When to Give Up on a Book

“I firmly believe every book was meant to be written.” – Marchette Chute

Recently I ran across When to Put a Book Down on wsl.com. The article addressed the question of how many pages to invest in a book that you aren’t enjoying before giving up. For me this is a dilemma.

I have only given up on a few books before reaching the end. Maybe knowing firsthand the amount of work involved in writing makes me feel as if I have to give every book I pick up a fair chance. I convince myself that if I keep going, the story or characters will eventually grab me. When I’m having trouble getting into a book that comes highly recommended, I feel as though I must be missing something and keep reading in search of what that something is.

Nine times out of ten, if I don’t like the book by the first fifty pages, I’m not going to like it period. Yet I continue to slog through it and upon reading that last page, I want to throw the book across the room and scream, “Why did I waste my time on this!”

Of course, there’s that one in ten that comes along and I reach the end and think, “Wow, that was a good book, after all. I’m glad I stuck with it.”

Cynthia Crossen, the author of the article, expressed my own feelings very well when she said, “But I never feel good about stopping. Whoever's to blame—the author or me—something has failed. It's especially dispiriting when the book has been pressed into your hands by a trusted friend.”

She suggested an interesting exercise, “Some educators ask young readers who want to stop reading a book to fill out a "Stop Reading Form," explaining what they don't like about the book. I think this would be a good exercise for everyone—to devote a few minutes to analyzing why you and the book are parting ways. You might start seeing a pattern.”

How many pages do you give a book before you give up? If you stick with one you don’t care for are you usually glad or disappointed?

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Marchette Chute, when to put a book down, getting into a book,