At what point do you give up on a book you’re pretty sure you hate?
At what point do you give up on a book you’re pretty sure you hate?
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Too many good books to waste time on something you hate. I guess it would depend on how quickly you think you’ll get through it is it worth any more time.
I usually give about 75 to 100 pages. If the writing is really annoying, I’d dump it much sooner, maybe less than 30 pages.
I’m the kind of person who can’t read more than one book at a time. So if I’m reading a “bleh” book and it’s causing me to not read every single night, I skip it asap. Life’s too short for bad books!
Aww, you’re right. This book is making me avoid reading before bed in favor of watching episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s definitely making me dumber. ?
That’s how you know this book has got to go! ???
Quick trigger but I will often jump to the end, sometimes I will discover that it was just a weak start!
Life is too short for bad books. There are too many great ones. DnF that!
If you’re under 60, read until your age. If you’re over 60, read until your age minus from 100. I’m 68 so 100 minus 68 gives me 32 pages to figure out if I’m going to like it or not.
Too much math is involved with this method!
Are you a teacher? This seems like a teacher method. I like it! I’m also well past the point where I should’ve given up based on your math.
Wow, that works! 66 and at most 50 pages. Life is increasingly short.
I’ve read plenty of books that picked up steam and got interesting well into them, so that’s made me pretty patient. And if reviews are overwhelmingly positive that is also encouragement for me to hang in there. But I draw the line much sooner if something about the book is irritating me.
The minute it starts to bug you.
Agreed.
Yep
I stopped reading books I hated or “pretty sure I hated” once I was done with high school and forced to read books I had no interest in.
If I’m completely uninterested after 10 or so chapters, I quit reading the book. It happened for me with Middlemarch by George Elliot. I love Hardy, Austen (my favorites), Dickens and other Victorian novelists, but MM just bored me so much
I feel so guilty quitting a book, but if it’s just not my style I’ll quit after 50 pages or so.
I read about 100 pages if still struggling I tend to give up x
When I know I really don’t care how it ends.
The inimitable Nancy Pearl’s Rule of 50: “Give a book 50 pages… [but after you turn 50] subtract your age from 100, and the resulting number is the number of pages you should read before you can guiltlessly give up on a book.”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/nancy-pearls-rule-of-50-for-dropping-a-bad-book/article565170/
I’ve only done it once and I still feel guilty about it. I usually read to the end hoping the story improves.
Sigh, same. I’ve been rewarded for my perseverance exactly once, but I keep chasing that high. I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up finishing this one and grump about it forever.
I was reading a book in which the protagonist kept making stupid choices. At first I found this entertaining, but it quickly grew tiresome. After a hundred pages or so, I peeked at the last chapter, and realized that she was not going to change, and I didn’t really care anyway.
I lost interest and abandoned the book without a qualm.
That has become a signal for me: If the author can’t make me care what happens to the characters, in a reasonable amount of time, then I’m through.
I give it 2 chapters. Life is too short to read books you don’t like
The older I get, the sooner it happens.
Asap
Anytime you want! ?
I’m with Sierra, 50 pages is enough time wasted. However, I do sometimes read the last chapter or so to see how things work out.
When I realize it is leaving me totally flat.
I slogged through one this week. Fortunately it was only 184 pages but it took me 5 days to read! The Salt Letters by Christine Balint.
I’d say a week of trying to get into it.
I’m 68 years old. I decided several years ago that there were too many good unread books to waste my remaining years (May they be many!) on any book I didn’t like. But I don’t have a precise rule. Too much gratuitous violence, gratuitous sex, gratuitous foul language, and I’m done. Or just plain old boredom. I might read the last chapter though.
Sometimes I read the last chapter too, if I’m bailing on a book.
The first chapter…
30 pages, maximum.
I give books one page and one chapter. If the first page doesn’t grab me, it goes back on the shelf. If I don’t like it after one chapter, I bail. There are too many good books out there to waste time. If I’ve started reading it, the book gets three strikes on plot mistakes or other errors, then it’s out the door and I don’t read anything else by that author. Mistakes, cliff hangers, etc. are a betrayal of the trust neccesary between the author and the reader.
I put aside a book pretty quickly. But there are two books I’ve read in recent months that I’m glad I persisted: A Man Called Ove, a book whose character tapped into men from childhood or something. I really slogged thru the early chapters with Ove. Now it is one of my favorite books. And Big Little Lies. I kept reading that one because of the mystery–who died. I am so happy I finished that one too. I think they did a great job adapting the book for the series, I still think the book made a bigger impact on me.
I may set it aside after a few chapters but I usually go back and finish it at some point.. just can’t leave a once started book unfinished.. it might take months or even a year or two before it’s done but done it will be.
“The Accursed”—-page 250—WHEW!
When I realize I really don’t care what happens in the plot and I don’t really like the characters. Too many other god ones to read.
If it doesn’t hold my interest
50 pages for me. I too, think there are so many good books that I am not willing to waste my time on a book that I am not enjoying. That said, I have slogged through the first part of a few books and realized that I began enjoying it at some point well past the 50 pages.
Now.
By page 100 for me.
some books take a while to get set up. look at a random page further on. still nothing? congratulations on your new trivet.
I once started a reading-group book that had a lot of, ahem, well-described sex scenes. (I am a fan of Barbara Kingsolver’s sex scene belief.) Anyway, it got tiresome, so I decided I’d open the book to a random page, and if it had yet another sex scene, I’d stop reading. It did; I did. Another woman told me that she didn’t mind the sex scenes, but she couldn’t figure out what the book was about. Um….
Usually by page 50 or so. Especially if the characters are not compelling. I can put up with slow plot development but not wooden characters.
50-100 pages depending on how hard time trying.
If it’s not good 45 pages in lol
I am better about giving up on books now and I usually give a book 50 pages. When I was ypunger I felt compelled to finish everything I started. When I had a book I didn’t care for, I treated it like home work and read a few pages everyday until i finished it.Sometimes I became interested in it farther along and then I would read straight through.
I’ve tried reading books with many awesome reviews and hated them so much, I just quit. Early. And move on to the next one.
@Erin, what book are you trying to get through?
Sweetbitter. The writing is so pretentious, and there’s no momentum in the plot. I can’t remember which character is which, and more importantly, I don’t care. The only enjoyable part of it is the food writing, and I’d rather read a cookbook!
Well it sounds to me like u should put that book down.
OMG I HATED THAT BOOK. It doesn’t get better. Run. Now. I finished the audio and regretted that week of my life I’ll never get back. I had such high hopes for it since Michael from the Books on the Nightstand podcast raved about it but it was terrible. I felt the same way–the food writing was the best part but I loathed all the characters, especially Tess.
At this point, I want to know how much I can loathe it. The way she writes dialogue is insane. I never know who is supposed to be talking. And the way they talk! No one talks that way. Little one? LITTLE ONE? They’ve got to be the most erudite servers of all time. And I just got to the weird diner date where Jake chokes Tess for some reason? It’s such garbage.
It’s such a hard decision because so many books esp longer ones don’t start out super exciting but once they do you are sometimes halfway through the book already lol
This is why I appreciate authors like James Patterson, he’s such a good attention grabber from the get go.
If after 50 pages I’m still not drawn into it I stop.
It’s the Nancy Pearl rule…50 pages…subtract a page for each year you are over 50 years old. So, if you’re 60 years old, you only need to read 40 pages to see if you like the book. Life is way too short and there are way too many books to read to waste time on the ones that you’er not enjoying. 🙂
I have the same 50 page rule.
If its not at all what I thought and I hate the character or something sure. If I don’t understand why I’m not liking it, think it should appeal to me and maybe I will like it I’ll keep going for quite awhile. It took me forever! to get into Lonesome Dove (nothing is happening, its boring, its confusing), and it was a great book that I read all night once I finally got into it.
Usually an evening, if I don’t want to pick it up in the morning
With rare exceptions, I’ll quickly struggle through the entire book.
There is no definitive point, just when I realize that I’m not enjoying reading because of the book. Which has only happened twice
30 pages until its really, really bad. Then you can quit at 5 or 3 or 1. It it doesn’t catch your attention – put it down. There are so many books that are worth reading or that you enjoy that it’s ok to quit.
I stopped finishing books that don’t engage me. I am a voracious reader and I used to finish everything I started as a matter of principal. But books are not like plates of food, that someone else is forcing us to eat. We don’t have to connect with every book.
I had a literature professor tell me….if you have a book that you just can’t get through….put it down and start reading something else. Too many good books out there to waste your time….
I used to never give up on a book. I was determined. As I’ve gotten older, it’s much easier to put aside. Give it a few chapters to see if it develops, then put it down. Life is short! There are plenty of books out there that will engage you better.
Pretty much what the majority said. 50 pages or so or an hour if it’s an audiobook. Sometimes I open to the middle of the book to see if it got any better and then decide. Tell us what the book is, maybe if enough others loved or hated it, that will help you decide?
I flip ahead to see if the end intrigues or surprises me enough to keep going. If not, bye-bye. Too many other books I want to read.
depends on the lenght of the book but I would say by about a third between 80-100 pages
I try to give it 100 pages. That can be hard to do though.
50-100 pages depending on how much I don’t like it. I really hate giving up on a book but sometimes it’s gotta be done!
Bad writing, by the second paragraph. Characters, plot, and so forth, I give it 50 or so pages.
After a couple of bad chapters.
It depends! I don’t have a set page number to quit by or anything. Some books take a while to warm up. If it’s a small book, I may give it to the half way point. If it’s larger, I may give it a few hundred pages. Sometimes it’s if I roll my eyes a lot or feel like throwing it across the room. It varies.
I used to have to finish a book I started, even if I hated it. I still do once in a while, but there are some books that I just can’t continue.
At my first eye roll, I’m done, lol.
????
Depends on the book. Most recently, I gave after as little as 10 pages (didn’t like the writing) or more than 50% through the book (could see it was going nowhere, and life is too damn short to go nowhere if the view isn’t FABULOUS, which it wasn’t).
Nancy Pearl, retired Seattle city librarian, gives this wonderful guideline: What is your age? Before 50, try to read several chapters, At 50, read only 50 pages and then quit if you wish. 51, you need read only 49. I’m at 71, so down to 29 pages! Very helpful guilt-free decision making! After all, how much time do I have left to read? Time for only the good stuff. (-:
78 here. 22 pages….maybe max
There aren’t many books that I hate but more that they feel like a waste of time. I’ll usually give them 3 to 4 chapters if it’s a new author to me. If it’s a known author – I might slog through it.
I read 170 pages of Outlander. It’s the only DNF so far.
I couldn’t drag myself through that book.
I couldn’t either.
Took me two tries to finish it. Not worth the time IMO
I think the storyline could have been interesting, but I just don’t care for her writing style. I do not mind longer books and I am interested in historical fiction. However, something about the seemingly slow pacing just made it a chore to read. If I’m going to read, I want to enjoy it. Same with any other form of entertainment. I’ve a huge list of unfinished films and TV shows.
It was the “rape as entertainment” which finished it for me. Just nope!
I loved the Outlander books so much, I completely forgot to pick up a friend at the airport while reading Book 2. I NEVER forget appointments.
Oh, no! That’s one of my favorite series. Sorry you didn’t enjoy it ?
Just goes to show that we’re all different. I love that series, too. ? Thankfully, there’s something for everyone.
Omg yes! Haha I just gave up on one! It was taking weeks to get through when I usually finish a book in a day!
Which book? Outlander?
No! The Last Renegade by Jo Goodman!
Oh, ok, gotcha!
When I feel I would not want to know what happens next
I once finished a whole horrible lenghty novel, down to the last page, and hated every minute of it.
Why? A friend that I respected gave it to me, so I felt it must have some redeeming value. Plus the reviews we’re great. It was not my cup of tea. Depressing, scatological nightmare!
Which book was it?!
I did that with a book club book, only to arrive at the book club to discover that not one other person finished it because they all hated it. I was mad.
Blindness. By a nobel laureate, no less. Dystopian, fragility of society, blah, blah, blah – it was dreadful! Lol!
*high-brow literature? I tutored Milton at UCLA. This was no Paradise Lost! Not even Lord of the Flies. Too much poo!
Move on…life is too short ?
When I’m done reading it I donate it to the library and my look back.
As soon as possible. There are so many other books that I will click with that I don’t feel bad giving up on one that doesn’t work for me.
Absolutely. And I used to tell my sixth grade students that, as well. “Put it back and try another one!” Nothing can kill a reader faster than sticking with a book they find boring!
As soon as I reach that “pretty sure” point. I have stacks of unread books; don’t waste any time on one I don’t like.
I give it till page 50 or if I keep falling asleep while reading it then I’ll give up on it
<20% in. Otherwise you'll have to finish it
Years ago my personal rule was any book started had to be finished . Like it or not. The last 5 years or so though things have changed. First, I usually have 3 books going at once. If I am not feeling fully involved by chapter 3, I have to put it aside and move on. My list of must-reads is just too long and I am running out of time.
even if I hate it, it really bothers me to not finish a book so I read it anyways lol
I agree with Nancy Pearl’s 50-page-rule. Life is too short to keep reading a book I don’t enjoy.
I usually suffer through every awful page of it, and I don’t know why.
60 pages
I remember someone saying that the first 150 pages of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” were awful, but that I needed to push through. It was so true. But, ultimately, I loved that series. So now, I’m more hesitant to give up on a book, because I hope it will rally.
That’s not always the case, sadly. ?
I had the same experience with “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, so glad I powered through those first few chapters. It’s a great series.
Yep, I powered through that one, too. I didn’t like it enough to continue the series. Thank goodness Sweden helpfully made them all into very good movies. There are subtitles, so it counts as reading, right? ?
Right!! ? LOL.
So many books, so little time… I think you can be selective. I give it a chapter or two. Sometimes it takes a while to get to know a book. They’re sort of like people that way… ?
If I’m having a hard time, I usually then will look at reviews to see if anyone else had the same feelings. Sometimes people will say it gets better or like when a series kind of dips for a book so then I know it’s just this one novel in the series that is a little slow.
I give it maybe 100 pages. It’s not a final decision though, I can always return to it later and try it again.
There’s no exact point. I just gave up on a book because the story didn’t engage me, after 150 pages. I kept thinking, “it’s going to get better, right??”
It really depends on the book, but I will often go to the end of the book and if it really has a great ending, I might go back and try again.
I wish I could do this- I always finish them….
The older I get the sooner I give up. When I was younger I would have persevered but now I just think of it as time I won’t get back.
I’m with you Ann Gray!
if the prose annoyes me ,and if the grammar sucks
when I realize I hate it.
i try to give a book at least 50-75 pages before i give up.
That’s my rule of thumb too.
Yup!
First page. I figure the writer does his best work there. They have thought about it a lot
Now, too many books to little time. What book?
I wish I knew. I’ve wasted a lot of hours finishing books I didn’t like. That’s the bad thing about a Kindle…you can’t throw it against the wall in disgust.
Hit the delete!
Read page one, then a random page in the middle before you even decide to start reading the book.
Great advice for browsing books at the store.
Online I read the synopsis if they provide one. It is all you can do. but still whenI get it online I read the first page and a random page before I decide to invest my time.
Ditto. I do the same!
I use the Amazon preview.
Well a couple tips I have gotten. The first few sentences of a book should grab you! Also for me, I am normally a fast reader. If I find it’s taking me forever to read a book then I know I’m not into it and I just stop
There’s always the point where you think “Are you f’ing KIDDING me?!?” and it’s all just too ridiculous/mean/ angry making. And I quit. Life is to short for $#!++y books!
As soon as I realize it sucks.
2 chapters
immediately. So many books, so little time.
Never! Start skimming and, then, read the end. That way, you will remember not to ever pick it up again. Good luck!
Dump it. Lots of other great books waiting to be picked up.
See Nancy Pearl’s “rule of fifty” (google it) based on the shortness of time and the immensity in the world of books. If you’re under the age of 50, give it 50 pages. If you’re over 50, subtract your age from 100 for the page count. ?
I rarely do but I just closed Compass after 30 pages. I just can’t abide 2.5 page paragraphs
Right around the time you’re pretty sure you hate it.
When it no longer holds my interest, and it varies, depending on the book.
You’re committed now. Lol
all these comments sound like my thought process about a mediocre relationship
As soon as it doesn’t make me want to read it. I used to stick it out and read every book I started. Now there are too many books I want to read for me to do that! So many books, so little time (as already stated above)
After the first 100 pages.
Nancy Perle (Seattle librarian) says subtract you age from 100, read that number of pages and if you’re not enjoying the book, put it down and go to your next choice.
I usually try to give it 100 pages,sometimes it winds up grabbing me and sometimes I just have to put it to the side :-/
I agree with 100 pages, I just had a book I was hating and then as soon as I got past 100 pages it got so good! I love it! But don’t force yourself to finish it you don’t like it 🙂
Totally agree : )
It’s odd, though. Some books don’t really take off until the second half. Thirteen Tales and Shadiw of the Wind were like rhat for me. Others I didn’t know I hated them until after I finished, because I hated the ending and then wished I’d never stated them. In the Woods by Tana French is an example. Sorry if that’s your favorite book. It just wasn’t for me.
Ha! In The Woods actually one of my favorite books, but I always tell people when I recommend it that the end doesn’t really wrap up the central mystery.
I wish someone had told me that before I started it.☺
I cannot get through The Name Of The Wind. It has excellent reviews and recommendations, but I am 2/3 through and struggling. The story line is bogged down and repetitive. I’ve shelved it for now.
From a publisher’s viewpoint, they say you can lose a reader in a few pages, and certainly by the first chapter. I’ve learned too lessons. 1. There are too many good books to waste my time on less. 2. Sometimes, it’s timing. I know of at least 2 books I put down, that have now become favorites.
I agree about the timing aspect. I once returned a book to the library after having read fifty pages and deciding I didn’t like it. Later a friend said she had read it in her book club and they all loved it. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I liked all the other books by that author so maybe I should give it another try.
@Mary I know timing and what is going on in your life can make a huge difference!
I can’t think of a book I started to hate, finished anyway, and was glad I did.
Life is too short to continue reading a book you hate, unless you were assigned the book by a teacher! (I usually hear about these books in my classes! FYI, sometimes the teacher feels the same way, but hides her true thoughts!)
Now.
Depends on how intensely I dislike the book as I’m getting through it. As a rule I try to get to the halfway point of a book (ie if the book is 400 pages I try to get to page 200 and then see how I feel about the story or characters) before making a decision, but if I really dislike a book earlier on (20 pages, 60 pages, whatever) then I’ll drop it.
Update: I finished it. I’m glad I did, because it helped me understand how truly terrible a book can be. It got progressively worse, incorporating dreadful sex writing and ending with a poem or something? I want to throw it in the garbage to protect others from it, but I will donate it instead so that the San Francisco Public Library can at least benefit from the suffering of the poor sucker who buys it.
I was reading a popular book once on vacation, that I found horribly disturbing because the main character was a male slave who was violently abused sexually. I didn’t get very far into it, before I got up and buried it in the lodge’s trash. (Usually, I trade or donate unwanted books.)
When I was young, I finished every book I started — no longer. If the first couple of chapters don’t grab me, I open it to the middle and read a few pages in a couple of spots. That often gives me a better feel for the book, than reading the beginning does. Then I put aside if it still doesn’t interest me. If it’s highly recommended, I’ll keep it, and give it another shot later.
Usually around 30%. I figure if I still don’t care by a third of the way through the book, I probably never will.
This is the reason why my house is filled with books with majority of I gave up on. It started from a meager library.
100 pages or 20%