Before you get concerned that I have stopped reading, let me go ahead and reword the title changing it to: Things That Will Make me Stop Reading a Book.
I try to select books with care so I don't have to stop reading, but sometimes one slips through and I'll have to abandon it. Here are the top reasons I don't finish a book after I started it.
Fiction:
Shortly after we were married we bought some books. One that I was particularly excited about reading because of its lovely cover was a huge disappointment because of all the swearing. Up to that point in my life I had never abandoned a book and so I kept powering through. It was awful. I never did that again. If a book has excessive swearing I'll ditch it.
I used to always, still do sometimes, read the ending of a book before I settle in to actually read it. It never spoils the enjoyment of the book for me. It's nice to know things will all end on a cheerful note and if they don't then I won't even bother trying to read it. Life is too short to read books with unhappy endings.
Recently I read a book without doing that. I was in love with the setting, with the main character, and the writing style. I breezed through it until I got to the end at which point I felt like hurling the book out the window. I may have, had it not been borrowed from the library and I needed to return it in the same condition that I had received it. So it's back to reading the endings first again to keep a repeat of that from happening.
The most likely reason for me to stop reading is if it's boring. It's the reason I have never, even with multiple attempts, made it through an entire Jane Austen book, or Little Women. (I'll pause while you gasp in dismay.) I've also learned that the words cozy mystery are code for boring book and I now avoid them so I don't have to ditch them unfinished.
Non Fiction
I'll stop reading if a book blatantly declares something to be a fact that I know can't be true. It destroys all credibility and I'll abandon it right there. Recently it was a book that said every American consumes over 400 gallons of fat per year. Hello! I don't even consume a gallon of food per day. There's no way I consume over a gallon of fat per day. Bye-bye book.
I'll stop reading a book if it touts new age ideas, or anything that contradicts the word of God. That has actually taken care of a lot of books that are popular right now.
Thankfully most books I read don't fall in any of these categories and I actually enjoy the entire thing. I'll have to write about some of those soon.
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We agree on a lot of things that make books not worthy of reading. I, too, read the ending a lot of the times. And I have favorite books that I have read over and over. Knowing the ending doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book at all. Have a great day! Blessings, Betsy
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to learn other people enjoy books even though they know the ending already.
DeleteI too have quit reading books if there is a lot of swearing in them, who needs that? Also boring, boring books get put aside. I don't ever read the ending first though. I just can't do that :-) Wendy
ReplyDeleteReading the ending first isn't for everyone. :)
DeleteI like to read the first few chapters to get the story line and then the ending. If I don't care how they got there, I quit reading.
ReplyDeleteLittle Men and Jo's Boys are more interesting than Little Women.
I have read Little Men … Jo's Boys has been waiting on the bookshelf for me for years already. I may have to give it a try.
DeleteBut doesn't that ruin a book to read the ending first? I read Louise Penny and love them but if I read the ending first there would be no point in reading the book.
ReplyDeleteCathy
No, it doesn't ruin the books for me. I'm also the kind of reader who loves rereading books and thoroughly enjoying them for the 20th time.
DeleteReading the ending does not spoil a book for me either, though I seldom do it. I have quit reading a book because it states something that I know not to be true...and it was just something sort of trivial...but still, it made me wonder how much liberty was taken with the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteThere are times when it is quite obvious an author doesn't know what they're writing about. With fiction, if the rest of the story is interesting enough I can keep reading, in non fiction … not so much.
DeleteIf it makes you feel any better, I've never managed to get all the way through Little Women, either. If a book just doesn't appeal to me my eyes glaze over and I've lost the thread. Required reading in school and college was torture! I do enjoy a "cozy mystery" - Agatha Christie and Ellery Adams are favorites. Carl Hiaasen writes funny mysteries set in Florida. He's "big" on ecology, and his books center on people spoiling the natural word, especially the Everglades.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not the only one who reads endings. I'll read the end of a chapter if I'm getting stressed out. Drives my family crazy. I also re-read books. Sometimes I just need to revisit a character/friend or place. The last few years I have not done much reading due to moves, life changes...stuff. But since settling in here I am finding much comfort in returning to reading. Happy Spring!
ReplyDeleteGreat Guidelines to follow! Lisa :O)
ReplyDeleteI used to read the last few pages. Now, I read the entire last chapter first. If the ending is sad, I do not read the book. My family thinks I am odd, but I know what I wish to read. I also do not read books with swear words , violence or intimate scenes. It does limit my choice, but I manage quite nicely.
ReplyDelete