Saturday Sound Off (3-20)
I woke up at the godawful time of 7am this morning, on a Saturday for crying out loud, to pick up some fruits and vegetables from a co-op. It is worth it, but by afternoon my behind is draaaaaging, which is why this post is so late. Oh and because I had to bake hamburger buns…. and I kept losing track of time. Blame the buns. Actually, this post is going to deviate from the plan in general because I clicked over to g-reader and had 850+ new posts…. I had to hit “mark all as read” so I have no nifty around the blog world stuff to share because I simply haven’t had time to read any! So instead, I have a question for you….
Do you ever give up on a book, and if so, when?
I faced this question myself a couple of times this week. Usually I would say, no, I never give up on a book. I have a few OCD tendencies (none in the cleaning department much to the hubby’s dismay) and I really hate to not finish a book I have started. I have the same problem with a book series, I can’t stand to not read every book no matter how bad they are. If I start it, I must finish.
Yet, this may have changed for me the last week or two simply because there are too many books and not enough me to go around. More specifically there are too many GOOD books and not enough time for me to read them. So I ask myself, when is it ok to say this book doesn’t work for me and I don’t want to finish it? Over the last week I struggled with 2 books (one of which I posted the review yesterday)…. each time I sat down with them I sighed. I even found myself finding other things to do(cleaning!) so I wouldn’t have to read…. blasphemy! I think for my own sanity I have to realize that I am not going to love, or even mildly like, every book and sometimes it is ok to shelve it.
So my question to you, as a reader, do you finish every book your start? If not, how much of a chance do you give it? Part of me says that if I don’t like a book by page 50, its fair game to say it isn’t going to grab me…. but it seems like such an arbitrary number! For my book blogger buddies – do your standards change for books that are sent to you specifically to review?
And this has been your weekly installment of KindleVixen’s Saturday Situation….. (blame WickedLilPixie for that bad alliteration, she started the trend )
Books Read This Week (review linked if available)
Music listening to while writing this blog entry…Battlefield by Jordin Sparks….. just don’t ask LOL
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20 Responses to “Saturday Sound Off (3-20)”
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I used to feel the same way, but in the past few years I’ve decided there are WAY too many books to read to keep reading ones I don’t like. So pretty much whenever I get bored with a book I stop. That’s changed a little bit now that I’m doing specific reviews… sometimes I feel bored but I don’t necessarily DISLIKE the book so with those I try to push through since someone is looking for a review. I know what you mean about series books too. I’m more OCD with having to read them in order from the beginning, though. It’s so weird to me when people are willing to just pick up from any random book and go from there!
.-= Jenny´s most recent blog post ..Winter Garden =-.
Jenny – I am with you on the series in order too! They MUST be in order and I have to start from the beginning LOL It even gets me when an author releases a prequel after I have read the first book…. NOOO! lol
I do give a book a fair chance, but if it just doesn’t grab my attention, I don’t hesitate to cast it aside after 75-100 pages. My house is like a bookstore – I have to many books in the waiting to be read pile to waste my time on a book that can’t keep my attention.
.-= Judi L´s most recent blog post ..Oh What Tangled Webs We Weave…. =-.
That seems like a fair number Judi! I wish my Kindle had page numbers LOL
I had a book I reviewed a month ago that was like that. It took me 3 weeks to read it. Normally I read 1 in a day. This book was hideous. Seriously. I felt like I was stuck in a lecture on the mating habits of dung beetles. I had to keep putting it down and going on to other books. After the 2nd week it became a mission for me. I was going to finish this damn book if it killed me. I did. It didn’t kill me but it did make me bang my head on desk quite a few times. It’s pretty bad when your looking at the page numbers thinking to yourself, “Only 200 more to go. You can do it. Only 199 to go. You can do it,” and so on.
I honestly think that if it hadn’t been a review I would have tossed the book and never looked back. So, I think if you are asked to review and accept then you should try your damnest to finish it. If it’s from your personal TBR pile then burn it and forget it.
What killed me about the whole thing was others that reviewed it gave it 4 & 5 stars. WTH?
Tori – this book I am struggling with is like that too! some people seem to really like it, but I know a few who had a really hard time with it. I think I have decided to set it down for now and read a few others and try again in a week or so. I hate to DNF a review book, but I guess it happens sometimes!
If a book doesn’t hold my interest by the first 50 pages, off it goes into the DNF pile. Too many other books to read, too little time.
.-= katiebabs´s most recent blog post ..KB’s Pimpin Cookie Book Covers *Soon to be Future Releases* =-.
Life’s too short! Have to admit, tho, it took me a looong time to come to that conclusion. But recently I talked to an older woman who explained her process:
If you’re under 50, you have to give a book 50 pages. After 50, subtract your age from 100, and give it that many pages. Then she said “I’m 85, so I only have to give a book 15 pages!”
Makes sense to me!
.-= Christy´s most recent blog post ..LEAD PIPE CINCH – what the cover says =-.
I don’t hesitate to set a book aside if it isn’t engaging me. I recently tried to read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and that happened to me. I just couldn’t read it. Like you, I was tempted to put it aside and clean something. I abandoned it at 48 pages. I had read so many glowing reviews. I did try again later in the week but gave up at page 148. I feel like I gave to book my best shot but it was clearly not for me. Every book is not for every reader. This one wasn’t for me.
This morning I think I tried four books on my Kindle before I settled on the one I wanted to read. In this case, I just read a couple of pages of each and will try them again another day. Books have to fit with my mood.
My TBR pile currently contains about 600 books. I can’t and won’t spend days forcing myself through a book that is not giving me pleasure. I’ll put a book back on the TBR pile and try it again a different day. Then, if it doesn’t work for me, I donate it to my HS Media Center or pass it along to someone I think might like it.
I don’t really need to worry about having to finish review books. I only ocassionly get books from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I was emailed by a publicist today for the very first time. I declined because the book didn’t seem like a very good fit for me.
I have abandoned series but I usually try to read a whole series because I want to know how the story finishes. Nosy, I guess!
.-= Kathy Martin´s most recent blog post ..In My Mailbox (March 21, 2010) =-.
Boy, do I know how you feel! I used to feel I had to finish every book too, but lately I’ve been like you and have been dropping them, yet I am currently in a dilmema – I’m on page 50 of a book I just can’t get in to. It’s especially awful when it’s a book that I got from a publisher, for I feel obligated to read it and review, but it’s torture and I hate to think how I’m going to feel about writing a review of it! Not good!
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one going through this dilemma. After reading this, I’ve decided to temporarily shelf my current book and come back to it at a later date. At least it’s not an ARC. I feel better already!
.-= Julie L´s most recent blog post ..The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt =-.
I still haven’t figured out when to call it quits. No matter how bad a book is (once a book took me three months to finish) I can’t put it down. I have to finish, just in case it proves me wrong. I actually made a post about it a couple of weeks ago: http://xxbetty.blogspot.com/2010/03/when-do-you-give-up.html
.-= Beth´s most recent blog post ..MARCH GIVEAWAY!! =-.
Oh, I hate it when that happens. I always keep my [stupid] hopes up for them to get better– Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, which sucks. But most of the time I do finish reading them. =) Not being able to finish a book is the worst feeling ever [one of them though] if you ask me.
I usually read 50-75 pages before I give up. Sometimes I’ll set aside the book and try to pick it up later. I find that I’m kinda moody when it comes to reading books. Sometimes I’m more into the action and suspense of an urban fantasy and other times I crave the romance and sex or a paranormal romance. Though with some books I just give up. I also do that for series too..if I start to dislike the books too much I stop so I can remember the hero/heroine the way I liked them in the earlier books (ummh LKH series).
.-= Heather (DarklyReading)´s most recent blog post ..Sinful Saturday Views – Clayton from the Women of the Otherworld Series by Kelley Armstrong =-.
I know exactly where your at right now. I use to be the same way, I had to finish any book I started until about a year or so ago. However, I’ll admit there are some books I don’t finish but I keep because something niggles me that I might enjoy it at a different time later down the road.
.-= Donna´s most recent blog post ..Review: Mind Games by Carolyn Crane =-.
Eh, after reading something like 3200 books over the last five years or so, I’m more than willing to decide one sucks enough for me to not finish it. I’ve so read my share of terrible books; I owe nothing more to bad authors.
That said, I usually just toss one that’s got me disgusted to the side with a bookmark in it and read a chapter or two when I step out for a smoke. If I haven’t been able to get back into it for a month or so, I either pitch it or give it away.
3200?! O.O
You are my idol.
.-= katiebabs´s most recent blog post ..KB’s Pimpin Cookie Book Covers *Soon to be Future Releases* =-.
I just recently gave up on a book on page 86. Before I gave up on it, I asked around on Twitter to see if anyone had read it and if I should stick with it. It appeared that no one had read it, therefore no one couldn’t say whether or not I should stick with it, so I gave up. If someone tells me that it will get better, just stick with it, then I will. As long as I know I will be rewarded in the end. But this book I recently gave up on was bor-ing. It was going nowhere.
I agree with Katiebabs: too many books, too little time
.-= The Book Vixen´s most recent blog post ..Discussion: eReaders =-.
When I started back reading again, I would try my best to finish the book just because of money waste. Now I just can do it anymore, there are to many good books to read, I do like to get around 50 pages to make sure I don’t like it.
Girl, if i don’t wanna read it at a stop light, then its a goner for me. There are too many great books out there for me to waste my time on one that just happens to be on my tbr pile. If i don’t connect with the characters and if it doesn’t have enuff romance and paranormal stuff going on its not the one for me and i don’t waste time. Life is too short to be OCD about books!!! Love ‘em or leave ‘em girlfriend!!
If a book has been sent to me for review I do my very best to finish it. I really don’t like to quit on a request. If I’ve purchased the book I’m a little more likely to give up if I’m not feeling it. I’ve actually only given up on a couple of books usually due to content I found objectionable. Like you said though, there are so many good books to choose from, why struggle with the ones that don’t move you?
.-= Fiction Vixen´s most recent blog post ..Review: His Darkest Hunger by Juliana Stone =-.