You’re Halfway Through a Book & not Loving it. Quit or Committed?

Published on by Hannah @ Books, Life & Other Oddities

What’s this? A post on Tuesday AND Wednesday?? I know what you’re thinking- that I have no life. You wouldn’t be wrong but there is a special reason I’m posting oddly frequently- I’m hosting a stop on The Bookish Summer Blog Hop, a blog hop that runs between July 1st-31st

And since this involves liaising everyone else’s answers I have to act responsible and not just warble on for a whole post as per. I’ve already started warbling about warbling, so we’re off to a great start.

Here’s the big questions (also featured in the title): You’re halfway through a book & not loving it. Quit or committed?

My Answer

As a dedicated, efficient, totally not easily distracted reader I would put the book down for a little while… and definitely, maybe, potentially  coming back to it later…

It’s just novels are so often topical and sometimes I’m just not feeling a certain book at that moment? Like if I’m in the middle of perilous exams that will decide my fate and the change the world forever, or at least my school would have me believe, then I’m not going to read a book about a tightrope walker walking between New York skyscrapers while dangling 3 orphaned children and a dog. Because STRESS.

Now lets look at what some of my new blog hop friends (the term friends being used very loosely here, we’re all in a Facebook group together but that’s about).

BTW no copying my tightrope idea- totally going to make that into a bestseller one day.

quitvcommit

Jo Linsdell from her blog Jo Linsdell

jlIf I get half way through I’ll carry on until the end. I’ve read some books that were very slow going at the beginning but then picked up towards the end. That said, if a book is really dragging and I’m still only a short way through I will put it aside.

Marcia Marques from Trendy Simple Life

mm

My TBR is so big right now that I have become selective and no longer push through to finish it (unless it’s one of the books in my book club).

Kelli Quintos from Tangled in Text

tt.PNG

I used to pride myself on never not finishing a book I started, but last year I wasted so much time on making myself finish some pretty dry books. That caused me to get into a reading slump for about three months.

I try to find the light in any book because I can appreciate how much time and effort authors put into them, but I’ve decided to stop taking finishing a book so personally. If it’s slow or I’m just not getting into it, it doesn’t mean it’s not a great book, it’s just not the book for me and I don’t want reading to start feeling like a chore. If I don’t like a book, I’ll move on to the next.

Rachael Beardsley from Variance Fiction

rb
If you’d have asked me a few months ago, I would have said I always finish a book. But now, I’d have to say that time is too scarce and there are way too many good books out there to waste time on something I’m not enjoying!

Allie Block  from Girl With a Book and Her Dog

This is an easy one for me. If I am halfway thru the book and not dying to know the end, I just stop. There is not enough time to read books I don’t enjoy!

Casia Schreyer

cassie.PNG
I’ll take a difficult book in stages. I’ll read until I can’t and then put it down. If it was really bad I may never come back to it. If it wasn’t that bad, or just slow, or just not what I needed at the time, I’ll usually go back to it. I’ve been lucky, I’ve hit very few bad or dry books so far.

Now, short stories is a different matter. Since I started publishing anthologies I’ve had to read anywhere from 16 to 260 short stories every 2 month reading period. There have been a few stories that I haven’t finished reading. There have been a few stories that I wish I hadn’t finished reading!

Brandy Potter from Brandy Potter Books

bp
Sooooooo I USED to push through it, but my writing time is becoming so precious. The author has 10 chapters to snag me. If it doesn’t speed up then out the window. 🙂

comparenotes

Wow who’d have known blog hop hosting would be so much work! What’s your opinion on quitting v continuing on a book you’re not enjoying? Love to hear from you in the comments section!

The other stops on this blog hop are:

 

28 thoughts on “You’re Halfway Through a Book & not Loving it. Quit or Committed?”

  1. Firstly, welcome to our crazy group of book bloggers. So glad you could join us for this blog hop.
    Looks like more readers are open to the idea of putting a book aside or adding it to their DNF list. Probably because we’re all so busy nowadays.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I think I’m the same as you in the sense if it is a book club book. Those are the ones no matter how bad I’ll finish but other than that I’ve been trigger happy recently with DNFing books 🙂 FOMO on better books!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Pingback: Bookish Blog Hop – My Bookish Summer Appearance – Brandy Potter Books

  8. Really the only thing I will come back to is something deemed a “classic” or something I want to review believe it or not Girl with a Dragon Tattoo was like that and so was the Silmarillion. Anymore though, I only read things I like unless it’s a review. I am glad to see I am not the only one that does that though, makes me feel less guilty.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Pingback: Bookish Blog Hop – My Bookish Summer Appearance – Brandy Potter Books
  11. Pingback: One Book at a Time or Several at Once? – Books, Life and Other Oddities

  12. I haven’t abandoned a book in a while, but I’m trying to start reading some classics, and I have a sneaking suspicion…. 😛

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.