Books We Never Finished

[Oosala]

On ‎3‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 5:23 PM, wallflower75 said:

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.  It bored me to tears and I gave up about halfway through.

Yeah on this one. I did finish it but I have NO idea what it was about.  Did it involve a basement somehow?  Anyway, it made me feel inferior because it was so critically acclaimed.  I now believe that, most of the time, critically acclaimed books are to be avoided.

I bailed on 50 Shades of Grey.  I was visiting my home town and I always stop by the independent book store there and go on a buying spree and I was talked into buying it. Pure, unadulterated SHITE.  SO badly written.  After about 10 pages, I dumped it into my recycle bag and felt dirty somehow.

I guess this is more of a Book I Never started but I've given up on Lisa See, and it seems she's given up, too.  She keeps churning them out but they're no longer enjoyable, just formulaic.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Oosala
To add last paragraph.

[Black Knight]

Please tell me it wasn't a bookstore employee who recommended it! (I haven't read any of the books, but Jenny Trout quoted extensively from them in her recaps, so I have still seen firsthand how terrible the writing is.)

We have a Authors You Used to Love But No Longer Read thread if you have any others you'd like to share besides Lisa See (whom I've never read, though I recognize the name).

[Mabinogia]

26 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

but Jenny Trout quoted extensively from them in her recaps, so I have still seen firsthand how terrible the writing is.)

Jenny Trout's recaps are the only good thing about 50 Shades.

[Black Knight]

5 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Jenny Trout's recaps are the only good thing about 50 Shades.

Right?! And now James has written another book for Trout to mock. I'm spending my weekend catching up on the most recent chapters...

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

Right?! And now James has written another book for Trout to mock. I'm spending my weekend catching up on the most recent chapters...

And it is somehow worse than the original. I guess it counts as a book I never finished by virtue of being a book I never started? lol 

[Wouldofshouldof]

I decided I needed to read more classics, so I got 1984 and East of Eden from the library. Quit both of them. And I read a lot - a book or two a week. These just didn't do it for me.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

After about 10 pages, I dumped it into my recycle bag and felt dirty somehow.

I felt the same way about The Crimson Petal and the White. After about three chapters, I started to feel not only dirty but bored silly. I chucked into the recycle bin. My DH was shocked. He'd never seen me do that before.

[Steph J]

I haven't quite given up on it yet, but I'm seriously considering putting down Pillars of the Earth and never picking it up again after some 200 pages.

I managed to keep going after the

Spoiler

"my wife died literally just a couple of hours ago and I'm starved half to death and have been wandering the woods looking for the baby I abandoned but oh, hey, here comes that hot woman I met earlier" sex scene that nearly made my eyes roll out of my head.

But I just don't want to spend any more time in the point of view of William Hamleigh having to read about

Spoiler

how turned on he is by the idea of raping women and causing people physical pain.

The only thing that's been keeping me going is that Ellen and Aliena are interesting characters so I kind of want to see what they do/how things work out for them.

[truthaboutluv]

7 hours ago, Wouldofshouldof said:

I decided I needed to read more classics, so I got 1984 and East of Eden from the library.

Never read 1984 but did read East of Eden and I totally get it. My friend made so much fun of me because I was stubbornly determined to complete it, to the point I think it took like three months.

But what I found was that the first part is really hard to get through but once all the backstory, character relationships, etc. gets set up, the second part of the book is a really easy read. And by the end I actually kind of liked it. Not enough to read it again, lol. But enough to gain somewhat of an appreciation of it. 

Right now, my struggle is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. And the tough thing about this book is that it's not that it's necessarily bad. And there is stuff happening. But I just can't seem to care about said stuff. I think the biggest factor hurting the story is my indifference of the main character.

I think for a book like that and what seems to be a plan to make it a series, you have to care about the main character. And I just can't seem to feel anything but passing interest in Alex, which means I only have a passing interest in the big mystery and where the story's going. It's the same reason why I didn't love The Magicians. I found Quentin to be so insufferably annoying. Alex at least isn't annoying but I'm just so meh about her.

I'm meh about the whole secret societies and their supposed magic and just all of it. And what's frustrating about it for me is that on paper, it sounds like a book that I would love. Mystery, murder, magic, etc. And yet I'm 2/3 of the way in the book and I'm still just left feeling "eh, that happened".

[Katy M]

20 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

Never read 1984 but did read East of Eden and I totally get it. My friend made so much fun of me because I was stubbornly determined to complete it, to the point I think it took like three months.

I loved East of Eden.  Won't say I loved 1984, but I did read it.

Right now, I'm struggling to make it through Memoirs of a Geisha.  I'm about half way through and I'm going to finish if it's the last thing I do.

Edited February 16, 2020 by Katy M

[JAYJAY1979]

Anna karenina by Tolstoy...Deep and detailed.   Took me 2 months to finish it..but realized contentment was as difficult to obtain back in 19th century Russia as it is now lol

[Haleth]

20 hours ago, Steph J said:

I haven't quite given up on it yet, but I'm seriously considering putting down Pillars of the Earth and never picking it up again after some 200 pages.

I managed to keep going after the

  Reveal spoiler

"my wife died literally just a couple of hours ago and I'm starved half to death and have been wandering the woods looking for the baby I abandoned but oh, hey, here comes that hot woman I met earlier" sex scene that nearly made my eyes roll out of my head.

 

And he's one of the good guys!  Honestly, all the characters are written with such broad strokes and lack any subtlety; the bad guys are all devious mustache twirlers to the point of parody, and the good guys are all clever and saintly, but it's a junk food read.  Good for when you don't want to think too hard.

I had to read East of Eden in high school in the Middle Ages .  Loved it but never reread it.  Memoirs of a Geisha is a beautiful book.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Haleth

[Bort]

I don't think I ever finished The Mists of Avalon. Not because I didn't like it, I really did, but it was just so LONG. I always meant to finish it, but now so much time has gone by, I'd have to start it over and the thought of that is so daunting.

[Athena]

1 hour ago, kariyaki said:

I don't think I ever finished The Mists of Avalon. Not because I didn't like it, I really did, but it was just so LONG. I always meant to finish it, but now so much time has gone by, I'd have to start it over and the thought of that is so daunting.

I tried to finish this book about three times over the space of 5 years and couldn't do it. This was back to when I was a completionist so I really tried. However, I got quite bored of it and didn't feel engaged by the characters. I had to throw in the towel.

 

17 hours ago, Katy M said:

I loved East of Eden.  Won't say I loved 1984, but I did read it.

Right now, I'm struggling to make it through Memoirs of a Geisha.  I'm about half way through and I'm going to finish if it's the last thing I do.

 I loved East of Eden too. Yeah same about 1984.

Memoirs of a Geisha was nice but not essential reading or any favourite of mine so don't feel too pressured. It's not universally loved 🙂

[Ohiopirate02]

2 hours ago, kariyaki said:

I don't think I ever finished The Mists of Avalon. Not because I didn't like it, I really did, but it was just so LONG. I always meant to finish it, but now so much time has gone by, I'd have to start it over and the thought of that is so daunting.

 

11 minutes ago, Athena said:

I tried to finish this book about three times over the space of 5 years and couldn't do it. This was back to when I was a completionist so I really tried. However, I got quite bored of it and didn't feel engaged by the characters. I had to throw in the towel.

 

I did like The Mists of Avalon when I read it almost 20 years ago, but I will never pick that or any book by MZB ever again.  There are too many good books out there written by authors who don't condone the sexual abuse of their own children for me to read.  

[Athena]

1 hour ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

 

I did like The Mists of Avalon when I read it almost 20 years ago, but I will never pick that or any book by MZB ever again.  There are too many good books out there written by authors who don't condone the sexual abuse of their own children for me to read.  

Yes! I remember trying to read another book from her too after trying Mists, but I couldn't get through the first chapter. I just don't like her writing. When I read about how she had been complicit in her children's abuse, I was glad I had given up on them. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎02‎/‎17‎/‎2020 at 11:22 AM, Ohiopirate02 said:

 

I did like The Mists of Avalon when I read it almost 20 years ago, but I will never pick that or any book by MZB ever again.  There are too many good books out there written by authors who don't condone the sexual abuse of their own children for me to read.  

Finding out that about MZB and her husband cast an entirely different light on a lot of what happens in Mists.

[Danny Franks]

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2020 at 1:22 PM, Haleth said:

And he's one of the good guys!  Honestly, all the characters are written with such broad strokes and lack any subtlety; the bad guys are all devious mustache twirlers to the point of parody, and the good guys are all clever and saintly, but it's a junk food read.  Good for when you don't want to think too hard.

That's Ken Follett's style, as far as I can tell. I read the first two books of his Century trilogy - the first about World War One, the second about World War Two - and found all the characters to be very thinly drawn, over well known tropes.

Plucky working class lad with integrity, stuck-up toff who women adore but is secretly a coward or villain, no-nonsense woman who inevitably falls for the stuck-up toff before later realising that she prefers an honest, working class lad with integrity. The thing is, this exact pattern plays out in both of the books. I didn't read the third, which is apparently about the Cold War, but I imagine there will be another variation of that theme.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Danny Franks

[Katy M]

I'm going to duck down to avoid the rocks, but I just quit on The Color Purple.  My gosh, it was so horrible, I don't see how it won so many awards.

[peacheslatour]

15 hours ago, Katy M said:

I'm going to duck down to avoid the rocks, but I just quit on The Color Purple.  My gosh, it was so horrible, I don't see how it won so many awards.

I haven't read it. In what way is it horrible? If you mean the abuse and racism is horrible, I get that, having read Beloved. Or do you think it's just terrible writing?

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I haven't read it. In what way is it horrible? If you mean the abuse and racism is horrible, I get that, having read Beloved. Or do you think it's just terrible writing?

Yes, the abuse is bad.  But, it's also that I can't find a character to root for.  Sure, I feel bad for Celie that she was raped by her father and abused by her husband.  But, I just don't like her.  And, I'm not crazy about the writing style.  It's a series of letters to God from Celie.  "Us went to church."  I spent a bunch of pages trying to figure out what "dadie" was.  Apparently clam is the past tense of climb.  It was just kind of hard to read.  But, my main complaint is that everyone is just so amoral and disgusting.

[Constant Viewer]

i never finished Jude The Obscure.  I made it through other Hardy books and even liked them, but when I got to the part where 

Spoiler

The kid kills his siblings

I was out. Instead I began reading Dorothy Parker and determined I would not waste my time reading books I did not like just to finish them.

[EvaWills89]

 

Oh, I actually have a lot of books like that. I have a peculiar principle - I always read exactly half of the book, if I do not enjoy the book - I just close it and never open it again.

 

For example, it was with the book "The Hunger Games", as well as with various philosophical treatises. They just torture me, do not bring any pleasure(

[laughs]

Many of you might relate to this: I haven't finished Infinite Jest. Although I do read pages from it at random quite often. The only Wallace book I've finished is "The Broom of the System." I borrowed The Pale King from my sister, but she took it back from me before I could finish it. I really liked The Broom of the System though. Another doorstopper I was dreading for its complexity was Paul Auster's 4321, but that turned to be a breezy read -- enjoyable and though-provoking, and not daunting at all.

Unsurprisingly, not finishing fiction has never landed me in trouble. It's coursework that bites me in the you-know-where when I slack off. Couple of semesters back I decided to wing it for a class I was just auditing -- the instructor expected some effort. For a particular in-class test, I decided not to prepare at all and instead write generic answers to questions (Which in hindsight is utterly stupid -- we were doing Zike, Dingrando (lol), et al's work on Matter and Change). The instructor read out my answers to the class, and everyone had a laugh. At least she didn't tell the class whose answers she was reading. I still can't look her in the eye without wincing.

[Rushmoras]

I haven't finished mostly school-related books from my own country's literature. From the top of my head would be Žemaitė "Rytą giedrą" (it's an autobiography and novels of, well, let's say the first "modern" Lithuanian author from the XIX century. As I remember, it was mostly about corvee and the life of peasants (cause we still had that in the XIX century, while the rest of the Western world was reaping the "wonders" of industrial revolution)), Šatrijos Ragana (really don't remember anything from her works; I just found it to be totally dreadful).

And, from my own leisure, there was some other novel, I guess from a Russian author. It was, as I remember, as if, approved from the Tolkien family or something (at least it said on the cover or something like that as I remember). Um... generally, it was set two or three hundred years after the end of the LOTR books. It had three parts, but I read only the first one.

Spoiler

If I remember correctly, someone had found the Nazgul rings; something, something; Sauron reincarnated or something.

And... Julies Verne "20,000 Leagues under the Sea". Simply it was too long of a book, and I read it when I was nine or ten, because it was on a primary (or secondary) school's curriculum, but I never finished it.

[blueray]

I might have to add Breaking Night by Liz Murrey right now. I have already seen the movie (and really enjoyed it), anyhow my mom suggested I read the book. I've tried, but I just can't seem to get into it for some reason. Some of it maybe personal, as I started reading it while my husband was in surgery (he's okay 🙂 ), but every time I pick it back up, I seem to loose interest pretty quickly. However, I would recommend the movie as it was really good and I'm sure the book is but it's also depressing right now.

[adore]

I couldn't get through Confederacy of Dunces and stopped about seventy pages in. I loathed every moment spent with Ignatius Reilly and couldn't find any humor in his ridiculous whining. A few of my friends who enjoyed it are from the south (and the most ardent defender grew up in New Orleans). 

I really loved the first half of East of Eden, but I wasn't as invested in the second generation Trask family and lost interest by the end. Big Steinbeck fan though! 

[tres bien]

Here we are barely into 2021 and I've ready jettisoned two books. 

Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith  which was too depressing to me.

And I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb. This was a huge disappointment because I'm a fan and have loved his other books.  I couldn't get into the story and didn't really like the characters. 

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, tres bien said:

Here we are barely into 2021 and I've ready jettisoned two books. 

Tomorrow Will Be Better by Betty Smith  which was too depressing to me.

And I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb. This was a huge disappointment because I'm a fan and have loved his other books.  I couldn't get into the story and didn't really like the characters. 

I gave up on Dracula. Maybe I'll try again next October.

[Anduin]

I'm not that familiar with Philip K Dick, really only his adaptations. But I decided to try Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. There are interesting ideas within, that's why it got adapted into Blade Runner. But as a story itself? No thanks. All the characters are either stupid, annoying, or both. Stick with the movie.

[Starleigh]

I did like Dracula when I read it back in the day (for a high school book report) but I tried rereading it several years later and just found it too boring to get through a second time.

This may be more of an embarrassing book confession, but the most recent book I gave up on is a really old fashioned children's book, Homer Price (the one with the story of the overflowing doughnut machine). I've had a hard time concentrating on more serious reads, so for nostalgia and comfort reading, I've been reading mostly retro/vintage children's books. I read the first chapter or two, skimmed the doughnut chapter,  but it was written so poorly with flat characters and was just plain boring that I gave up. I really don't get why it's a semi classic or even still in print??

[Katy M]

On 12/25/2020 at 3:10 AM, adore said:

I couldn't get through Confederacy of Dunces and stopped about seventy pages in. I loathed every moment spent with Ignatius Reilly and couldn't find any humor in his ridiculous whining. A few of my friends who enjoyed it are from the south (and the most ardent defender grew up in New Orleans). 

I'm from New England and I loved it. But, yes, Ignatius Reilly is a horrible, horrible human being and if he were real, it would be perfeclty fine for someone to stab him 77 time (OK, not really, only 76).

[peacheslatour]

Quote

I did like Dracula when I read it back in the day (for a high school book report) but I tried rereading it several years later and just found it too boring to get through a second time.

Just like the movies versions, the book suffers when The Man himself on off the canvas.

[Danny Franks]

I'm reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry but it's so long-winded and meandering that I don't think I'm going to keep going.

150 pages in and I think the book has covered two days. I've just spent three pages reading about one of the cowboys recalling a woman who tripped while hanging washing and got wet. Three pages.

[Haleth]

Aww, I'm sorry you are not enjoying it, Danny.  It really is fantastic.

[tiftgirl]

22 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I'm reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry but it's so long-winded and meandering that I don't think I'm going to keep going.

I'm not going to say why so as not to spoil anything, but, Lonesome Dove is the only book I have ever thrown in my life!

[Katy M]

36 minutes ago, tiftgirl said:

I'm not going to say why so as not to spoil anything, but, Lonesome Dove is the only book I have ever thrown in my life!

It's my favorite book:(

[tiftgirl]

Oh I loved it, but,

Spoiler

Gus dying just pissed me right off.  I literally hurled the book across the room.  My boyfriend who recommended the book walked out of the kitchen, looked at the book lying on the floor, looked at me crying and said "Gus die?"

 

[WendyCR72]

I don't know if this qualifies as it was not a book on its own but grew out of prior books [originating from a column, making this full circle!]. Helen Fielding, the author of Bridget Jones, after a lengthy rest, returned to writing about her in newspaper columns around...2011-ish, I think it was. I read some of them online.

And [my opinion only!], it was a disaster and basically had Bridget regressing in huge fashion [I know she was maturity challenged to begin with but seemed to make strides in the book, "Edge of Reason"; the movie was a wreck but entertaining, I guess!]

If you never read it, but want to know some particulars, I will spoiler tag:

 

Bridget and Mark split. Bridget takes up again with Daniel. [I forgot if she and Mark reconciled, think the triangle resumed...] Bridget has Daniel's kid and things go haywire from there.

If I recall, the column was supposed to be a regular deal, but the feedback must have been as WTF as my reaction was, because it ended quite abruptly, as I would later discover [as I was so put off, I quit.]. So I guess everyone stopped reading, when I checked back and found out, not just me!

A few years later, of course, Bridget Jones' Baby was made into a (differently detailed) movie.

[dubbel zout]

I thought the Bridget Jones's sequels got worse with each one, as it was obvious they were a cash-in on the success of the first, which was pitch perfect. The movies follow this, as well.

[EtheltoTillie]

I could not get past a few pages of A Gentleman In Moscow. I know this book is very popular but I cannot understand why. Would like to hear from someone who likes it. 

Edited March 28, 2021 by GussieK

[dubbel zout]

It starts slowly, that's for sure. I resisted reading it for a long time—the more popular a book is, sometimes the less I want to read it—but I ended up really liking it. It's a very interior book, so if that's not your thing, you probably won't like it regardless.

[Haleth]

15 hours ago, GussieK said:

I could not get past a few pages of A Gentleman In Moscow. I know this book is very popular but I cannot understand why. Would like to hear from someone who likes it. 

I loved, loved it.  One of my all time favorites.  Yes, it is slow paced but it's such a lovely story of finding purpose (and a family) under difficult circumstances.  It's heartwarming.

 

[chocolatine]

Every couple of years I try to read War And Peace and give up after a few chapters. Russian is my first language, so I feel compelled to read the original, but it's not my most fluent language anymore, so reading it takes some effort, plus the characters switch back and forth between Russian and French. I speak some French but am not fluent in it either, so the book just becomes too much work. If it were 300 or so pages I may have found the energy to power through it, but the 1000+ pages are too daunting.

On 2/16/2020 at 7:03 AM, Wouldofshouldof said:

I decided I needed to read more classics, so I got 1984 and East of Eden from the library. Quit both of them. And I read a lot - a book or two a week. These just didn't do it for me.

I never understood why 1984 is a classic. It's not very well written and has zero subtlety. The only thing I liked about it were the descriptions of Newspeak and the ministries. (At my last job, a project's working title was Mini-[Project]; it was changed after I pointed out how Orwellian it sounded.)

On 3/28/2021 at 12:44 PM, GussieK said:

I could not get past a few pages of A Gentleman In Moscow. I know this book is very popular but I cannot understand why. Would like to hear from someone who likes it. 

*raises hand* I thought the premise was a little far-fetched, but I just loved the protagonist's voice. He remained a "gentleman" despite being stripped of his status and possessions, which really resonated with me.