DeanoBKN

Nope, but I usually have at least a 1/4 finished rule before I decide

Giantrobo

I try not to give up on books even if I'm not crazy about them. So thus far I'd say no.

FM

Maybe I'll try it again sometime; it's been about 8 years. I don't even remember most of what I read - I just remember the pain!

Gilgamesh1082

Like someone else said, I don't start bad books. Only did so once, despite being told beforehand, "Do not read this. Go straight to the second book, which is awesome. Lord Foul's Bane is the devil, skip to The Illearth War and be rewarded."

Finished it and thought I was giving myself a lobotomy in the process. Never did make it to book two, The Illearth War. That's right, even with the knowledge that book two makes up for all the sheer idiocy of the first, I still haven't bothered to pick it up. The first book was that freakin bad.

tofu

No, I don't finish them. If it takes me over a month to get thru 100 pages, then its probably time to just stop and start a new one.

whitetigeress

No, there are too many other good books out there to read. I will not waste my time with a bad book

Trevor

I will always give it at least a few pages, but I will quit if I'm not enjoying it, even if I loved the first of the series, or the authors previous books. I have too much quality stuff that I need to read or reread to waste on something I'm not enjoying.

Got sick of Clancy and quit a quarter way thru one of his; loved the first Anne Rice novel(s) but then quit early in the 2nd or 3rd, thought I'd always love Card's Ender books but quit part way thru one of them, etc.

redskull

For years the completist in me would force me to slog through a book, no matter how ineptly written it was or how little enjoyment I was getting from it.

Then one day I was reading "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," and despite the universal praise heaped onto that book, it just was not clicking with me. Not sure why; I love comics and the book should have been right up my alley, but I got about halfway through it and I literally could not read another word of it. Faced with the prospect of another couple hundred pages to force my way through, it suddenly occured to me that I didn't have to finish it. Life's too short to read a book I don't like.

So I threw it in the trash and felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest. Now if a book hasn't hooked me after the first 4 or 5 chapters, I move on to something else.

Jason Bovberg

You threw a book in the trash!? Damn, man, at least give it to the library or some kid who might really dig it.

AllHallowsEve

I used to do this, but figure why waste the time. So, no, not anymore.

wmansir

I do but rarely. If I do drop it it's usually within the first 30 pages. Most books that don't put me off by that point will have hooked me enough to finish.

The first time I read the trilogy I skipped past several sections like that, but re-reading them last year I never even felt the inclination. It wasn't that I made a conscious decision to 'tough it out' in those sections, I just honestly didn't recognize them as parts that had frustrated me the first time through.

Amel

Before taking a book home I try to read the first few pages. This almost always works. It gives me a pretty good idea if the style's gonna work for me. I also check out reviews - but I skip the detailed summarizations. Using this, just about every book I've read over the past 3-4 years has been quite enjoyable.

Sometimes, like with the current book I'm reading, it's gets tough. But because the story is truly interesting, I've haven't stopped reading it. I just don't like the style. After the first chapter, the way this book is written (and it could be the fault of the translator) has become very tiresome. So now I find myself kinda skimming through it, picking out the important details. This I've done a couple of times.

When I first read Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" I almost stopped. Luckily I fought through the initial feelings and it winded up becoming one of my favorites.

snowboardchick9

There are far too many great books to read to waste your time finishing a bad one. I give it about 30 pages. If it hasn't caught my interest by then, then they're not a good author!

movieking

I routinely stop reading books that don't grab me, but I always pick them up and finish them. There is always a part of me that says that the book will get better. I had to force myself through The Amber Room and The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry, since it took me three or four times of picking them up and putting them down before finishing them. Only for I really liked the Third Secret I mightn't have bothered.

I got a little ways into Saturday by Ian McEwan and put it down. I am currently reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, so I might try to finish it after that. It's not that any of those books are bad, but it might be slow beginnings or just my state of mind.

The Bus

I will finish bad books, but I will not finish uninteresting ones. A lot of Stephen King books are bad, but at least they are interesting. But to this day I can't get through the first Dark Tower book or Desperation. They're just uninteresting. If I'm desperate and have nothing to do, I will finish a boring book. The last of these was Tony Hillerman's A Thief of Time.

The last fiction book I couldn't finish was House of Leaves. I had heard so many good things about it and it was different but I couldn't go through it. I'll try again someday, I reckon. I was expecting it to be a lot more frightening.

I really need to screen my books better. I've bought a lot of non-fiction recently which has been extremely dull, eventhough the subject interested me.

brainee

Love the book, but can completely understand some readers not being able to get through it. Maybe this suggestion will help: skim past the Zampano stuff. Not really plot-centric, dry-as-dirt, and I mainly saw it as a parody of academic writing. "The Navidson Record" part of the book flew by for me though. If that's the part you're stuck on, I'm not sure what to tell you though. It's more a subtle, creep-up-on-you scary, than typical horror stories.

I almost always finish books I start (though if I was smart, I'd bail on one's I clearly don't like). I do tend to skim past bad books at a certain point - just so I get through the story, but pretty much bailing on getting anything entertainment-wise out of it. Just the other day, I almost gave up on China Mieville's "The Iron Council". I fought the decision, since I really loved his other books, but this one was just rough to get through. When you're 200 pages into a story, don't like any of the main characters, don't care for what happens plot-wise, and see you still have 400 pages to go ... those are some trouble signs. Unfortunately I was trapped overnight at an airport with this book as my only entertainment option, so I made it through.

Sanitarium

I'll stop if I get bored to tears with it and then maybe a few months down the road I'll pick it up again and finish it off. I always want to know what happens and I hate to invest a bunch of time in something and get nothing out of it.

DaveCole

I used to always force myself to read the entire book even if I don't care much for it. Especially if it was from a fave author. I loved Poppy Z Brites other books but couldn't get into the short stories in Wormwood. I still managed to finish it hoping that one of the stories would be great. Of course I was also the guy that would continue reading a comic book series a couple years after it stopped being enjoyable.

I have long since changed that. Too many other entertainment outlets: online gaming, dvds, the dozen or so books that I still need to finish, that I can't afford to waste time on something that I am not enjoying. Of course I guess I am still doing that with World of Warcraft since I am still playing and it really isn't that fun anymore, but that is a topic for video games.

JeremyM

I had to drop that LOTR ripoff Sword of Shannarah at about the 200 page mark. I've heard the series gets a lot better, but I couldn't make it through the first one so who knows.

I also dropped the Godfather Returns, I'm a huge GF fan and couldn't wait for it, and it was just unspeakably awful. And they let the guy write another sequel to boot!

djmont

I must confess to throwing away more books than I would like. Unfortunately, some of them even the Salvation Army doesn't want!

movieking

Instead of throwing them out, you can always leave them on a bench or a bus stop or somewhere public like that. Isn't there a website that facilitates that? You put a code on your book and the website address and leave it there, and the person that finds it is supposed to log in to track its movement?

tonyc3742

The only ones I've thrown away have been books that are just in crappy condition (pages falling out, moldy, etc.)
Interesting distinction above between "bad" and "uninteresting". I'll admit I've read some "bad" books, but I enjoyed them. I guess I meant I don't finish books i don't find interesting (unless i have to.)

enjoytimes

If the book is really bad ,I will drop it .

lopper

I made it about 1/2 of the way through World War Z and I put it down. I may finish it at some point, but it's looking highly doubtful.

This would be the first "bad" book that I've bought that I've put aside and have very little intention of finishing.

aintnosin

I don't always finish a good book.