Comments on: When Do You Stop Reading a Book?

By: Leah

Leah — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 06:09:08 +0000

the source is a woman named Nancy Pearl, a librarian who works for the Globe and Mail

By: Shelver506

Shelver506 — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 20:41:58 +0000

If I keep thinking about another book, I’ll put down the book I’m reading and find the one I’m thinking about. If I’m becoming unduly cranky or frustrated or bored, I’ll put the book down. Life’s too short.

If it’s a book that I told myself I have to review, I’ll go until I finally realize that there won’t be anything positive in my review. Then I’ll stop and find something else to make me happy again.

By: Galen

Galen — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:13:41 +0000

Years ago I heard a “Rule of 50″ that applies to this question. I do not remember the source. The gist is – the reader should give any book at least 50 pages to determine whether or not to continue. But, for each year over the age of 50, subtract 1 page.

By: Albrecht Gaub

Albrecht Gaub — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:15:43 +0000

It depends. If I have been commissioned to review a book, I have to finish it whether I like it or not. Especially unfavorable reviews need a good foundation. If I read a book for professional interest, it is almost the same, although I may be able to skip a chapter here and there. To give you an idea about which books I have never finished, I may mention two: Gorbachev’s “Perestroika” and Elaine Keillor’s “Music in Canada.” I hardly read fiction anymore, so I won’t comment on that. Suffice it to say that I had a hard time to read some classics.

By: William Dean A. Garner

William Dean A. Garner — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 07:17:49 +0000

Simple: I read ’til I don’t wanna read no mo’.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 05:27:03 +0000

I’m always on the lookout for the redeeming phrase, also. If I put a book down, I usually plan to pick it up again and finish or reread the book to the end. That being said, I read a book about two years ago that I couldn’t make myself continue reading and absolutely would not ever read again. The author had made the main character unlikable, had given her information that only the reader would know, and re-used [unconvincing] phrases too often: something about having committed to memory something the main character read only once. I decided to give the author one more chance to prove that she actually had an editor work on her manuscript, and she blew it. I ripped the paperback in half and threw it in the trash so it would never again poison another person’s mind! I guess I really have to hate the book in order to quit it.

By: heidi

heidi — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 05:43:49 +0000

sorry, bad link - I meant HERE

By: heidi

heidi — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 05:41:16 +0000

I used to read every book all the way through. But now I've decided not to waste time on bad, boring, or predictable reads. Or stuff I just plain don't like. I'm so happy I quit reading the last book I didn't like (50 Shades of Grey), because I found one that is so much better! (Fire, by Kristin Cashore) I wrote about it Here

By: Robert Clay Norman

Robert Clay Norman — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 16:09:56 +0000

When to stop reading a book? When you can find no “gold coins”. Author Roy Peter Clark refers to this practice in his book “Writing Tips.” If your reading does not lead you along a path that has the occasional gold coin for the reader to discover, dropt he book and look elsewhere. You might say “Follow the yellow coined road.”

By: Laurie

Laurie — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:52:34 +0000

I’m MUCH MUCH pickier than all of you. Most of the time, I give a book the first page to hook me and the second to reel me in. If I get to the bottom of the second page and don’t care what happens next, I ditch it and pick up something else. I have to confess, I choose a book by it’s blurb (if it sounds like a story I’ll enjoy, but I READ it because I like the author’s voice and style of writing. However when someone recommends a book to me, I’ll give a few more pages before I pass judgement. My philosophy is Too Many Books, Not Enough Time, so why waste it on a novel I’m not really enjoying.