Beginnings

[Pri]

So this is a question thats always bothered me...do you get put off by a book if the beginning is no good? I have to confess I do. I know it sounds shallow but no matter how great the recommendation and reviews, if the first couple of pages don't get me, I can't...and I mean really can't pull myself through the book. For isnatnce, luv Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead...but could NOT get past the first chapter of Atlas Shrugged. Anyone else feel the same?

[Ben]

It makes perfect sense. There's too many books and too little time to persevere with a book that really doesn't grab your attentions initially. I confess I'll give it a good chance though, even if the first few pages don't grab me. I try my hardest to get into the novel then if it still doesn't interest me at that point I'll give up and abandon it for something else.

[vinay87]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't see the point of a book getting better after the first 100 pages or so. If the 101st page is awesome, then the writer should have tried to make that the 1st page. If he/she has assumed that readers have the time to read 100 pages of boring writing then he/she is just misinformed.

 

The excitement should begin with the first page. Heck, maybe even the first word, if the writer is brilliant enough. It's a writer's job to grab the reader and not let go till the book is done. Anything lesser is a compromise and not a story that deserves to be read.

[Pixie]

I am that way, too. If I am not interested within the first 100 pages, I will usually put a book down.

Why waste my time if I am not enjoying what I am reading?

Edited July 30, 2010 by Pixie

[Lumo]

If it's not interested me in the first 10% or so then I expect the remainder also won't and so stop reading it (often with a bookmark still in 'just in case' I decide to come back at a later time).

 

However what I find difficult is when I book is mostly uninteresting, but every now and then has a wee bit that rescues it - difficult to decide to carry on or stop.

[beef]

 

However what I find difficult is when I book is mostly uninteresting, but every now and then has a wee bit that rescues it - difficult to decide to carry on or stop.

yes! I had this problem last week with a book, I made it all the way to page 200 of a fairly tedious book (it was all about nuclear weapons, I thought computers had a lot of acronyms but they are nothing compared to this) just because every 20 or so pages it had some obscure but interesting nugget, it would have been put down by page 20 if not.

In general I will give a book a good try, I always like to give it about 2-3 chapters to get going, otherwise I put it away with a marker in it.

[Ruth]

I'll give a book about 15 - 20 pages to draw me in. Having said that, I find it nigh on impossible to give up on a book, however little I may be enjoying it.

[Kell]

I used to read every book I started, even if I hated it. Then I realised there wasn't enough time to read all the books I WOULD love, even without wasting time on those I don't enjoy, and decided to give books 100 pages to impress me. Now it's reduced to 50 at most, but if a book isn't grabbing me within a few chapters, it usually gets dumped pretty quickly. Occasionally I'll give a book a little longer if thre are little flashes, but if it isn't kept up, they get dumped.

[bunnybooks]

I usually say that if I'm not loving the book by chapter 3 or 4 then its not worth it. It depends on the book, with some I can see that they are going to continue in the same thread throughout the book, whereas others have potential and I persevere. I do love books that are all action from the start - v. easy reading!