Ever put down a book because you were afraid of what would happen?

[Apache]

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm more likely to put a book down when there IS no fear of what might happen.

Originally Posted by eschwartz

How boring.

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Huh-what?

The book, not you.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

The book, not you.

Ok, gotcha.
Though I, myself, am quite boring, I thought you meant that me putting a boring (nothing-bad-could-ever-even-threaten-to-happen) book down was somehow boring. And my brain exploded a little.

[Catlady]

Occasionally, if it's close to bedtime, I'll stop reading a book if I suspect something extremely sad or scary is about to happen, just because I don't want certain images fresh in my head when I'm trying to get to sleep. But then I'll continue with the book the next day. I don't think I've ever abandoned a book because it's too depressing.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I don't think I've ever abandoned a book because it's too depressing.

Try reading Hardy's "Jude the Obscure". As I said in an earlier post, I think it's very possibly the most depressing book ever written .

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm more likely to put a book down when there IS no fear of what might happen.

Yes. If I can anticipate what is going to happen, and it feels the story is dragging out the inevitable ending, it doesn't invite me to keep reading. I like it when a story is unpredictable and I have to think "How is the author going to solve this now?"

And then you better NOT use a Deus Ex Machina to reach / ressurect an ending I thought to have been a passed station long ago, or I'll hate you forever and ever

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Turtle91

I don't care for the scary suspense type books, but I have stopped progressing in a series that I absolutely love because I don't want it to ... end. A 36 book 'series' that I've read 35 of, multiple times. And I can/will read them again...but if I ever read that last one...

BTW, I have the book, wanted to support the author. It's called Magician's End.

Huh? I thought I already bought everything in the riftwar saga, and I only have 30 books?

* NNOOOOooooooOOOOOOooo *

(That's me, running to Wikipedia to check....)

edit: 30 books (but I don't have the short stories).

[barryem]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For goodness sake don't read Hardy's "Jude the Obscure". Has to be the most depressing book ever written .

"Jude the Obscure" was my first encounter with Hardy's books and is still one of my very favorites. I think it's easily his best book. Yes it can be hard to take at times but that's because of Hardy's powerful writing.

I've lost track of how many times I've re-read "Jude" but it's a lot. For decades I read it about every 4 or 5 years. It's been probably 15 years now and I recently got a copy with the intention of reading it in the not too distant future. It's been on my Kindle for a few weeks.

There are about a dozen or so books I've read and re-read all my life and "Jude" is certainly one of the important ones.

If anyone is interested some others follow in no particular order:
"Peyton Place", Grace Metalous
"The Egyptian", Mika Waltari
"The Good Earth", Pearl S Buck
"The Stars My Destination", Alfred Bester
"The City and the Stars", Arthur C Clarke
"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
"The Assistant", Bernard Malamud

There are others but these are the ones that occur to me at the moment. I'm 75 now and I began reading some of these in my teens so I've read them a lot. Probably the one I've read most often is "The Egyptian".

Barry

[Turtle91]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Huh? I thought I already bought everything in the riftwar saga, and I only have 30 books?

* NNOOOOooooooOOOOOOooo *

(That's me, running to Wikipedia to check....)

edit: 30 books (but I don't have the short stories).

you're correct - 30 books...sorry didn't mean to scare you!

The numbers change sometimes depending on where you live - splitting Magician into Apprentice and Master, or count the short stories... but even with those it would total 34... I must be getting older faster than I thought!

[Sweetpea]

I never put a book down because I feared something bad would happen to the hero of the story. I have put books down because I didn't want them to end... (silly, I know... and I will always finish it, but it might take me some extra days )

[sakura-panda]

Originally Posted by dynabook

I have tried to read "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" but only got to the point in which she was picked up to be taken to a manor as a governess/nurse(?).

I have an impression from somewhere that something bad happens to her and I am so invested in her well-being that I can't read further.

Does this happen to you or do you say "It is only fiction, I will continue"?

I have had this happen to me with others books but managed to keep on with a feeling of dread. Maybe I am not as invested in the character or I feel it will turn out okay in the end. But Thomas Hardy takes no prisoners.
--MH

In the "old" days, I would flip to some random point toward the end of the book to see if the character was still there and whether they seemed to be recovered or not from whatever was disturbing me.

That is not so easy to do with an ebook, and I've had to learn to just push ahead. Sometimes I'll go online and see if I can find a spoiler, but that is a lot riskier than just reading a few words at the back of the book when I just want to check the fate of one character.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by barryem

"Jude the Obscure" was my first encounter with Hardy's books and is still one of my very favorites. I think it's easily his best book. Yes it can be hard to take at times but that's because of Hardy's powerful writing.

It is indeed a masterpiece of English literature. I would not recommend it to the OP, however, given that they appear not to like books in which unfortunate things befall the protagonist.

[Sydney's Mom]

That happened to me with the first Harry Potter. Someone gave it to me, and kept asking if I had read it. I finally started it, and told her I did not want to read a book about child abuse. She said I had to keep reading, and after much procrastination, I did. And devoured the books.

I recently had this happen to Room. The only reason I picked it up is because the movie was nominated for an Oscar. Well, I should have listened to my stomach. Although things did get better, it was on the whole a very, very depressing read.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I have, but then I picked it up again. More because it was just disturbing in general. What goes on in fiction doesn't affect me so much, but the memoir and non-fictcion stuff can spook me. But I always pick it up again because I have to know. I just have to.

[pendragginp]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Occasionally, if it's close to bedtime, I'll stop reading a book if I suspect something extremely sad or scary is about to happen, just because I don't want certain images fresh in my head when I'm trying to get to sleep. But then I'll continue with the book the next day. I don't think I've ever abandoned a book because it's too depressing.

I've done this, but only with true crime books. I did it with Helter-Skelter, and with the Ted Bundy book Conversations With A Killer. Only read them early in the day and with someone else in the house. Shiver.