What books could you not finish?

[almondfinger]

I am having the most miserable of summer reads.

Do not say we have nothing - FFS, I persevered and it got a bit better and then reverted to tedious. Have way in I had to put it down.

Then I picked up A brief history of 7 killings - Every time I pick it up I fall asleep. The patois is difficult but when it gets to the CIA agents told in English I cant read that either. So far their have been so many killings I have lost count and it's far from brief.

I had to go out yesterday and buy some new books to look forward to. Tell me some of the books you couldn't be arsed with so I can avoid.

Bleak House.

The Lovely Bones, page 1 was enough.

I think it was because 845 characters were introduced in the first chapter. And about 8 successive paragraphs wrote in huge length what anyone else could say in a sentence.

Wolf Hall. Hated it.

I’m struggling with one at the moment which got rave reviews on Amazon. “The Hope Family Calendar” by Mike Gayle, I read a different one of his which was great, but this one is so predictable and amateur.

Autograph man. I tried twice, it was twaddle.

Agree with wolf hall and also the goldfinch.

The Idiot and Secret History

Quite a few, as I think life is too short to persevere with books that are dull. The latest was 'If you go down to the woods' by Seth C Adams. I thought the plot sounded interesting, but I found it very badly written. I gave up at " She leaned forward and her lips met mine. I think I tasted the stars. "

Something by Martina Cole. No idea which. I stupidly thought such a prolific author must be worth publishing. Only book I've ever chucked in the bin. Giving it to a charity shop would have condemned some other poor mug to suffering it.

The da Vinci Code - I've tried several times and never got beyond the end of chapter three.

I loved The Secret history and was surprised as I struggled to bother finishing The Goldfinch.

I bought and borrowed a load after a thread here and had to abandon Wolf Hall earlier this year too.

I used to think it was a bad thing to abandon a book but now I'm thinking life is too short and there are too many books to persevere with ones that bring no joy or pleasure.

Looks like there will be a large group going to the charity shop tomorrow.

Lord of the rings. I tried so hard but after about 200 pages all I could figure out is they were in a Forrest. No idea who was in the Forrest though.

The divine comedy. I downloaded a "new English version" but i think I need a newer English version. It does have the old English version on it too but I couldn't read the first page of that.

YY to Da Vinci Code. A whole paragraph explaining what a highlighter pen is? Next!

liveasusual I like your style.
screamingvalentina Jinx

Anyone read and finished 'Gilead' another I bought due to a MN recommendation. A bit turgid, it's back on the shelf. Is it worth another go?

I have read a lot of Hardy but have never managed to get through 'Far From The Madding Crowd'. . I agree with ScreamingValenta life's too short. Mind you that's why I love my kindle because sometimes I am simply not in the mood for a particular genre so I can have about 4 books on the go at any one time.

Argh I have to read Bleak House for my degree next year and I keep putting it off...

Could not get into Wuthering Heights at all, but loved Wolf Hall.

I've had quite a good run on the whole, though perhaps more because I am MNing so obsessively that I'm not starting as many books

I've finally finished Six Minutes in May about the Norway Debate in 1940 - quite good. It took me about two weeks, I'd normally tear through that in a day.

I'm halfway through Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race. I will finish it because it's our book club book and it is good, but it's going slowly. It does feel a bit like a padded newspaper article. Should have got No Place Like Home by Gary Younge.

Couldn't cope with the Elena Ferrante novels. Managed about a chapter and a half of the first one.

The Goldfinch was one of the best things I read last year but it seems to be a Marmite book.

Wolf Hall for me too. I think that was the point when I stopped ploughing through books just to say I'd read them.

Having said that, I gave up on cloud atlas the first time I tried reading it. Just couldn't get into it. Second time I picked it up I loved it and couldn't put it down.

Sometimes it's got to be the right book at the right time, I think.

Les mis was a slog and all. I finished it, and parts of it are marvellous, but I will admit to skipping large chunks of it that didn't have anything to do with the story.

I liked the Da Vinci Code

And The Lord of the Rings - no blush though because I'm not embarrassed by that one.

I couldn't finish Captain Corelli's Mandolin - it was so tedious. The only other book I couldn't finish was Lord of the Flies - my DH banged on about how brilliant it was for years. I hated it -could not understand why there was a plane full of unaccompanied boys in the first place. He said 'that's not the point'

After a lot of recommendations on here I started reading A Fine Balance. Oh my gosh I've never struggled with a book so much. So dull!

Da Vinci code here too. Took it on holiday 13 years ago as it was THE book at the time. What a load of boring shite.

Also the first 50 shades book. Read the first three chapters and that was me persevering with it. How she became a millionaire from being an author astounds me.

A Confederacy of Duncey - told by many it'd be hilarious. He just wound me up no end.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles - i actually threw it out of the window

I'm now 43, if i don't like a book i feel no qualms in putting it down.

Oh I agree with 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' I was pleased as punch when I found it in a book sale, it had been recommended to me by lots of people. I couldn't get past the first 3 chapters.