I came across this article last week and found it amusing.
I Hate This Book So Much
I think every single writer out there has had this reaction to a book at some point. I know I have.
What do you do when you come across a book you hate? Do you put it down? Do you keep reading, hoping for redemption in the end? Do you shred it when you're done? Do you politely set it down and swear off the author's future books? Do tell!
I Hate This Book So Much
I think every single writer out there has had this reaction to a book at some point. I know I have.
What do you do when you come across a book you hate? Do you put it down? Do you keep reading, hoping for redemption in the end? Do you shred it when you're done? Do you politely set it down and swear off the author's future books? Do tell!
12 comments:
I used to feel I had to finish every book I started. I don't feel that way anymore. My time is too precious to waste it.
Usually, I'll give a book three chapters or so. If it doesn't get better, I'll put it down and decide not to read anything else by that author, if it's a debut.
I usually keep reading, giving it a chance until at least the 1st door of no return. If my interest isn't peaked after that, I stop. But I'm like Barb, I've only started doing that recently. I used to feel guilty and finish the book anyway.
If I agreed to review it, I keep going and look for something positive. If I don't have to review it, I stop reading.
Life too short to wade in 'hate.' I know enough to realize that if I don't like something it does not mean it is not meritorious. But it does mean that I need to move on.
Like Barb said, I used to try to finish every book, no matter how bad it was. I just don't have the patience anymore. I either pass it on to someone I think will like it or it goes by the wayside.
Marja McGraw
I will read to about page 35, and then, if I still hate it, why bother to read on? If there is something that has piqued my interest, even if I'm not in love with it, I may read on to see where it'll lead.
I'm in agreement with Barb on this one. My time is so valuable now, that I'll simply stop reading a book if I don't like it at all. Sometimes I want to know how the book ends, and then I'll force myself to finish.
I try to review all new books that cross my desk. And sometimes, reviewing means writing a review that says, "I didn't like this book." We give good reasons why, because reviews are intended to help readers buy books. I take that job very seriously, even if it means sometimes panning a book.
If I like it enough to read past the first chapter or two, then I keep going. But I've learned now to give it 50 pages and then if I hate it, just put it down. I wasted too much time on books I knew I did not like when I could have been tackling something better in my TBR pile. I have to say I have not liked some very highly critically acclaimed books...and loved ones no one's ever heard of. It's so subjective and life's too short to waste time on a book you don't like.
I'm terrible, but I always end up putting it down. I've got at least a dozen books that I like that I don't finish because I don't have time or forget about them. If it's a book that people say is great I'm usually willing to give it a second chance (maybe I didn't make it to the good part yet). If I find the author has a similar writing style for their next book, then why bother picking it up? If the book is different then why not give it another chance?
Agreeing to review it is another thing entirely. I'd read that puppy no matter how much I hated it. It wouldn't be a good review even if I liked the writer as a person, though.
I used to feel compelled to finish every book, and I never used to pick up an author's other work if I didn't like the first thing I read.
I've switched on both of those. Now I'm more willing to put down a book I'm not enjoying (or I'll quickly skim through just to see how it ends before discarding), and I'm also more willing to look at an author's other work. After a couple of times where I didn't like the author's first book but really liked a second or third, I realize how different the work can be.
I wouldn't pick up the rest of a series if I didn't like the first book, though, which I suppose is one of the risks of series writing.
If I don't like it, down it goes. There are too many great books out there to waste time wading through the bad ones.
If it is boring, I'll usually just be unmotivated to keep reading, until eventually a better book captures my attention and I forget all about the boring one.
I once actually threw a paperback book in the garbage because I hated it so much! I can't even remember what the title was, but it was one of those "Oh crap the world is ending" type of books. I was already frustrated by how it was going. The part that threw me over the edge was when the lady cut the head off of her children's pet goose in order to feed it to them. It just surprised and upset me too much, and I threw the whole book away! LOL!
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