jeff_r
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I'm wondering when others give up on a book. Are you someone who has to finish every book you start, or are you the type that tosses a book aside the instant you recognize you're not enjoying it.
I finish almost all the books I start, but I'm pretty picky about what I start. If I'm really not enjoying something though, I'll give it the boot.
blammo
in the shadow of the wonder of bread
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My mom is a literary trooper (trouper? I guess that's the ABBA-friendly spelling) and has the ability to read 500+ page novels that she hated.
I'm usually good for about a quarter of a way on a bunk tome in before I abort the mission. Usually I try and think about how I feel before I read the book each night…am I secretly dreading it? Do I pick up a magazine instead to delay it? I say to hell with it, books you don't like are just obstacles keeping you from books you do like.
osulew
My house...in the middle of my street
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blammo wrotebunk tome
I can't explain why that made me laugh.
Are you reading a thesaurus? ;)
Back to the topic at hand...
I'm like Jeff...pretty picky about what I start reading in the first place and only seek reading suggestions from certain friends. But I have to say, after having to do so much unenjoyable and uninteresting reading for grad school...and having to finish it all, I can barely make it to a quarter of the way through a book I don't like. I'd rather be reading a magazine on a topic I like or even reading online on a topic I like rather than suffering a bad book because I think I should.
gramarye
In Exile
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Most of the time, I'll finish any book I start. There have been a small few that I put down within the first chapter. Once I get past that point, my thinking is along the lines of "in for a penny, in for a pound." Given that most of the books I start are in the 400-700 page range, that means I do have to take care in what I start.
joev
Merion Village
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I'm of the opinion that you have to know what a bad book is to truly appreciate a good one. I usually keep pushing through a bad one maybe three or four times a year. At the library, I rely on the book jacket, which usually tells me if a book will be interesting.
mrsosu21
the view is grand.
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I toss any book that isn't riveting...which is probably a really really bad thing for me to do. But I give so many books a "try" that I don't really feel that bad for it...
But I've been forcing myself to finish some for work- I feel like it's my "job" so I have to do it. But it's honestly as hard as it was to motivate myself to do algebra homework as a kid.
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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I was never able to finish The Proud Highway by HST. Never got around to Hell's Angels, but I can't imagine it's any slower of a read than Proud Highway. Ugh.
I'm really bad with finishing books sometimes. I don't take the time to read too many of them these days, but even the most interesting books get dropped by the wayside when I get busy with some other project(s). :oops:
Ver-snatchie
C-BUs
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just finished reading
'My Lobotomy': Howard Dully's Journey
I’m actually surprised it took me 3 months to read considering its about Lobotomy’s
it was good ..i mean ok
It wasn’t as sick and demented as i thought
Manatee
The eternal present
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I hardly ever give up on a book, unless it's non-fiction and the author is restating the same stale points ad nauseum. Particularly if those points are really dumb. Lately, that's been economics books.
I'll read the hell out of almost anything else around though, even ketchup bottles. I read really quickly and get so absorbed, so it never seems like a waste of time.
In a perfect world/heaven, I would do nothing but eat starchy foods and read in front of a fire all day. The end.
Anne
King Lincoln
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I give up on books if I am really not enjoying it.
Lately though I just get distracted and the book sits there waiting patiently for me to finish it.
I don't really buy too many books for me. Maybe five a year tops. And then if I like them I like to buy the hardcover version. I like collecting kids books though.
nexttuesday
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I was struggling with My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk since about April or May of '08. I finally finished it over Christmas break. I wish I wouldn't have wasted my time. Just because a book or author has won the Nobel Prize does not mean the book will be to your liking. I need to stop taking the Prize into account when choosing books.
catnfiddle
Giant Corncob District
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Only book I can remember throwing across the room after one chapter is Atlas Shrugged. I wanted to like it because it's one of my mom's favorites, but it was like reading dialogue spoken by paper dolls.
Rocknrolloutlaws
German Village
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The only book I ever quit was Moby Dick. And I made it over half way through. My progress was so slow that I dreaded picking it up. The amount of unnecessary elaborate description just was mind numbing at times.
It was when I realized that trying to plod my way through was detracting from my enjoyment of reading generally that I just decided to stop and move on to something else.
That being said, I left my bookmark in. At some point in the future I might try going back to it. So, rather than quitting, I suppose you could call it a rather extended pause.
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