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The Great Book Abandoner

S

SNAPPY

New Member
I have an annoying habit. When I read a great book, I usually follow it by starting 2 or 3 other books and then abandoning them. Just can't seem to find something that suits my tastes, or I get excited about reading another genre. Sometimes I find myself making up excuses to abandon my current book, eg "I don't like the narrator". Other times I've gone as far as going to Amazon and searching the bad reviews of the book and agreeing with what has been said (I never listen to critics who say something is "boring" or "too long").
But it is quite annoying and sometimes even expensive!

My latest abandoned book? The 13th Valley by James Delvechio, a novel about America in Vietnam. My reason? Some of the dialogue was not believable (too scholarly for a grunt soldier, I thought) and too much back story for each soldier.

Anybody else do this, or is it just me?:rolleyes:
 
My Hubby does this, but he is not much of a reader to begin with. Occassionally he will see one of my books and go "That looks interesting!" So of course I will give him my book, only to have him get about 1/2 way through every book and then just drop it. I can't remember a single book he has actually managed to finish. Though he came close with a few.
 
I abandon books, too, sometimes half-way through, sometimes they sit on my shelf unread for weeks. That is one of the main reasons I borrow from the library. If I buy a book, I feel I must read it, but if I have paid nothing for it and I find that after I have brought a book home that I no longer want to read it, I feel no guilt returning it unread.
 
Hmmm....

That brings up another quirk of mine! I don't like to read something if my wife has already read it. Not sure why.

And I will quickly abandon a book if someone I think is an idiot sees me reading it and says "hey I read that!".:eek:

a little snobby, I guess.
 
SNAPPY said:
That brings up another quirk of mine! I don't like to read something if my wife has already read it. Not sure why.

And I will quickly abandon a book if someone I think is an idiot sees me reading it and says "hey I read that!".:eek:
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Ha ha ha! :D I won't touch most of the books my hubby attempts to read. The only thing he has managed to read was The Godfather. Besides that, not much.

I do the same thing with other people! When some people reccomend a book.. it is almost a guarentee I won't read it. Any book I hear over-hyped, I usually dodge like the plague. For example, The DaVinci code.... never read it.... have no desire to. I just don't want to be one of "them". He he he.. now I feel snobby too. :cool:
 
Scottishduffy said:
Any book I hear over-hyped, I usually dodge like the plague. For example, The DaVinci code.... never read it.... have no desire to. I just don't want to be one of "them". He he he.. now I feel snobby too. :cool:
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Hip-Hip-Hooray, another member for my Refuse To Read The DaVinci Code Club!
 
Scottishduffy said:
Ha ha ha! :D I won't touch most of the books my hubby attempts to read. The only thing he has managed to read was The Godfather. Besides that, not much.

I do the same thing with other people! When some people reccomend a book.. it is almost a guarentee I won't read it. Any book I hear over-hyped, I usually dodge like the plague. For example, The DaVinci code.... never read it.... have no desire to. I just don't want to be one of "them". He he he.. now I feel snobby too. :cool:
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i'm with you on davinci code! it may be great but i'll never know!

Converesly, it really twerks me when a book or author i like gets hugely popular!
 
Don't feel too bad. If a book can't compete with others for your interest, then it really wasn't worth it in the first place.
 
Scottishduffy said:
I do the same thing with other people! When some people reccomend a book.. it is almost a guarentee I won't read it. Any book I hear over-hyped, I usually dodge like the plague. For example, The DaVinci code.... never read it.... have no desire to. I just don't want to be one of "them". He he he.. now I feel snobby too. :cool:
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Don't you ever get the feeling that you are missing out on some great books by doing this, though? /Some/ books are popular for a reason - there are some popular books which are actually well-written, brilliant pieces of work. Life of Pi is one that comes to mind immediately.
 
MonkeyCatcher said:
Don't you ever get the feeling that you are missing out on some great books by doing this, though? /Some/ books are popular for a reason - there are some popular books which are actually well-written, brilliant pieces of work. Life of Pi is one that comes to mind immediately.
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My Initial reaction is to dodge it, though some of the books I will end up eventually reading. I just keep thinking that if a book is hyped up so much I am bound to be dissapointed when I read. If only for the reason that I may have come to expect so much from it. Though, some of the hype books I do get around to reading, but only after someone I know and trust has reccomended it. Life of Pi is of those. It is currently on my TBR list after flipping through the discussion I saw here. I have read all of the Harry Potter books, those things must be the very definition of 'hype'. I tried it, and actually enjoyed it!. Yet there are some books.... that even though they are amazingly popular.... I just know will be terrible.
 
Scottishduffy said:
My Initial reaction is to dodge it, though some of the books I will end up eventually reading. I just keep thinking that if a book is hyped up so much I am bound to be dissapointed when I read. If only for the reason that I may have come to expect so much from it. Though, some of the hype books I do get around to reading, but only after someone I know and trust has reccomended it. Life of Pi is of those. It is currently on my TBR list after flipping through the discussion I saw here. I have read all of the Harry Potter books, those things must be the very definition of 'hype'. I tried it, and actually enjoyed it!. Yet there are some books.... that even though they are amazingly popular.... I just know will be terrible.
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I see what you mean, I am frequently dissapointed with some of the books that I have read because they do not match up to the hype that surrounds them. I try to forget hype when I start reading a book, but it inevitabley does affect my perception of certain books.

On the flip side, I do try to read a book that people have panned just to see weither I agree with the criticism of that particular book or not. I don't like to be left unopinionated (if that's even a word :p ) on a particular subject/book
 
I always want to know what the fuss is about. Probably because I understand how difficult it is to get people excited, and talking about, a book. Especially in this multimedia age of TV, video games, DVDs, ipods etc.

And I must say, there always is a reason.
 
Doug Johnson said:
And I must say, there always is a reason.
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If you're referring to my comment that /some/ books are popular for a reason, I meant that some are popular because they are well-written and entertaining. I know of some books that are popular just because of the reaction that they have envoked in certain people/groups of people, or just because the author has written previous works which weere well-written. Not naming any names, though, I don't want to be flayed :D
 
i do something similar, if an author is just too popular i'm too afraid/annoyed/uninterested to read his/her works, because what happens if i don't like his style or his characters, i don't want to justify myself because i don't like it...
 
I read whatever sparks my interest. Doesn't matter if it's been read a million times over. I read recommendations and if they get good reviews, then I try it. I'll admit, I read The DaVinci Code, and I liked it:p I read Angels and Demons too!!!:p I'm not ashamed to read what others are reading. There are also alot of books that I read that others don't.

I am NOT a snob, and refuse to be. I grew up in the North Shore of Chicago (If anyone knows where that's at....it's a very upscale, high priced homes in suburban Chicago loaded with snobs!) and I refuse to be like THEM

I always go against the grain! I have never asked for trendy clothes and such....I always did my own thing growing up, and I am still the same today.:)
 
Most often I will abandon books that fail to hold my interest for very long. Other times I get distracted with other things and the books just sit on a shelf untouched for long periods of time. I have some books that I have had for years and never finished reading! Something I never got back around to...
 
My firm conviction is life is short, put down the book that doesn't keep my attention, and reach for another. Books were made for man, not man for books. The only time I'll keep after a dull book is if it is one my dh wants me to read(so we can talk about it) or if someone else I care about is dying to know what I think about the book. Otherwise, who cares? There's no crown waiting in heaven for the one who finishes the most books. Its not like I'd get extra stars or even a cookie to go with my chocolate milk;)
 
i've abandoned books but i finish them if i bought them. like my AP euro teacher said yesterday, its almost as you feel obligated to finish them.

altho i stopped reading The Nanny Diaries midway. it was funny at first, but now its just redundant and the little kid annoys me. there wasn't really anything that kept me interested.

i generally give up on library books a lot quicker. i actually stopped reading On the Road b/c the first 15 pages or so just bored me and i can't stand the hardcover. i'll probably find a softcover one day and try it again.
i stopped reading the Plague after the first chapter b/c it just felt like i was reading an AP euro assignment and basically almost skimming it. i want to give it another try but i dont have the time to be bored by a book
 
Fantasy Moon said:
Most often I will abandon books that fail to hold my interest for very long. Other times I get distracted with other things and the books just sit on a shelf untouched for long periods of time. I have some books that I have had for years and never finished reading! Something I never got back around to...
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Excellent comment-I'm reading three different books right now and have just been swamped with work. With that being being said, it's also nice to look forward to reading a given work.
 
I abandon so many books for various reasons. Sometimes I find the language course, other times I just get preoccupied with something else and it sits on the shelf until it's due back at the library.
 
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