How far into it are you? It picked up for me at about 40%. I'm at roughly 75% now and I'm anxious to finally figure out which of the theories is true. So it definitely got better for me.
@Karen and @mrs2a50 I haven't even finished the first chapter and you two are already making me nervous that I'm not gonna like it!
It was just a little hard to get into for me. I tend to have problems with books that flip back and forth in different time frames. It just takes me longer to get into a groove. I'm actually very much enjoying it now and am anxious to read more!
I don't think I have quit a book before. I forced myself to read Gone Girl, and I hated it. My friends raved about it. Ugh, it was torture for me. I'm sure I quit one or wanted to in High School or college, lol! Usually, I trudge along... super slowly, or I have been known to skim to move along faster. Karen, I agree, it's a hard book to get into... once you get in further, it gets way better. Easier to keep people/times straight. She like to go one about the place, forest and greenery. When I read The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo, someone warned me to give the book time, it was a super slow start. I trudged through, and then couldn't finish it fast enough! (@Karen)
I forced myself to read the twilight series for this exact reason. I hated it so much, that was when I started giving myself permission to quit. I realized there were so many books I enjoy, or might enjoy, that I wasn't wasting time on the ones that I didn't enjoy. I finished The Handmaids Tale in hopes in would pick up, and it reminded me of why I've given myself permission to quote books. The first third was great, and i enjoyed it, but it never picked up, and i felt like i wasted my time in the end.
I don't typically quit a book. Instead I speed read a lot. Skipping paragraphs. I also take waaaaayy longer to read a book I don't like
I don't typi quit a book. Instead I speed read a lot. Skipping paragraphs. I also take waaaaayy longer to read a book I don't like
I have quit plenty of books I guess I am a chronic book quitter. If they do not jump out at me right away and I get bored then good bye. Sometimes I go back and read them again and sometimes not.
I tend to not quit books -- I'll slog through to the end, even if it takes months and months and I've read 15 other books in between. I'm always afraid that one day I'll decide to try it again, but if I already read it to the end, I won't try it again. There have been several books (Outlander, for one) that I started several times but couldn't get into, until some time later I tried it and it all of a sudden became a Must-Read-To-The-End-And-All-The-Sequels-Too book. That's why I have to finish a book, because if I *never* liked it, I'll remember it and not go back. Otherwise, I always wonder if I just didn't read far enough, didn't pay enough attention, wasn't in the right frame of mind, etc and I might give it another chance. I read multiple books at a time (I'm at five right now) and if I'm stuck on a slow one, I'll go back and forth between that one and the others. It makes it more bearable, even though it means I'm stuck with it for longer.
I have quit books before, but the one that stands out is the 2nd Twilight book. I pushed through the first one...but quit the 2nd....and never watched the movies.
I used to be one who never quit a book. Books were precious when I was growing up and the library limited what we children could have. But now since I'm on GoodReads, I too have a 'maybe I'll go back to it' shelf but I know in reality I won't. Life is too short to take time to plod on through something I'm not enjoying. That said, I also wish I could control gobbling down a book I DO like! With lots of free time to read, I have to pace myself sometimes and give myself time to enjoy the book. I went back and looked at my 1* books which I know means I gave up on them. The more recent ones are 'The Martian' - way too much science that I really don't care about, 'Dressing up for the Carnival' - I found I really don't enjoy Carol Shields and find her depressing, 'Water for Elephants' - if I could get over the circus atmosphere I might have read this one through and 'The Lacuna' a Barbara Kingsolver one I had looked forward to. Nope, just couldn't get into it.
if a book is so depressing and especially if it is not true, that someone had to invent such horrors in their minds and then type it out to share..it is a no go for me... I will read non fiction, and shudder at the atrocities of man, but I don't get why you would want to make up horrible and totally awful things to share with others! lol Farrah and I were discussing A little life and I had to delete it from my Kindle cloud completely without finishing, because once I read it, it is seared into my brain, I can't unread it. no eraser for memory.
I've quit some free ebooks on my Kindle. Some are just so poorly written. At some point, I stopped reading James Patterson because it felt like the book was written to be turned into a movie. I'm sure there have been others. Sometimes I do just keep trying until I get through. But, I tend to stick with authors I love.
LOL @jesskab I used to do vol work in our detention center library and was astounded at the # of James Patterson books. I thought what the heck and got a couple to read. Uh..one page chapters?? I could see the appeal for the male prisoners who mostly had very poor reading skills but when i read that he farmed his books out to minions to finish after he gave them the ideas etc. I decided to pass on these. A shame since 'he' is prolific!
@cookingmylife I'd heard that too. Makes sense, since the more recent books don't have the best flow. I'll stick with Jonathan Kellerman.
This thread has made me smile - how different we all are!! How many books I've loved have some of you given up on and vice versa! In recent times I have to admit to giving up on "All the light we cannot see" - just couldn't get in to it - I think it may have something to do with where I am in my life (maybe?), and I have the feeling I may go back to it one day, but right now I can't.
I read Lord of the Rings when I was...what? 19? took me eons to finish, never picked a Tolkien book again in my life LOL I too find it boring!!!! A Winter's Tale? I watched a movie on Netflix the other night, though not sure is the same story, is a fantasy about a guy over a 100 years, some magic stuff? I had not cried so much in years.... but I was wanting to know what happened in the end LOL I didn't even know it existed LOL see above LOL See, I don;t agree on quitting is letting the book win, to me, is the other way around.....if a writer wrote a book so bad I want to quit...then I am winning, because I don't invest my time reading something that is nit good in my opinion? I get so many books free on Amazon, I have quit a lot, but can't even remember the names...having said that, these days I can't even remember the books I have read LOL unless is a paper book, I think my brain keeps the covers, my Kindle is b&W and I don't usually go look at the covers, for some reason the Kindle takes me to the first page of the written story.... I should remember to go look at the covers!!! I usually would give it a number of pages... if I keep reading and is not enjoyable... then I quit. Sarita gave me some books for my birthday, and I think, am quiet sure I posted here about The Girl on the Train as that was the first of the books she gave me I read in September... I agree with you: I couldn't like not ONE single characters...but I saw so much of a typical English character in the whole book, the whole London, train, commuting and stuff was so real , and I wanted to know what happened in the end...so I finished it and I was pleased I did. I am NOT, though, happy with the film.... if I had the power, I would rip it into pieces LOL oh my...Wicked!!!!! I read it and Son of a Witch too...but I had to force myself and speed read through most..... we had been to the musical and LOVED it (I used to be a performer in musicals and my daughter graduated in college in Performing Arts in 2012, so we are musicals craze here) and the books have NOTHING to do with the musical....all so dark and ...well.... I think I should have quit, but kept reading on the hope that something good would happen LOL I have been like this with a lot not just books lately.... movies, TV programs.... I tend to look for comedies or light romance stuff..... and not even read historical stuff if it is depressing...I think we have enough depressing in life.... there are some exceptions but usually I am more and more like that .....
