Thursday 3 May 2012

Talking Point: The Did Not Finish

someecards.com - I can't even...


I like to finish what I start, especially when it comes to reading. I'm one of those crazy people who feels like have to see a book through to the end, even if I'm not enjoying it. I contemplate stopping, but I always thing "What if it gets better? What if I miss something amazing by stopping? At least I can say I've read it. At least I'll get some closure... "

I think I can count the number of books I haven't finished on one hand. Or with one short list:
  • Possession by A.S. Byatt.
  • Elliot Allagash by Simon Rich.
Yep. A sum total of two. There are a couple of other books that I've started reading and couldn't get into, but I intend to go back to them at some stage so I don't count them as official DNFs. They're books that I can see the value in but for whatever reason they weren't working for me at the time. Those two up there? I can safely say I'll never pick them up again.

As you can probably tell from the limited list, it takes a lot for me to abandon a book. I have to really, really hate it. Otherwise, I struggle through. But with an ever-increasing TBR pile, this seems like more and more of a waste of time. So I've decided that I'm going to *try* to be more brutal and DNF books that really aren't worth it. There are two main factors that would make me DNF, judging from the (two) books I've given up in the past:

-Time. If a book takes too long to read, I start to resent it. Even if it's not particularly bad (it's just not particularly good), I start to dislike it, just because I want it to be over already. There are so many books that I want to read, it feels like I'm wasting valuable time if I spend too much on one book that may not be worth it. It's the main reason I gave up on Possession. It was taking waaaay too long and I just didn't care where the story went. It was tedious and felt like a chore - not how reading should feel. So I gave up, and felt relieved (and just a bit guilty). The book I'm reading at the moment, Vulpi by Kate Gordon, is also taking me forever - though the current hectic state of my life means it's not completely the book's fault. Still, Vulpi hasn't really grabbed me enough to make me find the time to read it, if you know what I mean. OK, OK, I'll finish it, because I am interested in how the story turns out, but I can't help but be slightly frustrated with it - as well as myself!

-Characters. I don't believe that all characters need to be likable, but I do think there should be something about them that you can connect with - in the main character, at the very least. If there is not one likable character in the whole story and you can't empathise with any of them, it's just no fun. Especially if there's no indication that they're going to grow or change. This is why I gave up on Elliot Allagash.

So, do you ever DNF a book? What makes you stop reading?

25 comments:

  1. I torture myself about DNFing a book and even if I work up to not finishing, months or years later I find myself thinking maybe I should give the book another go just in case it was me and not the book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know the feeling! Especially with books that get a lot of hype - I feel like if I'm not enjoying them, there must be something wrong with me.

      Delete
  2. There must be something about A. S Byatt books because I started and hated Ragnarok... it totally didn't live up to the hype and I was so prepared to invest effort into it! Life is too short to read bad books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! Haven't read that one but not tempted now.
      "Life is too short to read bad books!"
      So true!

      Delete
  3. I always try to read all book. Like you, I don't like to leave book in the middle of action. I think the same: "What if it gets better?". But if book is really really bad I can't imagine finish it! I try to read books which I probably like so I don't have many situations when I think "Read or not to read" :)
    Sorry for any mistakes but English is my second language ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's true, since starting blogging and reading a lot of reviews I find I'm reading more books that I'll actually like, so there's less chance I'll give up. But at the same time it can set my expectations too high!
      Thanks for commenting :)

      Delete
  4. Amen. Character connection is a must for me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm the same way. I feel that if I start a book I need to finish it even if I have to set it down for a while and pick it back up. There have been a couple of books that I haven't liked when I started it, but ended up loving it by the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I've had that happen a couple of times. It took me three attempts at The Great Gatsby before I discovered I loved it :)

      Delete
  6. I'm the same way; I HAVE to finish. It's even the same with series, which is unfortunate. For example, all during 50 Shades of Grey I told myself I would NOT read the next book, I would NOT read the next book ... but as soon as I finished I logged onto my library's website and requested Fifty Shades Darker. Ugh. I just can't leave any story unfinished!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm a bit like that with series too. There's a couple I've started that I really don't like, but I'm still drawn to the rest of the books just so I can feel that sense of closure.

      Delete
  7. I totally understand, Belle. I never, ever used to give up on a book, I would always force myself to finish but then a few years ago I finally came across a book (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel) and I tried twice but quit both times. I've also realised that if a book is that bad, I have better books to read and will no longer waste my time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true, there are too many good books to waste time with bad ones!

      Delete
  8. You changed your background and it looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love this post, Belle. I used to be very determined to finish books but now I don't care. I just need to take one look at my TBR pile and I just give up. Too many books, too little time. :D


    Also, I have to friends who are on complete opposite sides in the Possession WAR. Seriously, you can't even mention the 'P' word without blood being shed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh Possession is a dangerous book!

      Delete
  10. I am so glad to hear I'm not the only one who HATED Possession. I have no idea why it's so beloved by so many readers.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Completely on point. I HATE to DNF any book (especially since I completely NaNoWriMo and realized just how darn much time and work go into writing one), but lately I do it more often. It feels like a betrayal to let go of something so personal as a story. I satisfy myself with the reminder that someone somewhere probably likes the book, and it is just not a winner with me...

    Life is too short to read bad books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, for every book I hate, someone else will love it - I think. At least one person somewhere had to like it for it to be published!

      Delete
  12. I came across many books I couldn't finish.
    Reading YA books means that sometime I find books poorly written or intended for younger audience.
    Not connecting with the character is not the worst thing for me if I can connect with others or if there is something else holding my interest.
    But sometimes I get so annoyed with the things I read about or with the characters that it is better to just stop reading. I read for pleasure, if I want to get annoyed I would do something else, LOL!

    Happy midnight reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel like bandwagon books that seem to be written purely because the topic is poopular (*cough*vampires*cough*) tend to be sloppy. Either that or I just get over the trend!

      Delete
  13. As I've grown older (*mournful sigh*) it's become a lot easier for me to DNF books. It's equal parts finally realizing that I'm free to like and dislike whatever feels right to *me* and suddenly finding that my time is valuable enough that I don't want to waste it reading what I don't enjoy.

    On the other hand, since I started blogging, I do try to give review books plenty of rope to hang themselves with. Wait, that's not what I meant. I really only mean that I don't feel I can properly review a book if I don't give it a proper chance. You know?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha I know what you mean. It's good to give them a chance - but sometimes there's only so much charity a book deserves.

      Delete