There is nothing I love more than a book that manages to pull me in immediately — like in the first chapter, or better yet, the first paragraph. There have been a few books that I remember affecting me that way (and probably many more I don’t remember) — The Other Mother, from a review I wrote three years ago (Gwendolen Gross where’s your next book??), and much more recently, Finny (okay, I’ll stop talking about it if you just read it already!), and Jennie Nash’s The Threadbare Heart.
Just because a book doesn’t hook me right away does not mean that it’s not going to be a great book. I am willing to give it some time. However, as a “professional” reviewer, I have gotten to the point where it’s not hard for me to put aside a book that isn’t working for me. We don’t generally publish negative reviews here (Why? Our space is valuable and we have more than enough book reviews to post that we can recommend, so why trash someone’s effort?), and I always have an enticing stack of books waiting to be read. If I’m not feeling it, I put a book down. But when do I give up?
There have been books that I struggled through the first 30, 40, even 50 pages. Then the tide would turn. And I’ve begun to notice that by 60 pages in, I have a good feeling of where the book might be going, the writer’s style, and the suitability to my reading tastes.
I know that some of you are die-hard book-finishers. And I get that. I used to be, too. But not anymore. There are too many good books out there waiting to be read for me to stumble through a mediocre one. I might quit at 100 pages, I might even throw in the towel 2/3 of the way through, but I’m always going to read at least 60 pages.
What about you? What’s your policy — do you always finish books? If not, when do you decide to quit? And what is it that will make you give up on a book?
Last year, I would always finish a book because maybe, just maybe the book would get better, and then I would have missed out. Now, nope, I will not continue with a book that is not doing it for me. However, I have picked good fits for my reading taste this year so I can honestly say…I cannot recall a book this year that I set aside.
I do use the gimme 60 idea when trying to decide which book to read. For instance, there are 3 books that I want to read, cannot decide which one to start first. So I read the first chapter…so maybe not 60…of each book, and the one that really pulled me in first…captured my attention is the one I go with. So far, this approach has worked very well for me.
OT: I really do like your new comment feature. Very cool how you can reply with the original comment with the email body. I like that a lot. Wish I could have that on my blog.
I agree ibeeg. I have also gotten better at picking as well.
And the whole “60” thing — I just realized that sometimes it took a bit longer than a chapter or two.
The comment plug in is called “threaded comments” and I love it too!!
I’m a Fifty Page Rule girl. An author has 50 pages in which to get my attention after that it’s too late. But I’ll give up sooner than that if there’s a red flag for something I really, really don’t want to read (ie if it’ll give me nightmares or I hate the author’s style of writing).
Very similar, and it’s so freeing.
I think the problem for me comes when I have *purchased* a book — when I’ve spent real actual money on a book, I feel compelled to finish it, even if I’m not enjoying it. If, however, I’ve borrowed it or received it for “possible review” from a publisher, I’m much more likely to put it down if it doesn’t grab me.
That’s a good distinction, Katrina. I might slog through if I spent money on it as well.
I do the fifty page thing too, after reading Nancy Pearl’s Book Lust. She suggested that every reader give a book 50 pages until they’re fifty years old–then they can start subtracting a page for every year that they’re older than fifty. (So a 57-year-old would read 43 pages.) I guess she figured that once you’re on the (ahem) downhill slope, you can afford to be more picky with how you spend your time 🙂
Ha! Great point that as life gets shorter our time gets more valuable.
I’ve rarely stopped reading a book, even when I haven’t been completely pleased with it, sometimes with the hope that it will get better, and other times with stupid determination to just see it through. (I know it’s silly… just another of my wacky quirks.) There have been two books that I put down during this past year, but I shelved them, thinking that part of the issue I had with the book was just what I was feeling at the time… so I hope to go back to them in a year or so and see if I can have a better experience. 🙂
I think that my issue specifically with review books is that if the first 200 pages was bad, and it redeemed itself in the last 100 pages, would I recommend that someone else read it? Maybe but it would be with that caveat, so if I have other reviewable books waiting.
I’m also a 50 page girl, and I have no problem giving up a book if it’s just not grabbing me. Generally if I make it 50 pages I’ll make it to the end but there have been times I’ve decided later on that I am done. So many books, so little time!
If I’m finding I’m just reading because I’m curious how the book ends, I’ll flip through and read snippets here and there and then read the ending.