Comments

Lyn Asks the June Question — 92 Comments

  1. The other day I was reading a book and I had to stop reading because the grammar and spelling were bad. Sometimes a book sounds so intriguing and yet the beginning is boring. In the middle of the book is where I find it hard to keep reading. I love reading all of a book especially when it has twists and turns. I enjoy reading books to the end. Sometimes the ending is abrupt-like the author is hurrying to get done but most of the time the ending is just great!

  2. There have been a small number of books that I have had to put down to read at a later date. Only 1-2 that I did not finish. One book I found out later the author wanted to retire but the publisher forced her to fulfill her contract. It should not have been published! The author should have returned the money. I felt cheated.

    Reasons: repetition, excessive violence towards an adult or child, constant swearing, unbelievable scenario, boredom with plot, not liking the author’s writing style, lack of attachment to characters or storyline

    I don’t like it when old books are renamed or reissued. Sometimes it’s hard to discern this at a quick glance. (I don’t want to look inside each book for it’s first publication date) My reading time is limited. I don’t like to reread stories. There are too many new ones!

  3. I Have started several books, that I did not think that I would enjoy reading, but I always finish every book I start, because i have found more often than not, that the book usually gets better, and in the end I am glad I kept reading or I would have missed out on several fantastic books.

  4. Very poorly written material especially if characters who are adults act like children. Very slow moving writing especially if too much boring material is given that no one would want to know or that readers most likely would already know. Evil acts that are portrayed as appropriate such as rape or human trafficking. Material that is clearly geared toward middle school or possibly high school level depending on the book.

  5. I have thrown away a few books, given to thrift stores if I’ve discovered that are too risque for my liking. Also if it takes a third of the book to build the characters before they seem to really get into the story I have quit reading them, or I disagree with its theology that comes through in the story. I look forward to reading your books and how the characters struggle in their faith walk as it encourages me in mine.

  6. I read Christian fiction 95% of the time, so I try to finish the books…eventually. I have unfortunately run across a few that have been too graphic with gore or romance. I will not finish them. If it’s boring me or I’m just not into it at the time, I save it for later.
    I rarely get rid of books, which can be a bad thing. I recently stopped counting the books in my house at 1400. I still have more I haven’t counted. I have about 300 ebooks too, and I’ve only been getting them for about a year.
    My perimeters and comfort levels are very specific. That’s why I mainly stick to Christian authors.

  7. PS: I forgot to mention that I pre-filter my reading… I only read Christian fiction. I don’t want any profanity surprises or graphic sex or violence. My comments above only apply to fiction.

  8. Okay… prepare yourself. I apologize in advance for the long reply.
    I almost always finish a book once I’ve started it. If I’m enjoying it, the only thing that would have me not finish it is an act of God. I have been late to work once or twice because I reached “the point of no return” (can’t stop now point) and I stayed up until 3-4 AM to finish the book. However, there are a few things that will cause me to stop reading a book…When I do stop, I do not throw it against the wall because I read almost exclusively on kindle. I do, however, post an honest review. (I also post honest reviews for four- and five-star books… gotta be fair.)
    The biggest thing that will cause me to stop reading is inconsistency. If the author can’t keep the story straight, how is the reader supposed to? If someone has already gone into a room on one page, they cannot go into it on the next page. If a character is in the barn, they cannot be putting away clothes/dishes/people food on the next page. Not without having travelled back to the house. If someone got out of their vehicle, they cannot turn off the engine and get out of the car on the next page. This is probably my main pet peeve. The other half of that is not telling the reader the whole thing. Or leaving stuff out. If the hero is taking something for his headache; how did he get his headache?
    Another thing is a consistent misuse of words… I can do one or two, but more than that, I feel the author didn’t care enough about their readers to actually know what the words they were using meant. Words are important. Not just the regular words, but the descriptive words. (Not sure if that’s the right term) The words that tell the reader what the character is thinking, feeling. And if an author wants to use a multi-syllabic word instead of a plain word, they really ought to know what the word means. i.e. I put down a book where the author used the word unconscionable when the word should clearly have been inconsolable. I didn’t even wait for a second or third goober on that one.
    The last thing is totally a me thing. If I cannot care about the people or outcome of a book, for whatever reason, I won’t finish it. This rarely happens, but once or three times I have quit reading a book because I just didn’t care what happened. Once or twice I have quit a book because I so disliked a character that I just could not tolerate a whole book with that person in it. Sometimes I will check the end to see if I can finish it, but if I don’t care, I won’t even do that.

  9. I always finish the book. I hope that it will get better and want to give the author the benefit of the doubt with his/her storytelling. Sometimes, the author may be having an off time when they wrote the book.

  10. Yes I almost always finish a book I start, just hoping it will strike a chord. Sometimes after you get into it, there is just enough interest to want to find out something!

  11. I don’t usually stop reading but lately it seems like I’m doing it more often. As for why, it’s like “wait a minute, I just read this book” . You can change the names but the plot and characters are so much alike. Not sure what is going on but I’m the last week, I have put 3 books aside for this reason. I will eventually finish them but with several different genres in between.

  12. if it’s a book not that interesting to me I usually put it away. I did that with one book I was reading, The Secret Wife of Aaron Burr. I got to chapter 3 and put it away, however a lot of people in a book group I’m in on Facebook said keep reading. I’m glad I did it turned out to be a terrific book!

  13. I always try to finish a book. I might put it down for a while but I always go back to it and try again.

  14. If I read about a quarter of the way into a book and I have trouble getting into the story, I put the book away or offer it to someone else. The only time that I have thrown away books is when they have been damaged by the fire we had or water damage. Books are important to me.

  15. I can’t think of a time when I didn’t finish a book. I’ve had books I didn’t love, but I can always find something redeeming about it!

  16. I try really hard to finish every book I start so I can leave a review for the author. There have been a couple of times that I just couldn’t keep really a book!

  17. I’m reading the work of a lot of new writers and leaving reviews. Even if I don’t like the material, I try to give positive reviews.

    I recently stopped reading three chapters into a book with graphic gore description of a future war with mutated humans, too realistic descriptive body destruction. Gamers who like gore would love it. The story was well written, had excellent editing, and fully developed characters, see if the defending army will triumph over the invading hoard from Planet Z.

    Next, I find I won’t complete a series of a new writer if I find I do not like the writing style. I’m not particularly in favor of flashbacks or the use of alternating character chapters.

    There are specific genres I don’t read or enjoy. With all the choices that I do like, I can find story choices I love to read.

    When an author’s book has the constant misuse of actual words that a proofreader should have caught, I generally drop that author out of my reading lists.

    Sometimes I will get a book where it is evident that English is not the writer’s first language. I usually write the author and suggest they get a different editor if they want to publish to a native English speaking audience.

    Many of the books I review are ARC versions or are free on Amazon. I recently joined a beta team for children’s books. Cross your fingers for me; I love the author’s vision and message.

  18. I almost always finish a book. I find that ones I’m not enjoying, though, get put down quite a few times. I have been getting pickier as my TBR pile gets out of hand. Good comedy will keep me going. Good character development is another one (and likable characters). I’ll toss a book fairly quickly if it’s not clean, but sometimes I’ll skip that part (if it’s minor) and read on. I won’t buy that author again though.

  19. It is only recently that I decided that life is too short to read a book I don’t enjoy. There are too many books I want to read to spend time on one that holds no interest for me. My Virgo personality —- and my Mother —- always stressed that I need to finish what I started. I decided that doesn’t apply to books! ?

  20. If I start not liking the book no matter where I am in the book usually I’ll finish the book but I put the book on a shelf for not as interesting stories. If I’m not liking it at all or has things I don’t like in the story then I will usually just put it away on my shelf & if I decide to read later on then I will.

  21. Yes, I always finish a book once I’ve started it but if I didn’t like it, I won’t read more in that series. The only time I actually threw a book against the wall was when the author killed off the main male character (my favorite) well into the series. She had every right to take the story in the direction she wanted, but you couldn’t pay me enough to read another one of her books! Thankfully, that’s the only experience like that I’ve had.

  22. I’ve finished all but 2 books that I’ve started. First I look at the cover, then the blurb, open to the middle of the book and see if it holds my interest. The 2 books that I didn’t finish were just too weird for me.

  23. I have an uncanny way of “just knowing” whether a book is a good fit. The only books I have read that was less than really good were given to me by another person. I would never throw a book for any reason; books are too precious to damage! I read books for the enjoyment, relaxation, and ability to take a “vacation” without leaving my recliner. There have been times I have started a book and life gets in the way so I have to set it down. Other times I may not be in the mood to read that particular book even though I thought I was ready. (This is why I prefer to read cozy mystery series. They always are light or happy throughout the book even when there is a murder or two!)

  24. If I pick up a book and I can’t get into it, I might file it away to try at another time or I donate it to a thrift store. I try to stay with the type of book I usually enjoy so there aren’t many books I can’t finish.

  25. If the book has bad language where every few sentences need to be deleted. Also when the book is nothing but pornography in details instead of pictures. I have learned thru the years how to skip pages at a time and still know what happens because neither add to the actual story.
    There are a few books in my library that I started and pace was slow or so many details you get lost, I have set those aside and may try again later.

  26. I have stopped reading several books. I do not throw them away or against the wall. I will put them aside and try a little later. If I still can’t get into them I will donate the local libraries. The things that make me stop is having trouble following the time jumps or the prose is not interesting. Sometimes authors will go on and on about something that don’t go anywhere, I mean make the story progress. Sometimes it is just too much information about backstory or just boring details. I don’t usually do boring.

  27. Of the thousands of books I’ve begun in the past 30 years there are only a handful of those I did not finish. I love letting you authors take me into a new world of experiences and characters that my personal life would otherwise prevent me from knowing. There are some environments where a rougher form of language and behavior are acceptable to me but the use of it just for the sake of ratings or riskiness does not keep me willing to finish. I have hundreds of other, more interesting books in my waiting to be read library so I move on.

  28. I do not usually finish books that I’m not enjoying. If it is a book that I thought I might like and maybe it is just slow starting, I will put it aside to try it later. If I just cannot get into a book, I will give it away. I do sometimes finish books that I kind of like just to see what happens. If the writing is not good or the author hasn’t managed to grab my attention, then I don’t feel obligated to finish or like I’m missing out on something.

  29. I used to plod through books I didn’t enjoy, hoping it got better. Kind of a carryover from my school days. But I now give a book 3-4 chapters to get my attention before I put it aside (or skip to the end just for the final scene). Elements that turn me off: abuse or sex in graphic detail, profanity, weak character development, children that “disappear” partway through the story, and poor grammer/editing. My motto: Life us too short to read boring books!

  30. If I do not enjoy a book, I usually will read it to the end anyway usually in hopes that somewhere along the way it will peak my interest. Then if I still find by the end that it has not been to my satisfaction I will usually leave a review but include in the review if the book was kind of slow for me or if it just was not something that I enjoyed. One thing that turns me off on a book more than anything is if there are a lot of error, either by calling a character by the wrong name or a lot of grammatical or spelling errors.

  31. I normally know by chapter one if I am into a book, and if I am not really sure I like it I will read on to chapter three.
    If by then I’m not into the book it goes into a pile that I donate
    to the library.
    All of the ladies in my neighborhood know that I love to read
    So they drop off novels all the time, plus I have hundreds of ebooks
    so I never run out.
    I read at least 2-3 books a week.

  32. I usually finish a book I’ve started but occasionally I’ve given up when a book is just too boring. It doesn’t happen often but sometimes.

  33. I like to finish a book . I often feel compelled to with the understanding that someone worked very hard to publish something of their own. There have been times that I have had some difficulty to finish one so I put it aside, read something else and come back, hopefully in a better frame of mind to do that I must do.

  34. I am one of the people who finish a book whether I enjoy it or not – partly because of all of those assigned readings when I was in school, but also hoping that there may be a redeeming quality at the end. At the very least, I can always say that I read the book and give reasons why I didn’t like it. I dislike books that have too much repetition for no reason other than to make it longer. I also don’t like writing with lots of long sentences – I view them as “run on” sentences, but seems that book critics sometimes favor this kind of writing. The writing and plot need to “flow” for me to enjoy it and having engaging characters helps me want to turn the pages to see what happens next. Thanks for asking – be safe & stay healthy!

  35. I finish books, though some may take longer, didn’t care for the way the story progressed or I thought the main character was obnoxious. Sometimes I will skim to the end but all books I know I won’t read again go in the donation box.

  36. Basically the book needs to grab my attention in the beginning and have a good plot. If it is a series that I am currently following I will read the book. If it is a new author I will give her or him a chance but if I am not interested I will stop reading because it is not grabbing my attention. I did read one book in a series to the end but I gave it a low point in review because the author basically put in bits and pieces throughout about the previous books and sorry but that does not work with me. I tend to either give those books to the library or half price book place.

  37. I finish most books I start. If I don’t like them for some reason, I just read more slowly and maybe pick up another one to read at the same time. The main reason I may not finish one would be because of language. If I do finish it, I usually blacklist that author. I keep a list of the books read and in progress as well as notes about the author.

  38. I enjoy clean wholesome books. That doesn’t mean that I don’t read anything else, but I really dislike being misled and get hold of a book that has graphic sexual scenes or is filled with curse words. Those I delete or throw away. Another of my pet peeves with books are that many have not been proofed well. I forced myself to read one a few days ago that had so many spelling errors, wrong words, and even kept mixing up the names of the characters. It was the first one I had read from that author, and won’t soon be reading another. I did post a review saying why the rating was low. I read for enjoyment and hate to see things in a book that detract from the story.

  39. Yes I do finish the book it might take a while but I eventually finish it.

  40. I was just mentioning this very topic to my 10 year old’s teacher last week when she was doing some WhatsApp school teaching ….no matter how boring or distressing or anything else…I will finish every book I start…but it may take a while and I may read another book before going back to the ‘hard to finish’ book (well, I use to be able to chop and change between several books at a time but my memory isn’t as good now!! 4 children have addled my retention of info!!). The worst book ever at 18 years old was attempting to read The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens….it took the whole summer and I read many books in between ….but I finished it !!! I did read a very wide range of books when I was younger but am much more selective now so generally that leads to more enjoyment of the books I do have time to read ? great question! I think it might depend on your personality as to whether you will finish a book or not, and also how you are feeling at that moment…hormones and life events may play a big part too!!! Though my husband thinks us females belame too much on our hormones lol

  41. I always finish a book. When I am reading a book that is slow and not moving forward, I put it down and move onto others books then eventually I will go back to to finish it. No book left behind is my motto lol

  42. If I don’t like it, it’s gone….if I think it’s my mood, I’ll put it aside and try again later.

  43. I finish a book once I start it. I am not sure why. Maybe it is a habit.

  44. Whether I finish a book I’m not crazy about depends on what it is I don’t like and how interesting the story line is. If I just can’t get into the story, or find it confusing or difficult to follow, I’ll put it down and move on to another book because there are SO many I have yet to read! If I find it hard to read because it’s too descriptive and wordy but I’ve been drawn in by a good story line I’ll switch to speed reading mode and skim over to get the story without being held back by reading all the unnecessary words. If I find it has elements of abuse to people or animals I stop reading regardless how interesting the overall story line is. There are some things I just cannot read about. I know these things happen in real life and have experienced some myself, but I read for enjoyment and don’t find it enjoyable to read about bad things happening to innocent (and usually defenseless) animals and/or people.

  45. I will “torture” myself. I read a book all the way through whether I love it or hate it. With the hate, it usually is “because it can’t really continue to be like this”. I also review everything I read, but on books that are less than 3 stars, I will not review. On rare occurrences, I will contact the author to let them know why. Things that make me not like a book include too many typos, wrong spelling word choice, and grammar issues, and then there is the fact that the story has too many POVs or jumps about too much.

  46. I don’t finish them. I try my hardest, but I have too many other books to read to keep reading one I don’t care for. There was one that I did read, and it also got my worst review. It was an ARC, and I felt I had to read it. After 61 chapters, I felt there was still a lot that was left up in the air, and didn’t even think the main character knew what was going on. I didn’t really expect a happy ending, I thought it might be continued in another book, but after 61 chapters and feeling like there was too much hanging, and no mention of another book, I was done, in more than one way. I don’t want to leave bad reviews, so I stated exactly what was “wrong” with the book in my opinion, and mentioned the very few good things. There was one book that I couldn’t finish, and I let that author know as it was also an ARC. I just didn’t finish that book. Now, I won’t finish a book if I have to try that hard to like it. I’m back to my tried and true, try a few chapters, skip ahead a few, and then skip to the end to see if it got better and need to go back and finish. If not, forget it.

  47. I almost always finish a book. I struggle with books that are confusing or complicated and have so many characters at the beginning that I can’t keep up with them. There has been one or two that I could not get past the first chapter. If there’s bad language or sex scenes I shut it immediately. I can usually tell if I’ll like a book before I choose to read it. I’ve reviewed every book I’ve read since 2014. I post the cover pictures on yearly Pinterest Boards so I can keep up with them.

  48. I finish a book that I need to review whether I like it or not. I have started to put books down that I am not enjoying in the last couple of years. there are many books and not much time so I decided if I do not enjy a book I have permission to not finish it. I usually give it 4 or 5 chapters before I decide thst it is enough. Never a probably with your books.

  49. I always finished a book even if I really disliked it until this happened… Our library would bag books together by themes and you checked out the bag of books and kept the tote bag. I have discovered some great authors this way. I chose a romance theme and one of the romances took place on a farm and there was a detailed account of a farm machine accident and I realized it was ridiculous to read a book I couldn’t stand. I don’t know where I got the idea I had to finish it. Maybe from reading books at school?? I now no longer finish books if I don’t enjoy them.

  50. I will usually put it down and start a different book. When I return to it I’ll do a skip and miss to finish it after I read the ending to see how much I need to concentrate on it. The worst books are those that follow the “sequence rules” most editors want. Boy meets girl, interest, conflict, break-up, return, forever love. No real interaction. No ‘oomph’. Bland makes boring.

  51. A book has to be pretty bad for me to not finish it, but there have been several. The most recent was a Christian romance that was so unrealistic and sappy it was laughable.

  52. I can only recall two or three books I have ever put down without finishing it. I am usually hopeful that somewhere the story will pick up my interest and have some redeeming qualities. I have had disappointments on that and sometimes decided at the end that it was indeed a waste of my reading time. I recently even grabbed a second book by an author I was not impressed with during my first read. Unfortunately book 2 was no better, being in my estimation as unbelievable as the first. Hate to say that the author’s name is now firmly entrenched in my brain as a “do not purchase these books”.

  53. I usually finish a book once I start reading it – even if I am not enjoying it! For the ones that I am bored with, cannot relate to or just plain dislike, I quickly read/skim through the remaining chapters (hoping it will get better) to the end. Then if I had actually bought the horrible book, I donate it to the library.

  54. I try to finish it but there are times I just put it away. This happened for me with E.L. James’ last book.

  55. I have stopped reading quite a few books because of the language or graphic details that I didn’t know were going to be in the book. I try to stick with books that don’t catch my attention right away and usually end up liking them as I get further into the story.

  56. I always try to give each book I read a chance to grab me and keep me reading. There are some that no matter how hard I try I just can’t get into and enjoy, and these I will put to the side. It’s usually because they are trying too hard to grab attention by being overly busy, throwing in info that doesn’t tie into the storyline, or just doesn’t have believable and enjoyable characters.

  57. I usually finish all the books I start unless they turn out to be erotica or S&M.

  58. If the book has FILTH in it, I do NOT continue reading. If the book does not grab me right away, I still continue to the end – figuring it is just a slow interest starter. Sometimes I am disappointed in the read…but there is always another book to read so not to worry – LOL!!!

  59. I always finish the book but it usually takes longer to get through if I’m not really getting into the story. I also always leave a review too. I try to look for good in all the books I read because it’s not in me to leave a bad review if I didn’t like the story.

  60. I usually finish every book I read, even if it looks like it will just be ‘OK.’ I read a lot of ARC, so I keep my commitments. I choose my books very carefully by reading reviews to try to eliminate sex and bad language. If I accidently pick one up, I won’t finish it and leave a review mentioning the language and sex, so others will know. I also won’t read books rated 3 stars or less.

    What will make me stop reading? Language
    Sex
    Too many grammar, spelling, and plot errors that make it so I can’t understand the story
    Lead characters constantly doing obvious, dumb things until I can’t take it anymore

  61. I love reading and have only just become an avid reader about 8 years ago when my husband bought me my first kindle. I love all of your books. When it comes to reading, if I pick up a book and don’t like the first few chapters, it is removed from my kindle and deleted from my reading list. Most times I’ll let some kind of review on it. Even some of my most favorite authors write books that just leave me “bored” or “disinterested”.

  62. If I am not enjoying a book, I will put it aside. I will eventually try it again but if it just doesn’t hold my attention then, I will just put it on my list of not liking it. A book must hold my attention if I am going to enjoy reading it.

  63. Hi Ms. Lyn,
    If I’m enjoying the book, YES!! I always finish it! ? If I’m not enjoying the book, there could be a couple of reasons WHY I’m not enjoying the book. Those reasons determine whether or not I’ll finish the book, even though I’m not enjoying it. I read mostly faith based romantic fiction. If there is any profanity, I’ll put the book down right away. I’ve read books that moved slow and I finished them because I’m hoping that, at some point, the pace will pick up. This doesn’t happen often, though. Other times, I’ve read books I didn’t really enjoy because I had nothing else to read. ?????

  64. When a book gets too wordy (the author is spending way too much time describing the details) I skip pages of the book. If I am still interested in the story but it isn’t really going anywhere, I sometimes skip to the last few chapters. If the story is too formulaic, the characters undeveloped, or if the characters bicker all of the time, I will stop reading the book. Sometimes, I find I am simply not in the mood for one type of book and I will stop reading it. Then pick it up later when I am in the mood for that style. I really love reading. So, it’s pretty hard for me to completely ignore a book I have started. Admittedly, I will skip large sections of a book if it is boring. If there is sex in the book, it is automatically out. That’s just porn in another form and there is way too much of that going on in the world today.

  65. If I can’t get interested in a book by the first few chapters, I will just give up and put it in my donate pile. I read alot of ARCs (about 3-4 a week) and I do read about 95% of them. It’s a rare book that I will give up on. There are too many good books to waste time on a book I am not into.

  66. Yes I always finish a book once I start it no matter what. I figure if I picked up the book to read then I owe it to the author all my time to finish it because they spent all their time to write it. That’s just the least I figure I can do. I also ALWAYS leave a review because that is just a little tip on their paycheck.

  67. I will skim through the book and read the end if it doesn’t hold my interest. Sometimes if I really don’t like the characters I do this too. I have soooo many books in my TBR pile that I feel like I dont want to waste my time on something that I’m not into when another book is waiting to be read that will be awesome. Have a great week!!

  68. I always finish what I start and as far as I can remember, there has only been one book in my life that I have struggled to finish. It was a # 1 best seller and has since been made into a movie but I detested it and had to force myself to read to the end. There was just something about that book that warred with my spirit. I don’t know if it was too soon after the death of my son or if it was the material in the book, but that is the only book I ever had to work to finish…it still sits on my shelf but I won’t pick it up again. I am an avid reader and have been since they placed that 1st Dick, Jane, & Sally book into my little hands in 1st grade. I know that I have read thousands of books in my lifetime and always enjoy the story because I pick the books that appeal to me as a reader. I love your books, by the way, and have a number of them…both paperback & ebook format!!

  69. When I was younger I always finished every book I read. To me, nothing is worse than wasting my time on a book I don’t like, especially if I have forced myself to read til the bitter end. Reading and beading are my two essentials. Both cause horrific migraines so for me, Life is too short and there are so many good books out there that I may not get to read if I’m reading what we call in my house a ‘NSRQ’. No Socially Redeeming Qualities. Books have always come alive for me. It’s like watching a movie in my head when I’m reading a good book rather than feeling like I am back in the 3rd grade reading aloud to my dad(I could barely read at the time). To this day I can see the cover of Our Exploring World’. It was the history book.
    The most important thing my parents gave me was teaching me to read and love books. The school system quit teaching phonetically when I was in 1st grade and no one knew I couldn’t read more than a couple words until 3rd grade.
    If the characters are not someone I’d like to get to know in real life and if the story doesn’t intrigue me within the first couple of chapters I will quit reading it and find another. Especially in this day of ebooks. Not every author on Amazon is good.
    I listen to a lot of audio books these days. I know I have a good book when I turn my book back on, or pick it up to read a few pages when my husband has stepped out of the room for a few minutes.

  70. I always finish a book. I have only had 2 books in my whole life that I never finished. I was pretty young with the first one and didn’t like the ending so I never finished it.
    The second one I stuck back and will eventually read it again.

  71. I never put a book aside or throw it away. I read it from beginning to the end. Every once in a while, I do start on a book with very elicit sex and it I see it’s not much else, I do put it with the read books so I don’t get it again. I love most books and try to read the reviews to make sure they are something I would like or enjoy. But, 99.9% of the time, I enjoy a book even if it’s not good in the beginning and read the whole thing. I love to read and your books have never failed to be triple A books in my opinion.

  72. This is a really good question. I read clean, sweet and christian books. Yes if it is under one these than I will finish a book. There have been times, where I would get half way through and wonder where is this story going? or How am I supposed to remember all these initials or details? But I persevere and usually the story will pick up and I cant put it down. I have read books that state they are clean, sweet or christian. And when I am reading there are swear words, explicit scenes etc, then I stop reading, and some I have just thrown away. Others, I have given to the second hand book store. If it is really bad, trash.
    I feel that by persevering if the book is just slow, sometimes I have found a new author that I like. Because if I like the book sorta, I will try out another one of her books and usually it was just that one book that I had troubles with.

  73. There are so many thought provoking, interesting, stimulating or relaxing books out there so I am no longer prepared to waste my time finishing something I am not enjoying. If someone has recommended a book I might try a bit longer but I want a book that gets my interest on page one. Memorable likeable characters. I may stop reading if prose clunky or irrelevant details because they should not get in way of the story. I don’t want superficial smart dialogue but conversation that helps advance relationship of characters. Repeated words intrusive. Some authors seem to return to set phrases and it suggests poor vocabulary.
    The best books are the ones I am compelled to pick up when I am supposed to be doing something else because I am invested in story and already working out what might happen next.

  74. Once, just once I remember not finishing a book. I put it away and tried it again several months later. I still couldn’t finish it. I think I still have it but I’m not sure I’d try it again. I try to be very selective in what I chose to read. This is probably why I finish most books.

  75. I must admit I don’t remember ever putting a book aside because I just didn’t want to finish it. I try to give the author the benefit of the doubt and continue on, hoping I will find it enjoyable and I usually do. Since most of my reading is done for promotion of a particular book, I try to be very picky about which ones I choose. I have tried to stay in the Christian market for the last number of years, so that usually means there isn’t a lot of questionable stuff in the book. There are so many wonderful Christian authors, I just wish I had even more time to read!

  76. I try to give every book a chance, but occasionally I’ll pick up a book that sounds good, but I just can’t get into it. Maybe the characters are trite or act just plain stupid, there is no story that I can identify. Sometimes I’ll drop a book when I realize I’m not part of the target audience – as a senior citizen I can’t always identify with 20 somethings – although a well written story line about young people can keep my interest. In the last 6 months, I think I’ve finished all but 5 of the 50+ books I’ve read.

  77. HI LYNN,

    THE BOOK HAS TO GRAB ME BY THE SECOND CHAPTER OR I DONATE IT THE THE LIBRARY. SOME BOOKS HAVE GREAT COVERS BUT THEY LACK QUALITY IN AUTHORS NEED TO WRITE QUANTITY.

    I AM DISABLED AND AM NOT YELLING AT YOU,

  78. I finish most books even if I am having a hard time getting into the story. As I do a lot of ARC for different authors I feel bad if I don’t finish the book and leave a review. Even if am reading a book I bought I finish most of them. I also never skip to the end that is cheating.
    I like books that kinda grab you from the first chapter and have you not wanting to stop till the end. Books that are hard to finish are ones where the first part is really interesting them the middle just slows down to a crawl before picking up till the finish….

  79. I rarely put a book down w/o finishing it. I think it’s a holdover from the “finish everything on your plate, you know there are starving children in the world” admonishment from my mom!! Completion is well entrenched in my nature!! Occasionally I have chosen not to finish a book because of language or too much explicit sex but it’s pretty rare. I think because I know the authors I can trust and much of my reading in these later years of my life is in the Christian genre.

  80. For myself if the language gets really bad or the sex gets too explicit then in the delete button is used. There is so many good books to be read. I average four or five books a week . I have always loved to read so keep your books coming!

  81. I will not finish a book if by 4-5 chapters it isn’t grabbing my interest

  82. When I was younger, I finished every book, whether I liked it or not. Now, if I don’t enjoy the book, I stop reading. There are so many good books, and not enough time, so why waste it on an unenjoyable book? The things that cause me to stop reading are things that pull me from the story, such as too many proofreading mistakes, or details that I know are wrong. For example, a book I once read about a guide dog handler jumping off a ferry boat with the guide dog, I knew would not happen. I quit reading what was supposed to be a true story. A historical I was reading used phrases like No Way! and Far Out! I quit reading, because the current day speech kept yanking me out of the historical setting. Research is so important. Sometimes if a story starts dragging, I’ll give it a couple more chapters. If I’m not hooked again, I quit reading. This happened recently with some of my favorite authors. I felt cheated, LOL.

  83. I would never throw a book against the wall, but I will stop reading a book that I dislike intensely. This has only happened a couple of times, but with all the wonderful books available, I certainly won’t waste time on a poorly written or offensive book! I also don’t care for gratuitous or intense violence. (Usually I read books by authors that I’m familiar with or I have read a review so I try to choose books that I feel will not disappoint me!)

  84. I’v only “not” finished a book once and it was because there was really no story line, it was just sex and some of the weirdest sex ever.
    If I’m not really enjoying a book I try to get through it. What causes me to almost not finish is bad editing and no real story line

  85. 9 out of 10 times I finish a book I dislike. The turnoffs for me are abusive behavior, airhead heroine and too much “I love you …I hate you … no wait I love you” between the main couple. Too much of any of those and I give up. I also stopped reading an author who killed of a past hero in a series… you can’t do that! ?

  86. There has to be something interesting in the first few pages that wants to make me continue reading a book. I stop reading a book if there’s not an indication of some mystery or something out of the ordinary that could develop into an interesting story. I’ve started reading many books that start out boring and continue to be boring throughout the first chapter. I’m willing to give an author a reasonable chance to give me something that grabs my attention, but boring is boring. There’s already too much boring stuff in a “normal” life. I am always amazed at how some authors come up with an interesting story which shows their creativity.

  87. If I absolutely do not enjoy the book, I will quit reading it. I check a lot of books out from my local library and will not hesitate to take it back without reading the entire thing if I don’t love it. A book has to captivate me and hold my attention to want to see what happens next. Sometimes I will finish reading one that I only “kind of” like to see what happens, but not very often. A book has to be worth the time I’m investing to read it.

  88. If I do not like a book, I put it down for a period of time and try again at least once to see if it was just my own mood that caused me not to like it. If after the second attempt I still don’t like it, it goes into my trade bag for the used bookstore. My husband once bought me a historical romance set in the Scottish highlands as a surprise- both of the main characters were so obnoxious I couldn’t even finish the 1st chapter. I dislike whiny characters, bad dialogue and boring plots. I love books where I grow to care about the characters and wish I could meet them in real life. I love Donna Andrews “Meg Langslow” series and Laura Griffin’s Tracer series – these are definitely keepers.

  89. I don’t finish a book if I am not enjoying it. The things that stop me are usually actions by the characters that are unbelievable or unforgivable. Also, if the writing is bad, I move on. There are so many amazing stories in the world – why waste my time?

  90. I am so pleased that you asked that question? I could not put down your book, “Winter’s Secret”. The entire book was pleasing to me because you had a great story line, believable characters and no graphic language or sex scenes. Thank you.
    When I choose a book by an author I have not read before, I read a synopsis first. If the book cover has a steamy scene or provocative person portrayed, I don’t even bother to read any further. If I come across vulgar language or offensive scenarios, I immediately close the book. I didn’t always do that, but I have learned that if the beginning had either of those traits, it would only get worse if I continued to read. I appreciate a good storyline and will follow the author when the story is uplifting and I know what to expect. “Winter’s Secret” is a book that I would recommend to my friends and anyone looking for a good read.
    I am looking forward to reading the next books in this series. You have done a fine job!

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