Everyone has different criteria for deciding. Some will read any book to the end, slogging through piles of tripe or suffering endless boredom just so they can say they have read it. Several people I know of did this with The DaVinci Code and/or The Name of the Rose. (Please note that I am not belittling either book. It just happens to be a fact that many people think the former is tripe and the latter is boring). Others will give it a couple of chapters (or 50 pages or so in the case of “chapterless” books like those of Terry Pratchett) before deciding. Still others will read the reviews, read the blurb, skim the book and read the ending, and then decide they’re not interested. Each method has its merits.
As for myself, I have occasionally finished badly written books because the story or concept was interesting in spite of the bad writing, or there was something I just had to find out (usually the resolution, but sometimes some small detail). More often, I will just stop reading.
If a writer's style annoys me, I stop reading if it continues to annoy after about 50 pages. One example is Elizabeth Peters. I started reading one of her Amelia Peabody mysteries and found the style very annoying, so I stopped reading. I will try again, however, as soon as I get my hands on the first book in the series.
If a book is dull but well written, I give it about 100 pages, because some stories start slowly, especially long novels that need to explain a lot of background before the actual story starts. If it has not picked up by then, I stop reading (unless the book was recommended by a reliable reader, in which case I may read another 100 pages). This happens mostly with long novels and non-fiction, especially travel books.
Sometimes I come across books that tell a good story and are, for the most part, well written, but there is something missing, some spark or soul that would make an average book into a good one and a great one into a masterpiece. Those I usually finish. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd and The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde are good examples.
Sometimes books are spoiled for me by other books. Those I put aside to read at a later time when I have forgotten the book that did the spoiling. I stopped reading Gail Anderson-Dargatz's book The Cure for Death by Lightning because I had recently read The Secret Life of Bees, had not liked it much, and found too many similarities in the first chapter of Cure… (both are about girls from dysfunctional families). I am assured by people who have read both that Cure... is far superior to Bees..., but I need to distance myself before I can enjoy it.
I am always ready to give authors whose books I have not liked in the past a second chance, and have usually not regretted it (in spite of what I said in my review of The Eyre Affair, I did read the sequel, and liked it better). Even the best of writers sometimes write bad books.
Thanks for sharing this info with the Internet blog readers. But how about non-fiction? I'm interested to know how often you read those from start to finish (of course reference books aren't even written for that purpose), and when you 'give up' on them.
When I read non-fiction for fun, I use the same criteria as I do for fiction: Does it keep my attention? Is it well written? Is it interesting? However, I may read a dry, dull text to the end if the content interests me and there is no other book available on the subject. As to school books, I read what I have to read, and if I like the book, I read the rest of it as well.
posted by: CT (reply)
post date: 02.02.06 (8:12 am)
The only reason why I would finish a novel I didn't like is if it was acclaimed. If critically acclaimed, it's a way of understanding a point in lit history (Pale Fire was a struggle once I caught a glimpse of what "he was doing.") Also, commit to an entire "bestseller" to understand the popular pulse (Da Vinci).
One should never finish a book simply to finish it. But when you preemptively end it, for others' sake, please don't ever express an opinion on the work as a whole, or - even worse - the author's entire body of work (!). This is an epidemic among self-professed booksters.
I had to throw down JC Oates's "We Were the Mulvaneys" after about a third of it because I found it very formulaic and unoriginal, but I can only comment on that very personal experience. I attempted to find something that would show Oates' range (vis a vis the predictable Victorian Mulvaney saga), so I read the entirety of "Zombie," which certainly pushed boundaries with its graphic depiction of violence and evil nature. But I still found it somewhat superficial.
I am beginning to think that Oates - a real heavyweight (critically) of the last 40 years - is the source of a movement big on style but essentially soulless.
Updike strikes me in this way too (relatively short, Rabbit Run was also a struggle to complete).
But I am going to have to read - needless to say - more of both authors to really assess how I feel about the movement they represent, and before I can know what the heck I'm talking about.
And besides, I find it difficult to identify good writing when it's not in aligned with my taste d'jour - especially in 100 pages or less. Obviously right now I would rather not spend 10 pages reading about a room's decor and an encyclopedic catalogue of a character's every head-scratch and lip lick.
But that could always change.
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About me
What this blog is about:
Reading and books.
If you’re wondering about the name 52 books, it stems from a book-a-week reading challenge I set myself. The challenge is over, but I'm still reading, and will continue to blog about the books I read and my reading experiences, and other stuff connected with books and reading.
I rate the books (if I feel like it), giving them stars ranging from zero to 5.
Books I have already read (sporadically updated):Cover gallery
Note: Some of the entries are linked to the months the reviews appeared in, because I made several entries for each book. I have marked those reviews with an asterix (*). If you want to read the whole review from beginning to end, you must scroll down and read from the bottom up (but you probably already knew that ;-) >
