Leaving books unfinished

[Shoegaze99]

There was a time in my life that if I started a book and got more than a chapter or so into it, I had to finish it, no matter what. Leaving a book unfinished seemed almost criminal to me.

These days, though, I have far too many books to read and far too little time to read them. I still probably read more than the average person, but I haven’t the will or time to slog through some book I’m not enjoying or interested in. Leaving a book unfinished is not at all out of bounds for me anymore. There are now many books on my bookshelves with a bookmark stuck somewhere inside, marking the place where I gave up.

For instance, I had been reading Orwell’s The Road To Wigan Pier, but stalled out halfway through. In that case, I’ve since returned to the book, but in the case of others – Forbidden Knowledge, for instance, I stopped reading a good way through the book and just never bothered to go back.

It still bothers me a little to leave something unfinished like that, but I figure, why waste my time with something I’m not enjoying when there is so much other stuff to read? I can probably go to my shelves and pull off a dozen or more books with boommark still in place, bookmarks likely to stay there forevermore.

 

[nixie]

Once started I have to finish a book even if it takes a number of false starts I need to know the outcome,same with series although did give up on Goodkinds SOT

 

[littlemissattitude]

I am quite obsessive-compulsive about a lot of things. Thankfully, this is not one of them. I am much too busy to continue reading a book that I don't like or that I think is poorly written. Because, while I may suffer from OCD, I am not a masochist.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

You describe my situation exactly, lma.

It must be that shared birthday.

* * * *

However, the "there are too many books that I might be reading" argument doesn't apply to me. I often have trouble finding enough books that I want to read. Whether this means that I'm too fussy or that I have far too much time on my hands (or both) I leave it to others to decide.

 

[littlemissattitude]

Very possibly, Kelpie.

With me, it tends to go this way: either I have too many books waiting to be read and not enough time to read, or else I have plenty of time on my hands and can't find anything I want to read. However, I have pretty much forgotten what "having time on my hands" is like...I can't honestly remember the last time that happened.

 

[rune]

If I cant finish reading a book it's because I dont like it. I always finish a book that I like before I go onto the next

 

[Rosemary]

If it is a book I have chosen to read then no, I have to finish it.

Sometimes I might not enjoy the begining of the book as much as I would like but I have to finish it, just to make sure that it does not improve!

 

[dwndrgn]

My reading time is very short and precious to me. I'm extremely jealous of my time available for reading and I refuse to waste it on something that I'm not enjoying. There are few exceptions and usually these have to do with promises to friends and obligations to the book club (since I run the book club, I feel obligated to read as many of the books as I can get my hands on, and some I just don't like but I continue nonetheless).

 

[kyektulu]

I also have little time for reading.
However I do not like to leave books unfinished so I tend to grab the chance to read a chapter whenever I can, So I find that I read alot in the bath. lol.
Like Little Miss A, I am quite obsessive about reading things, it would disturb me to go a month without reading at least one book. As the saying goes too many books, too little time.
There have been some books that I just for the life of me cannot finish, not because of time but because of the content being too poor.

 

[Thadlerian]

Woops, wrong thread, please delete

 

[hedgeknight]

My reading time is very short and precious to me. I'm extremely jealous of my time available for reading and I refuse to waste it on something that I'm not enjoying. There are few exceptions and usually these have to do with promises to friends and obligations to the book club (since I run the book club, I feel obligated to read as many of the books as I can get my hands on, and some I just don't like but I continue nonetheless).

My sentiments exactly. Too little time, too many books, therefore, I'm not gonna "waste it on something that I'm not enjoying."
-g-

 

[Omega]

There are plenty of books I'm only part way through and then get distracted and go on to something else, here are some of my unfinished ones:

The Borribles Trilogy - Michael De Larrabeti (sp?)
Jennifer Government - Max Barry
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
The Rincewind Trilogy - Terry Pratchett

 

[GrownUp]

I got about 3 chapters into the Da Vinci code and then I just couldn't bear it anymore.

But I'm not sure if that is what you mean.
I started a C.J.Cherryh book -my favourite author- a while ago and I then fell out of the reading mood for a while. I'll get back to it, one day, I'm sure. I used to not be able to stop reading a book I was enjoying. I have really changed.

But there is something to making a first read, that adventure feeling, of a good book last a year instead of a day and a half. Having the characters sit in your head and imagining storylines, before the grim truth is known.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i started hobbs shamman thing, got bored and stopped. started watershup down once, stopped, but then finished it a few years on! i don't usually quit books (hence why i forced myself to finish goodkind) but i have done. also quit gormenghast, it was boring. and lord of the rings. yep. got bored!

 

[GrownUp]

Oh yes. Lord of the Rings stopped me many a time. I got given it, read it a bit, stopped. People would talk about it. I'd pick it up and make t through another page, then stop. And this was in my literarily insatiable schooldays! LOR, good grief, there's a long complicated triple book with a lot of people with confusingly similar names and also songs in it. I was only young.

 

[Azathoth]

I'll stop reading a book if it's too vulgar. I stopped reading American Gods because of the totally excessive pornography (I really didn't need to read about some sex goddess' method of "consuming worshippers" - something which had nothing to do with the plot.) I gave up some historical fiction novel because of that, too (can't remember the name). In both instances, I felt like the sexual content overwhelmed the plot, and I just don't have time for some author's immature personal fantasies. I read for plot and characters, not for dirty words.

 

[Shoegaze99]

I got about 3 chapters into the Da Vinci code and then I just couldn't bear it anymore.

Three chapters of the Da Vinci Code is all of four pages.

 

[GrownUp]

Really? It seemed to last a ...horrible, cringeworthy eternity.
But, as I recall, not much had happened but some murder.

 

[Teir]

Oh yes. Lord of the Rings stopped me many a time. I got given it, read it a bit, stopped. People would talk about it. I'd pick it up and make t through another page, then stop. And this was in my literarily insatiable schooldays! LOR, good grief, there's a long complicated triple book with a lot of people with confusingly similar names and also songs in it. I was only young.

Hehee, oh that takes me back. Took me nearly a year when i was around ten to finish the darn thing. When i got to the end i couldnt remember the beggining . When the movies came out, i had forgoten the story so i resolved to read each section after i had watched that movie. The book is still sitting on my desk, just a little way into ROTK. And its gonna stay that way for a while i imagine

 

[GrownUp]

When i got to the end i couldnt remember the beggining .

Yes, me too. I remembered, remember some parts of it really well, but I think it is only watching the films that I got an idea of the large-scale skeleton of of the story.

And then I didn't care that much.

I did enjoy the film. From comments and scraps I've heard, it seems that in the people scenes of the first film, as opposed to the large scale visualisation and organisational things in the film, were directed by Fran (wife of Peter) Jackson.

It may be that she is the better director of the two.

But I digress.

At the time (back to my LOR-struggling youth) I was reading my way through all the Asimov serieses, Simak and Dick short stories and it kept me occupied and out of trouble, and then I was into the Hitchhikers books and I was hardly going to get back to LOR properly after that.

Hitchhiker's, that brings back memories. At school it defined a generation. We all quote from it still when we meet up, even now that we are old. All reading Hitchhikers guide and leaning against the bus stop, listening to The Cure.