Friday Question #186
Do you finish every book you start reading? What would cause you to stop reading a book?
I assure you, I am not reading six books at once. Those are all books I have started and not finished. And this habit kind of bugs me.
Even though I commute on the train, I don’t use that time to read books, because it makes me fall asleep. So the most common time for me to read is right before bed at home (again, because it makes me fall asleep). I don’t read every night, so it sometimes takes me a long time to finish a book, because by the time I get back to the book, I forget what I have been reading!
Of course, some books are so good you do want to finish them faster! I sometimes read in the bathtub, on the rare day off with no other plans, and on airplanes.
And some books are not so good… so you finish them slower. If at all.
Themocracy
Well since I read so many books a year my answer is a resounding yes to I don’t finish all the books I start!
Seriously, being an avid reader I only give a book 75 pages to reel me in (Or 2 hours on an audio)—if it doesn’t I set aside and go on to the next one. Now, I have gone back to a few of my DNFs and finished them later because sometimes my lack of interest has to do with my mood!
🙂 If you only have 6 unfinished books you are way ahead of me.
Ha! I didn’t think it would be possible for anyone to make me feel better about these unfinished books but you did 🙂 And they are totally related to mood, I think. I hope I am not a chronic non-finisher!
I have plenty of books I haven’t finished. Some just take a long time or if one is good, I’ll stay up all weekend to finish it. I don’t feel about the unfinished ones – they just didn’t interest me enough to keep going!
Eventually. I get distracted easily so it takes me a while, but regardless, I do (eventually) finish each book I’ve read. Now this is not to be confused with the stack of book similar to what you have picture above that still need to be read. 🙂
I give myself 100 pages to get sucked in. And if I’m not totally captivated I ask myself, “Do I care what happens next?” If the answer is no, I toss it aside! Life is way too short to be reading books that bore you.
I have only not finished one book. It was one of the Tucker Max books I thought I’d read for kicks. The stories were amusing (as degrading for females as they were- the girls were asking for it), but he was such a cocky ass hole, I had to stop before I hunted him down to punch him in the groin. It was for the safety of everyone. Other than that, I’ve finished all of them- no matter how good or bad.
Wow! I had to google who that was, and just… wow. I think I would have the same reaction 🙂
(ok, LAUGHING at Amy B!)
I either finish a book within a day or 2 (I can’t start unless I have time to finish – I know myself this way) or I put it down and never come back…
Last year I made a goal to read 60 books and ended up reading about 73. This year, I have not been able to finish the last 2 books I started. Although I LOVE reading, it is very time consuming. The 2 I didn’t finish were ebooks on loan from the library so they timed out. Neither books were great. While they timed out I did read a book on dog training.
I am the queen of not finishing books. Often I am ambitious about starting a classic work of literature or big tome of history, and then I end up feeling like a lighter read and picking up a mystery or modern novel. Yep, Jude the Obscure and Humphry Clinker are still sitting half read in a stack! But I can’t admit to myself that I’m not going to finish them.
The only book I have ever started and not finished was The Scarlet Letter. I’ve labored through some truly terrible books because I can’t STAND not finishing what I’ve started, but that one… oh, my, gosh. It was torture.
<3 <3
I admit that I do finish all the books that I start. Even if this means that I read 4 books in the interim. Even if they are more boring than reading the phone book. Even if they make my eyes roll so hard, they might fall off my head. If I start them, I need to finish them. The only thing that has beat me time and time over is Ulysses by J.Joyce. And guess what? It currently sits on my desk looking at me. I will get back at it!
I used to feel the need to finish any book I started. Now, not so much. There are so many books out there that I don’t want to waste my time on something that’s not catching my interest.
I definitely don’t finish every book I start. Sometimes I’m just not feeling the style or the subject. I have a lot of books half- read that I will have to start entirely over if I ever want to complete them.
We are now entering month 6 of me trying to read dances with dragons. I might qualify for boston before i finish this book. (basically, neither of these things will ever happen.) 😀
The short answer is I finish books when I’m on vacation, but generally don’t get more than nibbles of books the rest of the time.
There are a few books I’ve started and haven’t finished. Two of them were because they were supposed to be funny but weren’t, and I just couldn’t make it through. But one, I was so disappointed in myself. It was Helen Keller’s autobiography. I find her so fascinating, and so badly wanted to read that book (its not even long), but it was so boring. She went into such intense description about every single thing (which I guess makes sense) and the third time I fell asleep in the bathtub reading it, I decided I had to stop or I was going to drown.
You crack me up so much. I wish I knew you irl. That is all 🙂
LOL!
I almost always finish books that I start. The one exception was over Christmas break last year, and I didn’t finish that book because of lack of time.
I do this ALL the time. However, checking them out from the library recently has helped. Deadlines must work for me!
That looks like my bookshelf…until recently when I finally got rid of a bunch of books I know I won’t finish. So yeah, I definitely don’t finish every book I start. I put it down if I don’t like it, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that!
I try to read them all but, if I just can’t get into it after a solid attempt, I just stop. I used to feel guilty but, there are so many more books in the world that tI may like better so I move on.
I finish what I start, even if it sucks. That said, it may take awhile. I’m still wading thru Unbroken, although it’s quite good, there is no sense of urgency to get through it.
I am currently reading like 6 books now too! I am such a starter — not so much a finisher. My favorite time to read a book is on an airplane because I can usually get through one whole book. But my problem is I get uninterested if I haven’t read it awhile and forget what it’s all about. So I move onto starting a new book. And thus the cycle repeats… LOL!!
i used to get pretty upset with myself if i didn’t finish a book, but these days… meh. i’d rather read stuff that engages me!
It definitely depends on the book and the time of the year and what all I have going on. I find that I tend to ‘drop’ non-fiction books way faster than fiction which does bother me. I’ve also learned that I’m a slower reader than I used to be (or spend more time doing other things…). So, I’m more patient with myself and with books, so that’s not a bad thing.
I have had conversations about this with my co-worker. She has to finish every book she starts, even if it’s a struggle. I have no problem not finishing a book (or a movie if it’s also not holding my interest). I feel like I’m a slow-ish reader, and have so little time to read as it is, that I’m not going to waste my time. I have started plenty of books (including audiobooks in my car) that I didn’t finish.
You know, I also do not have problems not finishing movies. That should be another Friday Question. I wonder if everyone would answer similarly to how they did here!
The thought of not finishing a book bothers me. That said, there are some books and writing styles that make me want to play in traffic. As much as I love the stories, it takes me a loooong time to get through a lot of books written by 17th and 18th century authors.
I get most of my books at the library so I don’t feel bad if I get a bummer and decide not to finish it. If I really like a book I blog about it on my book blog so I don’t forget I read it (www.considerationofbooks.blogspot.com)!
I didn’t know you had a book blog. Thanks for the link!