So … you’re halfway through a book and you’re hating it. It’s boring. It’s trite. It’s badly written. But … you’ve invested all this time to reading the first half.
What do you do? Read the second half? Just to finish out the story? Find out what happens?
Or, cut your losses and dump the second half?
If I absolutely hate it and can’t find anything whatsoever redeeming about it, then I usually give it up as a loss and stop reading. If I can find even the smallest thing in it to like, then I try my best to hang on, even if I end up skipping and skimming through the rest of it just to see how things turn out. There have been books I’ve stuck with that I’ve regretted giving the benefit of the doubt to, and there have been others that really did get better in the end, if only slightly. There have been a few rare instances when I’ve struggled through a book, gnashing my teeth all the way, only to end up throwing the book across the room in a fit! One such book was a historical romance by an author who shall remain nameless (at least, in this post. Feel free to ask me elsewhere and I’ll tell you, if you’d like). I can’t remember the title, but it’s probably been a good ten years or so since I read it. I just remember that I hated every last person in the book and thought that the twist at the end came off more as a dirty trick on the reader than as a believable plot device. In a word – I felt pretty damn shafted. Hence, the book-throwing.
Until later,
My name is Christina (aka Anesthezea). I'm a self-professed Geek Mom who divides her time between raising the most awesome 2 year-old ever and the urge to bury her nose in the nearest book. While I enjoy reading many types of fiction, my favorites are contemporary, historical, and paranormal romances, urban fantasy, and suspense.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I figure life’s to short to both finishing a book I don’t like. I’ve got about another 300 I could start from my TBR pile. I’ll skim thru if I like the hero…maybe. I have a whole box of “not going to waste my time”. If I really need to know the end…I’ll skip ahead, but I usually don’t care at that point. :)
I used to hang on and finish the book, then I threw it against the wall. These days I tend to DNF the books, something I still hate to do. The one I really, really still hate is when the book seems to be good and then that last third deteriorates and the story ends badly — that infuriates me. It makes me feel as if I wasted my time. :(
I figure life’s to short to both finishing a book I don’t like. I’ve got about another 300 I could start from my TBR pile. I’ll skim thru if I like the hero…maybe. I have a whole box of “not going to waste my time”. If I really need to know the end…I’ll skip ahead, but I usually don’t care at that point. :)
+1