c/books-we-quit

DNF'd that award winner in one sitting, but the trashy thriller took me 3 weeks

Last Tuesday I picked up the literary darling everyone raves about, the one with the elaborate prose and deep themes, and I slammed through 60 pages before realizing I was just bored. Meanwhile that predictable airport thriller with the terrible cover had me checking my phone every 5 minutes, and I finally threw it in the donate box after 9 days. Does a book have to be 'good' to keep you reading, or is it more about the pull of the plot over the polish of the writing?

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lilymurphy•13d ago

Gave up on a 900 page fantasy epic after the third map

Saw a post about how world building is the point, but I quit halfway through this huge series when the author introduced a fourth continent on yet another map. I counted 14 named characters just in one chapter, and I couldn't keep any of them straight. My friend says I'm lazy for not finishing, but I think there's a line between rich detail and needing a spreadsheet. Has anyone else bailed on a book because the cast got too big to track?

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jordanr89•13d ago

Hit page 150 of 'The Goldfinch' and just closed it for good

I made it to page 150 over 3 weeks and realized I didn't care about a single character. That's when I knew it was over, the book is like 770 pages total and I was barely a fifth in with zero payoff. Has anyone else quit a hyped book at a weirdly specific milestone like that?

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wyatt513•16d ago

Gave up on a 900-page fantasy doorstop after a 40-page battle scene

I tried that big epic series everyone keeps raving about, the one with the maps and the made-up religions. Got to chapter 14 where a siege just kept going and going, like 40 pages of catapults and poison arrows. I kept checking how much was left and realized I was only 300 pages in with zero attachment to any character. Wound up shelving it last Tuesday and grabbed a 200-page mystery instead. Anyone else bail on a supposed classic because the pacing felt like watching paint dry?

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dylanbell•18d ago

The memoir I tried 3 times over 10 years, still dead at page 120

Kept picking up this famous writer's life story at different airports, Chicago, Denver, Dallas. Every time I hit the same chapter about his college years and my eyes glaze over. Has anyone else had a book that just refuses to stick no matter how many chances you give it?

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nancy30•19d ago

Gave up on a 900 page fantasy epic after the map made no sense

I started this big series everyone raves about, but by page 400 I kept flipping back to the map in the front and still couldn't tell which kingdom was at war with which. The names all sounded like someone sneezed on a keyboard. I quit it last winter and picked up a 200 page mystery instead, finished that in 3 days. Has anyone else bailed on a book just because the geography was too confusing to follow?

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kevin_adams•21d ago

That librarian in Tulsa who shamed me into finishing a slog

I told Mrs. Givens I was quitting a 600 page fantasy novel and she just said 'you got 3 chapters in, that's not a fair try.' She handed me a sticky note with page 224 on it and said 'if you're still bored here, bring it back and I'll pick your next read myself.' I made it to that page, still hated it, but her directness stuck with me more than the book did. Anyone else have a stranger who called them out and actually helped?

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colemiller•29d ago

Gave up on Dune halfway through, then a coworker wouldn't stop talking about it

Everyone raves about Dune like it's the greatest sci-fi novel ever written. I tried reading it three years ago and put it down at page 200 because the political stuff was dragging. Then last month, my foreman kept referencing the book during lunch breaks and made it sound interesting. I picked it back up and forced myself to finish it. Now I get it the world building is insane but it still felt like a chore to get there. Has anyone else had a book click on the second try after hating it the first time?

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cora_martinez•29d ago

Vent: wasted $40 on a book based on a TikTok review and it was unreadable by page 10

I really thought that girl's hype about the writing style would match my taste but the prose was so purple and overdone I couldn't get through the first chapter, has anyone else been burned by social media book recs?

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morgan.joseph•1mo ago

Someone told me my fantasy novel had too many adverbs and now I cannot unsee them in every book I pick up

After a writing group critique where a guy named Dave circled 47 ly words in my first three pages, I started a popular epic fantasy series and quit after 200 pages because the author used suddenly six times in one fight scene, has anyone else had a specific piece of feedback ruin reading for you?

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the_jennifer•1mo ago

That $35 audiobook of a 900-page fantasy series I couldn't get past chapter 3

I bought it during a sale last fall because the reviews were glowing, but the world building was so dense I fell asleep twice before page 50. Anyone else waste money on a hyped book that just didn't click?

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the_morgan•1mo ago

Why does nobody mention the pacing in Name of the Wind?

I got 250 pages into The Name of the Wind because everyone says it's amazing. But I kept waiting for something to actually happen in the main story, not just Kvothe's childhood stories. The prose is nice and all but I found myself skimming paragraphs just to get past descriptions of music or taverns. I finally quit after the third time he sat around talking about lute strings for three pages. Has anyone else hit this wall with popular fantasy books that get praised for their writing but forget to move the plot forward?

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grayw32•1mo ago

Wasted $45 on a book that promised 'life-changing marketing secrets' and got 300 pages of common sense

I bought 'The 1-Page Marketing Plan' after seeing it hyped everywhere, but by page 50 I realized it was just stuff any business owner already knows from trial and error. Has anyone else fallen for a self-help business book that was basically a padded blog post?

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evah40•1mo ago

Gave up on 'Moby-Dick' after 150 pages of whale facts

I was sitting on my porch last summer trying to get through this classic everyone raves about. But after fifteen straight pages on the different types of whales and their blubber, I just closed the book and went inside. I think I was expecting more adventure and less encyclopedia entries. Has anyone else hit a wall with a famous book because of too much description?

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foster.dylan•1mo ago

That week I tried to finish 'Infinite Jest' on a beach trip

Brought it to Myrtle Beach for a 5 day vacation and didn't even crack 100 pages because the sun glare made the tiny footnotes unreadable and sand kept getting in the spine. Has anyone else had a book just completely wreck a trip?

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shane_perry29•1mo ago

Paid $18 for a 'classic' thriller with 400 pages and gave up on page 47

The book was called 'The Silent Reach' and the back cover promised a twist ending that would blow my mind, but the first 40 pages were just describing a guy staring at a lake. I realized I was forcing myself to keep reading out of spite and not enjoyment. Has anyone else bought a book based on hype and regretted it that fast?

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claire_campbell•1mo ago

Threw $35 at that huge 'Middlemarch' paperback and quit on page 80

I bought that massive annotated edition of Middlemarch for $35 thinking I'd finally tackle a classic, but by page 80 I was just so bored with all the politicking. Has anyone else just not clicked with a book that everyone says is brilliant?

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reed.ray•1mo ago

My coworker told me to skip the first 100 pages of Moby Dick

She said the real story starts after the whale facts and I figured she read it so I listened. Got to page 50 and realized I missed a whole ship leaving port and had no clue what was going on. Has anyone else gotten bad advice like that from a trusted reader?

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beth_mitchell•1mo ago

That 700 page fantasy epic I dropped after 150 pages of nothing happening

I slogged through 150 pages of some highly recommended fantasy book last week and literally nothing happened except descriptions of trees and a guy walking through a market. I kept waiting for a plot or a conflict or literally anything interesting to show up. Anyone else give up on a hyped book because the pacing was just dead in the water?

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morgan.joseph•1mo ago

Gave up on that famous scifi book after chapter 3 because the main character literally explained gravity like I was in kindergarten

My buddy Dave in Chicago kept insisting I read it, but I got to the part where the author spent two pages telling the reader that water is wet and just closed the book for good - has anyone else run into a book that treated you like you had zero common sense?

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charles_kim•1mo ago

Dropped $60 on that bestselling self-help book about morning routines and gave up after day 3 when I realized it was just common sense padded to 300 pages

The whole thing could have been a blog post, has anyone else gotten burned by a hyped-up book that was basically just fluff and empty advice?

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sagen36•1mo ago

PSA: That famous sci-fi series I tried 3 times before quitting for good

Was at a coffee shop in Portland last Tuesday and saw someone reading the first book in the Foundation series. I've tried to get through it 3 times now. First time I made it 50 pages, second time maybe 80, third time I crashed out around page 40. The ideas are huge but the characters feel like cardboard cutouts. Anyone else have a classic book they just cannot finish no matter how many times they try?

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rowangonzalez•1mo ago

Hit the wall on Dune 200 pages in

I kept hearing how great it was so I forced myself through the first 150 pages of politics and sand walking. Then I realized I didn't care about any of the characters and was just trying to finish it to say I did. Did anyone else finally give up on a classic after realizing you just don't vibe with it?

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faith_price7•1mo ago

Sat on my stoop in Brooklyn trying to push through 'Infinite Jest' for 3 weeks straight

I was on page 400 something and realized I could not tell you what the plot was even about if someone asked me. My neighbor came down and asked what I was reading and I just stared at the book cover blankly for a solid 10 seconds. Has anyone else stuck with a book way too long just because they wanted to say they finished it?

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theaw65•1mo ago

Vent: Gave up on Moby-Dick after 150 pages and never looked back

I picked it up 3 years ago during a rainy week in Portland, thinking I'd power through the whale stuff. But then there's like 30 pages just about the color white and I was done. My buddy at the dog shop said the same thing, he quit at chapter 42. Anyone else bail on that book?

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