# Bestsellers (you'll admit) you've never finished



## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

Someone remarked on another thread that a now-infamous bestseller had probably been read by only 1 in 20 buyers. Another person was surprised by the claim and challenged the commenter to produce some evidence. For my part, I was surprised that anyone in the book business would be surprised that many bestsellers go unread by many (if not most buyers). After all, it's common knowledge in the publishing business as well as literary circles that people buy way more books than they read and that a whole lot of books are bought because they're bestsellers or because they have some literary, cultural, or political status. In other words, "bestseller" is often more a social and cultural fact about a book than a measure of readership.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to disclose our top unread bestselling books and where (approximately) we stopped reading. By "unread" I don't mean you read the sample and it didn't interest you; I mean you bought or borrowed the book with the intention of reading it, but then stopped for whatever reason:

1. _Da Vinci Code_, p. 1
2. _50 Shades_, p. 1
3. _The Hunger Games_, p. 10
4. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_, p. 10
5. _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_, p. 60
6. _Game of Thrones_, p. 100

Now it's your turn to come clean.

ETA: In case someone thinks I'm being disengenous in citing 1-4 (i.e., because I really wasn't interested to begin with), they're wrong. I wanted to read these books because they were so influential, but I couldn't.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Read all the ones in your list. . But I very seldom stop reading a fiction book.  I'll stop nonfiction if I feel like I got what I wanted out of it, but not fiction.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

Moby Dick&#8230; About 20 pages in. It just didn't do anything for me.

David Copperfield&#8230; About 40 pages in. It _really_ didn't do anything for me, even though I wanted to like it.

I'm sure there were others.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Best-seller lists have so little impact on my reading that I don't even know for sure what's been on any of the lists. I'm pretty sure that Brown's _Inferno_ made the list, but I only got a chapter or two into it before quitting. I must have gotten it on sale.

I read all of the _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ series, despite their faults. Maybe just because the character was interesting.

I read the Harry Potter books. I can't even say why. I wouldn't re-read them. Fantasy is not something I normally read.

I started King's _Under the Dome_ (I think that's the title). Never finished.

Of the Ops list, I've read items 1,3, and 4.

Mike


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

- Every one of the 5 or 6 Stephen King novels I've tried over the years (except I think I might have finished _Carrie_, but that was so long ago I don't remember). To be fair, he's really not my genre, but when I've tried his stuff, it just doesn't work for me on several levels.

- Made it about 40% through the first Game of Thrones book, before I gave up (just didn't give a hoot what happened to any of the characters)

- Made it about 25% into _Pillars of the Earth_ before I gave up, pretty much for the same reason as GoT.

- Didn't get very far into _Hunger Games_, I think in part because of the style (was a lot of it in present tense?) and nothing else about it really grabbed me.

- I did, in fact, eventually finish _Infinite Jest_, though it took some time (I read several other books during the time it took me to wade through it).


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

1. _Da Vinci Code_, p. 1 . . . . read this, and others by Brown. Is it great literature? No, but fun stories I count as brain candy

2. _50 Shades_, p. 1 . . . . couldn't finish, no idea how far I got. I got the 'sample' of the 3 book set so there'd be plenty for me read before making a decision. But I found the character vapid and the style didn't work for me.

3. _The Hunger Games_, p. 10 . . . . not a genre I'm interested in, so never even started it. My son said he quite liked it, though.

4. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_, p. 10 . . . . have read it, and the other HP books multiple times. Read it first so that I'd have read it when my son did but found I really enjoyed it. Later books got better . . .except _Order of the Phoenix_ which I thought a bit bloated. Still liked it, though. 

5. _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_, p. 60 . . . . read it and the others in the series. I liked the stories.

6. _Game of Thrones_, p. 100 . . . . .read the first book but won't go farther. The only characters I liked even a little by the end had died so there was no need for me to read any farther.

_Moby Dick_ . . . . read it through; it does take a ways before you get into the style, and you have to be interested in the details of the whaling ship.

_David Copperfield_. . . . have read it completely, as well as a fair number of other Dickens titles including _Great Expectations_, _Oliver Twist_, _The Pickwick Papers_. I admit that last one was a bit of slog! 

_Under the Dome_ . . . I think I got 15 to 20 per cent through. Couldn't care about any of the characters and decided I had better things to do with my time. Had a similar reaction to the handful of other King titles I tried.

_Pillars of the Earth_ . . . I did finish that, mostly because I was interested in the Cathedral building aspects, but it was a bit bloated. I never had any desire to read the follow on book.

_Infinite Jest_ . . . .never even tried it and probably won't. 

_Wolf Hall_ . . . . read it, even though I didn't agree with her characterizations. Tried the second of the planned trilogy and it was dry as dust . . . more dull than a history text.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

The book that cured me of my determination to always finish anything I started was a bestseller - Scott Turow's _Presumed Innocent_. After that I vowed never to force myself to stick with something I found tedious again.

Diana Gabaldon's _Outlander _is one I abandoned.

Don't remember the title of the Tom Clancy novel that cured me of Clancy forever, but much as I loved _Red October,_ one of his subsequent ones made me swear off.

Don't know if it was a bestseller, but that one of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series with a title something like _What Happened Before He Killed Her_ stopped me only a few pages in.

There have been a lot of others over the years, but I don't keep lists and can't give titles off the top of my head.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

ellenoc said:


> The book that cured me of my determination to always finish anything I started was a bestseller - Scott Turow's _Presumed Innocent_. After that I vowed never to force myself to stick with something I found tedious again.


My experience was similar -- though it was a different book. Don't remember what, just that I sat there _forcing_ myself to read and it hit me that I _could_ just. . . . not . . . finish . . . it.



> Diana Gabaldon's _Outlander _is one I abandoned.


I finished it . . . but have no desire to read further in the series . . . .



> Don't remember the title of the Tom Clancy novel that cured me of Clancy forever, but much as I loved _Red October,_ one of his subsequent ones made me swear off.


I've read all of his he wrote alone, though there are a few that are fairly uneven . . . good start, bit of a slog through the middle, but pick up in the last third. I never got into his "Op Center" series, however. The most recent ones that are written by someone else but just use his name are back to the form of _Red October_ and the early Jack Ryan books -- though featuring the next generation.



> Don't know if it was a bestseller, but that one of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series with a title something like _What Happened Before He Killed Her_ stopped me only a few pages in.


Same with me . . . but I don't even remember which book I left off at. Just that, at some point, they were getting weird. Similar thing with Martha Grimes' Richard Jury series. Some of the latest ones have been way too little action and way too much introspection -- and there's a hold over case he never really proved that keeps popping up in ways that are supposed to be meaningful but more often just end up annoying.



> There have been a lot of others over the years, but I don't keep lists and can't give titles off the top of my head.


Me neither.  Which is why I am commenting on things other people mention. 

I did try the Philip Pullman series _His Dark Materials_. I'm not much for YA in the first place but I just didn't find the first story very interesting . . . I mostly read it because everyone said how horribly anti-organized religion (especially Catholic) it was and I was curious. I mostly just found it dull, but maybe I wasn't the target audience. The only reason the book was even in the house was that it had been given to my son on his 8th grade graduation by a group at the school to encourage reading. (In retrospect, if I'd known more about the book at the time, I could have raised a stink for them giving him an "anti-Catholic" book.  But that would have been silly -- they were just trying to do a nice thing.) Anyway, as I say . . . dull book; even The Boy didn't care for it much -- and he's a big reader of fantasy, etc.

I also read a bit of the first _Twilight_ book. . . . had gotten the 'sample' only and read it . . . . full of teen angst and as I'm way past being a teen I saw no need to carry on. Plus, I've never been into, "oh a dead thing, I'm so in love". Didn't care for the Sookie Stackhouse series for the same reason.


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## deckard (Jan 13, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> _Wolf Hall_ . . . . read it, even though I didn't agree with her characterizations. Tried the second of the planned trilogy and it was dry as dust . . . more dull than a history text.


Yep. Same here. I had heard that _Bring Up the Bodies_ was better than _Wolf Hall_ and have started to read it three times. Finally gave up on it for good last week.

Deckard


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## Daniel Harvell (Jun 21, 2013)

I thought I was the only one that couldn't make it through the Hunger Games!


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## Michael Deed (Apr 27, 2015)

Just about all Salmon Rushdie novels bar Midnights Children which was excellent. Not sure long stream of consciousness sentences about the likes of uncle Fester’s bowel habits, interrupted by strategically placed references to Marcel Proust and various Mughal Emperors, necessary makes great literary fiction. Although, some of my favourite novels of all time (i.e. The Alexandria Quartet and the Shadow of the Wind) I equally struggled with at first and then was hooked.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

hamerfan said:


> Moby Dick... About 20 pages in. It just didn't do anything for me.
> 
> David Copperfield... About 40 pages in. It _really_ didn't do anything for me, even though I wanted to like it.
> 
> I'm sure there were others.


You're breaking my heart. One of my all-time favourites. I won't get into the interpretation of it, but I will say&#8230; [stops self from writing fifty-seven pages]



jmiked said:


> I read all of the _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ series, despite their faults. Maybe just because the character was interesting.


Someone told me the Tattoo book gets better right after the point where I stopped (somewhere west of 60 pages). I gave the book away.



NogDog said:


> - Didn't get very far into _Hunger Games_, I think in part because of the style (was a lot of it in present tense?) and nothing else about it really grabbed me.
> 
> - I did, in fact, eventually finish _Infinite Jest_, though it took some time (I read several other books during the time it took me to wade through it).


The teenager voice killed me. I couldn't listen to another minute of a put-upon 15-year-old's whining without whining.

As for the DFW book, it's on my list.



Daniel Harvell said:


> I thought I was the only one that couldn't make it through the Hunger Games!


There's even a Facebook page you can join: https://www.facebook.com/hatingthehungergames


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## I&#039;m a Little Teapot (Apr 10, 2014)

Divergent. I tried--I really did--but I couldn't connect. 

The Goldfinch. I bowed out about ten or twenty pages in, mostly because the protagonist was a drip and I didn't care if he lived or tumbled out his hotel room window, splattering on the sidewalk below.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

> The teenager voice killed me. I couldn't listen to another minute of a put-upon 15-year-old's whining without whining.


I am so over teenage coming-of-age stories. Of course, it's been a few decades since I was a teenager, so I suppose I may not be the target demographic for such stories -- but there are so many of them, especially in the fantasy genre.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Steven Hardesty said:


> James Joyce's _Ulysses_ - it's the funniest book in English and completely (I bet intentionally) unreadable. Best I can do is dip in here and there for a laugh and then slap it shut when it gets boring again and shove it back on the shelf. Over the last 20 years, I _may_ have read the whole thing that way, but I can't be sure.


Our tour guide in Dublin said no one has ever read the whole thing. 

Betsy


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

> I also read a bit of the first Twilight book. . . . had gotten the 'sample' only and read it . . . . full of teen angst and as I'm way past being a teen I saw no need to carry on. Plus, I've never been into, "oh a dead thing, I'm so in love". Didn't care for the Sookie Stackhouse series for the same reason.


THIS. I read the Sookie ones...first couple, but when it became obvious that she was into dead boyfriends, I moved on before they smelled any worse. Too bad too because otherwise the series seemed to have potential. I don't think I have stuck with any series where the main is dead (guy or girl). I like zombies and vamps in stories, but as a love interest...ewww.

I read a couple of pages of Outlander. Didn't interest me.

I might have given Hunger Games a try in my younger years.

Even when I was younger, I never appreciated angst (even though I'm sure I experienced it. I think it's required.) I think the problem is that angst is only interesting when it is your own. So teenager or not, I just don't want to read it. I love young adult, but I lean towards the ones that handle things more on the "adult' and less on the "young."


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## Stacey T. Hunt (May 4, 2015)

I never managed to finish The Hunger Games. I got to about chapter 3, then completely dropped it altogether. The only reason I decided to read it was because the books in the series were getting so much hype, and they were even making movies of it. Unfortunately, I didn't like the movie, either. 

Born Wicked was another particularly awful read. But I'll get into that another time.


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## Guest (May 7, 2015)

WHDean said:


> 1. _Da Vinci Code_, p. 1
> 
> 
> > Don't remember the exact page I stopped. But I think I was about a 3rd of the way through the book because it was just so needlessly convoluted.
> ...


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

I tried reading a Leon Uris novel once -- _QB VII_ -- and was astonished by how poor the quality of the writing was. So poor, in fact, that never mind not finishing the thing, I couldn't even get past page 3.

As for _50 Shades_ ... don't even get me started.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

I found this list of most unread summer books of 2014 in the WSJ. The author uses what he calls the "Hawking Index," named after Stephen Hawking (because legend has it that his Brief History of Time is the most unread bestseller of all time). The method for calculating least read is hardly scientific (as the author himself admits), but it's probably not far off. The percentages represent estimates of the percentage of the e-book people have read:

_The Goldfinch_ by Donna Tartt: 98.5% 
_Catching Fire_ by Suzanne Collins: 43.4% 
_The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald: 28.3% 
_Fifty Shades of Grey _by E.L. James: 25.9% 
_Flash Boys _by Michael Lewis: 21.7% 
_Lean In _by Sheryl Sandberg: 12.3% 
_Thinking Fast and Slow _by Daniel Kahneman: 6.8% 
_A Brief History of Time_ by Stephen Hawking: 6.6% 
_Capital in the Twenty-First Century _by Thomas Piketty: 2.4%

The last one doesn't surprise me. Every few years one of these big, world-shattering anti-capitalist manifestos comes out and the literati fall all over themselves praising it. People snap up copies like they were Cabbage Patch Dolls and display them on their coffee tables and pretend to read them at Starbucks.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

WHDean said:


> I found this list of most unread summer books of 2014 in the WSJ. The author uses what he calls the "Hawking Index," named after Stephen Hawking (because legend has it that his Brief History of Time is the most unread bestseller of all time). The method for calculating least read is hardly scientific (as the author himself admits), but it's probably not far off. The percentages represent estimates of the percentage of the e-book people have read:
> 
> _The Goldfinch_ by Donna Tartt: 98.5%
> _Catching Fire_ by Suzanne Collins: 43.4%
> ...


 Most of those never held any interest to me. But I did pick up _A Brief History of Time_. I've dipped into it but have not read it cover to cover.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I never had any interest in _A Brief History of Time_, but that's because I'm the sort of oddball who, from time to time, actually reads books about physics; so it's unlikely a 212-page book about cosmology and particle physics would hold anything new/interesting for me.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I am not sure if I remember books I didn't finish. I never kept track before I got a kindle and a goodreads account. I know there are some classics I never could get into. 

Pillars of the Earth was the first kindle book I wasn't able to finish. I should have liked it, I like historical fiction. But I just didn't care about any of the characters, they all felt like cardboard to me with no emotions or anything. It all read like, he walked up the hill, he turned left. Walked some more. Wife died, lets hump someone else. Bla bla bla. 
No matter the subject matter of a book, I must at least care if characters live or die, I must be able to feel something, anything. 

I also couldn't continue Gone Girl. Same issue with characters, I just didn't care about any of them or what happens to them. Bla bla bla. Just wasn't interesting to me without some kind of something. 

Can't think of anything else right now. Not much of what I read are best sellers anyway. That is probably because of the genres I like reading.


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## Shelley K (Sep 19, 2011)

It's amazing how relative taste is. I loved _Presumed Innocent_!

I got through about 1/3 of the _Goblet of Fire_ in the Harry Potter series, then stopped. I hated that book. (I also didn't like the movie, which I saw later.)

I tried reading _Dune_ at least three or four times, and found it so tedious and boring I never made it more than 50 pages any time.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

I actually did read about 90% of _A Brief History of Time _ not long after it came out, but that's because I thought I understood what I was reading up to that point. To this day, I don't know whether I did understand it or not. I guess I'll have to go back to it--with knowledge gained since--to see whether I was imagining things. But I'm a little worried about that. What happens if I understand less now? Does that mean I've become stupider or smarter?


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

For me it is _Lord Jim_ by Joseph Conrad. It's was the only book I tried to read in English lit. class that I couldn't finish and do a report on. I've tried several times since, even getting a Kindle copy of it in hopes that would make it easier, but no luck. I did make it the furthest with that version, somewhere in the 4th or 5th chapter, I guess. Doubt I'll ever try again, it is just too BORING for me.


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## alawston (Jun 3, 2012)

Game of Thrones, here. I got a handful of pages into the first one, but it just didn't grab me at all. I thought I'd watch it on TV instead, and I haven't even bothered doing that.


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## N.D. Taylor (Jun 17, 2014)

Game of Thrones, p. 14

I'll add to this when I think of more. That's only the most recent best seller that comes to mind off the top of my head.


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## Genevieve Mckay (Jan 19, 2015)

Uncle Tom's Cabin - As soon as the little dog was stoned to death on like the third page I knew I wasn't emotionally going to be able to handle the rest lol. Beautifully written but I knew it would haunt me forever if I kept going.

Remembrance of Things Past - My mom gave me this one. She's read it maybe twenty times and was convinced I would love it. I thought he was the most boring man who ever ate a cookie... ever.


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## mbuhmann (May 10, 2015)

I've tried to read Game of Thrones but have never been able to get back 300 pages.
The Lies of Locke Lamora. Maybe 150 pages.
Doctor Sleep. I think I got about 60% through it and tossed in the towel.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

mbuhmann said:


> I've tried to read Game of Thrones but have never been able to get back 300 pages.
> The Lies of Locke Lamora. Maybe 150 pages.
> Doctor Sleep. I think I got about 60% through it and tossed in the towel.


I never finished _The Lies of Locke Lamora_ either. I keep thinking about giving it another try -- possibly because I no longer recall why I gave up on it?


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## Geoff Jones (Jun 20, 2014)

I wish Amazon would display "finish rates" for ebooks alongside the rankings and ratings. 

I'd be a lot more likely to try out a book if it said "94% of readers finished this book within 2 weeks" or something like that.

Of course, they would need to scale the length of time for books of different lengths and genres, and they'd need to leave a little padding for the special thanks and stuff at the end that some folks skip. But to me, as a reader who never seems to have enough time, I think it would be a huge help.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Geoff Jones said:


> I wish Amazon would display "finish rates" for ebooks alongside the rankings and ratings.
> 
> I'd be a lot more likely to try out a book if it said "94% of readers finished this book within 2 weeks" or something like that.
> 
> Of course, they would need to scale the length of time for books of different lengths and genres, and they'd need to leave a little padding for the special thanks and stuff at the end that some folks skip. But to me, as a reader who never seems to have enough time, I think it would be a huge help.


Well, of course, they have no way of knowing that for people who read paper.

They, arguably, DO have that data for kindle books, since your 'most recent page read' is stored so you can sync across devices, but what would it tell you, really, that reviews don't? I might really really really like a book -- but if I start it during tax season when I have less time to read, I'm probably not going to finish it in 2 weeks. Or it may just be so good that I am reading slowly on purpose to savor it. Either way, it's a 4 or 5 star read for me and I'd strongly recommend it.

OTOH, I might finish something in a day and a half but only because it's badly written and I am skimming most of it just to get one small point of plot answered. That's going to get, at best, 2 stars from me. Or I might give up after a few hours at 10 or 15% and jump to the end so that I can send my 1 star rating to GR. It still looks like I finished it -- but I didn't.

The other thing is, what do you mean by 'within 2 weeks'? "Within 2 weeks" of purchase? That almost never happens for me -- not because the book doesn't appeal, but because I have so many to read.

Also . . . some people read more than one book at a time. Those folks probably are going to take more than 2 weeks to read a book because it's not the ONLY book they're currently reading.

THEN there is just the fact that some people read faster and some read slower. I know people who read a lot but they don't read fast. They very much enjoy reading, and they always have a book they're working on, but they just tend to really take their time -- part of the pleasure for them is slowing down and really immersing themselves in the world of the book. Would a glowing review from a person like that mean less because it doesn't say they finished it in a week?


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## N.D. Taylor (Jun 17, 2014)

I just finished nursing school. And and all attempts to read for pleasure were throttled for the past 3 years of my life. No joke. I may have read, finished, and enjoyed six books total over that entire period. Anything more than that was me forcing myself to try to read another indie's book to offer a review, but feeling too stressed to enjoy it, skipping pages, and ultimately just wanting to get it done. In this age, finished rates of books wouldn't tell you stuff like that. Personal problems, illnesses, how many people stopped reading because maybe they died... LOL And that morbid thought came to me as I was typing.


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## V. L. Dreyer (May 11, 2015)

Funny but related story.  I picked up a copy of The Davinci Code at a book sale, thinking I'd never read it.  Turns out that I had, and had just completely forgotten.  Not sure if that says more about me or the book.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

V. L. Dreyer said:


> Funny but related story. I picked up a copy of The Davinci Code at a book sale, thinking I'd never read it. Turns out that I had, and had just completely forgotten. Not sure if that says more about me or the book.


I've had that happen . . . . . I think when one reads a LOT . . . like REALLY A LOT . . . . it's very possible to forget. Unless you're fairly anal about keeping track. Which I've never been. There have been many times when I started reading a book and just keep thinking, "this feels so familiar but I've got no idea what's going to happen next."


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

NogDog said:


> I never finished _The Lies of Locke Lamora_ either. I keep thinking about giving it another try -- possibly because I no longer recall why I gave up on it?


The Lies was incredibly boring and hopped all over the place without allowing the reader to be immersed or to care about a character. Also, the characters were not likeable at all. I read 60 or so pages. I had a signed copy. I STILL COULDN'T read it. I gave it to a buddy who was thrilled with the signed copy since it was one of his favorite books.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Geoff Jones said:


> I wish Amazon would display "finish rates" for ebooks alongside the rankings and ratings.
> 
> I'd be a lot more likely to try out a book if it said "94% of readers finished this book within 2 weeks" or something like that.
> 
> Of course, they would need to scale the length of time for books of different lengths and genres, and they'd need to leave a little padding for the special thanks and stuff at the end that some folks skip. But to me, as a reader who never seems to have enough time, I think it would be a huge help.


The dirty inside secret of the industry is that most people don't read the books they buy. Kobo did put out a survey of e-reader books by genre and it showed the very low rate of actual books being read. I linked to it somewhere in another thread. But some of the best selling books are not even opened. They had a chart by genre of what was most read, but I don't recall which genre was the winner. I think it was mystery.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

The Book Thief.  I've started it three different times, can't finish.  I know who the omniscient narrator is, I know the premise and basically how it ends, but the writing style just doesn't work for me.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

crebel said:


> The Book Thief. I've started it three different times, can't finish. I know who the omniscient narrator is, I know the premise and basically how it ends, but the writing style just doesn't work for me.


I did finish it . . . .but I wasn't enthralled. Thought it was kind of weird. . . . 3 stars at best: an 'o.k.' read.


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

*Moby Dick*. I love a good adventure story but when I was a third of the way into it and STILL waiting for something exciting to happen I ditched the book and never picked it back up again.

Most of Charles Dickens' novels. While his portrayals of characters and the London scene is very vivid, I find dialogue between characters wholly unbelievable at times. For example: a scene in *Oliver Twist * where Nancy is speaking to a well-to-do young lady who is moved by her plight and this hardened girl of the streets and this extremely privileged young lady are suddenly having a heart to heart talk. In Victorian England? I highly doubt it: snobbery of class was at its height during that time and didn't break down until the advent of World War I when earls and barons fought alongside their manservants and found that they were equals as brothers-in-arms. It was unlikely that an aristocrat in Dickens' day would have done more than give Nancy a few alms and it was unlikely that Nancy would have trusted anyone not of her background enough to pour out her woes to as an understanding soulmate. Dickens was a journalist trying to draw attention to the plight of London's poor and I respect him for that. But PLEASE give me believable dialogue! 

For contemporary authors: I have rarely finished a Stephen King novel, simply because I am not that big of a horror fan. He is a good writer, just not to my taste.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

Geoff Jones said:


> I wish Amazon would display "finish rates" for ebooks alongside the rankings and ratings.
> 
> I'd be a lot more likely to try out a book if it said "94% of readers finished this book within 2 weeks" or something like that.
> 
> Of course, they would need to scale the length of time for books of different lengths and genres, and they'd need to leave a little padding for the special thanks and stuff at the end that some folks skip. But to me, as a reader who never seems to have enough time, I think it would be a huge help.


I like the idea. It would probably be a good measure of the longevity of the book.



MariaESchneider said:


> The dirty inside secret of the industry is that most people don't read the books they buy. Kobo did put out a survey of e-reader books by genre and it showed the very low rate of actual books being read. I linked to it somewhere in another thread. But some of the best selling books are not even opened. They had a chart by genre of what was most read, but I don't recall which genre was the winner. I think it was mystery.


Agreed, though I don't know how secret it is inside the industry. I've heard too many passing references to unread books over the years.

Anyway, digging into the facts of book culture really changes your perspective. A lot of writers and book lovers assume that sales = reads and reads = likes, so big-selling books get held up as standards. But the reality is somewhat different. Bestsellers are often bestsellers for cultural and social reasons: People buy and talk about them because other people are buying and talking them.


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## loriann (Jun 20, 2014)

The Thornbirds.

The Bridges of Madison County.

Game of Thrones.

Harry Potter - whatever the first book was.

The Hobbit.

I just was not into these type books though I understood and could see why they were successful.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

MariaESchneider said:


> The Lies was incredibly boring and hopped all over the place without allowing the reader to be immersed or to care about a character. Also, the characters were not likeable at all. I read 60 or so pages. I had a signed copy. I STILL COULDN'T read it. I gave it to a buddy who was thrilled with the signed copy since it was one of his favorite books.


Yeah, by far the most likely reason for me to not finish a novel is that I just don't give a crap what's going to happen to the characters. Just lousy writing is probably a very distant second place to that.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

lmroth12 said:


> *Moby Dick*. I love a good adventure story but when I was a third of the way into it and STILL waiting for something exciting to happen I ditched the book and never picked it back up again....


I love the white whale, but you definitely have to read it for the writing, not for the story -- especially in this age where near-cinematic story-telling is the norm. (I think I was the only person in my HS English class who read the whole book -- and enjoyed it.  )


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

ellenoc said:


> The book that cured me of my determination to always finish anything I started was a bestseller - Scott Turow's _Presumed Innocent_. After that I vowed never to force myself to stick with something I found tedious again.
> 
> Diana Gabaldon's _Outlander _is one I abandoned.


I felt like I deserved a prize for getting through Outlander.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I felt like I deserved a prize for getting through Outlander.


I read _Outlander_ completely . . . .. Thing is, I'd never heard of it before joining kboards and it was a Major Topic in the early days. Was offered free for a while and lots of folks absolutely raved. Which is fine. Everyone likes different things. I came away glad I'd read it, glad I hadn't had to pay to read it, and not interested in reading further in the series.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I read _Outlander_ completely . . . .. Thing is, I'd never heard of it before joining kboards and it was a Major Topic in the early days. Was offered free for a while and lots of folks absolutely raved. Which is fine. Everyone likes different things. I came away glad I'd read it, glad I hadn't had to pay to read it, and not interested in reading further in the series.


My best friend has marked Outlander as her all time favorite. We share a lot of reading tastes, but not this one. I didn't even like the blurb, but when it was free, I picked it up and read about 2 pages. GAH! Okay, with the blurb and time travel I was predisposed against it. My friend has kept me informed on the books as they progress and I am sooooooo glad I didn't attempt the first one more than a few pages. It's not my thing. So many of the things she talks about that happen in the book are totally not my thing (themes, the fact that the books are HUGE TOMES, various characters, plot points...)

This is one that I can safely say I wouldn't have liked even in my younger days when I tended to read more genres and subgenres than I do now.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

I've heard that Joseph Conrad hated Herman Melville's books. I found that funny because I like both their books.

_Lord Jim_ was made into a film in 1965, starring Peter O'Tool as Jim. I liked the film--it's way better, IMO than the RT rating--but it does diverge a little from the book.

ETA: I suspect that people who compare the film unfavourably with the book don't understand the book because both tell the same story.


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## Michael Deed (Apr 27, 2015)

The difficulty with some intense literary fiction is that it’s hard to tell at first whether it will be worth the effort. Some books I initially put down turned out to be my favourites of all time. I would include Shadow of the Wind, Cloud Atlas and the Alexandria Quartet in these books – all works of genius in my opinion. Others which I continued to the end with, because I thought I would like them eventually, such as Salmon Rushdie’s novels (with the exception of Midnight’s Children – which is a masterpiece), I wished later I had not bothered.


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## N.D. Taylor (Jun 17, 2014)

I never read past the sample of Outlander. Not my tastes either. I then skimmed spoiler reviews on Goodreads and decided it definitely wasn't for me.

Usually I don't throw in the towel on a book. I skim and turn pages until I get somewhere I can tolerate the story again. It's a rare deed if a book turns me off completely that I can't finish it at all.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

Ha, I am strangely enjoying reading about bestsellers that you didn't finish and/or enjoyed.  I try my hardest not to give up on a book, but I too have reached a point with books such as "The Hunger Games" (though I did promise co-workers that I would give it another shot, am I a glutton for punishment? LOL!), "DaVinci Code", etc. Let's not forget that just because it's a bestseller, doesn't mean that it's "good" or something you'd personally like, merely that a whole lot of people bought it.   Liked it or not, finished it or not, people (most likely) just bought it because it was labeled a "bestseller" somewhere. 

Tris


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## N.D. Taylor (Jun 17, 2014)

Such a good point, Tris. I tried reading 50 Shades, Hunger Games, and a few others and mostly felt Meh about them. Doesn't mean they're bad books or the best books, only that they're books widely known.


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## C. Rysalis (Feb 26, 2015)

Wool (the Omnibus), I stopped somewhere during the second book in the series. The POV switch just didn't interest me, and it was too heavy on description and too low on plot advancement for my taste. It reminded me of literary fiction, which I don't read. It was really, really, really well-written, though, and infused me with a great deal of respect for the author.

Also, Dean Koontz' first bestseller - Whispers. I got it because it was cheap, and because I love Dean Koontz. But this book was AWFUL. I literally had to force myself to finish it, and the only reason I did was because I wanted to see if the mysterious whispers would ever be explained. They were, the explanation just didn't make any sense. It was mygonistic, utterly unbelievable, with 'twists' the reader saw coming from a mile away but the characters were too stupid to figure out, and filled to the brim with irrelevant fluff that alternated between over the top cheesy and 'why the hell is this scene in the story'?

I couldn't believe that thing was Koontz' breakthrough novel.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

C. Rysalis said:


> Wool (the Omnibus), I stopped somewhere during the second book in the series. The POV switch just didn't interest me, and it was too heavy on description and too low on plot advancement for my taste. It reminded me of literary fiction, which I don't read. It was really, really, really well-written, though, and infused me with a great deal of respect for the author.


I read the first book when it was a stand alone . . . basically a novelette. I came away thinking: well constructed, good story, well written, clever "O Henry" type twist. But I never had any interest in reading farther . . . mostly because I'm not into the whole 'post-apocalyptic' thing.


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## Avis Black (Jun 12, 2012)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt.  It was complete and utter blech, and I thought its premise was silly.  I gave up on it about 20 percent of the way in.


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

NogDog said:


> I love the white whale, but you definitely have to read it for the writing, not for the story -- especially in this age where near-cinematic story-telling is the norm. (I think I was the only person in my HS English class who read the whole book -- and enjoyed it.  )


I also love great writing, which is why I keep returning to The Lord of the Rings simply for the prose...stunningly beautiful. Ditto for the spellbinding way that Daphne DuMaurier draws the reader into the atmosphere of Rebecca; sometimes eerie, sometimes so amusingly realistic that it makes the reader chuckle. Her description of The Happy Valley never fails to enchant me, nor does the heroine's daydreaming fail to crack me up. I will take your word for it that Moby Dick was well-written. But for a classic that is a well-written adventure and still exudes excitement I turn to The Three Musketeers and anything else written by Alexandre Dumas.

This is one of those rare instances where you and I disagree, Nog Dog. Most of the time I ditto your tastes.


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## Wilmerex (May 25, 2015)

I never actually finished reading Kite Runner  , and I almost stopped reading Madman's Tale if it wasn't for a literature class I took, too many unnecessary descriptions.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

Michael Deed said:


> The difficulty with some intense literary fiction is that it's hard to tell at first whether it will be worth the effort. Some books I initially put down turned out to be my favourites of all time.


That's a good point. I felt that way about _ Slaughterhouse-Five_, mostly because Billy Pilgrim isn't so much sympathetic as just plain pathetic. But I think it was worth the effort. I dunno. I may change my mind tomorrow.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

WHDean said:


> I've heard that Joseph Conrad hated Herman Melville's books. I found that funny because I like both their books.
> 
> _Lord Jim_ was made into a film in 1965, starring Peter O'Tool as Jim. I liked the film--it's way better, IMO than the RT rating--but it does diverge a little from the book.
> 
> ETA: I suspect that people who compare the film unfavourably with the book don't understand the book because both tell the same story.


I love Peter O'Toole as an actor, but even his presence isn't enough for me to watch the movie as much as I dislike the book.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

intinst said:


> I love Peter O'Toole as an actor, but even his presence isn't enough for me to watch the movie as much as I dislike the book.


I do (sincerely) understand why people hate the book. It's an acquired taste, no question. But I think a person can enjoy the film even if he hated the book. It's really hard to explain, but the film is the same yet somehow completely different from the book. As I said, the RT rating is ridiculous. It's one of my favourite films, and if you like Pete O'Tool, you'll like the film.


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

The Great Gatsby - Just bored me to tears.
50 Shades - The narrative voice was so freakin' jittery, it reminded me of trying to carry on a conversation with some of the neurotic coke fiends I've met.
Hunger Games - It felt like everything was forced.
The Kite Runner - Couldn't find the primary plot arc.
Harry Potter - Probably would have liked it as a kid, but..
The Pillars of the Earth - Snore..
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Too silly for my taste.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

vrabinec said:


> The Great Gatsby - Just bored me to tears


I read this one because it was on my to-read list. For the first bit, I wasn't overly interested, but I kept reading because of the prose. He's a brilliant writer. By the end of the book, however, I was completely sold on it. And yes, that's weird. It's the only book I've read where I was slowly persuaded that it was great.

Of course, I do see why it would bore people to tears. After all, it was only the prose that kept me going for the first bit.


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## vrabinec (May 19, 2011)

WHDean said:


> I read this one because it was on my to-read list. For the first bit, I wasn't overly interested, but I kept reading because of the prose. He's a brilliant writer. By the end of the book, however, I was completely sold on it. And yes, that's weird. It's the only book I've read where I was slowly persuaded that it was great.
> 
> Of course, I do see why it would bore people to tears. After all, it was only the prose that kept me going for the first bit.


Absolutely no qualms with the prose. It's the object of some envy.


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

vrabinec said:


> Absolutely no qualms with the prose. It's the object of some envy.


Read Gatsby fairly recently--about the time the movie came out and I thought I should. I agree about the prose, lovely. I did finish the book, but I can't say that I enjoyed it. My reason for that was the characters, I found them even flatter and less interesting on the page than I did watching the movie.

And I admit to not reading the Harry Potter series. I started it, got half way in, and loaned the book to my niece. The book never came back (she loved it) and I started watching the movies. That was that.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

EC Sheedy said:


> Read Gatsby fairly recently--about the time the movie came out and I thought I should. I agree about the prose, lovely. I did finish the book, but I can't say that I enjoyed it. My reason for that was the characters, I found them even flatter and less interesting on the page than I did watching the movie.
> 
> And I admit to not reading the Harry Potter series. I started it, got half way in, and loaned the book to my niece. The book never came back (she loved it) and I started watching the movies. That was that.


I think I know what you mean, but it struck me that the charactersâ€"apart from Gatsby himselfâ€"were _intentionally_ one-dimensional. Of course, the risk FSG took in drawing superficial characters is that people would simply find them uninteresting. Maybe the execution fails for a lot of people?


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I can't remember the names of the books I did not finish last year.  I did finish The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt) and hated it.  I don't know how I got through it.  It started out well.  Didn't finish Da Vinci Code.  Meh!


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## ramsey_isler (Jul 11, 2011)

I only got about 25% through Da Vinci Code. About 30% through Wizard's First Rule. Just couldn't do it.


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## Anne Southwark (Jun 7, 2015)

I loved Gone With the Wind (the movie), and tried so hard to read the book.  I cannot get past the second page.  I just can't inhabit Scarlett's point of view. It's really painful to admit there are books that are better than movies for me - my usual public stance is that the book is ALWAYS better.

Divergent also killed me.  It was so petty and flat compared to other dystopian worlds.  One aspect of teen-brain I can't abide in fiction is the "I'm the center of the universe" perspective when it comes off as narcissistic or is surrounded by a world that just isn't compelling enough to force me to put up with it long enough to finish the book.

I also just can't do Great Expectations or any of James.

I'm so glad to have company!


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## xandy3 (Jun 13, 2010)

Twilight--Page 3. 
The girl with the dragon tattoo (which should have been called Gary Stu meets the girl with a dragon tattoo)--Got to the page where he puts on his socks, and found it such a dull book that I stopped.  Saw the movie and was even more ANNOYED by Gary Stu and what a womanizer he is.  

Beyond that I am sure there are a few dozen more ...but I can't remember.


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## jeffaaronmiller (Jul 17, 2012)

I'll admit I never finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I just sort of petered out and gradually lost my commitment to the story. In retrospect, I should have powered through, so maybe one day I will go back and try again.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

jeffaaronmiller said:


> I'll admit I never finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I just sort of petered out and gradually lost my commitment to the story. In retrospect, I should have powered through, so maybe one day I will go back and try again.


Just out of curiosity, why do you think you "should have powered through"?


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

Anne Southwark said:


> I loved Gone With the Wind (the movie), and tried so hard to read the book. I cannot get past the second page. I just can't inhabit Scarlett's point of view. It's really painful to admit there are books that are better than movies for me - my usual public stance is that the book is ALWAYS better.
> 
> Divergent also killed me. It was so petty and flat compared to other dystopian worlds. One aspect of teen-brain I can't abide in fiction is the "I'm the center of the universe" perspective when it comes off as narcissistic or is surrounded by a world that just isn't compelling enough to force me to put up with it long enough to finish the book.
> 
> ...


Ditto on James. I forced myself to read one of his books simply because he is touted as one of America's greatest writers but honestly couldn't stand any of the characters and therefore did not care what happened to them.

I like GWTW the book better than the movie simply because it gets more into the characters heads. Scarlett grows up more in the book than she does in the movie and realizes even before Rhett leaves her that she has made a LOT of mistakes in her life with many people and not just him. And the reader can see long before she does that she has come to love Melanie as a trusted friend and confidante. So it makes Melanie's death scene unbearable as Scarlett asks herself how she will ever get through the rest of her life without Melanie at her side. The movie rushed that scene too much and it doesn't have the same impact.


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## kai_andersen (Jun 20, 2015)

WHDean said:


> 1. _Da Vinci Code_, p. 1
> 2. _50 Shades_, p. 1
> 3. _The Hunger Games_, p. 10
> 4. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_, p. 10
> ...


Of your list,

1. Finished Da Vinci Code. It wasn't that bad. 
2. Didn't even have the inclination to read it
3. Finished it!!! It's great!!!
4. Finished it!!! The entire series, in fact. I think because I'm interested in all things magic.
5. Didn't even have the inclination to read it
6. I'm not sure what page I stopped but yeah, didn't finish it. The alternate chapter characters didn't do much to hold my interest. As soon I got invested in a character, the chapter was over and the next chapter was about another person. I think this works well in TV/movie but not really in a book.

The Kite Runner - didn't finish it. I think there was only about 25% left... but then I lost interest.

Recently, I tried reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Not really sure if it's a bestseller but it was voted the best fantasy book in 2014 in Goodreads. Yeah, the only reason I picked it up. Couldn't get past chapter 1 or 2. I don't remember now.


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

kai_andersen said:


> Recently, I tried reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Not really sure if it's a bestseller but it was voted the best fantasy book in 2014 in Goodreads. Yeah, the only reason I picked it up. Couldn't get past chapter 1 or 2. I don't remember now.


This is actually the only one people have mentioned where I'd recommend someone go back to, but only if it is a book where the idea of it is one you're interested in, I'd recommend trying it again, and seeing if it is interesting if you read further. He purposefully made the beginning slow and harder to catch your attention because of the having written lots of children's books lately, and this being a book with abuse in it. He only wanted children to read it if they could handle the abuse; and making it harder to start would make it more likely that they could handle it than if it started fast.

However, if its not an interesting idea, then of course, books aren't for everyone. And if you aren't interested when it speeds up, there's no reason to keep trying. It just happens that was a book that was set up to be harder to start.

--

I can't really add any because if I start a book then I finish it. Multiple talked about I haven't had inclination to read. Some I've enjoyed. Others, I've thought were decent books but not been sure why they were best sellers. Some that I've not read I've been adamantly against.

Oh, Game of Thrones is something I've started and not finished. When I put it down I just didn't pick it back up. It was recommended many times, but it didn't capture my interest, and 'everybody dies' is just not what I'm interested in reading. Especially when its not in a setting where there's not something else being talked about in death.


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## Natasha Holme (May 26, 2012)

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley - 100 pages in. It's the only piece of fiction I've stopped reading. I lost the will to live.


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## Ted Cross (Aug 30, 2012)

Of ones that I hoped to enjoy but simply couldn't, the ones I didn't even bother to finish were:

Infinite Jest
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell

Oh, and there's a novel currently nominated for the Best Novel Hugo that was so bad I didn't make it three chapters in: The Dark Between the Stars


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## AltMe (May 18, 2015)

Never.

When I buy a paperback, I read it. I've never tossed one yet, although some didn't get read twice.

Since moving to kindle, I don't think I've bought a best seller, that I didn't already have as a paperback. And I got it for kindle so I could read it again, without using the paperback.

Regarding Game of Thrones, I bought the lot in one go on kindle, and read the entire thing. Waiting for the next 2. But I gave up on the tv.


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## Matt Lobby (Mar 9, 2015)

I got a few that I consider to be "on hold" while others I consider to be "abandoned." The difference between them should be obvious enough, because I read stuff depending on my mood. Okay then, here we go.

On Hold:

Everville, by Clive Barker (I loved The Great and Secret Show, but other stories swerved me from concentrating on this book at one point and I never picked it back up yet)
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (I hadn't gotten beyond the first chapter, but I want to continue it one day)
The Stand, by Stephen King (I got to about 60% before I decided to drop the book for now; it was too long and bloated, but I intend to finish it at some point)
Sleep No More, by Greg Iles (Read 11 chapters, which is about halfway now, but that was the point when my interest in the protagonist dwindled)
The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands, by Stephen King (I want to read Books 1 and 2 first before rereading this from the start)
Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice (I was very young when I started this, and I always regretted that I never bothered to finish it yet)
Hannibal, by Thomas Harris
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Simple Plan, by Scott Smith
The Eye of the World (Book 1 of the Wheel of Time series), by Robert Jordan
A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin (Stopped at when Jon said his farewell to Bran, because I wanted to read the next installment of The Dresden Files, posthaste)

Abandoned:

Without Remorse, by Tom Clancy
Under the Dome, by Stephen King (like The Stand, it went on for too long and I stopped caring)
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens (I inherited my father's inability to like Dickens' style)
Life Expectancy, by Dean Koontz (an Odd Thomas prototype, kinda, maybe, and there were too many quirky characters with nonsensical dialogue to make any of them, even the protagonist, unique and interesting. I dropped it after the Love Interest rejected Protagonist's date proposal, then the next chapter fast forwards to when they're already married. smh)
Fears Unnamed, by Tim Lebbon (It got boring; it got dropped)
Typhoon, Charles Ryan (It failed to get me interested in its story)
Bourne Legacy, by Eric van Lustbader


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## kai_andersen (Jun 20, 2015)

Tuttle said:


> This is actually the only one people have mentioned where I'd recommend someone go back to, but only if it is a book where the idea of it is one you're interested in, I'd recommend trying it again, and seeing if it is interesting if you read further. He purposefully made the beginning slow and harder to catch your attention because of the having written lots of children's books lately, and this being a book with abuse in it. He only wanted children to read it if they could handle the abuse; and making it harder to start would make it more likely that they could handle it than if it started fast.
> 
> However, if its not an interesting idea, then of course, books aren't for everyone. And if you aren't interested when it speeds up, there's no reason to keep trying. It just happens that was a book that was set up to be harder to start.


Thanks for commenting on this. Appreciate it. I didn't know about the abuse. I read the blurb and did find it interesting, and wanted to see what Gaiman came up with. I'll give it another go then.


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## Lisa Blackwood (Feb 1, 2015)

I don't seem to read bestsellers. (I'm just realizing this now.) I read Game of Thrones when it was first published years and years ago before the series was a bestseller...but I made it through the whole thing. So that one doesn't count for this thread. Oh, and I also read Harry Potter...and made it through the whole (not my genre of choice, never doing that again) thing.

Guess I've never NOT finished a bestseller either.   I just don't start them.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

kai_andersen said:


> Of your list,
> 
> 1. Finished Da Vinci Code. It wasn't that bad.
> 2. Didn't even have the inclination to read it
> ...


What killed me with Da Vinci Code was probably the historical stuff/background. For one, the MC being described as a "symbologist" at Harvard set off my BS meter and I couldn't reset it. There's no such thing as a "symbologist" and the whole idea is preposterous.

Now I don't know why such things affected me in this book. I'm sure I've come across many fictional specialities over the years. Maybe it was because people were taking the background stuff seriously. I don't know.


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## Annabel Chant (Feb 24, 2015)

Ted Cross said:


> Of ones that I hoped to enjoy but simply couldn't, the ones I didn't even bother to finish were:
> 
> Infinite Jest
> Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell
> ...


It just shows how it all comes down to taste, though. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is my all-time favourite book. I've lost track of the times I've read it - yes, and all the footnotes, too.

I started the first Sookie Stackhouse book. I read a good way in, then put it down and couldn't remember where I'd left it. I still haven't bothered looking for it (a year later).

One I desperately wanted to like, but haven't been able to finish (I keep pecking away, but I doubt I'll finish it), is Clariel by Garth Nix. I loved all the others in the series and was so excited to find out he was writing another. What a letdown. By the time I reached page 64, I was sick of hearing about how she wanted to run away to live in the Great Forest. He must have mentioned it a hundred times at least. It was no better the last time I tried to carry on with it. I think we got the point the first time  .


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

_Lord of The Rings_ is one that springs to mind - I found it excruciatingly dry and boring - I couldn't even watch the films for the same reason.

I've never even attempted to read _Game of Thrones_, _The Hunger Games_, _Fifty Shades_ or _Twilight_ (or watch them) - none of them appeal to me in the slightest.

I only got a few pages into _Girl With The Dragon Tattoo_ or whichever one was the first in that series - I found the language very stilted - whether that was the fault of the author or the translator I don't know, but I couldn't continue reading it past the first couple of chapters.

I've just checked my 'unfinished' collection on my Kindle - it's larger than I thought but not many very well known books / authors. I did spot J A Konrath's _The List_ and Hilary Mantel's _Wolf Hall_, neither of which I can even remember starting, so they clearly didn't make much of an impression before I abandoned them. 

It's clear that we all have very differing tastes - which is as it should be. I used to try really hard not to abandon books I wasn't enjoying and to persevere with them - but not so much nowadays. There are so many books out there and I'll never get to read all the ones I want to as it is, without wasting time on books I'm not enjoying, just because other people think they're good.


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## xandy3 (Jun 13, 2010)

I just remembered one that I forgot all about. _ The Shack._ Everybody told me I'd love it...I didn't. *shrug* 
I don't even remember how much I read before stopping. I guess it's very telling that I hardly remember it.

It just did not hold my interest. Plus, it depressed me a little.


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## silenceiseverything (Oct 8, 2010)

I'm with those who stopped reading Outlander.  I don't remember what page exactly, but I remember being bored out of my mind and starting to get annoyed with the heroine.  It's one of those books that's still on my Kindle, so every single time I go to my Historical Fiction collection (which is a lot), it's always there...haunting and taunting me for not finishing it.  I also got to page 200 of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell before I just decided to dump it.  It was the farthest thing from entertaining to me and was a chore to even read that much.  I don't know if The Historian was a bestseller, but I do remember it being hyped up when it first came out, I got halfway through, and put it down because it was also boring.

I read the first two Sookie Steakhouse books, thought they were okay, but never had any inclination to continue despite the fact that I purchased a set that contained books 1-7.  Ditto with the Stephanie Plum series.  I read the first one, thought it was okay, but won't pick up books 2 and 3 despite the fact that they're on my bookshelf.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

WHDean said:


> I've heard that Joseph Conrad hated Herman Melville's books. I found that funny because I like both their books.
> 
> _Lord Jim_ was made into a film in 1965, starring Peter O'Tool as Jim. I liked the film--it's way better, IMO than the RT rating--but it does diverge a little from the book.
> 
> ETA: I suspect that people who compare the film unfavourably with the book don't understand the book because both tell the same story.


I saw Apocalypse Now in the theater, and didn't really care for it, in spite of finding some of the scenes spectacular. I read Heart of Darkness in English class, and just to go along with the group, watched Apocalypse again on home video with some friends, then really liked it! Sometimes with movies and books, one clarifies the other.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

WHDean said:


> What killed me with Da Vinci Code was probably the historical stuff/background. For one, the MC being described as a "symbologist" at Harvard set off my BS meter and I couldn't reset it. There's no such thing as a "symbologist" and the whole idea is preposterous.
> 
> Now I don't know why such things affected me in this book. I'm sure I've come across many fictional specialities over the years. Maybe it was because people were taking the background stuff seriously. I don't know.


I have owned an ebook of DaVinci Code, as well as the sequel, for a couple of years, and feel I should read it, but just can't bear to start. From what I've heard about it, I'm sure my BS meter is going to go off repeatedly, and I am going to end up wanting to throw Captain Nemo (my Voyage) against the wall.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

silenceiseverything said:


> .
> 
> I read the first two Sookie Steakhouse books,


Autocorrect got you too?  it routinely ambushes me, even when I'm trying to be careful...


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

OK, it's time for me to get this off my chest. I've been silent much too long. I really don't care about Harry Potter! I read the first book after enthusiastic recommendations from two of my closest friends. I honestly do not remember whether I finished it or not!  As I recall, it was an awful, but I just didn't really care about it. I never even considered reading any of the following books.

(Stepping off soapbox)

There! I finally said it. It's a liberating feeling to out myself at last.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

The Hooded Claw said:


> OK, it's time for me to get this off my chest. I've been silent much too long. I really don't care about Harry Potter! I read the first book after enthusiastic recommendations from two of my closest friends. I honestly do not remember whether I finished it or not! As I recall, it was an awful, but I just didn't really care about it. I never even considered reading any of the following books.
> 
> (Stepping off soapbox)
> 
> There! I finally said it. It's a liberating feeling to out myself at last.


I completely respect your feelings. But I do want to say, as a fifth grade teacher, people do forget the first three or so of the series were written as _childrens books_. And they do read like children's books. I have to explain that to parents sometimes who expect to read them and get the same level of mental/emotional pull into the writing as they would a young adult or adult book. But that isn't the audience they were written for until the last couple of books, which are writing on a 8-11 grade (YA) reading level. 
So, I am taking the long way, HC, of saying I understand your feelings.

Edited to add: FYI: The first book is written on a 3rd grade lexile (reading level).


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## silenceiseverything (Oct 8, 2010)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Autocorrect got you too?  it routinely ambushes me, even when I'm trying to be careful...


Haha, I didn't even notice that it switched it to Steakhouse and I even double-checked it a few times. I like the way it sounds though, so I'll keep it like that, lol.

As for Harry Potter, it's probably my favorite series, but I tend to think that The Sorcerer's Stone is the weakest of the bunch. I still rated it five stars, but it's my least favorite of the Harry Potter books. If you ever decide to continue, just take comfort in the fact that they get much better from there.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

LauraB said:


> I completely respect your feelings. But I do want to say, as a fifth grade teacher, people do forget the first three or so of the series were written as _childrens books_. And they do read like children's books. I have to explain that to parents sometimes who expect to read them and get the same level of mental/emotional pull into the writing as they would a young adult or adult book. But that isn't the audience they were written for until the last couple of books, which are writing on a 8-11 grade (YA) reading level.
> So, I am taking the long way, HC, of saying I understand your feelings.
> 
> Edited to add: FYI: The first book is written on a 3rd grade lexile (reading level).


Exactly. Harry was 11 in the first book and it was written with that age reader in mind. But the stories/style change as Harry ages and by the last book it's essentially 'grown up'. But, of course, if you've not read the earlier ones, the last couple won't make much sense!


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Exactly. Harry was 11 in the first book and it was written with that age reader in mind. But the stories/style change as Harry ages and by the last book it's essentially 'grown up'. But, of course, if you've not read the earlier ones, the last couple won't make much sense!


Agreed. It is one of my favorite series, and I re read them in order every few years. The beginning ones do feel "young". But I like that for a couple of reasons, one of which is sentimental. It reminds me of when my daughter, at 11, and I read them together and talked about them.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

The Hooded Claw said:


> I saw Apocalypse Now in the theater, and didn't really care for it, in spite of finding some of the scenes spectacular. I read Heart of Darkness in English class, and just to go along with the group, watched Apocalypse again on home video with some friends, then really liked it! Sometimes with movies and books, one clarifies the other.


I watched the original and Redux, and I think they differed a little. Either way, I think the film(s) betray the book a little. At the end of the film, Willard becomes a kind of disciple of Kurtz. Not so in the book.



LauraB said:


> I completely respect your feelings. But I do want to say, as a fifth grade teacher, people do forget the first three or so of the series were written as _childrens books_. And they do read like children's books. I have to explain that to parents sometimes who expect to read them and get the same level of mental/emotional pull into the writing as they would a young adult or adult book. But that isn't the audience they were written for until the last couple of books, which are writing on a 8-11 grade (YA) reading level.
> So, I am taking the long way, HC, of saying I understand your feelings.
> 
> Edited to add: FYI: The first book is written on a 3rd grade lexile (reading level).


Well, I knew that the first was a children's book when I picked it up. I couldn't read it because the prose vacillated between sing-songy and clunky. She's no C. S. Lewis (or even a Beatrix Potter) when it comes to style.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Exactly. Harry was 11 in the first book and it was written with that age reader in mind. But the stories/style change as Harry ages and by the last book it's essentially 'grown up'. But, of course, if you've not read the earlier ones, the last couple won't make much sense!


This is hilarious. I LOVED the first two and the third less and the fourth HP was enough. I liked them as children's books and less and less the more "grown up" they got. I never finished the series.

Da Vinci code is not that bad. I think it got a lot more hype that it deserved because it touched on religious themes. It's really nothing more than a regular mystery/caper. The BS, such that it is, doesn't even happen until the very end where it gets a little cute and smarmy. But the mystery part and the "ride" is not any different that just a regular mystery. If you like the characters, you'll enjoy the book. Is it a five star, must read? Nah. But it's not a one star either. I enjoyed it, FWIW. Did I read others by him? No. It's just an average, decent book.

I also read two or three Sookie "Steakhouse" books. I think steakhouse is more appropriate...I liked the first A LOT. The second... was a disappointment, but I thought surely it would get better...I think I read book 3 or I might have skipped to book 5. Nothing but a fiesta/parade of guys who found Sookie irresistible. I found her quite resistible. Meh.

I did like her other series. The one where the lady is a cleaning lady. I don't remember the name of the series and it was never really completed. I LOATHED the ghost series she did have Sookie. I don't remember the name of it either, but it was a real wallbanger. Bad. Just bad.


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## juliannwhicker (Aug 1, 2015)

Books I didn't finish: The STand or Outlander? Something by Stephen King. Quit after the scene where the 'hero' rapes the prophetess to make her have a miscarriage. Hero? 
Fifty Shades of Gray, don't remember who by. I really don't get the whole premise. Is there a premise? "I'm so ugly," says the pretty girl. "Let's give you a makeover so that we can objectify you properly," says the leering womanizer.
Sookie 'Steakhouse' #1. Gah. She was so stupid. Just so stupid. I quit after the scene with the chain where she takes on a vampire in heels. Because stupid. 
Game of Thrones. Dead. Everyone you like. Dead. 
The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm ashamed about this one. I love Dumas with a passion. I quote his shorts with wild abandon, but this masterpiece which all of my siblings read over and over and over again I could not read. I will try again. And again. I don't even know why I find it so boring.
The Kite Runner. Didn't finish it in time for book club and then I had to return it to the library. Now I don't remember what it's about.
The Secret Life of Bees. Same as above. 

Moby Dick. <3 
Harry Potter <3
Hunger Games <3 
The Great Gatsby <3


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

Juliann, about the Count of Monte Cristo, for me I had to try several before I got the one that fit me. The Robin Buss kindle translation was good and easy to navigate on kindle. I can't remember how to find or use link-maker so her is link. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RI9KL8?redirect=true&ref_=kinw_myk_ro_title


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## Brian Niemeier (Jul 20, 2015)

The Belgariad. I tried; I really did. Made it to page 50 or so. The problem was not getting around to Eddings until adulthood after growing up reading Tolkien and going straight into Jordan, Sanderson, Martin, etc. from there.

I know that Eddings' work marks an important milestone in the genre's evolution, but too often 80s fantasy reads like it's trying to replicate what came before instead of trying to innovate.


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## juliannwhicker (Aug 1, 2015)

Thanks Laura B. I never thought that it might be the translation.  This gives me HOPE!


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## Fullon (Aug 18, 2015)

Don Delillo's White Noise.

Why? I have no excuse. It's unique, deep and humorous! Tell me why I didn't do it! Someone!!!


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

Not so much a DNF but a massive let down none the less - Lamentation by C J Sansom. 
I loved the other books in the series, but this one seems lazy somehow (lots of reminders what happened in earlier stories - telling not showing) and the author telling us why we should care about the stolen book. I just didn't care. Shame.


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## bendanarama (Jul 25, 2015)

Sword of Shannara. I started that book around seven times, and never got out of the first section.


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

I'm another one who gave up _Da Vinci Code_ on page one. I could not abide the poor prose and hated it so much I grabbed the car keys and took the book straight to the charity book bin. I loved the two movies and once I finally get round to reading _Angels and Demons_ (Vatican City for my round the world tour on Goodreads) I plan to give _Da Vinci Code_ another try.

I have tried and failed twice to read _Infinite Jest_ I just can't get past the dreary junior tennis competitions (and I love watching tennis).

I gave up _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_ once it introduced the character that I knew from the movie of the sequel was a rapist. I forced myself to watch all three movies and have downloaded the book and will try to read it although its not as easy to avert your eyes from a book as it is from a movie.

I read Joyce's _Ulysses_ but I skim read it partly to refute the notion that no-one ever finishes it, partly because I was writing a novel originally envisaged as a Seattle Ulysses, partly because I translated bits of the Homeric original for my O levels, and partly because I loved the Joyce statue on O'Connell Street in Dublin, which I passed every time I went to buy budget clothes in Michael Gearys.

I finished one Tom Clancy (the one accused of inspiring 9/11) and thought never again. I love the Jack Ryan movies, but the prose is just too much a combination of treacle and mud.

Away from bestsellers I abandon a lot of my KU/Scribd reads as I regard it as a sort of Look Inside. Other than that only poor prose or dubious topics (rape, child abuse, main character who is obviously the author having a rant at the world, etc) will stop me reading.


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## bendanarama (Jul 25, 2015)

Mercia McMahon said:


> I finished one Tom Clancy (the one accused of inspiring 9/11) and thought never again. I love the Jack Ryan movies, but the prose is just too much a combination of treacle and mud.


I can run with that - Clancy tends to get very hooked up on technical detail, to the point it overwhelms his prose. It may be worth trying some of the ones he's co-written, like the netforce books, they're much more palpable.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Mercia McMahon said:


> ...
> I have tried and failed twice to read _Infinite Jest_ I just can't get past the dreary junior tennis competitions (and I love watching tennis).
> ...


I would not be surprised if a very high percentage of people who bought it never even came close to finishing it. I did, largely because I challenged myself to do so; and while I'm glad I did, I'm about 99% sure I'll never try to reread it.


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## Becca Mills (Apr 27, 2012)

The Hunger Games series. Read the first one, got a few pages into the second and just had to stop.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

NogDog said:


> I would not be surprised if a very high percentage of people who bought it never even came close to finishing it. I did, largely because I challenged myself to do so; and while I'm glad I did, I'm about 99% sure I'll never try to reread it.


I'm betting you're right on that one. I'm planning to read the book someday, but I need to work up the courage first.


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

Becca Mills said:


> The Hunger Games series. Read the first one, got a few pages into the second and just had to stop.


Just shows it takes all sorts. The series brought me tremendous pleasure.


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