The Mystery, Crime, and Thriller Group discussion

audio books or ebooks are the savior of those of us with arthritis. However in audio, a good narrator is a must , for me, or that book becomes a DNF

I agree with Rose about needing an expert narrator. It is a make or break for me. BTW if you like a good political thriller try 'Who's Killing All The Lawyers'.
The very first page should get you to read the entire book. Oh yes,must mention I wrote it. See Amazon books.

Pat wrote: "I know there are a lot of Jack Reacher fans on goodreads, but I just could not get hooked on his character. Tried two different books, and quit reading well before the middle."

Ah-HA! I thought it was just me. Perhaps another time, another place, another book.

I'm a bit OCD about reading - if I start I have to finish, but I've loosened up a lot about it - there are just too many books to read to waste it on books you don't enjoy, so I have given up on a couple:

Good for you, Charlotte, It isn't as thought the 'book police' are going to come knocking at your door.

Ha Fiona! We should. I guess I do feel a little better that I'm not the ONLY one who didn't like Dragon Tattoo or Twilight :)

:)

I'm with you guys - Twilight left me cold. It was ridiculous!

I decided that I was too old for all that teenage angst and over drama

It's amazing how many books I read as a teen that I couldn't stomach now. Confession here, I was talking earlier about giving up on Dead Beat by Val McDermid not Twilight. I've never read Twilight and have no intention of doing so. Reckon it would bore me to a living death.

i usually give a book between 50-100 pages before i give up on it--normally, i'll only force myself to finish a book when it's been chosen as the monthly read. there are exceptions- i read approx 200 pages of Smilla's Sense of Snow before i just couldn't stand to read another page.

Julie wrote: "Ha Fiona! We should. I guess I do feel a little better that I'm not the ONLY one who didn't like Dragon Tattoo or Twilight :)"

i also didn't like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but i did finish it.

Ha! I tried to read TWICE and just couldn't get thru it!!! My bestie is insisting I try but one more time....

Oh my- also HATED Smilla!!! Also gave up halfway thru- no intention of revisiting that one!!!!

And I love it; I did listen to it on audio. Maybe that made the difference

Also loved Smilla.

I have often given up on books part-way through. I can't see the point of persisting with something you are not enjoying. To me it's a bit like saying "I bought this pizza full of salty olives and anchovies and I don't like it but I'm to eat it anyway." I recently gave up on a semi-historical novel called "Mr Wroe's Virgins" about the British Israelite sect in the 1830s. (There is a movie mentioned on IMDB with Minnie Driver, so some people must have liked the book for it to get made into a film.) The characters didn't interest me and the plot seemed to take a long time to unfold. So I gave up. If the characters and the plot aren't interesting by the one third mark, they are probably not going to "spring to life" in the next two thirds. After all, it's the same author and probably the same writing style for the rest of the book.

Yes it was a Dean Koontz book that was absolutely going nowhere. Usually, if I get past page 100, it has ne interested enough to finish.

Gosh, I give up on books all the time. You folks will gasp and fall about, but I unashamedly quit War and Peace about 50 pages from the end, when I realized i still didn't really care about any of those people or their war and I was tired of spending time with them. The minute a book ceases to make me want to be sharing its adventure, I'm done. My time is uniquely my own; I'll spend it only on what feels like it's worth the expense.

Jane wrote: "Gosh, I give up on books all the time. You folks will gasp and fall about, but I unashamedly quit War and Peace about 50 pages from the end, when I realized i still didn't really care about any of ..."

Ah, Jane. You've probably just freed some of us to 'fess up about the books that have defeated us. Don't tell anyone but I've never managed to finish a single Jane Austen novel. I know, I know. But there you have it.

Jane wrote: "Gosh, I give up on books all the time. You folks will gasp and fall about, but I unashamedly quit War and Peace about 50 pages from the end, when I realized i still didn't really care about any of ..."

Oh agree, absolutely. When I was younger I *never* left a book unfinished, no matter how horrible. Possibly this is because I had A LOT more free time when I was younger. Now that I'm a working mom, I refuse to devote one extra minute to a book that's not worth it. I stop reading books mid-way all the time.

Um, except when it came to Dragon Tattoo...I absolutely forced myself to finish it because I wanted to understand why, why, WHY such a phenom? Why? And in spite of finishing every last page, enlightenment did not come. Sigh.

I rarely stop reading a fiction book in the middle. I think I'm always compelled (no matter how bad it is) to find out how it ends. Non-fiction books....not so much. I often don't finish them because they never seem to rise to my expectations.

Jane wrote: "Gosh, I give up on books all the time. You folks will gasp and fall about, but I unashamedly quit War and Peace about 50 pages from the end, when I realized i still didn't really care about any of ..."

Renee- I promise I won't tell anyone.

Lori wrote: "I rarely stop reading a fiction book in the middle. I think I'm always compelled (no matter how bad it is) to find out how it ends. Non-fiction books....not so much. I often don't finish the..."

i will read the last chapter if I 'really need' to know the ending. Otherwise , 99% of my DNF and not worth my reading time. So man better books waiting to be read out there

Richard wrote: "I have often given up on books part-way through. I can't see the point of persisting with something you are not enjoying. To me it's a bit like saying "I bought this pizza full of salty olives and ..."

You know I actually agree with you. If you aren't enjoying it, lay it down. Somehow I just have a hard time making myself do it. It becomes one of those things "I have to do." Stupid of me really. I guess I should get over that. ha ha.

Lori wrote: "Ha! I tried to read TWICE and just couldn't get thru it!!! My bestie is insisting I try but one more time...."
Now I loved that one. The language is awful but somehow appropriate for the character but I really loved the whole "broken but genius" thing in a woman. I don't see many books like that.

Rose wrote: "audio books or ebooks are the savior of those of us with arthritis. However in audio, a good narrator is a must , for me, or that book becomes a DNF"

Absolutely! The guy who read "Harry Potter" was the best I had heard in a long time.

Pat wrote: "staggered watching the original Swedish movie versions, and the new movie, in between. So I had a great time with it."

I haven't seen the movies....so they were good?

Lori wrote: "Rose wrote: "audio books or ebooks are the savior of those of us with arthritis. However in audio, a good narrator is a must , for me, or that book becomes a DNF"

Absolutely! The guy who read ..."
Agree Everytime after that when I 'read' a HP book, Jim Dale's voice was in my head

Will Patton reading James Lee Burke is the best narrator I've heard in years of listening.

Yes, definitely. I could listen to Jim Dale (HP narrator) read a grocery list.


Absolutely! The guy who read ..."

he did narrated, a few years ago, a fun tv show that was pulled in mid-season. He was marvelous, of course.

After I graduated from college as an English major, I felt obligated not only to finish every book, but also the introduction, preface, acknowledgments, foreword, foot notes . . . Now, many years later, I can quit a book after 10 pages if it doesn't catch my interest. Ah, freedom!

I'm very picky with my selection of books to read. I give every book I start a fair shot to captivate me and keep me engaged. I will stop reading, even two-thirds of the way through, if I'm not enjoying it and interested in the characters. It took me many, many years of reading to reach this point as I was taught to "finish what I started". But the time I have to myself is precious!

Kim wrote: "I absolutely forced myself to finish it because I wanted to understand why, why, WHY such a phenom? Why? And in spite of finishing every last page, enlightenment did not come. Sigh. "

I went through a time like this (not long, fortunately) and finished several. It's been awhile but I do recall wondering the same thing ... WHY? almost to the point of wondering if all these people were somehow reading a different book.

I finally came to the conclusion that since I was reading for entertainment, there was absolutely no logical reason for me to continue with something that I did not find entertaining. I will now put down any book if it isn't holding my interest regardless of *when* that happens.

I also do something else that other readers often seem to find odd ... if I get the impression that the ending may be bleak or depressing ... one of the major characters dying, etc. ... I will often turn to the ending and if that's the case, I quit. Again, I read for entertainment and if I want depressing I can turn on the TV news channel!

I don't have a problem moving on to something else, though I used to finish every book I started. I'm also much more selective now about what I read - some books just don't appeal to me. For example, a while back it seemed like everyone was reading Cold Mountain, which just does not seem to spark any interest when I read the description, so I'm not going to read it. Maybe someday it will appeal to me and I'll pick it up; if not, no big deal. I know many people enjoyed it and that's great for them.

If the book is a classic, then I'll put it on the TBR pile and come back to it in a few years. Some books just resonate better at different times of life, so if it seems like there might be value in trying again, I will.

But, if it is supposed to be a "fun" read (and most mysteries fall into that category for me), then I don't worry about it. There are so many books out there and I would rather find something else.

Oh absolutely!
Modelland by Tyra banks was soooooo boring I dont think I made it through halfway..lost interest and had no idea what she was talking about....I just couldnt do it

Sharon wrote: "Kim wrote: "I absolutely forced myself to finish it because I wanted to understand why, why, WHY such a phenom? Why? And in spite of finishing every last page, enlightenment did not come. Sigh. "

..." I'm with you on that - I always go to the end of the book first and if I don't like the ending I don't read the book especially if one the main characters is killed off!

Giacomo wrote: "It depends on what you call giving up on a book. I almost always download a sample of the book before I buy. I have given up on LOTS of samples, if I don't like the style, or if the story doesn't g..."

I never herd about this digital samples before. This seems an good idea.

Julie wrote: "Ha Fiona! We should. I guess I do feel a little better that I'm not the ONLY one who didn't like Dragon Tattoo or Twilight :)"

I herd women enjoy reading twilight. Amused to see some women saying they did not like twilight :)

I have over 200 books on my TO READ list. I have no time or patience to submit myself to a book I can't get into because of the prose, unlikeable plot or characters.

OMG how I hated this book by Steve Martini. I usually don't give up on books as either a friend gave it to me to read, I've purchased it or I have gotten it from the
library because someone said it was good. I sincerely tried to like this book but after 156 pages I couldn't take it anymore. I am like Charlotte who feel compulsive to finish, but heck, I have stacks of other
books that I must try and I have made a new motto that if I don't like it, it hasn't "grabbed" me
I will "toss" it. Trader of Secrets was poorly written, dialogue trite, nothing new or exciting about it. I guess I will never read Steve Martini
again. I have read two others of his, they were OK
but not great reads.

Julie wrote: "I gave up on Twilight. My daughter was hooked and I tried 3 times to read it and just found it insipid and boring.....

I also gave up on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I know, I know, EVERYONE..."

LOL, woman after my own heart. If you can say something in five words but choose to use 25, they better be evocative as hell, or I have better things to do with my time.

I feel guilty not finishing a book. It's as if, "Well, I've invested this much time, I hate to give up now." But nonetheless, I have stopped reading a couple midway. Some of the more recent Patricia Cornwell novels had me stopping early. I'm not sure what happened, but I no longer enjoy her Kay Scarpetta books. The writing and tone of this forensic series has changed.

used to read to the bitter end. Now if it doesn't hold my interest it gets dumped!

Hell yes.
If the book is boring, I'll put it down and read others.
Most times, though, I come back to it and finish it later.
Thanks!
Tom

Very rarely. If I do it's after I've tried to go back to it again and again and still couldn't get into it. The most recent one was The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. I've tried twice now and I still can't quite get past the first 60-pages or so. It's still on my want-to-read list and I plan on giving it one more try at some point.

That's a great book Mike.

Just did on The Redbreast. May be it was translation.

So far I haven't been able to get past all the architecture stuff in the beginning. I haven't completely given up yet, I'm just waiting for the right mood to give it another try.