Do you continue to read a book even if you don't like it?

1. 77

   jaydawg808posted 12 years ago

   Do you continue to read a book even if you don't like it?
   
   Or do you just abandon it and start a new book?

   replyreport
2. 90

   Emmanuel Kariukiposted 12 years ago

   To be frank, I find it very hard to continue reading a book that I do not find interesting. Sometimes the book is by a famous author, or it has received very positive reviews - If I don't enjoy the first two chapters, I put it down without any guilt. After all, there are many more books that would captivate me from cover to cover so why not seek them out?
   
   This ofcourse would not apply if you have to do an exam on the book. One particular book I remember is  'Tess of the D'urbervilles' in high school which was on of the six literature books - It was not a thriller but I had to read it many times to pass the examinations. I would not torture myself  with a boring book.

   replyreport
   1. 78

      Diana Grantposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Funnily enough, I came to Tess of the D'Urbervilles quite late in life, and absolutely loved it

      replyreport
3. 67

   ct92posted 12 years ago

   Yes I do.
   I always finish the book I start. (although It happens that I start a book, and then wait for months before going back and finishing it).
   
   It doesn't really make much sense to do that, but I don't like unfinished books, so even if I hate a book I'll still finish it.

   replyreport
4. 87

   Mrs Jil Manningposted 12 years ago

   No I don't. Life's too short and there are lots of books out there that I could be enjoying instead, so I pass it on to someone else.

   replyreport
5. 64

   cjpooja26posted 12 years ago

   No I don't and I cant rather I could start another book and enjoy it.

   replyreport
6. 65

   Highvoltagewriterposted 12 years ago

   It is even hard for me to finish a hub I don't like! However, not that I am working on my first book and I see how hard it is, I found that I am a bit more torrent than I use to be!

   replyreport
7. 0

   apimentel33posted 12 years ago

   Usually I hate giving up on a book because I like to finish anything I start reading. I think only three times though have I stopped reading a book I had started; one had way too many characters crammed into it and I couldn't keep up already in the beginning, the other just wasn't interesting in the least, and The DaVinci Code...I just hated how Dan Brown wrote his books and I couldn't push myself anymore. I have to at least be a little interested to get through a book.

   replyreport
8. 0

   Old Empresarioposted 12 years ago

   I've quit reading two books in the past (with the understanding that I would revisit them later) because they did not interest me. It's also funny, because they were not long books at all. In both cases I did go back and finish them after reading several other books that I really enjoyed. The two books I quit on were James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Herman Melville's Billy Budd. Portait was tiresome for me, because I don't enjoy autobiographical fiction. Billy Budd was poorly written. The subject and themes were interesting, but I still didn't enjoy it (probably because it was never really completed properly).

   replyreport
9. 71

   lburmasterposted 12 years ago

   When reading a new author's book, I go to the book store, pull out the novel and read the first chapter. This qualifies for ANY book. Psychology, criminal justice, cooking, science fiction, romance, etc. If I don't like the first chapter, I put it back.

   replyreport
10. 85

    M. T. Dremerposted 12 years ago

    When I first started seriously reading, I would force myself to finish a book I didn't like. Part of the reason I did that is because there are a lot of books that people agree are worth reading, even if it's kind of a chore. A great example is Shakespeare. It's not a light afternoon read, but it's worth reading. Two books in particular; the Silmarillion and A Game of Thrones, would never have found a spot in my heart if I hadn't pushed passed initial boredom. So, I do think there is a good reason to give a book a chance; not all of them are going to grab you in the first few chapters. However, I do find that, as I get older, I'm less willing to push through books I'm not enjoying. Before, I would get to the end, but now I just push a few chapters past the point I lost interest. If it doesn't pick up, then I just set the book down.

    replyreport
11. 52

    Judith Wposted 12 years ago

    No, but I used to.  I now have a 25 page tolerance.  After that, no deal.  There is an exception.  If I bought the book, I persevere. But those are generally non-fiction.  I like checking out the first sentence of fiction books.  That first sentence, and first paragraph, are usually the ones that the author sweat blood over. 
    I don't usually judge a book by its cover (but sometimes the quality of paper, the way the pages are cut, the binding...) but I do love that first paragraph test.

    replyreport
    1. 69

       Anna Havenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       You have a good point about the cover, quality  etc.   It does make a  difference to  how we receive it.

       replyreport
12. 88

    RolyRetroposted 12 years ago

    Never! Life is too short, and there are too many good books to read, so why persevere with one that you are not enjoying?  You don't owe the author anything!
    
    Roly

    replyreport
13. 77

    Faith A Mullenposted 12 years ago

    I have to admit, any book that can't keep my attention gets dumped and replaced. There is just too little time to waste it on something you're not enjoying!

    replyreport
14. 78

    Diana Grantposted 12 years ago

    I used to try and finish books, but as I have collected more books than I could ever hope to read in my lifetime, I have a good try, and if I really feel I'm not progressing fast enough (e.g. I've forgotten who the characters are each time I go back to the book), then I do somewhat reluctantly give up.
    
    I have recently stopped reading Hard Times and also Life of Pi after getting half way through each of them because, although I was enjoying the style and writing, it was clear to me that there were other books I wanted to read more and, being quite difficult books, they were too time-consuming. I got stuck on Nietsche as well - that one was hellish.

    replyreport
15. 69

    Anna Havenposted 12 years ago

    I will read the first couple of chapters to give it a chance, but then abandon it forever if it is  still a chore to keep reading.

    replyreport