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View Full Version : Do you feel compelled to finish a bad book you've read a chunk of?



Lone Wolf Leonhart
04-10-2020, 11:20 PM
If you find yourself disliking a book, but you've read through a ton of it, would you want the "satisfaction" of going to the last page and adding it to the finished section of your Goodreads?

Or are you okay with just letting it go and finding something else to read?

If you're doing research on something, it's understandable to just pick and choose, hop around and find certain sections of certain books to read. But if you're reading for leisure, there really isn't a reason to keep going if you don't like it. But I know some people who just can't flip that switch. They have to see it through.

Scotty_ffgamer
04-11-2020, 01:13 AM
I usually just read stuff I know I’ll like, and that pretty much hasn’t disappointed me. I didn’t care for the first book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, but I finished it because it was short and that was the first time I found that I can’t just stop a book after I’ve started. I never continued the series, but a part of me wants to try again because I have this nagging feeling for not finishing it.

Another series that I really didn’t like was The Engineer Trilogy by KJ Parker. I loved the set up when I first read the book, but I just hated the characters the more I read. Everything was just interesting enough that I read through it all because I really wanted to see how it ended. The ending was disappointing.

WarZidane
04-11-2020, 04:31 AM
Nah, if I really don't like a book I'll just drop it.

There's been one exception to this, which was the 4th book in the Malazan series. That's because I loved the first three books, but then the fourth book felt like such a slog in the first half (and it was rather different from the first three books as well), but I had faith it'd go back to the Malazan I love.

Wolf Kanno
04-11-2020, 05:40 AM
Yes, sort of. I've had a few times going through short story collections where I'd get stuck on a particular entry but still push through it.

Mr Gashtacular
04-11-2020, 07:59 AM
No, I'll almost always drop it.

The only time I wouldn't would be if I know that the book improves later, which is uncommon because I usually try know as little as possible going in to the book.

Or, if someone convinces me to press on, etc.

The only exception I can really think of that wasn't a textbook for school would be Harry Potter. I stopped wanting to read them when I realised how poorly written they are, around book 5 I think. But, I kinda sorta wanted to know what happened so I kept at them for a bit longer.

Aulayna
04-13-2020, 11:58 AM
If I'm not feeling something I'll probably push through with it until the end of my reading session (I usually read while commuting/traveling) but once it's been put down I'm unlikely to pick it up again.

Mercen-X
04-19-2020, 10:13 AM
I don't even feel compelled to finish books I've liked. Of all the manuscripts I've flipped through, I've finished about half. Sometimes I distracted and forget to come back. Other times, I just lose interest.

leoalfo15
05-16-2020, 06:56 AM
sin duda, aunque rara vez me pasa

Fynn
05-16-2020, 09:17 AM
Yeah, I push through it