I’ve hit a snag.
My current read hasn’t pulled me in as much as I’d like. And it is taking FOREVER to read. I’m not one to force myself to read anything, but I’m also not one to give up on a book easily.
Last year I had 2-3 DNFs, which could have easily been twice that number.
How do you decide whether to finish reading a book or not?
Johnny Reads 
If I would rather clean the toilet than read the book, it goes.
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Oh boy. Does that happen often?
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3-4 times a quarter.
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Oh wow. That’s quite a bit.
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If it’s not grabbing me or I’m rolling my eyes at how badly it’s written/the plot then I have no problem putting the book down. Even if I’m 70% the way through, I’m still happy to not push myself through the rest of it.
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I usually stop within the first 100 pages. Once I’ve invested more time, then I’ll just finish and then write a review about how terrible it is. 😂
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I always finish books. As it happens, I just wrote a post on my blog on that very subject.https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/why-i-always-finish/
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I don’t force it, if I do I won’t enjoy it.
If I can’t get into a book I’ll put it aside and come back to it later, maybe I’ll be in the mood for it then.
There is one book I’ve tried several times to read and I just can’t get into it: Pandora by Anne Rice. I love the other Lestat Books, but that one is just…I don’t know but I can’t get into it.
I’ve tried to read Wicked by by Gregory Maguire a couple of times, too, and it’s the same thing.
I’ve got several on my DNF list and I don’t let it bother me
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The thing with me is I’m not a rereader. I’ve never gone back to a book I did don’t finish. Welp.
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I’m most definitely a rereader, lol.
What’s the sense in having your own library if you’re not going to read your favorites over and over again?
I’ve got a couple that are dogeared because they’ve been read so much (and they weren’t new when I bought them in the first place.)
My mom was like you though, she would read a book once and that was it. A waste of money if you ask me, unless it was borrowed from the library.
Can I read more than one book at a time? Nope, I get the characters mixed up or they’re two different time periods so I get the language and other important things wrong, but I can sooo reread a good book!
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If I’m just rereading my favorite books over and over again, then I’m not actually diversifying my reading or becoming more well read.
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True. I don’t do it all the time. I’ve got quite a list of books, some I got just last night, which haven’t been touched yet 🙂
Usually, my favorites are saved for when I’m in a reading slump and nothing else is catching my interest. I’ll reread one of them and things seem to straighten out.
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I have only DNF’d two titles in my entire life.. because I have issues haha. I cannot stand to give up on books, but I wish I would learn to just let go. Life is too short. I would say 20% is a fair effort 😉
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Whaa? Only 2? Goodreads tells me I’m 38% through it.
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38%.. yeah give it the boot haha. You put in some honest time.
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Ha. I’ll see how I feel after reading a bit note, I think.
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I get to page 200. Of I’m still disinterested, I move on. Because by 200 pages you can give a fairly decent review, and I still count it toward my count of titles read. 200 pages is a commitment, and an effort. But of its still boring, it’s time to go.
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I disagree with all of that. It could be 270 pages or 950. Reading 200 pages and then saying a review can be written and that you’ve read it when you is kind of odd. I don’t understand it. I have no problem not finishing, but I won’t count a book as read until I reach its end. Also wouldn’t write a review for a book I didn’t finish. I just wrote about people sharing all of their opinions about authors and their works but who HAVEN’T actually read them. That also makes no sense to me.
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OK, that’s fair. However, I wouldn’t write the review as if I’d finished it. I’d be upfront about not completing it, and then give a review based on what I did read, and what kept me from completing it.
The bit about counting it as read is for my Goodreads Reading Challenge. 200 pages is roughly 50k words which is the general rule of thumb for the length of a novel. Therefore, on the rare occasions that I can’t finish a book, if I get to page 200, I’ll still count it for my challenge.
It’s mostly an acknowledgement of time and effort spent.
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I started reading a book a few days ago and after about 20 pages I knew there was no way I was going to finish it. Don’t feel bad about DNRs, there are way too many books out there to waste time on one you hate.
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Of course. I have too many books myself to focus on ones I don’t like.
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