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How do you decide when to give up on a book? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by 1019throw@lemmy.world to c/books@lemmy.ml

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I read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and take enjoyed it. Read another book, then started reading Devil and the Dark Water by the same author. I got about 25% through and just decided to drop it for something else. I'm not an avid reader so i never know if I should stay committed or not.

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[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 5 points 1 year ago

There are millions of books, no need to waste your time on a bad one. I go by my gut; if someone I know recommended it I'll stick it out longer. If it has lots of praise or I like the author I may read several chapters hoping it gets better.

I have no qualms quitting in chapter 1. I started Life of Pi and quit like 10 pages in because the main character is insufferable. I quit Dear Miss Metropolitan because I didn't like the style of narration; the story sounds great but I don't enjoy reading it so I move on.

Conversely, I've stuck it out with books that weren't what I expected but still were interesting. Song of Achilles was one of those; it turned out to be a gay bodice ripper but by the time I found that out I was already interested in the storyline and wanted to see it through.