Do you ever give up on a book?

@maezee (41988)
United States
August 22, 2017 11:25am CST
I am a big reader (probably no news to you) but I have this problem with abandoning books I have started reading. If I dont like a book and cant get into it, I usually grit my teeth and finish it anyway because it bothers me to be a "quitter" and you never know at what point a book will get good! But as I sit here on the elliptical at the gym, on page 12 of The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk... I am having extreme trouble getting into it. I am so early into it that it wont be much of a lost investment if I quit now. I might but I really dont like doing that! Are any of you readers crazy like me? Will you finish a book even if you dont like it or cant get into it?
30 people like this
33 responses
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
22 Aug 17
Not really...I skip and skip the pages...And finish it so that I get a gist of it. But this has happened rarely
3 people like this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
I know I have done this before but dint you miss important parts or info?
1 person likes this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
29 Aug 17
@responsiveme same here! I usually cannot put them down!
1 person likes this
• India
23 Aug 17
@maezee This is only for books that I don't feel I can finish...And this happens only rarely. Mostly I am stuck to the book
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15727)
• Canada
22 Aug 17
Yes... I keep hoping that it will get better lol!
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (160978)
• United States
23 Aug 17
@maezee Back when there were all these book clubs to join, and if you did not notify soon enough you got the shipment, I got a few that were not to my taste and read them anyway. At least one was the source of nightmares.
@maezee (41988)
• United States
29 Aug 17
@QuantumJoy true that!
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Haha! Its sad that we feel guilty about this sort of thig.
1 person likes this
• United States
22 Aug 17
I always know by the first chapter if I'm going to enjoy a book or not. I hate to abandon a book too but sometimes it's a waste of time when you can be reading something else that will be of more interest
2 people like this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Exactly! And it can also be a waste of money if you buy books and abandon them. I am a big reader though and this is the first one in a while I couldnt get into.
1 person likes this
• United States
23 Aug 17
@maezee I have hundreds of books (over 350 downloaded on my kindle) and about 100 in real books. I always try to read the first few pages before I buy a book so I get an idea if I'll like it or not. But, sometimes a book looks good and then it isn't. Do you ever get to a point as you are going along knowing the book isn't something you're interested in but you keep reading cause you figure it has to get better? LOL
@NJChicaa (120142)
• United States
22 Aug 17
I will usually push through to the end. There are very few that I have given up on but it has happened.
2 people like this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Ditto! I find myself disappointed in myself if I dont push through it!
1 person likes this
@hillhjill (23714)
• United States
22 Aug 17
I love to read but if the book don't pull me in and I can't get into it..I will move on to the next.
2 people like this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Thats probably a goodnway to go. Unless you are close to finishing or at the halfway point. Since I am only at page 12 I think Ill just donate it and call it a done deal.
1 person likes this
@Kosgey (1706)
22 Aug 17
It seems you reading book that you are not interested in. Maybe, the book isn't captivating as it is suppose yo be. A good book will make you clued to it, and read it as many times as you want.
2 people like this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Exactly. I think I will call it quits. Thanks. It usually doesnt happen that Im totally uninterested.
@KrauseHome (36447)
• United States
24 Aug 17
If I cannot get into a book for some reason and have read at least the first chapter, then I have been known to give it up and either return to the Library, put in a book exchange, or try and sell it. Many times this is why I will not buy a book by someone I am unfamiliar with.
@maezee (41988)
• United States
29 Aug 17
Good idea. And I am trying to teach myself that as well what is a book echange by the way?
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
22 Aug 17
I don't read many books these days but I usually stick with a movie unless it's really bad.
1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (82066)
• Onaway, Michigan
22 Aug 17
I only done it once and it was for the same reason you are talking about I hate quitting a book also I love reading also .
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Me too. Glad I am not the only one!!!
@Tina30219 (82066)
• Onaway, Michigan
23 Aug 17
@maezee Right.
@BelleStarr (61101)
• United States
22 Aug 17
I have upon occasion given up on a book and then gone back at a later date to see if I could find something I liked.
1 person likes this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Good point. I do think for me my attention span ebbs and flows. So maybe at a later date I would be more into it.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
25 Aug 17
Yes, and it is true to me that some are just not worth my time. A recent adventure was speed read by me b/c it was required reading as an opinion piece, but it was difficult to finish even doing that @maezee
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
22 Aug 17
At page 12, I would quit if I didn't like it. If you muddle on toward halfway you sort of feel committed to read how it turns out.
1 person likes this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Already put it in my donate pile. Haha. But I was debating in doing that. It wasnt really the storyline that wasnt hooking me but the style of writing if that makes sense?
1 person likes this
@JustBhem (70555)
• Davao, Philippines
22 Aug 17
Two weeks ago I was reading a book from Paulo Coelho.
1 person likes this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
How was that?
1 person likes this
@maezee (41988)
• United States
29 Aug 17
@JustBhem i can understand that!
1 person likes this
@JustBhem (70555)
• Davao, Philippines
23 Aug 17
@maezee The sad part is I haven't finished the book because I have some errands to do.
@dramagirl26 (3259)
• Ringgold, Virginia
22 Aug 17
I try to finish a book no matter how bad it may be.
@maezee (41988)
• United States
22 Aug 17
Thats generally my mindset too. Have you ever stopped reading one though?
@GardenGerty (160978)
• United States
23 Aug 17
I used to, but not anymore. I tend not to read at all anymore, and that makes me sad.
@silvermist (19702)
• India
23 Aug 17
Till recently I too was crazy.I hated being a quitter.Not any more.If I do not like a book,I give up.It is my time.My choice.
• Israel
23 Aug 17
My bookcase at my mom's home is full of books I have stopped reading after 2 pages or 50 or 100, life is too short for doing things I don't like. books are not people that you insulte or hurt if you leave them. I regret more I didn't left back sooner a book that made me feel bad vibes, even if it is only in my imagination.
@Hannihar (130213)
• Israel
24 Aug 17
I have had people bring me books to read and we also have a good used bookstore in town where I bought books. I have been introduced to authors I have not heard of before. If I really cannot get into a book then I do not continue reading it. When I find a book I love I do not want to put it down, but, do not want it to end either.
@alexjessi (1033)
• Hanoi, Vietnam
23 Aug 17
I like to read book too! But if the books are boring I will not watch it anymore, if it good I still read it. Because keep read a boring book just waste time my friend
23 Aug 17
I always like to finish my reading especially if the book is interesting, but at times I found it difficult to finish when the book is voluminous.