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At what point do you decide to give up on a book? Can you give up on a book? When do you become to invested to give up on the book? Do you revisit at a later date books you have given up on?

I can not stand not finishing a book I have started. Once I've started it, I have become to invested. I can only think of three books I have given up on ever and all were recent. 1 A Woman Watching Men Watching Women and other Essays. I didn't get the point she was making. I was completely lost. Apparently I wasn't smart enough or she just wast a good writer. 2 I forget the name but it was a book written by a Physicist about the theory of relativity. I love physics and the theory of relativity but those math equations were way over my head. I defiantly was not smart enough for that one. The other was From Bacteria to Bach. Thought I would give it a shot but after over an hour of telling me how he was going to prove all non evolutionists wrong and people who believe in creation is not being reasonable without ever making a single argument I lost my patience.

Another example is Farinheit 451. I hated that book. I started it 5 times before I ever got through it. But not finishing it was not an option so I finally fought through. How Bradbury ever became so revered is unbeknownst to me. But I regress.

I guess I feel like it I don't finish the book I may miss something so other than the three reasons I've mentioned above, I have a compulsive impulse to finish almost any book I've started.

The books I don’t finish are rather few. I have the compulsion to finish, though I might resort to skimming. I may not finish a book if I get very annoyed or the topic is just beyond me. That would typically happen within the first 100 pages. Any other book will stay on the pile of currently read books until I’m done. Once in a while I clean up those I have not touched in months, but they are on a special shelf to be picked up again later.

When I was younger I used to force myself to finish a book I wasn't enjoying, because I felt I had to give it a chance. Now that I'm older, I realize there are too many good books and not enough time, and so I no longer have any compunction about dropping a book I am not enjoying. Life is too short for me to waste wallowing in distasteful waters.

I was able to easily finish Fahrenheit 451, but didn't like it as I found it simplistic. I have not found any Bradbury to be to my taste. Well, those that I read, anyway - Something Wicked was meh, and after Fahrenheit 451 I just gave up on him. Like you I can't figure out how he gets so many accolades.

If it's for a book club discussion or to fulfill a challenge (or, back in the day, for school), then I'll finish it. But otherwise, I follow the "Nancy Pearl" rule:

If you are 50 years old or younger, give the book 50 pages, and if it doesn't capture your attention, put it aside.
If you are over age 50, subtract your age from 100, and that's how many pages you need to devote before deciding to give up (at least for now). So if you are 63 years old ... you can give up after 37 pages.

Nancy jokes that if you are 100 years old you may judge the book by its cover!

Book Concierge, I've never heard that before. That's funny.

I always finish books even when I hate them. Even if by the NM basically plowing through reading an entire chunk of paragraph with a glance. I guess I'm afraid of missing something important, or that it will get better, or wanting to see how some stupid detail turns out. I find it very hard to give up on a book. I really detesting what I'm reading right now. And reading should never feel like a slog, but others are telling me that it gets more interesting, and it was a high note for C's sake. It's just hard because there are so many beautiful books that are waiting for me to enjoy. But yes, it's really hard for me to give up on a book.

amy, exactly. what will I miss if I quit. even though it's horrible how does it turn out. It might get better. It has to. It's a published book. If I do quit it will probably haunt me for years to come. What If?

I learned long ago that just because a book was published does not mean it was worth publishing. Some people have really execrable taste. Then again, to each his/her own!

annapi, My brain knows this. My heart does not.

I too used to feel compelled to finish books, but now that I've reached the magical age of 50 with some health issues, I can now give up. My TBR of owned books is large enough that I probably won't get through.

I will say that it's not easy, so I still have Gone with the Wind sitting on my currently reading shelf for a year. I like Nancy Pearl's advise. I also listen to the podcast "What do I read Next" where they talk about Auden's classifications. To summarize, it's ok to recognize that there are books that just aren't to your taste, but that do have substantial merit. (He also says that there are books that don't have a lot of literary merit that you like).

Jason wrote: "annapi, My brain knows this. My heart does not."

LOL I'm pretty sure you're young, Jason. An old fogey like me just doesn't have enough time left in this life for all the books I want to read. Especially now that there are exponentially more books to explore than I had when I was a child!

I used to compulsively finish books, too. Now, like B.C., I follow the Nancy Pearl rule. Life’s too short to waste on a book I’m not enjoying.

I have no problem quitting a book. Life is too short and there are so many books calling to me.

So what is the determining factor in quitting a book? Many have stated first 50 pages but is it story not well developed, not interesting, characters not developed or real, writing style subpar, language or content, too graphic, or some other detail I haven't mentioned?

Anna, Who are you calling an old fogey? I think your children are younger than mine. LOL... I think I still have some life left in me, at 14 months shy of 50. Jason, what is the book you're asking us if you should finish or quit? Well I have found it somewhat impossible to QuickBooks I do applaud people who can do, and there are certain books I will be the first one to tell you was not worth your time.

Amy, I wasn't asking if I should quit a particular book but was instead asking readers perspective on quitting books in general.

Jason wrote: "At what point do you decide to give up on a book? Can you give up on a book? When do you become to invested to give up on the book? Do you revisit at a later date books you have given up on?"

Haven't read the rest of the thread yet, but I'm one of the few who doesn't give up. I always think - but what if it gets better!? Also, don't want to miss anything if it does. However, I do tend to start skimming if it's too boring, so it goes faster. Of course, then it's a circle and I might still miss anything interesting at that point!

I think I've given up on only 1 or 2 books, back in my early 20s. "The Mill on the Floss" was one. I can't remember if I gave up on "Frankenstein" or if I did finish.

Jason wrote: "I guess I feel like it I don't finish the book I may miss something..."

As I'm now reading through... yes: this for me, too!

Amy wrote: "I always finish books even when I hate them. Even if by the NM basically plowing through reading an entire chunk of paragraph with a glance. I guess I'm afraid of missing something important, or th..."

It looks like my reasons for not giving up mesh with the few others' reasons who also don't give up.

Amy wrote: "Anna, Who are you calling an old fogey? I think your children are younger than mine. LOL... I think I still have some life left in me, at 14 months shy of 50. Jason, what is the book you're asking ..."

haha! And I'm almost 45. Also do not consider myself an old fogey!!! LOL!

I find that I ghost books I am not enjoying. I don't mean to stop reading but the time between picking it up gets longer and longer and eventually I have forgotten enough of the details that I have to decide to return it to the TBR pile or start again from the beginning. At this point I usually return it to the shelf thinking that I was not in the right frame of mind for that book and I can try again later.

Jason wrote: "I can not stand not finishing a book I have started. Once I've started it, I have become to invested. I can only think of three books I have given up on ever and all were recent. 1 A Woman Watching..."

Apparently we are two of kind. I find it really really hard to put aside a book. Even when I do it, I think to myself, "I'll go back to it soon.". There are three books I distinctly am aware of not finishing: Cold Mountain, The Slap, and A Suitable Boy. I know I'll try all three again and probably regret it. I agree it is some form of compulsive behavior unfortunately, but I'm totally sympathetic. Lol on Fahrenheit 451 though; that's one I actually did enjoy, but I can totally see how many readers would not!

Cora, I agree with what you state. On these three books, I couldn't bear to pick them up anymore, but felt like with all three that I might try starting them over in the future.

The thing that kills a book for me is if I get bored and start to lose the thread of the plot and the character names . . .but usually I've very good about "muscling through" and forcing myself to focus.

Good question. When I was quite young, I virtually never quit a book, ever. The older I get, the more often I do. When depends entirely on the book and why I choose to reject it.

Interestingly, there are some books I loved or liked greatly when I was in high school or university that I cannot stand now. There is nothing more disappointing than going to reread a classic or other book I loved only to find I can't stand it now. It's not always the same reason for this. Sometimes it's because my tastes have changed, sometimes it's because I have no patience for certain traits in the protagonist, sometimes the story no longer holds any interest, and so on (can't remember every reason).

I used to stick with books until the bitter end but I decided life is too short and now I will give each book a good try, say 20%, but I won’t hesitate to ditch it if it’s not grabbing me. For audio I can give up in as little as five minutes if I don’t like the narrator! In situations where I think it’s a case of bad timing I will put books on my paused list with a view to going back another day. It does make me wonder how many great reads I miss though, as there are some books (The Blind Assassin comes to mind) that I haven’t fully enjoyed until they were complete. Oh well. I’m willing to take that risk!

This year I am the queen of "dnf"ers. I have at least 6 that I started and set aside. I am still hoping to get back to many of them, but challenges and desire to read something else interfered with their reading.

I think that it has much to do with what I am in the mood to read. I don't want to take forever to read a book and it seems like some of these felt that way.

I am hoping to go back and finish many of them.

I like the 50 page advice, but I have found books that I loved when I stuck beyond that point, so I don't adhere to it strictly. One book stands out as the opposite. The Historian, I was within 50 pages of finishing and decided I frankly didn't care. That was years ago and I still imagine going back and picking it up at that point and finishing it.

Susie wrote: "I used to stick with books until the bitter end but I decided life is too short and now I will give each book a good try, say 20%, but I won’t hesitate to ditch it if it’s not grabbing me. For audi..."

I had this audiobook where the narrator was reading action sequences full of pathos... I did not give up on the book, but had to switch to properly reading.

Cora wrote: "I find that I ghost books I am not enjoying. I don't mean to stop reading but the time between picking it up gets longer and longer and eventually I have forgotten enough of the details that I have..."

That’s just what I do. I normally have a couple of books I’m reading in parallel. And some books just don’t seem to get their turn. Especially if there are other books around I need to read for a challenge. Weirdly enough this has not much to do with whether I like the book or not. It’s a mood thing.

Booknblues wrote: "This year I am the queen of "dnf"ers. I have at least 6 that I started and set aside. I am still hoping to get back to many of them, but challenges and desire to read something else interfered with..."

I can’t imagine not finishing a book if I’m nearly done as you describe. Once I’m past the halfway point, there’s no dropping out.

I have no problem not finishing a book. If I'm not engaged by a third of the way in at the most, I toss it aside. With over 100 physical books on my shelf and who knows how many books on my Kindle...not to count the over 300 on my wish list at Amazon, there's no shortage of choice for me. I'd rather be reading something that I'm enjoying than slugging through something I hate. Not to mention, that it takes me longer to read it if I'm not enjoying it.

Amy wrote: "Anna, Who are you calling an old fogey? I think your children are younger than mine...."

LOL I had my kids late, at 38 and 39, that's why they're so young. I'm 53 and that feels pretty old, especially now that I have a gimply leg after the tumor in my hip, and can't even run anymore. I've just plain accepted that it's downhill for me from here out...but there are still a lot of books to read!

I've had a hard time with deciding when to give up on a book myself at times. But, I've decided that life is too short to not enjoy what you're reading.

First, I just might have broken my own rule and completely ditched the book I'm currently reading, but it's the very last one to complete every single one of my challenges and I don't have another 2016 High Note.

Second, Anna, I had my third at 41 so I know what you mean about feeling older these days. I have a highschooler, middle Schooler, and my elementary guy. It feels like all of us in this age are creakier then we probably should be. I was surprised to hear that Cindy is in our age group as well, because I had noted what she shared about the trouble she's having with her eyes and I made the likely an incorrect assumption that she was older. Taking care of ourselves is extremely important. I joined a Zumba class earlier this year, but lately I haven't been able to get to go, because I've been more concerned about midlife sleep issues. And I have a feeling many we know exactly what I mean. So these early-morning classes just haven't been able to work. My suggestion, for myself and for us all, it's just to make sure we have something enlivening, as raising kids is wonderful, but it's not. And if you're working too, and feel sometimes that reading is our only escape. Plus good TV. But it's important to have something enlivening. Maybe that's the best argument for not finishing books you're not interested in, and maybe you guys should just give up on the book when it feels right. As we all keep saying, life is too short. Happy Halloween everyone!

I like the term ghosting. This happens to me a lot where for various reasons, I stop reading that particular book until a time when I actually would need to start over.

My husband and I were just discussing this over the weekend. Now that we are older, we tend to prefer books at least one like-able main character. Also, I will sometimes quite an audio book, if it's not a good format for the type of book. (Example, books with lots of characters that often shift POV set in a very unfamiliar place). Sometimes, I find the book or library book so that I can see the written names/places to ground me and then it's easier.

I have a really hard time not finishing books. I'm not sure me wanting to give the book a chance when it doesn't deserve one, or to try and "keep it fair" with giving all books a chance. I add a book to goodreads "reading" once I'm about 50 pages in. If I can't ever get INTO it (ie the book never made it onto my "reading" list) I don't mind ditching it, but once I'm past that I will 99% sure follow through and read the whole thing.

Exceptions would be audiobooks- If I can't get through one hour of the audio because the narrator is horrible (see In Cold Blood) I'll abandon for the print book later on.

The only books I can think of that I straight up didn't finish because I didn't like them..
-Frankenstein (last year when everyone here was reading it)
-Breaking Dawn. When that stupid kid imprinted on Bella I threw the book down and abandoned ship of every liking anything Twilight related again (Sorry Nicole!)

JoLene, I have the same problem sometimes. Listening to audio books with many characters. The Pillars of the Earth trilogy or the Century trilogy bu Ken Follett or anything by Alexander Dumas has so many characters that I bookmark a characters page for east reference. The app Smart Audiobook Player for android has a feature that let's you add characters and a description as you hear them for your own easy reference. I still prefer just bookmarking a Web page.

Until recently (past few years) I never gave up on a book. Like so many here, the older I've gotten, I'm more likely to stop and put books on my Did Not Finish shelf. I've pretty much unlikely to go back to it. Joi, I too gave up on Frankenstein. I still don't give up too often, one in a year, never more than two and that's rare.

I remember Nancy Pearl's rule but that's too quick for me, I have to invest more pages than that. It drives me nuts to quit a book, but I have. Yeah, its the age thing!

I have an easier rule than Nancy Pearl: if I don’t like it for any reason, I stop. Doesn’t matter what page. Doesn’t matter if everyone else gushes about it. Too many great books out there just waiting for me. And I owe the author nothing.

That is not to say that I never get back around to a book I set aside. I actually think it is more unfair to an author to push through a book that I am not in the right mindset for and then have my rating reflect that. But that is because I personally have trouble being objective.

Having said that, I seldom give up on books because I like to research a book before I read it and, honestly, I take recommendations from a very select number of people who know my tastes well. I know what I like and certain books just jump out at me. I do not really plan my reading but read what I am in the mood for when I am in the mood for it.

For the last 3-4 years, 95% of the books I read have been published in the current year or the year just previous. And that works for me.

Not that my system works for everyone. Heck, it may only work for me. And it may not work for me forever. But right now, I am not looking to read books that make me think. I am a professor and a law student. My brain hurts most of the time from how much stretching it does from that.

So, I have no qualms about giving up on a book even though I rarely do it due to my pre-reading research.

Amy wrote: "I was surprised to hear that Cindy is in our age group as well, because I had noted what she shared about the trouble she's having with her eyes and I made the likely an incorrect assumption that she was older. ..."

Yeah, I know. I think I was actually 39 (?) when I had the retina issues. That helped cause the cataract that came a year later! They are expecting a cataract to form in my other eye as well. I keep wondering if it's already half-way here!

Joi wrote: "-Breaking Dawn. When that stupid kid imprinted on Bella I threw the book down and abandoned ship of every liking anything Twilight related again (Sorry Nicole!)..."

omg! I actually still liked the majority of the story in "Breaking Dawn", but I was absolutely disgusted and HATED the imprinting!

All blessings to you Cindy, that this resolves in the best way possible.

Amy wrote: "All blessings to you Cindy, that this resolves in the best way possible."

Thank you, Amy!