When do you give up on a book?

[Pixie]

I know there may be some people that will finish a book no matter how painful it is (and that is their prerogative), but I was wondering about the reasons readers may have for giving up on a book.

 

Is there something in particular that you look for and if it isn't there that is when you abandon the story? If so, what is it? How soon should this particular something appear?

 

I ask this because I sometimes give up on books, but I will usually at least give the first 100 pages a try. But I don't always know myself what it is that makes me put it down. So I would like to hear other people's thoughts.

[lauraloves]

i always try to keep going with a book even if im not enjoying it. having said that if i cant get into it and my mind keeps wandering ill give it up, i always try to get 50 or so pages in.

 

the last book i gave up on i didnt understand half the words that were in it.

[Kell]

I used to plod right through to the bitter end, no matter what, till I realised I have a finiate amount of time on this planet and there's no point in wasting it on a book I'm not enjoying, so I ditched the guilt as well as the rubbish books. I give a book a good few chapters or till about page 50 unless the writing is really bad (in which case it'll get dumped earlier) or I realise I'm just not in the mood for that particular book at that time, in which case I'll go back to it and try again some other time.

[StephenKingman]

I usually give up when the plot hasnt moved and the characters have not developed in a sufficient amount of time or else if the book is really boring and i cant get into it. Also, if the book has been slowly building to an exciting event, only to dash your hopes and go straight back to plodding descriptions, then im finished with it.

 

Bag of Bones was the hardest book i have read in my life, literally NOTHING happened from page 1 to the end and i very nearly ditched it on several occasions.

[chesilbeach]

I rarely give up completely on books, but when I do, I try to read at least one third to a half of it to give it a fair chance. If after that I'm still not interested in the characters or what happens to them, then I'll give up. For a non-fiction, I might skim read a couple of chapters to see if it improves, or look ahead to see if there are any sections I'm particularly interested in reading before deciding to give up. Some books I know I want to read, but after having started them I find I'm not in the mood, so I'll put them aside and come back to them, but I rarely do that either, as I find it difficult to go back to a book once I've put it aside.

[Kidsmum]

I very rarely give up on a book, if i'm finding it slow going i always hope that it'll pick up further in or have a good ending. Having said that though if i reach the 100 page mark & i'm having to force myself to pick it up & read then i'll put it in the charity bag.

[joe]

I really do persevere with a book as I hate to admit defeat but sometimes if i am not enjoying it then I will stop and pick up another book

[Scoopalicious]

One of the things I do before either buying a book or borrowing one from the library is read the first page. I find the first page of the book gives me a general idea as to style of writing used and as such helps me decide if it's something worth trying or not.

 

Overall though I can usually tell within the first couple of chapters whether I'm going to enjoy the book or not, but even then once I start a book I do try to read it right through to the very end. I've only had to give up on a few books so far so all in all I'm not doing too badly.

 

I do, however, tend to stick to tried and tested authors or failing that books that fall into the genres or styles that I know I like so it's not usually a big problem with me. I am trying to read more books outside my comfort zone though, so it may be something that comes into play more and more as I go. We shall have to see.

[Heffalumpi]

I too go with the 100 page rule - if it hasn't sucked me in by then it is unlikely that it will. I read for pleasure and would hate to feel that I had to finish a book that I wasn't enjoying.

[c_mob]

Usually give up more on non-fiction books than fiction.Especially when you get bogged down with too much data/technical info/waffling.

 

Fiction i probably finish 99% of books i start.

[BookJumper]

I certainly don't feel guilty abandoning books I'm not enjoying at all (I learnt my lesson after trawling through the bajillion pages of Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant only to discover that no, it didn't get better).

 

I love good solid characters, poetic language and interesting philosophical themes, ideally all together but I will continue reading a plainly written book if I care for the characters and the themes intrigue me (i.e. Daniel Water's Generation dea) and so on.

 

I guess if all three of the above are completely lacking, the book's toast. I am pretty good at judging whether I'll like a book or not before committing to it, so this happens rarely.

[Ooshie]

I rarely pick up books where the subject matter doesn't interest me, and I usually glance at a couple of random pages in the book, too, to check whether I like the writing style - so the books I read are mostly very much to my taste. Sometimes I find I'm just not in the mood for a particular book, though, and leave it for another time.

 

I very rarely totally abandon a book, though; even if I'm not enjoying it, that just feels...wrong.

[Pixie]

I love good solid characters, poetic language and interesting philosophical themes, ideally all together but I will continue reading a plainly written book if I care for the characters and the themes intrigue me (i.e. Daniel Water's Generation dea) and so on.

 

I guess if all three of the above are completely lacking, the book's toast. I am pretty good at judging whether I'll like a book or not before committing to it, so this happens rarely.

It seems we look for very similar qualities in a novel, Bookjumper. Solid characters is my number one priority as well, but I do also adore poetic language and prefer philosophical themes that keep my mind active.

 

I hope you don't mind if I do a little research on these forums to see what some of your favorites are.

[BookJumper]

Aw of course not Pixie; in fact, I am flattered I could even PM you a little list myself if you like?

[Pixie]

Aw of course not Pixie; in fact, I am flattered I could even PM you a little list myself if you like?

Oh, please do. I just ordered a book I saw you recommend to someone in another thread. The Book of Flying by Keith Miller. It looked to be excellent!

[Nienna]

I've been lucky enough to only have read a few book that I really couldn't stick with 'til the very end. Usually I will give a book I am really not enjoying until about at least 1/4 of the way through until I toss it aside. I always just keep hoping they will pick up soon - some do, some don't.

 

Usually what I look for is truth of feeling, skill with language, an engaging story or characters, and a little something that I can take away, even if it's just seeing something from another person's perspective. Not necessarily all at the same time, but if I get 2 or 3 of these I know I'm on to a winner.

[Coffin Nail]

I took Deadly Intent back to the library without finishing it. That doesn't happen often, but the lure of next book was too strong.

[SandMan]

I generally try to finish what I start, but some books are just to awful to carry on. If it feels like someone's grating fingernails down the chalkboard of my brain, then I might even throw the book away. Which is a shame, because I usually got excited to begin with. Recently, I tried reading Vathek by William Beckford and Roger Lonsdale, but it just didn't compute.

[Ben]

Aw of course not Pixie; in fact, I am flattered I could even PM you a little list myself if you like?

 

Feel free to PM me a list of your best recommendations as well, if it's not too much trouble. I imagine there are many books that you have read that I haven't, that I would enjoy.

 

As for when I would give up on a book, I'm of the same opinion as many others. Once I have begun I novel then I do try to manage to read all the way through. In fact, off the top of my head I don't think I can think of many books that I have abandoned all together. Sometimes I may abandon one for a slight while because of time constraints or because it's just not grabbing me, nevertheless more often or not I will go back to it and finish it off.

[Sara23]

I hate giving up on books as I always wonder what happened in the end and if maybe it picked up later on. I therefore usually just read it all no matter how much I dislike it. The last book I gave up on was

[Echo]

I never used to give up on books. I would suffer through to the bitter end. But after having to read Demonology by Rick Moody (the most pretentious writer ever, in my opinion) for a writing class, I decided I would never again force myself to read something I'm not enjoying. What's the point? There are so many books out there to read, I'm not going to waste time reading something I'm not enjoying.

[BookJumper]

Oh, please do. I just ordered a book I saw you recommend to someone in another thread. The Book of Flying by Keith Miller. It looked to be excellent!

Oh, it is the ending might madden you (it sure as Hades maddened me!), but the journey is worth it regardless.

Feel free to PM me a list of your best recommendations as well, if it's not too much trouble. I imagine there are many books that you have read that I haven't, that I would enjoy.

Please don't give up on me yet, guys the (not so) little list is in the process of being compiled; you wouldn't want me to display anything less than my trademark thoroughness now would you ?

[Pixie]

Oh, it is the ending might madden you (it sure as Hades maddened me!), but the journey is worth it regardless.

I know what you mean. The book already arrived here, and I have already devoured it.

I did do a brief review under my "Pixie's Perusal's Reviewed" thread.

[gax23]

I'm divided on this one. I have given up on many books; usually non-fiction books as I am the sort of person who flits from one hobby or interest to another and as a result I have usually gone off the subject by the time I've got half-way through the book! I find it much easier to stick with fiction and have recently given myself a rule not to give up on any book.

[ian]

I always go with Stephen King's rule. Give a book 10% (so, if a book is 300 pages long, read 30 pages). If it hasn't grabbed you by then, it probably never will. I sucessfully read Lord of the flies after taking this advice, having failed the first time

 

Ian