Giving Up on a Book

[ssmjlm]

Ok I told myself this year I was going to be better about not reading books that I found crappy within the first third.  I'm doing ok with that resolution, but wondering if maybe I'm too picky.

I'm currently reading All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin.  I can see the plot lines and ending in some manner not even a mile away.  I know Giffin wants to be seen as a "novelist" and not just someone who wrote books about stealing your best friend's soon to be husband, but so far I am unimpressed with this book.

I just DNF on She Was the Quiet One by Michelle Campbell because her last book was not good (although I finished it), but I just couldn't spend any more time on this recent one.

So how long do you give a book? 

[travella]

It depends on a bunch of factors: the reviews for the book (if a lot of people like it I'll try to push further); the length of the book (I'll try to push through short books); to what degree I am disliking the book; if I have other books at hand that I want to read; how busy I am; if I'm reading the book for a book club; if I've liked other books by the author, if it's part of a series I've been enjoying; etc...

[rainbowchip]

I'm horrible at giving up on books that I don't like and tend to just power through. I really have only given up on a few books and all of them were after reading only a chapter or even a few pages.

The last one I gave up on was SweetBitter. I read about 10 pages and didn't like it. I went and read reviews on goodreads and they basically said that the book wouldn't get better so I quit. I also had a few other books on hand that I wanted to read more than that one anyway.

[susiebw]

I quit on High Fidelity after about 10 pages last night. I just couldn't with his sexist descriptions of teenage relationships and relationships in general. Ugh.

Overall it depends on the book, though - is it an author I have enjoyed before? Why did I pick up the book in the first place? Who recommended it to me?

Life is too short to not enjoy what I'm reading. Maybe I'm too picky sometimes too, but that's cool with me.

[jr009j]

Those 2 were the last 2 books I read. I forced myself to finish both of them. If the story is the list bit engaging I need to finish. The Emily Griffin one was especially annoying because the characters were so flat.

I’m finding a lot of “literary” novels just are boring to me and I get no enjoyment whatsoever out of them. I can appreciate the art of them but I want to enjoy what I read.

[minzy]

I hardly ever stop reading a book, but life's too short to waste time doing something you don't want to do!  Put it down and don't look back.

Somewhat related - Emily Giffin apparently basically attacked one of her readers online several years ago.  (I think I first heard about that on here??)  I had read a couple of hers before, but none since.  No thanks!

[hurricanedrunk]

My rule of thumb is 100 pages. There are tons of good books out there so I try not to feel guilty over abandoning a book. I have powered through on books with good reviews with mixed results and one book in particular I skipped ahead a bunch and it got way better.

[hurricanedrunk]

Aug 29, 2018 12:18:51 GMT -5 minzy said:

Somewhat related - Emily Giffin apparently basically attacked one of her readers online several years ago.  (I think I first heard about that on here??)  I had read a couple of hers before, but none since.  No thanks!

I had forgotten all about this and could not recall why the author stood out to me! Craziness.

[tacokick]

I have stopped anywhere from 1 page in (no thank you, written in second person novel) to nearly 3/4. Life is too short!

[bex]

Aw that makes me sad to read that about Emily Giffin! I love her on IG. Ugh.

For a book like one of hers, I power through (some of hers I like, some I don't - I haven't read all of them) because they do tend to be fast reads. If a book is a fast read, but bad, I will finish it.

if its bad, but slow, then I'll prob put it down. I'm actually trying to be better about not finishing books if I don't like it. I read for enjoyment, and if I don't enjoy it, why bother?

[ssmjlm]

We're driving to the beach tomorrow. I may give it the car ride, otherwise it's a DNF. I have to say I used to like her books, but the recent ones have been so blah. I gave her last book 1 star.

[snshne322]

Aug 29, 2018 12:07:18 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

I'm horrible at giving up on books that I don't like and tend to just power through. I really have only given up on a few books and all of them were after reading only a chapter or even a few pages.

The last one I gave up on was SweetBitter. I read about 10 pages and didn't like it. I went and read reviews on goodreads and they basically said that the book wouldn't get better so I quit. I also had a few other books on hand that I wanted to read more than that one anyway.

Is this the one the show is made after? I found that show to be insufferable.  

[msmerymac]

I really try to push through and rarely give up on books, but I still do give up on some books. If I'm over 1/3 of the way in, I'm likely to finish it. I'd say for a substantial book, I usually give up in the first 100 pages. I know I did for Middlesex. Most books I give up on I'd be willing to give another shot, but it took me 3 tries to get through Wuthering Heights and I'm not sure it was worth it.

[msmerymac]

Aug 29, 2018 12:50:28 GMT -5 tacokick said:

I have stopped anywhere from 1 page in (no thank you, written in second person novel) to nearly 3/4. Life is too short!

I laughed out loud for real when I read this - and then remembered there is one novel written in second person POV that I really like. It's specifically post-modern. It was short, though - something long I probably wouldn't get through. And now I wonder if it's the same book!

[rainbowchip]

Aug 29, 2018 14:02:33 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

Aug 29, 2018 12:07:18 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

I'm horrible at giving up on books that I don't like and tend to just power through. I really have only given up on a few books and all of them were after reading only a chapter or even a few pages.

The last one I gave up on was SweetBitter. I read about 10 pages and didn't like it. I went and read reviews on goodreads and they basically said that the book wouldn't get better so I quit. I also had a few other books on hand that I wanted to read more than that one anyway.

Is this the one the show is made after? I found that show to be insufferable.  

Yes. And apparently the book was worse (according to reviews).

[Nonny]

I very rarely give up on books (to the point that I could list most of them out fairly easily if asked, and it would be less than a dozen books probably). I find that sometimes I enjoy hating on a book after the fact a lot, so I'm willing to push through. LOL!

But if a book is really boring me, and I'm finding it tedious to read, and I think it's going to get worse, I'm much more likely to give up. I'm looking at you Thomas Friedman's Thank You For Being Late.

[scribellesam]

I probably give mine around 100 pages before I move on. I can tell if I don’t want to read it if I’m playing on my phone for an hour during a time I’d usually be reading, or I’m skimming over pages to get through chapters as quickly as possible. I usually scan the last few pages before I give up completely, I want to know how it ends even if it’s awful.

[ufcasey]

I generally try to get to the 15% mark before giving up. Some books just take a little bit of time to warm up. If I'm only that far in or less though, I won't record it in Goodreads. But if I make it past that and then quit I definitely log it because I feel the need to warn others not to waste their time like I did lol

[dorothyinAus]

I give it a couple of chapters, then put it down for a while, then pick it up again. If I can get through a couple more chapters without wanting to toss it, I finish it, even if it takes several months reading a bit now and then. If I can't get through a couple more chapters after a break, I toss it because I know I'll never drag myself through it. The only exceptions are books trusted friends and family have recommended or loaned to me. Those I will drag myself through.

[abs]

I give it a few chapters (or more if they are short) and then will move on if it's not grabbing me. Sometimes I come back and end up really liking the book. This happened with Before We Were Yours. Sometimes I come back and finish the book but still end up not really enjoying it. Most of the time though if I am not looking forward to getting back to my book in the evenings I just give up on it and move on. Life is too short to read bad books.

[wesleycrusher]

Aug 29, 2018 12:07:18 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

I'm horrible at giving up on books that I don't like and tend to just power through. I really have only given up on a few books and all of them were after reading only a chapter or even a few pages.

The last one I gave up on was SweetBitter. I read about 10 pages and didn't like it. I went and read reviews on goodreads and they basically said that the book wouldn't get better so I quit. I also had a few other books on hand that I wanted to read more than that one anyway.

I read that recently. My book club read Corkdork, so I thought Sweetbitter would be a good follow-up. You didn't miss anything by not finishing.

[pixy0stix]

If I don't like it right from the start I'll give up.

[litskispeciality]

I'm really bad about giving up books. I try to give it at least 50 pages, and then I usually feel guilty like I've already gone 50, let's just keep going. It slows me down so much because then I don't want to keep reading. I think I've only really given up on a few books.

This is going to sound weird, but there was an episode of the 90's show "Are you Afraid of the Dark?" where the kids would start and not finish a book. The characters started coming to life scaring the kids and they didn't know how to defeat them because they never finished the book. I swear subconciously I really took that to heart and that's part of why I feel bad giving up, which is really silly.

[secretlyevil]

It depends on my mood, etc. It took me years to read War and Peace. The other book I wouldn't give up on was Devil in the White City, again it took me years to read. Those were the exception to the rule for the most part. I will give it a few chapters and before I stop reading. Unless it is my book club book than I keep trying to slog through.

ETA: fixed because brain is fried and I can't put sentences together at the moment.