Not finishing books

MissRibena

I've always been a reader and have always finished books I start to read, even if they don't seem up to much. I believe you have to have the full picture to make a judgement on a book and some of my favourite books were a bit of a struggle to get through.

However, it's all gone to pot! In the last couple of months I've barely been able to finish any book I've started. I just can't seem to stay focused. I've even tried buying and borrowing 'harmless' reads and thrillers, which I normally wouldn't bother with to try to stop the rot but still nothing works. The pile of half-read books by my bed are taunting me and making me feel guilty for not finishing them. I don't think I can blame the authors because most of them were on my list for ages and are from a broad range of genres.

So has anyone experienced this and how do I get my mojo back?

raah!

hoohaohhoa, sounds like a terrible affliction.

One thing I do If I am getting bored with a book is start another before finishing it, but still read a small bit of the bad book each day. That way you don't have an unfinished book, and you don't have to spend too much time reading crap.

KonFusion

If you have a particular author you like who never fails to impress, try reading a book from him/her to reignite your....emm...reading flame :P

ally2

Read poetry or short stories for a while that you can dip in and out of.

Sephiroth_dude

Im Guilty of this and it really annoys me when I cant finish a book.

IronMan

Life is too short to continue reading books you don't enjoy.

MissRibena

The short stories idea is great! Thanks. I had already tried getting a book by a 'bankable' author (Our Man in Africa by William Boyd for me) but only managed about half eventhough it was funny. He published a book of short stories lately that I didn't bother with but now I think I'll give it a lash.

I will dig out my poetry anthologies and see if they give me a gee up. Mind you, I tend to go for pretty depressing poetry so it might just be the end of my reading altogether

I can see where IronMan is coming from with the 'life's too short philosophy' but I can't agree. For me, usually the more I need to put in to something, the more I get out of it. Not always of course, but most of the time. Instant gratification is over-rated for me.

loismustdie

tbh i think you kinda hav to giv urself a kick in the bum and get into the story, u'l be finished in no time. ive done it a few times but would hav to go back to the book eventually adn its just harder after so long,

out of curiosity, what are the books?

MissRibena

lostmustdie, you are probably dead right about a kick in the bum!

Off the top of my head, the books that I remember are:

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Critical Mass by Philip Ball
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
The Story of Philosophy by Bryan Magee
A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd

There are a couple more but I can't remember.

Earlier this week I bought The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, which wouldn't be my normal thing but might get me going. I'm about 25% through and am not really gripped yet but I'm determined to get through it.

raah!

IronMan wrote: »

Life is too short to continue reading books you don't enjoy.

You could just as well say life is too short to waste time half reading books. If you do finish it you make the time spent reading it that bit more valuable because at the very least you will be able to critique the book in its entirety. Leaving it alone will be like leaving that wasted time wasted. At least that's how I stink.

Locamon

OP IMO sounds like reading fatigue... I get it after I have read a couple of really uninspiring reads and you just think why bother... have discussed this with a few other avid readers and they all said they had a similar experience so reading books even when they are bad is most likely taking a toll -like over training in the gym your body is telling you it has had a enough of mediocrity... your brain needs a rest or a truly inspiring read to lift you out of your lethargy...
all the suggestions are good, dip in and out of some poetry or short stories, or just take a break for a couple of weeks till the hunger comes back:)

Greyfox

raah! wrote: »

You could just as well say life is too short to waste time half reading books. If you do finish it you make the time spent reading it that bit more valuable because at the very least you will be able to critique the book in its entirety. Leaving it alone will be like leaving that wasted time wasted. At least that's how I stink.

This seems really, really silly, if you're half way through a book and struggleing to read futher it's most likely a case of you personally not finding the book that enjoyable, and if your not enjoying it you should go and read something else!

raah!

A lack of enjoyment while reading something does not render the time spent a waste. Doing a sum could be boring while you're doing it, but at the end you'll know the sum. It depends on what you are looking for from the book I guess.

turgon

Im with raah! here. For example I can at least claim to have read all of Dracula - even though I thought it was bad - which gives that tiny bit more credence to my view of it.

Imagine someone coming up giving out about some great books, say 1984, and appending by saying "well I only read like a third of it." You would immediately dismiss them, and rightly so too. Better to have it finished and have a fully formed criticism imo.

ally2

turgon wrote: »

Im with raah! here. For example I can at least claim to have read all of Dracula - even though I thought it was bad - which gives that tiny bit more credence to my view of it.

Dracula was not a well written book imo. I read it but am sure I skipped several paragraphs and can't remember any of it.

You can read a book but not really absorb it at all. In which case can you really say you've read it?

zesman

Yes I can honestly say I had a similar experience a few months back. Every book I picked up I ahd to leave down after about 100 pages. Pure frustration.

IMO, dont read for a few weeks, then start back up on an author you really like. You'll soon get back in the swing of things then.

lemon_sherbert

I usually finish books, though at the moment I'm going through a similar phase, just back at college and can't seem to finish anything. I would be of the opinion that reading should be for enjoyment purposes, so if you're not enjoying the book put it down start something else. You can always come back to it later. If you can't read anything, I find picking up something really silly can do the trick, like humour short stories, light fiction, or even comics. I mean reading shouldn't be hard work, nor is it a competition to read the most books in one lifetime , so take a break and don't pressure yourself!

Waffle

I think that it happens to every avid reader - a bad run of books. My advice would be to reread one of your favorites.

Also you could read books/magazines about your (other) favorite hobby for a few weeks.

Mackman

I dont know how anyone can not finish a book. It would drive me mad. I would have to know what happens, even if its a load of crap, still need to know. Im like that with movies too though.
e.g. Stephen King's "Insomnia", my god what a boring book, i hated it, but i still finished it, and no, nothing happened.:rolleyes:

I think i only ever didnt finish a book once, i cant even remember what it was, thats how boring it was

MissRibena

Thanks everyone

I think I've finally sorted myself out! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did the trick. It's a pretty run of the mill detective/thriller but I think the pace is what cracked it for me. Now all I have to do is finish the rest of them.

rickman

three books you wont put down till you reach the last page:

"life of pi" - yann martel (picadoorbooks.com)
"here comes robert kingdom" - peter mc cluskey(location27books.com)
"lustrum" - robert harris (randomhouse.co.uk)

Janeygirl

If I've read the first one hundred pages and haven't enjoyed them then the writer has done a bad job. Then I put the book down or give it to a charity shop.

Babinkuk

I soo can identify with this...how many half read tomes have I dropped here and there...Only solution is to try to get away for a few days and take any one you really want to get stuck into with you. Or take one on a long train journey say to Galway or Tralee. Reading will help punch in the time between the lovely CIE rasher sandwiches washed down with copious teas followed by twix bars. Reading is soo bad for the figure, my dear.