A few weeks back my Dad (a voracious reader) passed along a Washington Times article that discusses economics professor Tyler Cowen’s argument that there’s an economic case to be made for quitting a book as soon as you stop getting anything out of it. Cowen finishes one book for every five to ten he starts. “We should treat books a little more like we treat TV channels,” says Cowen.
That’s probably an extreme case, but I’m sure we’ve all had moments when we wanted to fling the old Kindle against the old wall, whether because of a character who was driving us batty, an implausible plot line, or maybe even because your copy of THE SHINING just happened to be missing pages right when it was getting to the good part (yup, still mad, Colusa County Library. Seventeen years has not dulled the pain).
So do you stop reading books or are you a compulsive finisher? And for those that stop midway, what causes you to stop? How do you decide to ditch a book and start something new?
Livia says
I stop reading when I no longer want to keep reading. But that very rarely happens. Usually, even if the book is not great, I still want to find out what happens. I usually don't feel guilty about it — except in the case of Les Miserables. I really want to read it — just can't get past those first 80 pages about that bishop!
JES says
I don't finish everything, but nearly so. "Quitting a book as soon as you stop getting anything out of it" sounds awfully presumptuous — like you can know you've reached that point.
The one book I still wish I'd finished (because everyone else seems gaga about it; I must be missing something) is Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides. But I think I lasted only a couple dozen pages. It wasn't a matter of not getting anything out of it; it was a matter of not really enjoying or otherwise appreciating the getting, if that makes any sense.
Margaret Yang says
Several people have responded that they finish a book no matter what.
Dear dog, WHY?
Novice Writer Anonymous says
If I stop reading a book it's anywhere from the first few pages to the within a handful of chapters.
I've read books all the way through just to find out what happens (usually with little payoff) but hated every minute of my reading.
Jeff Shagohod says
I save all the lame books I can't finish until I have a big pile. Then I take them outside and have a Book burning. Sadly, that's all some books are good for
Lis Garrett says
I have a friend who recently told me she gives a book twenty minutes to totally grab her attention. Yikes!
Depending on the size of the book, I try to read at least five chapters. I don't often *not* finish a book I start. There have even been a few I've put down and returned to a few years later to finish. Sometimes the mood I'm in dictates whether or not I finish a book.
PatriciaW says
Definitely a case to be made for stopping reading or anything else that uses up the one commodity we all have, time, and doesn't add value.
But I'm guilty. It's rare for me to put a book down. I'll keep reading, hoping the story will come together by the end. Or, I'll put it down but come back to it. Unless it's really bad… I've got one like that now that I've tried twice to read.
Nathan Bransford says
BofA-
I can see being a bit bewildered if I'd started with THE ROAD. I think it's most interesting in the context of a progression from ALL THE PRETTY HORSES and BLOOD MERIDIAN to NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN to THE ROAD. It's a steady literary distillation process to THE ROAD, which is like 160 proof whiskey.
Kristi says
I'm a compulsive finisher. As many books I read are for my book club, even if I can't stand the book (which is rare), I'll finish it in order to explain why I couldn't stand it. There has only been one book club book in the last few years that was too painful for me to finish (and I wasn't the only one unable to finish it). I've been lucky because I usually only read things recommended by friends so I tend to like most of it.
Karen says
I rarely ditch a book, but I did give up on A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANEY and DUNE because they were the dullest books I've ever read.
Part of the reason I stopped reading DUNE, though, was also because the writing drove me crazy. I could only take so much of "And she said…" "And she thought…"
Tricia J. O'Brien says
I'm a compulsive finisher. I want to give the author and story a chance, and I value books so much that I'm loathe to quit. BUT I have stopped reading some that weren't going anywhere or at least not where I was interested in going. Currently, I am making myself read a book I expected much more from. I'm glad I kept going because it has gotten better but I wonder why it wasn't put through better editing and rewriting? With all the information we are bombarded with about books not making it past agents, editors, etc. without compelling first pages, I can't figure this out.
Stephanie Faris says
Definitely a compulsive finisher. I'm glad there's a term for it! I tend to put most of my reading time into books in the line which I'm targeting at the moment. Right now I have a romance from a romance publisher I'm targeting…I'm struggling to get through but I'm almost at the end. It's disturbing but the more I write, it seems the worse other books become. I'm restless, longing for that book that will pull me in and keep me all the way to the end. Anything less than that, and I'm just picking it apart, plot point by plot point.
Nat says
Huh, I'm not going to lie I have definitely put down books after thirty or forty pages, but I also think if I made this a habit I would miss out on some really fantastic books.
Some of the best, most rewarding books I've ever read took some work on my part. Have you ever read Dickens? The first two or three hundred pages of most of his novels are VERY slow. He sets up characters and weaves their lives together, and you must remember EVERYONE because they all come into play later. I spent three or four months reading GREAT EXPECTATIONS (and I've spent that long again on many other classics), and I didn't regret a minute of it, even though I may not have been "hooked" in the first few chapters.
Sarah Laurenson says
If I put the book down after reading a bit one day and weeks pass without me picking it up again, then I know I'm not interested enough to finish it. My latest to fall victim to this is Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. It's good and funny, but just not doing it for me.
I used to be a compulsive finisher. Got that cured by a certain paperback book that was very difficult for me to finish. But I did. I've since heard from people who loved it. Maybe it was me at the time. I'm not cracking that one open again to find out.
Elise M Stone says
I used to be a compulsive finisher but have changed as I've gotten older. As others have said, so many books, so little time.
I don't have any particular page count where I'll stop. It's more a matter of when it becomes a chore to read the book. I recently started a book that I'd wanted to read for a long time. It had blurbs by many well-known authors, including a very complimentary one by Tony Hillerman on the cover. Can't miss, right? Wrong. It violated the rule of show, don't tell so badly I couldn't stand it. Two chapters in and hardly anything had happened. But I had plenty of details on all nine children and their parents in one family and the start of descriptions for another family.
I will, however, cut authors whom I know personally a lot more slack and finish a book by one of them even if I'm not totally enjoying it.
Dominique says
I'm a compulsive finisher. I can remember each book that I put down without reading the end, and yes there is guilt attached. My father always taught me that if was a sign of weak character not to finish a book you started.
Vacuum Queen says
I'm such a SLOW reader and I like to add to my misery by finishing every word of every book. I don't skim even a word. I hate it. I think I have OCD about book completion or something. I feel like I'm leaving a child behind when I don't finish it, even if it's stinky. I'll pile through the worst best sellers out there, even if it takes me all summer.
HOWEVER, I do stop reading anything I enjoy. That is…when I get to the last chapter or two, I stop for awhile because I'll be so sad to see it end. But I do eventually come around and finish it, just to say goodbye.
Steph Su says
I feel bad about not finishing books, especially if they were sent to me for review, but there's only so much I can take of something I know I don't like. If it's a really GOOD book, then I won't be able to put it down, and I'll usually finish it in one sitting. If it's ultimately put-down-able and looks like it's headed for the DNF list, I won't be upset when my reading time is interrupted. In most cases, I won't bother to pick it up again.
T. Anne says
I started a series a while back and almost quite after reading the first chapter of the first book (talk about hard to get into to) But I'm glad i didn't, it turned out to be one of the best books I've ever read.
I say go past the point of pain and see if there's any light on the other side.
jjdebenedictis says
I actually compiled statistics on this last year.
I quit about 30% of the books I start.
On average, I quit by page 10.
coffeelvnmom says
First off let me just say that I appreciate this post Nathan, because as a writer, these opinions are important to take into consideration!
I tend to finish pretty much every book I read because I buy most of them. (Gotta get my money's worth!) Now that I've begun writing though, I find myself picking it apart at the same time. I do skim parts that don't grab my interest – and have skipped paragraphs before, in order to get back to the point.
Things that make me want to put the book down are –
1) coming across the same descriptive words over and over again
2) sentences that are so long and wordy that I have to go back and re-read the sentence a few times because it has lost me before I've finished reading it
3) an author automatically assuming I'm going to know what they're talking about, and not describing what they are talking about. (For instance, I just read a book in which movies, OLD movies, and actors – think black and white here – were mentioned and referred to constantly. As if that was supposed to give me a mental picture of faces, personalities and whatnot. I'm 30, and have never seen any of those – and am pretty sure many people haven't either. It was a major put-off – but of course, I just kept reading. I'm sure I would have gotten much more out of it if I had known what in the world the author was talking about.
dan radke says
I never intend to stop reading a book. Something else will grab my attention and I'll move on, almost forgetting I even started it (it is kinda like channel surfing).
But what I can't stand is feeling compelled to finish a book I loathe. I'm lookin' at you, Da Vinci Code. Damn Dan Brown and his awesome storytelling abilities.
PurpleClover says
I will painstakingly continue reading a book even as far as half-way. But I've been known to put it down and not pick it up. If I feel like there is a lot of unneccesary description/dialogue and the plot isn't moving forward, I toss it.
If I think an author is going for shock factor and it's repulsively vulgar or describes abuse scenes in vivid detail, then I have to wonder how much worse it will get. Most likely I'll put it down.
Finally, if the style seems "cheap" or like a tenth-grader wrote the book or there are too many cliche's then I don't normally get past the first chapter.
Jenn
P.S. Thanks for the response to my question about the marketing breakdown. I think it would make for a great post.
Yat-Yee says
Like a few others who have commented, I used to finish every book I started but in the last few years, I've stopped reading a few midway. One reason: the author is coming across as being too clever or too self-absorbed or too preachy or too self-important.
Heidi Yantzi says
Well, in the three years I've been keeping track, I've read around 100 books each year, and only three of those I stopped reading. They were exceptionally bad though, and no I won't be naming them!
I'm a finisher. Right now I'm reading a big honking book because I'm sure I'll get some kind of education out of it. We'll see. There goes my summer. I gotta finish this reading this book.
I am so stubborn…
Charlie says
I finish about a third of what I start. If the blurb on the jacket interests me, I buy it. Usually I'm hooked by chapter two. If, by some chance, I make it half way, I force myself to finish, no matter how boring it. I figure I invested enough time so I deserve whatever payoff the author designed for me.
It's like having a flush in Texas Hold'em and there's a pair showing. Someone is betting like he has a boat but you have to call It's like that, only different.
Karla Doyle says
I also use the 50 page rule. If it comes highly recommended I'll push it to 75. There are times when I can't force myself to the 10th page – protagonists who are too flaky to tolerate, paragraph after endless paragraph of detailed description…
Reading time is precious and the offerings too plentiful to force my through something I'm not enjoying.
Alicia A says
I have a personal rule that every book deserves 50 pages to make me love something about it. And most of the time they do.
However, there were a couple that felt like absolute torture just to get through the first 50 pages… I couldn't imagine the pain it would have caused to finish them.
Linda Godfrey says
I put down Pretty Horses after 3 pages — the style — but read The Road straight through, in awe.
I've quit books anywhere from page one to 2/3 through if there is gratuitous gross stuff: language, violence, sex, etc. I will stop if the writing is too bad or the action too thin. I have a bag I keep just for books that are headed for Goodwill, and there is usually something in it.
I do try to read the first page before buying or borrowing, and that helps a lot.
Even with merciless weeding, I still am in the middle of 3 huge tomes I can't put down, and piles more waiting to be read. For that reason, I will remain without pity for undeserving texts. It's them or me.
Anna the Piper says
If I open a book, I will generally always, always try to finish it–and let me tell you, I've read some crap in my time. 😉 The only times I've bailed on a book have been when protagonists who are in theory supposed to be the ones I'm to sympathize with have done something that offends me so greatly that I have no interest in continuing to read their story. I can count on one hand the number of books therefore that I've actively bailed on.
crapshooter says
Some books are so bad, I quit after 5 or 10 pages. If it's an author I like; 100 pages. Some of today's best selling authors just have to be using ghostwriters.
PurpleClover says
BTW – I must admit I was shocked when I joined Fill in the Gaps reading group blog and people stopped some of the books. I always thought it was against some literary law to stop a book so I never admitted it (until recently) that I chose to put books down. I always considered them "unfinished" (unless I put them down before the second chapter).
Anyhow, glad to hear other people don't finish books either. Is that weird that I thought I was different? lol.
I must say, Tyler Cowen is probably my new hero because I think about all the books I finished and felt like they were a complete waste of my time and didn't deliver.
Cat Moleski says
I will read a poorly written book all the way through, but I will probably skim a lot. I only stop reading a book if the plot or subject matter is unappealing. Better yet, I don't start those books, because I am a bit compulsive about finishing a book I've started.
Amy says
When I no longer care what happens to the protagonist. (And this can happen rather early.)
Keith says
If the writing is great on page one, that will carry me to page two. If nothing happens on page two, I'll start skimming for something to happen. If nothing's happened by page five or so, I'm done.
If the writing isn't great on page one, I'm done.
TERI REES WANG says
When I say: .."It's not you; it's me".
Nancy says
I'll stop reading a book if I really haven't getting anything out of it for the last few dozen pages. Otherwise, I'll slog through.
Ink says
Nathan,
That's sort of funny about McCarthy, as I always thought that The Road and No Country for Old Men were by far the most accesible of his novels. I'd probably put No Country first in terms of easy readability (and wide audience), and then The Road. I'd think something like Blood Meridian would be quite a shock for the unexpecting. Not to mention Child of God…
I kind of figured his later books would be the best "openers" for people not yet iniated into McCarthyism (no red-baiting in this McCarthyism, luckily…)
Nothing But Bonfires says
My rule of thumb is to finish what I've started, and I've muddled through some truly horrible books because of it. Last week, though, I gave up on the absolutely TERRIBLE novel I was reading (about three chapters into it — I tried!) and willingly left it in the seat pocket of the plane I was on when I landed in Hawaii. It was just maddeningly bad and I had a book I really wanted to read as backup, so I threw in the towel and started that one instead (and it was so much better.) It has to be AWFUL before I'll quit, and this one was pretty much infuriatingly, insultingly, AWFULLY awful.
Euthyphro says
I read at MOST five pages before I pass on a book out a hand, and at least the first paragraph, or five lines if its split dialogue.
After that I stop reading whenever something else gets my attention or the story loses it. If the story loses my attention I never go back, if, instead, I am distracted by something that is more interesting at the moment I will probably return and finish, or restart and finish reading.
Cheers
Anonymous says
There are only three reasons I ever buy books:
1.Word of mouth-in that case I will stick till the end.
2.The cover & the jacket flap appealed to me at the bookstore, then I quit when I absolutely can’t stand to read anymore, which could be caused by boredom or dislike of where it’s heading or the characters.
3.I have already read books by that author. In that case I revert to number 2’s reasons.
J. Jones says
I always finish. If a story isn't working for me, or grammar is bad, or any other strange thing, I keep reading.
I use those cases as means to study things that don't work well on the printed page, and to note whether I have similar habits.
But besides that, when I start a story, I want to reach the end of it, even if I think it's a bad story. But I rarely feel that way, honestly.
One interesting fact is that if I put down everything that had bad grammar or a spelling mistake, I'd probably never finish anything. I've seen printed works from bestselling authors with errors in them. Hard to clean them all, I guess.
Nathan Bransford says
Bryan-
Yeah, I hadn't thought of it that way. I guess I see it more as a progression of grittiness and grimness from ATPH to THE ROAD. The harshness and violence of McCarthy's worlds is what has always both fascinated and unnerved me. But it's hard to put myself back in the shoes of someone reading one of his books for the first time.
Anne Lyle says
How long is a piece of string 🙂
If it's an author I already know and like, then 99 times out of 100 I'll finish it.
With something new, I've usually picked it up based on the back cover blurb – plot and characters, a new twist on a setting or premise that ticks the boxes. But the writing still has to work for me.
If I really don't like the writing style, I stop after a few pages. Doesn't happen often, but some writers' voices just grate.
Beyond that, if I can get more than a few chapters in without losing interest, I read to the end.
What it mostly comes down to is that nowadays I have to fit my reading into a busy life, mostly in relatively short spurts of a chapter or even half a chapter, so a narrative that jumps about too much, especially between unconnected PoV characters and especially at the beginning when I'm finding my way into the story, will lose me more easily than one that is fairly linear.
It did take me two attempts to get into "Jonathon Strange & Mr Norrell" because it started really slowly and I wasn't in the right mood for it on the first try, but I'm glad I persevered!
Conni says
I read the entirety of Kushiel's Dart, despite wanting to throw it across the room. I hated the protagonist (first person narrator!), and nothing interesting happened until page 300! THREE HUNDRED. But friends promised me it got better, so I stuck it out. By the end, I still wanted to kill the protagonist and thought it was boring. Around page 600, I thought "well, I'm almost finished… may as well stick it out."
So, yeah. I don't stop reading books, for the most part.
JohnO says
No set page count. Of the ones I've abandoned, one I stopped because the writing was too precious but not good enough. One of the Potters I quit because couldn't slog through 125 pages of metaphoric AND literal house-cleaning. A third because all the characters annoyed me.
But I still spend too long on hard foreign books like SNOW and THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE, even though I'm ultimately not that satisfied.
Ink says
Nathan,
I'd agree with that progression, if you go from ATPH. But I think his earliest books are the darkest. Blood Meridian, The Outer Dark, Child of God… yowsers. They're even darker than The Road's apocalyptic vision, in my view, because at the end there's at least a hint of hope.
Actually, I've had this weird thought that most of McCarthy's fiction is apocalyptic, in that it seems to be moving towards the apocalypse… whether personally, culturally, or both. And then The Road actually gives us the apocalypse… and what happens after. And since we're actually at that point and moving away from it, there's actually much more hope in that novel than in many of the others.
Of course, I might just be nuts, too. Always possible.
Nathan Bransford says
bryan-
Ah, see, I haven't read CHILD OF GOD and THE OUTER DARK, and if I had I might have a different (i.e. your) perspective on the order of things.
Piglet de' Erin says
Voracious Reader–hmm, I like that, a lot. I try to read 3-4 novels a week, chucking at least 1 or 2 by mid-book. Does that make me a Voracious Reader? Although it sounds like I'm some pre-historic book carnivore…not sure if it suits me.
On to your question:
If the book is boring–plot not clipping along, protagonist not sympathetic, voiceless, etc–I chuck it by chapter 5.
My little secret: If the book has a review below 4 stars on GoodReads, I don't even pick it up.
Tamara Hart Heiner says
I usually give it to chapter 3. Sometimes longer if I have nothing else to do (like sitting in an airport), but I don't feel committed to finish if it's just not grabbing me.