enjoying Far from the Madding Crowd recently but I persevered and ended up really enjoying it. And if I don't like a book, at least I know the entire story so I can say for sure that it didn't have any redeeming qualities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 And if I don't like a book, at least I know the entire story so I can say for sure that it didn't have any redeeming qualities. That's a good point. You can't really criticise a book unless you've read the whole thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I hate to give up on a book, I always feel like a failure if I do. Yip. Me too - I hate giving up on a book. I try to persevere and not let it beat me, usually it pays off. I have only ever let 2 books win, one of which I gave away, the other one is 'Bag of Bones' by Stephen King and is on my TBR pile again. I keep reading about 4 chapters then I give up but I will finish it eventually. I won't let it beat me!!! I can't give up on a book. Sometimes I wish I could but I always have hope that it will get better. Case in point: I wasn't particularly enjoying Far from the Madding Crowd recently but I persevered and ended up really enjoying it. And if I don't like a book, at least I know the entire story so I can say for sure that it didn't have any redeeming qualities. Good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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