Do you finish every book you start?
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
August 25, 2015 6:00pm CST
I visit my local libraries very often. There is a small library in my town, but I also visit some of the large libraries in my area. I borrow many types of books, and when I read fiction I don't finish every book that I start. I usually read a short description of the book before I read it. Sometimes the description sounds very interesting, but when I start reading the book I don't find the story interesting. I usually read a couple of chapters if I don't like the book right away, but I don't read the entire book if I don't like it. I mostly read library books, so it is not a waste of money to return books without reading them.
When I read non-fiction I don't finish every book either. I read non-fiction because I am interested in topics like psychology, history and art and not because they are a part of my education or work. If I don't like the non-fiction books I return them and try to find better books next time I visit the library.
What about you? Do you finish every book that you start? Why/why not?
10 people like this
13 responses
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
26 Aug 15
And I can understand whether the book is interesting or not just after reading the first page and sometimes after reading a few sentences.
@Gina145 (3949)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
26 Aug 15
No, I don't finish every book I start either. Even when I find a book interesting I sometimes find that I come across something else more interesting and can't resist reading that first. Then when I want to return to the first book I can no longer remember what I was reading, so I either leave it or start over. I waste a lot of time that way.
3 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
26 Aug 15
I do the same thing. If I find a book that is very interesting I read that book first. Sometimes I still remember the first book I was reading and I just continue, but I am not able to do that every time. Sometimes I forgot the first book and I have to start over.
1 person likes this
@Gina145 (3949)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
26 Aug 15
@Porcospino I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who does that.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
26 Aug 15
99% of the time i do..but if they're rambling with no point,or i find something terribly disturbing,out it goes.i remember trying to read "sybil" a few years ago and couldn't finish it for that reason.i found out years later that book may have all been made up by the author,which on some level was a relief.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
27 Aug 15
I have read "Sybil" several years ago, and when I read it I believed that it was a true story. Later I read that the author made some of it up and changed many details. According to another source she made it all up, but I am not sure what the truth is.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
3 Sep 15
No, if a book is too much of a struggle I give up on it. There are too many other books competing for my attention to stick with those that don't grab me.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
9 Sep 15
I do the same thing. I usually read the first chapters and if I don't like the book I give up and find something else to read.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (37350)
• Toccoa, Georgia
26 Aug 15
I finish most books I start. There are a few that I may not finish because they are not as good as I thought they would be.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
27 Aug 15
I sometimes experience the same thing. I buy or borrow books because I think that they are interesting, but sometimes they don't live up to my expectations.
@GreatMartin (23672)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
27 Aug 15
I have read awful books, seen boring movies, watched the worst TV shows but I never stop until "The End"--I always hope something will 'happen'!! LOL
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
9 Sep 15
I don't usually finish the books that I don't like, but I tend to finish the movies that I watch. I think that they might get better, but sometimes they get worse instead 
@ElicBxn (63594)
• United States
24 Sep 15
I have to say that I have pretty much finished every fiction book I've ever started. Maybe not on the first try, but... Now, I also almost never look at the end of the book to see what happened. I say almost because there was one that was really awful. I kept wanting to stop reading it, it was so bad, but I also kept going to the end and trying to figure out how it ended. I just could NOT figure out how the writer was going to get to the end from where the story was. I ended up reading the whole thing, and still consider it one of the most colossal wastes of time I ever had reading a book, but he did actually manage to resolve the story to the end without any massive Deus ex Machina.
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
26 Aug 15
It is always an issue with me. I am not that avid a reader and my books today are mostly technical ones. I buy them as we dont have an easy to access library (nearby). I basically read books in bits and pieces. For instance, in there was a need to find out how two numbers were to be added, I would only look at the relevant sections and keep it back. later on, where there would be another need for say finding out how to subtract two numbers, I would search for that in the book.
even when I used to read novels, I might start off with a great enthusiasm and interest. But if the style of writing or even the scene / plot building started making me feel bored, I would keep it back - mostly never to reopen. And on occasions that I did reopen, I would have forgotten everything and start reading afresh. Sometime, it gets completed and on most cases, history repeats.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
27 Aug 15
I use some of my non-fiction books the same way. I look for the information I need, and I don't read the rest of the book. My husband reads every page in his non-fiction books, and he thinks that I should do the same, but I tend to look for the information I need instead of reading it all.
When I read fiction I sometimes get disappointed by the books. I pick them because the description sounds interesting, but when I start reading them I discover that I don't like the writing style or don't find the plot interesting. When that happens I don't read the rest of the book.
1 person likes this
@foxontherails (236)
• Japan
26 Aug 15
Although I only recently started reading more seriously, I already had a few incidents like that. Most recent was with Nabokov's "Lolita" and earlier, I had to stop "The Great Gatsby". I guess that I ran out of my loan time on "Lolita" and the first few paragraphs bored me on the latter.
I guess that from now on, because I will be reading more, I'll need to control what kinds of books I read. If I don't enjoy it much, I'll probably stop reading it. Sort of like what I do with my seasonal TV programs - pick some by their descriptions, go wade in the water a bit, and see if it's OK or not, then off I go.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
27 Aug 15
I have heard about both books, but I have never read them. I borrow a lot of books at the library and it happens quite often that I have to return them before I get the chance to read all of them. I can't afford to buy all of the books that I want to read so I read many library books. If I don't enjoy a book I don't read all of it. I read a few chapters and if I still don't like the book I don't read the rest.
1 person likes this
@dashboardc33 (314)
•
26 Aug 15
No, I don't finish every book that I start. There are a few that I just can't get into so I don't continue on with it. I try to, but it doesn't always happen.
2 people like this
@else34 (13515)
• New Delhi, India
26 Aug 15
Thanks for starting this great discussion.Yes,I do finish every book I begin reading.Here every book means every book that is of my interest.Once I like the book,I can't shut it until I have read the last word of the last sentence of the last page.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
27 Aug 15
Sometimes I have to read a few chapters before I know if I find the book interesting. That is not always the case. Sometimes I read the first couple of pages and immediately decide to read the rest. Some books are really interesting and it is hard to put them down.
