Do you finish every book you start?

banjobama · 08-04-2010, 11:43 AM

I don't.

If it's not holding my interest after, at most, halfway through, I don't spend any more time on it.

texasnightowl · 08-04-2010, 11:46 AM

No. There are definitely some I start and just can not get thru. Too boring; too badly written; whatever. I mark them with a DNF tag in Calibre and move on.

theducks · 08-04-2010, 11:54 AM

No!
It is rare, but there have been a few that made it through the in-store screening (getting harder to do with on-line stores). The Blurb suckered me in

, that was the best part

Then there is the book that took me the longest to finish

Hawaii, I would read a chapter, the set it aside. Read another chapter a month later ... Finally made it to the end.

FlorenceArt · 08-04-2010, 12:00 PM

I try to read an excerpt before I buy, but if despite that I don't like the book, I don't finish it.

There have been two cases where I was still reading but getting bored, and fate intervened. The first was a pbook, and someone brushed by me in the métro and sent it to the floor. I picked it up but didn't bother finding the place I was reading. The second was an e-book, and I had decided to read to the end although it was not stellar, but the file was corrupted and I missed the last few chapters.

Usually though, I can stop by myself if I decide the book is not worth my time. This happens more often with free books, because I don't necessarily screen them before downloading.

AnemicOak · 08-04-2010, 12:01 PM

It's very, very rare that I don't finish a book once I start it but there have been a few.

shanghaichica · 08-04-2010, 12:01 PM

No, if i'm not enjoying it after about 50-60 pages in I stop reading it.

carld · 08-04-2010, 12:01 PM

Mostly yes, but there have been exceptions.

Lexi Revellian · 08-04-2010, 12:02 PM

No; but I was much more tolerant when I was younger, and would press right on to the end. Since I started writing, I notice craft issues. Word echoes, a slab of 'As you know, Bob,' dialogue, or throat-clearing instead of getting on with the story really put me off.

AlbertaCowboy · 08-04-2010, 12:03 PM

I used to have to finish, but I've now learned that there are FAR too many good books to waste time reading bad ones!

mikij · 08-04-2010, 12:05 PM

I voted YES, although it happened to me few times (probably less than 10 out of several thousands books I've read) to quit. They were either too boring or I didn't like the style or whatever and I didn't want to continue. Just an example: Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" - I really couldn't stand it and I admit - I don't like sentences that start at the beginning of one page and finish in the middle of the next one.

jblitereader · 08-04-2010, 12:08 PM

<edit>

FlorenceArt · 08-04-2010, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikij

I voted YES, although it happened to me few times (probably less than 10 out of several thousands books I've read) to quit. They were either too boring or I didn't like the style or whatever and I didn't want to continue. Just an example: Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" - I really couldn't stand it and I admit - I don't like sentences that start at the beginning of one page and finish in the middle of the next one.

I have been reading Proust on and off since I got a reader, and I get the feeling I sometimes pick it up, start reading in the middle of a sentence, read a few pages, then stop reading, and that same sentence is still running

HamsterRage · 08-04-2010, 12:17 PM

Life is too short to waste any of it reading bad books.

ATDrake · 08-04-2010, 12:47 PM

Sometimes I finish bad books out of sheer morbid curiosity. The merely boring ones I usually just stop reading.

Unless they're required texts, in which case I slog through them, cursing along the way.

Angst · 08-04-2010, 12:52 PM

About 1% of the time, I'll abandon a book. Some books are just too tedious and badly written to waste more time on. Usually, if I make it one third of the way through the book, I'll finish it.

View Poll Results: Do you finish reading every book you start reading?
Yes. I finish a book no matter what.	38	20.99%
No. I'll leave a book unfinished.	139	76.80%
Go away.	4	2.21%
Voters: 181. You may not vote on this poll

08-04-2010, 11:43 AM	#1
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	Do you finish every book you start? I don't. If it's not holding my interest after, at most, halfway through, I don't spend any more time on it.

08-04-2010, 12:08 PM	#11
jblitereader Addict Posts: 248 Karma: 1312 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: jetbook lite	<edit> Last edited by jblitereader; 03-23-2011 at 02:31 AM.

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08-04-2010, 11:46 AM	#2
texasnightowl Guru Posts: 781 Karma: 2873645 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Texas Device: PW5, Oasis 3, K4B(NT), K3/KK	No. There are definitely some I start and just can not get thru. Too boring; too badly written; whatever. I mark them with a DNF tag in Calibre and move on.

08-04-2010, 11:54 AM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 30,887 Karma: 59840450 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	No! It is rare, but there have been a few that made it through the in-store screening (getting harder to do with on-line stores). The Blurb suckered me in , that was the best part Then there is the book that took me the longest to finish Hawaii, I would read a chapter, the set it aside. Read another chapter a month later ... Finally made it to the end.

08-04-2010, 12:00 PM	#4
FlorenceArt High Priestess Posts: 5,761 Karma: 5042529 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Montreuil sous bois, France Device: iPad Pro 9.7, iPhone 6 Plus	I try to read an excerpt before I buy, but if despite that I don't like the book, I don't finish it. There have been two cases where I was still reading but getting bored, and fate intervened. The first was a pbook, and someone brushed by me in the métro and sent it to the floor. I picked it up but didn't bother finding the place I was reading. The second was an e-book, and I had decided to read to the end although it was not stellar, but the file was corrupted and I missed the last few chapters. Usually though, I can stop by myself if I decide the book is not worth my time. This happens more often with free books, because I don't necessarily screen them before downloading.

08-04-2010, 12:01 PM	#5
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	It's very, very rare that I don't finish a book once I start it but there have been a few.

08-04-2010, 12:01 PM	#6
shanghaichica Guru Posts: 991 Karma: 5782970 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Scribe,Kindle Oasis 3, iPad Pro 11,15 Pro Max,iPad mini 7,colorsoft	No, if i'm not enjoying it after about 50-60 pages in I stop reading it.

08-04-2010, 12:01 PM	#7
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Mostly yes, but there have been exceptions.

08-04-2010, 12:02 PM	#8
Lexi Revellian Groupie Posts: 172 Karma: 200001 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: London Device: Kindle keyboard	No; but I was much more tolerant when I was younger, and would press right on to the end. Since I started writing, I notice craft issues. Word echoes, a slab of 'As you know, Bob,' dialogue, or throat-clearing instead of getting on with the story really put me off.

08-04-2010, 12:03 PM	#9
AlbertaCowboy Guru Posts: 819 Karma: 171672846 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: PRS-350, PRS-650, iPhone 6, NVIDIA Shield K1	I used to have to finish, but I've now learned that there are FAR too many good books to waste time reading bad ones!

08-04-2010, 12:05 PM	#10
mikij Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 161 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Quebec, Canada Device: PRS-600	I voted YES, although it happened to me few times (probably less than 10 out of several thousands books I've read) to quit. They were either too boring or I didn't like the style or whatever and I didn't want to continue. Just an example: Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" - I really couldn't stand it and I admit - I don't like sentences that start at the beginning of one page and finish in the middle of the next one.

08-04-2010, 12:17 PM	#13
HamsterRage Evangelist Posts: 435 Karma: 24326 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	Life is too short to waste any of it reading bad books.

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08-04-2010, 12:47 PM	#14
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Sometimes I finish bad books out of sheer morbid curiosity. The merely boring ones I usually just stop reading. Unless they're required texts, in which case I slog through them, cursing along the way.

08-04-2010, 12:52 PM	#15
Angst Cannon Fodder Posts: 2,869 Karma: 52253556 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Probably a library Device: PRS-350, Kindle DX, Kindle Paperwhite	About 1% of the time, I'll abandon a book. Some books are just too tedious and badly written to waste more time on. Usually, if I make it one third of the way through the book, I'll finish it.