How long would you try a book before you give up?

[Unicorn1981]

I'm currently reading a book which has rave reviews and is meant to be brilliant. I'm on about page 120 of over 600 and I'm struggling. There'll be what seems to be a good bit then it goes weird and I can't follow it. Then there's boring bits I just want to skim through. Life's too short to struggle through but how long would you give it? The book is called Skippy Dies.

[Qwebec]

I used to read books until the end no matter what. Now, the plot is less important, but the style of writing has become essential. I read a page or two. It has to feel like natural, effortless poety. If it flows like a pile of rocks, I'm out.

[dovesong]

I can usually tell within a chapter if I'll like a book or not but i sometimes persevere to about 100 pages. Absolutely tore through The Goldfinch in a couple of days though - loved it, Donna Tartt's writing is stunning.

[HappydaysArehere]

Ps. Read Goldfinch and enjoyed it but thought a good editor could have improved it as it was unnecessarily long and drawn out.

[HappydaysArehere]

I have this theory that it is up to the author to seek to engage the reader. Therefore, I would expect decent writing set out to interest without causing undue toil and labour. By this I mean it should be accessible and not a complete mystery to the person who is reading it. If the writing is sloppy I will cheerfully throw it to one side as the annoyance gets between me and the content. Generally, a few chapters in and if this is the case that is that.
There are too many wonderful books waiting to be read.

[Unicorn1981]

I finished it! It was quite good in the end but I'm glad to have finished it.

[LassWiTheDelicateAir]

One chapter. I can tell by the way it's written within pages if I am going to be able to tolerate it. I say tolerate because there are some writing styles or when there's ridiculously excessive description and/or detail that I can't manage for more than a page or two no matter how good the plot -

Me too. Elena Ferrente's My Brilliant Friend has just been dumped on that basis.

On The Goldfinch I did persevere the whole way and still thought it was tripe.

[SatsukiKusakabe]

I always recommend people who are put off by LOTR to skip The Party chapter and start from there, assuming some Hobbits who know some other hobbits are on a mission and that's that.

No one has time for that shit.

[kindlereader]

I have no problem casting books aside after a few pages. Sometimes I've come pack a long time later to give it a second go and like it.
So I think reading can depend on mood and other influences.

I loved the Hobbit and have read it several times.
For me, it wasn't the fact of it being fantasy genre but the writing style, which I found so entertaining. But I've never given LOTR a go. It's packed with funny stuff, word play and observations about people.
I guess I'm not so much in a hurry to get on with the story. I'm happy that a third of the book involved a pile of uninvited short guests with long beards arriving at a dwelling that was a hole in the ground.

[FoxesOnSocks]

100 pages. Though I gave up on page 2 of A Girl is a Half Formed Thing!

I really like Skippy Dies, but if it's not pleasing you stop!! Its a bit unsettling (reading wise not emotionally) because of the writing style, with the switching in person (first/third/second) as well as the tense its written in.

That reminds me I rras a book written in the present continuous, it was horrible to read!! Forgotten the name if it though.

[NeverNic]

Am laughing at LOTR. I completely agree! I remember being given The Hobbit as a child because my uncle thought as an advanced reader I'd love it. I didn't. I've tried again several times, and nope still don't. It pretty much helped me dislike the whole fantasy genre.

I haven't read the book op but as a rule I give a book 3-5 chapters. If I really hate it I give up. If its just dull then I tend to persevere than whinge about it! Nowadays I tend to read the amazon reviews after reading the blurb. I look at what the people who give it the poor ranking say. If their criticism mentions something that would bother me, then I'll probably skip it. Equally if its described as the next Girl on the Train, or another book I've been disappointed by, then I don't bother.

[Planetmuff]

Oh Skippy dies is so dull. Please don't waste another day. I read to the end and I will never get the time back.
Quite enjoyed the goldfinch though but it was a slog.

[froubylou]

I give it about half an hour of uninterrupted time. If it doesn't make me want to read it again the next night I stop reading it and start something else.

I have a kindle though and there are so many at the click of a button it makes it easier to stop.

Before dcs and before my kindle I read everything I ever bought though. Mainly because I might not be able to pick something else up straight away. And because I had the time to read for 3 or 4 hours every night. It was before you could waste hours of time browsing the Internet though and when everyone just had 4 channels to watch.

Which makes me sound older than the almost 39 I am!

[SashaCattyGarfield]

i only read a book if i like the first chapter.

[sophiaheulwen]

One chapter only nowadays. So many books, so little time, so why persevere if you don't like it. I give books I don't like to Oxfam. I tried the Goldfinch too and gave up after the first chapter.

[HolgerDanske]

I give it a chapter or two.

[Unicorn1981]

Hi I just thought I'd update. So I got a bit further and it suddenly got better so I've carried on. Still struggling with some little bits but I'm mostly enjoying it now! It took about 190 pages though!

[AmeliaJack]

I have a one chapter rule.

Although I usually put the book aside and try again another time in case it was my mood rather than the book which was the problem.

[fatowl]

I give it between 50-100 pages.
If it hasn't gripped me by then, I will go and find a detailed review and/or synopsis. Depending on that, I might/might not decide to carry on. Usually not.
Life is too short to read a book you are not enjoying.

I started listening to an Audible book today that was so bad I stopped within 15 mins and returned it for a refund. I love Audible for that.

[NickiFury]

I loved the Goldfinch too. One of my favourite ever book characters is in that book.

[NickiFury]

One chapter. I can tell by the way it's written within pages if I am going to be able to tolerate it. I say tolerate because there are some writing styles or when there's ridiculously excessive description and/or detail that I can't manage for more than a page or two no matter how good the plot - Jodi Piccoult is a writer I find intolerable, yet her plots always sound brilliant on the back cover.

[MarklahMarklah]

Years and years ago I nearly gave up on "The Last Days of Pompeii" (Edward Bulwer-Lytton ) because the latin bits, for the classically-educated, at the head of each chapter did my head in. However, I persevered by just ignoring them, and really enjoyed it.
More recently I threw LOTR across the room in disgust because I simply could not take reading one more word about what colour belt/braces or style of beard a dwarf had. It didn't matter- I knew they were all dwarves and presumed something was going to happen but I couldn't be arsed to read any more drivel to find out what.

I also reread Middlemarch a while back and found it incredibly frustrating. It's been gifted to the charity shop now.

[Allalonenow]

It would depend on why I was finding the book unsatisfactory, I might give it longer if I felt the the plot was only just being revealed or that the characters were being developed slowly.
But if it was that the language was irritating me, too much use of "gotten" for instance, or very obvious historical mistakes being made or the idiom wrong, or that I simply didn't care what happened next as I wasn't involved in any way, then I would stop at even a few pages in.

I loved Goldfinch from page one! It's in my top ten favourite books of all time!!

[OlennasWimple]

I find it hard to give up on a book - it has to be really terrible for me to quit. I need to get more disciplined at stopping, really, as it's jsut a waste of reading time for all those wonderful books I won't get a chance to read...

I didn't love the Goldfinch, but agree with pp that I'm glad I read it. Though it made me think seriously about getting a Kindle, as it's so blimmin big!

[BestZebbie]

If you are going to stop reading, also, you may as well skip a good chunk further ahead or to just before the end and see if you find anything of more interest there.

[Unicorn1981]

I might still give a try. I loved her other two especially The Secret History. I feel like locking myself in a room with this book I'm reading with no distractions to try and get into it! I'm not sure that's how books should work though.