Thursday, March 10, 2011

What Makes YOU Stop Reading?

Do you finish every book you start?

Why? or Why not?

I wanted to finish UNDER THE DOME by Stephen King. Really ... I did. But, I "walked" away from it four different times to read other books. And, it continues to gather dust on my nightstand. I decided last night ... I'm not going to finish it.

If you want it - it's yours - free - but I'm NOT paying for shipping. :)

Why did I stop?

First, let me tell you why I tried so hard to finish it: the writing and voice(s) were great.

However, the main reason I stopped was because I realized I *shouldn't* have to TRY so hard to read a book! ACK. Secondly, the violence and language exceeded my threshold. I love horror stories, but the violence in this one simply was too much for me. And, I also realized my desire to find out "what happens" no longer mattered to me.

I'd rather read books I'm EXCITED about and can't read fast enough!

So, how about you? Do you finish every book you start?

18 comments:

  1. Generally I do finish every book I start, but there are some (perhaps surprising) exceptions. i.e. I never finished book 5 of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I do intend to get back to it someday (I LOVE Jamie...:P), but...I just felt it was dragging at the point I got up to, and found more interesting things to read.

    But yeah, usually I'll finish every book, even if I don't particularly like what I'm reading. I just like to know I gave it every chance to redeem itself. haha.

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  2. I used to be fairly militant about reading every book I started. I felt it was something I HAD to do. But then over time, I just ... stopped. I found that I was languishing over a book so long that weeks would go by, and I wouldn't let myself pick up another in the meantime. I love to read, and I read A LOT, so this wasn't working.

    So now if a book isn't holding me, I put it down and pick up another. I always promise myself I'll go back to it, but I never do.

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  3. I find I stop reading when the book is too boring without real plot or interesting characters. I try to get through it but I'm like you, I shouldn't have to try.

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  4. Sadly, no, I don't always finish...but (and I know this is horrible) sometimes I skip to the back to see how it ends before I put it down.

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  5. I try to finish most books I start, because I don't general pick a story up unless it's by an author I already know & trust, had a terrific sounding premise, or came highly recommended by others.

    Some books, however, just lose me. But I do voe to give each book I start a full 50 pages before I call it quits. Some take a little longer to get rolling than others. But if you can't draw me in by the 50 page mark, I'm out.

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  6. A book has to be fairly bad for me not to finish it. However I have begun stopping partway more often recently, as I've recognised there are so many good books I want to read and can learn from, there's no point wasting my time with something substandard. The issues that most commonly stop me from reading are poor writing, unbelievable/uninteresting plot, or characters I can't connect with. Or, like you, gratuitous violence/sex.

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  7. Since I now read mostly YA and MG books, I have less patience for "adult" books if they take too much time to set up the plot and introduce the characters, but I will force myself to wade through if I think I'll like it once I get past all that.

    The only times I stop reading are if the writing is so bad I think it will hurt me more than it will help me to read the book, or if I just can't get into it no matter how hard I try. Luckily, that doesn't happen often.

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  8. I do not finish every book I start! If you check out my own Goodreads account (link on my blog), you'll see that I have a category labeled "Didn't finish" and I usually write a reason why I didn't finish it in the review area. The reasons vary between "didn't have time" to "it wasn't interesting to me". To each their own.

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  9. I don't always finish, either. It can be for different reasons, but it probably all boils down to what you said--it isn't holding my interest.

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  10. This only happens when I try to read the really serious stuff. I tried reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand but I have to admit, I flipped through some pages there. I count it as read but it was skimmed. Fortunately I've picked books that were good reads for me, so this doesn't happen often. But last year I bought IN THE WOODS by Tana French. I was totally disappointed. I kept waiting for the good part but it never came. Not my cup of tea. Hope you are well.

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  11. I must admit I don't finish every book I start reading. I'm sorry, Charles Dickens, I just don't like your writing. Then there are books I want to finish, plan to go back and finish, but I haven't yet. I enjoyed them but another shiny book came along, and I read it first. Sorry. I'll get back to you. I promise.

    Not every book is for everyone, and you're right that you shouldn't have to try to read a book.

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  12. I loved UNDER THE DOME but am having issues with Ken Follet's FALL OF GIANTS (another huge book) It gathers dust but not because it lacks greatness... I just feel like it is going more slowly than I need right now. Perhaps this summer I'll give it another go.

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  13. UTD is still languishing on my shelf. I've only connected with one character and I'm resisting scanning the pages for his name. I have never not finished a King nook before and I fear this will be my first.

    I always finish the books I start. I can think of one exception (other than UTD) where I didn't. That book ended up hitting the wall, literally. There's a part of me that wants to try it again. It elicited a strong reaction so I feel I should figure out why. But everytime I even think about picking it up I get crabby.

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  14. IN all the books I've read, there was only one time that I had never finished a book. It was a bestseller for decades in the spanish community and a friend gave me a translated version.

    I managed to get through only half.... The story was riddled with hundreds of variations of basically the same name. It was SO confusing and the story line SO depressing I dropped it.

    Needless to say it has to be pretty bad for me to not finish.

    Michael

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  15. I don't finish every book I start. Usually it's because the reading is awkward or the Characters don't grab me and seem real!

    I'm feeling really stoked that you finished mine and not a Stephen King.

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  16. I don't finish every book I begin either. If I'm not hooked within the first third of the book, I'll set it aside--unless it's for a group read, in which case I'll feel obliged to slog through. Otherwise though--well, life is too short!

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  17. I used to feel like a failure if I didn't finish a book. Over time (and with age) I don't waste time anymore if doesn't grab me after a few chapters. There are books people pass on (namely my sis) that I don't care for, and I wonder if it's me, and then I think, "so what if it's me." Then there is the whole issue of overrated best selling authors, or writing legends like Ernest Hemingway who I can't figure out what makes/made them special. Margo, you've brought on a rant from me...sorry to steal so much space!

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