Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
It should be mandatory to stop reading a book that's not working out for you. Reading time is finite and precious. That said, I get caught myself. My issue is not with books where I say wholeheartedly, "This is awful," and ditch it, but the ones where I say, "This is awful," but keep reading for some lousy reason, such as curiosity about how it will end or because it relates to an area of interest. It's always a poor decision. (Psst! A couple of times I've finished a book club book I thought was dreadful, because book club. But I think that's unnecessary; enough to know why you didn't like it. The book club isn't supposed to be a means of self-flagellation. No spiritual benefits will accrue.)
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No, no, no. It is mandatory to finish a book once you start.* Because how can you know what strange and delightful places it might go? OK, that rarely happens, but I always hope.
It's important to take great care in the selection process, but once I've selected a book to read, I trust the instinct that attracted me to the book in the first place--interesting premise/characters/setting, reliable author, recommendation/review, even (gasp!) the cover art.
In my preferred category of domestic thrillers, there can often be a long, slow buildup before a series of surprises and a big payoff. It's impossible to tell at the beginning if some of the mundane details are actually little bombs that are going to explode later. When they do, when the details that were in plain sight suddenly come into focus though a new lens, it can be quite satisfying. When they don't, when I come to the end and realize too many mundane details were essentially useless filler, well, then I know not to bother with that author again. But I have to finish the book to find that out.
*
Except Russian novels assigned in high school. Though I AM going to get through Anna Karenina someday.