c/books-we-quit

Gave up on 'The Road' halfway through. Just too bleak for me.

Tried to push through 'The Goldfinch' last month and honestly I'm still mad about it

I kept hearing how the second half of Donna Tartt's book was supposed to redeem the slow start, but after 400 pages of a kid moping around Las Vegas I just couldn't do it anymore. Ngl, I've given up on plenty of books before, but this one felt like I wasted three weeks of evenings on a story that went nowhere. Do you guys push through to the end of hyped books or call it quits once you know it's not for you?

Stopped reading 'The Goldfinch' after a checkout line confession changed my mind

I was stuck on page 300 of 'The Goldfinch' for three weeks, hating every paragraph but feeling guilty about quitting. Then at a Target checkout in Cleveland, the cashier saw my book and said 'I quit that one after 100 pages, it never gets better.' That was my permission slip. I put it down that night and started something I actually enjoyed. Has anyone else had a stranger's offhand comment finally let them call it quits on a book?

My coworker said she quits books after 50 pages no exceptions and it made me rethink my whole system

Was talking to Dana the other day during a slow shift. She said she gives every book exactly 50 pages. No more. If it hasn't grabbed her by then, she's out. I've always been the type to force myself through a whole book even if I hate it because I feel guilty or like I'm missing something. But she said life's too short and there's too many good books waiting. That hit me because last month I slogged through a 400 page thriller that I knew by page 30 I wasn't into. Wasted like 10 hours of my life. Now I'm thinking about adopting her rule but maybe 75 pages? Has anyone else tried a strict page limit like that and did it work for you?

Gave up on 'The Night Circus' around page 250 because nothing was happening

I really wanted to like it because the premise sounds so cool, but I was 250 pages in and it felt like the plot was still just setting up. I was reading it on my lunch breaks at my shop and kept finding myself checking the clock instead of turning the page. Has anyone else gotten further into it and found it was worth pushing through, or did you also call it quits around the halfway mark?

Why does nobody talk about quitting 'The Goldfinch' at page 400...

I got 400 pages into that brick and just put it down. The whole dog thing in Las Vegas felt like it went nowhere for 100 pages and I realized I didn't care about any of the characters anymore. Has anyone else hit that wall with a Pulitzer winner?

The day I quit 'Infinite Jest' after 200 pages of footnotes

Honestly, I spent 3 hours on chapter one just because I kept jumping to the back for the footnotes, and I realized I had no clue what the actual story was about. Has anyone else given up on a book because the format itself was exhausting?

Appreciation post: The biography that lost me at page 200

I was reading a bio about a famous musician, about 200 pages in, sitting in a coffee shop in Nashville. The author spent 15 pages describing the color of a rug in a recording studio. I realized I didn't care about the rug, I wanted to know why the album was made. I closed the book, left it on the table, and walked out. Has anyone else hit a random detail wall like that where you just know you're done?

I gave up on 'Infinite Jest' after 200 pages and it took me 4 months to admit defeat

Stop forcing yourself through that famous literary novel just because everyone says it's a classic

Ngl, I noticed a pattern in this group where people keep picking up those heavy literary novels that win all the awards and trying to muscle through them even when they hate it. I did it myself with a 700 page book about a family in rural Alabama - made it 150 pages in before I realized I had no clue what was happening and didn't care. The problem is these books use dense sentences, switch between 5 different timelines, and have like 20 characters with similar names. I see folks posting here every week saying they feel dumb for quitting these books, but honestly the book just isn't for them. Life is too short to read something that feels like homework. The specific thing I keep seeing is people pushing past page 100 of a book they hate because they think it'll get better. Has anyone else bailed on a big famous novel after like 80 pages and felt relieved about it?

Vent: That memoir everyone hyped that I dropped 3 chapters in

I kept seeing this one celeb memoir on every "must read" list so I grabbed it from the library last week. The first 50 pages were just name-dropping and vague family drama with zero actual plot or story. Anyone else feel like some of these big memoirs are just written to sell copies not to actually tell a good story?

Tried re-reading a childhood favorite and couldn't get past page 50

Spent 2 months reading a novel before I realized I was on chapter 5 of the wrong book

I grabbed a stack from the library sale and started this thriller. Got really into it but something felt off about the plot. Turns out the bookmark I found inside was from a completely different book. The thriller I was reading had a red cover and the book I thought I was reading was blue. I was 150 pages deep before my wife pointed out the titles didn't match. Has anyone else gotten lost like this with library sale books?

Tried to read that dense history book about the Dutch East India Company but quit 50 pages in

I was at a used bookstore in Portland last month and picked up this old book called "The Company's Empire" thinking it'd be a cool look at colonial trade. But man, it was so dry and full of footnotes on every single page that I couldn't follow the main story. I gave it about 50 pages before I realized I was rereading paragraphs three times and still zoning out. The author spent like 10 pages just describing cargo ship dimensions and I just couldn't do it anymore. Has anyone else quit a book that seemed interesting but turned out to be too academic and boring?

Wasted $40 on that "unbreakable" reading lamp from the campus bookstore back in '09

That thing snapped at the neck after three months of dorm life, cheaper to just buy two of the $8 clip-ons from Walmart. Anyone else get suckered into paying extra for stuff that claimed to be tough?

Had to choose between finishing 'Infinite Jest' or giving it up after 300 pages

I picked quitting it because the footnotes felt like a second book I didn't sign up for, and honestly my time is worth more than trying to impress strangers at a book club.

Shoutout to the friend who warned me about 'The Goldfinch' before I hit page 300

I used to power through every book I started no matter how boring it got. Like I spent 400 pages on 'The Alchemist' hating it but refused to quit. Then last winter my buddy from Seattle warned me 'The Goldfinch' drags really bad after the first act. I still tried it anyway and made it to page 275 before I gave up for good. That was the first time I actually walked away from a book and now I quit faster. If a book doesn't grab me by page 50 I'm done. Has anyone else had a specific page count where they just know it's not working?

Can we talk about that one critique from a book club member that made me quit a book after 50 pages?

I was reading 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' for my local library book club in Austin, and one guy said the dog narrator was just a gimmick to cover up lazy writing. He pointed out that the dog's voice didn't even sound like a dog, just a man pretending. That comment stuck in my head so bad I couldn't get past chapter 5, and I ended up ditching it entirely. Has anyone else had a single remark ruin a book for you?

Just realized a book club member's comment made me a better cook

I was in this book club about 6 months ago and we were reading a popular memoir about a chef. I mentioned that the recipe sections felt boring and the member said "you're missing the point, it's about the feeling not the instructions." That stuck with me. Next time I made my grandma's meatloaf recipe, I stopped worrying about exact measurements and focused more on how the mixture felt in my hands. It actually came out better than ever before. Now I read cookbooks differently, I pay attention to the stories instead of skipping ahead. Has anyone else had a piece of book feedback that changed how you approach a hobby?

Finally gave up on that famous self help book after page 50

I bought "The Power of Now" after a friend swore it would fix my anxiety, but the whole "live in the present" thing felt like it was written by someone who never had to deal with a screaming toddler and a leaking roof at the same time. Gave up halfway through chapter 3 when I realized Eckhart Tolle probably never had to bartend a Friday night rush with a hangover. Anybody else find those guru type books just totally miss the mark for real life chaos?

I used to breeze through thrillers in a weekend but now I can't finish one

Honestly, about two years ago I was finishing a new thriller every week, but lately I've started like six and quit by page 50. The pacing feels too fast or the twists are too obvious, and I'm not sure if the books changed or I did. Has anyone else hit a wall with a genre they used to love?

PSA: I found out most 'acid free' archival boxes aren't actually acid free

I was about to store some old family photos in these boxes I bought and happened to check the pH with a tester from work - they were reading at 6.2, which means they'll slowly eat through paper over time. Has anyone else tested their so-called archival supplies and gotten a shock?

Used to force myself through every book like it was a job I hated

Back when I was younger I'd finish a book even if it was awful, like that 800 page fantasy series where nothing happened until page 600. Now I give a book about 50 pages, if it doesn't grab me I toss it aside and grab another. I think it changed when my wife pointed out I was wasting two weeks on something I complained about every night. What made you finally start quitting books you weren't into?

My wife made me put down Dune because I kept complaining about the sandworms

Tried to power through Infinite Jest for 3 months straight

I kept seeing people rave about how brilliant it is, but by page 400 I had no clue what was actually happening and didn't care enough to find out. The footnotes were supposed to be clever but they just made me flip back and forth like a maniac. Am I the only one who thinks literary fiction doesn't get a free pass on being needlessly confusing?