And no, I did not bash the book terribly or listed out 101 reasons why it was bad. I don't think it's fair to the book and author if we heavily criticised it. Just like another blogger, Dana Alma who mentioned in her post, even if we didn't like a certain book doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't want to read it. Remember, one man's meat is another man's poison. My poison, your meat. Yeah, you get it.
The last book I never got around to finishing was The Diary of a Girl in Changi
. That was so many years ago. I did not even feel guilty about stopping halfway and deciding that I won't pick it up again. I even sold it off! Well, maybe I will try reading it again if the book somehow finds its way to me. If the book is meant for me to read, there's no harm trying. Ah, the power of fate.But after that, I think I felt guilty for not finishing it. Being a Sagittarius, I tend to stop doing things (only some things like personal projects, activities, etc!) halfway. I read about my zodiac and found out that it's a common trait among us Sags. Take notebooks, for example. I start writing in one then leave half of it empty and I go on to start writing in another one. Another example is my scrapbooks. I never got to complete them. Things like that.
So that's why I vowed to always try to finish every book I start to read. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It gives me the right to say, yeah, I've read that book, cover to cover! :) I get to feel proud of myself. But I'm not proud to say that I skipped some paragraphs of Pride and Prejudice. If you're familiar with the reader's bill of rights, you know that we have the right to skip and all that. But I don't believe in skipping! Oh well, I never believed in not finishing a book anyway and my stance on it has changed. I do hope to read P&P again but I really want the new edition that's targeted at young adult readers.
That's about it. How do you feel when you don't a finish a book? And do you pick it up again after some time?
i must agree my friend i follow the above too
ReplyDeletebtw thanks for becoming a new follower feel free to join in the giveaways xx
for now, i'm forcing myself to read any books even though it's killing me..maybe i will do what you did too,soon.
ReplyDeleteI usually try to finish the books I'm reading. If its too tough, I try to set daily targets. Like 5 chapters a day or something like that. LOL.
ReplyDeleteAnd yup, I will give books I fail to finish a second chance a few years down the road. Sometimes I revise my opinions, sometimes I don't. :-)
before this i like to read a book one by one. that means i won't crack open another book until i've finished the one currently reading. but i find that it takes too long for me to read the growing pile of to-be-read books. so i've taken to reading several books at a time. i'll finish the one i like better first then go back to the book i'm having trouble concentrating on. if i still find it too boring, i'll give up and set it aside. sometimes i'll try again. other times, i just give it away.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't finish a book, I usually throw it in a box for my friends who (like you said) might enjoy it more than I did! I don't review it though, because I figured if I haven't finished it, I haven't been able to form a wholesome opinion of the plot!
ReplyDeleteThe Readings of a Busy Mom: Thanks for following and for the heads up on your giveaways! :)
ReplyDeleteDarlyn: Ohh, I tried forcing myself but it didn't work. :D Stay strong!
Kah Woei: I tried setting targets too like one chapter a day but that one chapter took a really long time to read. I just didn't enjoy it. Hey, I agree that it's a good idea to put aside something for later. :)
nylusmilk: :) I still read books one by one! Makes it easier for me to concentrate on it. Sometimes, I get confused and try to remember where I read about a certain event. Was it from the book, or the newspaper or a scene from TV?
But it's interesting to know that you read faster when you take on a few books at one time.
readerreads: It's great that you share them with your friends. A book should never go unread. You also have a point on the reviewing part. It's too risky cos we haven't read the whole book so it wouldn't be a fair review. But I figured I'd just touch a little on why it turned me off and then concentrate on what's good about the book.
I have been struggling with this same issue... I have a couple books I received for review by starting authors that i just cant seem to read/finish... I dont know what to do =/
ReplyDeleteI keep chickening out of emailing them and sying I could not finish it, you know?
this is so hard...
Thanks for a great post!
I also feel defeated when I don't finish a book. However, since I have such a huge TBR pile, my disappointment in myself has lessened over time.
ReplyDeleteLarissa: Oh shucks, I feel the same way too when reading review copies. But so far I managed to go all the way till the final page except for the last review copy I read which I abandoned halfway.
ReplyDeleteStephanie: Yes, thank you! Defeated is the word I'd use to sum up my feelings when I don't finish a book. And like you said, judging by the size of the TBR pile, we cannot afford to lose time reading something we don't enjoy!
I used to feel very guilty but now I just let it all go. If I can't finish, it's OK I tell myself. There are many other good books that will make me happy and satisfied again, I tell myself. :)
ReplyDelete