Welcome to Tuesday Book Chat. This is where we encourage book lovers to answer our bookish question of the week.
Today’s question is:
What makes you want to stop reading a book?
We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation by commenting on this post or on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group.
Let’s chat!
There are a few things that have made me stop reading books. One reason would be bad language. I once had to stop reading a book because what is ok in America isn’t here. Another reason is a book I just can’t connect with or has to much information that’s not needed. One I am thinking off spent several chapters going into details of a train ride to where the story really began. It was just to much info that was not needed and really dragged the story down.
Your turn.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please join in the conversation in a comment on this post or in a comment on the blog post shared in our Australasian Christian Writers Facebook Group
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I stopped reading a book that was one listed for the Australian Literature subject I was doing for my Arts degree. It was set in Melbourne, had no punctuation, it spoke of the weird lifestyles of some of the people in the city and the language was questionable . This was quite a long while ago now and I cannot remember the title. I just could not understand why anyone would write like that.
sounds difficult to read.
It was. I couldn’t see the point of it. I also don’t want to read too much crude language. If it takes too long to get into the story, too, I often let it go. I love a book that is hard to put down – I want to know what happens next.
I don’t read erotica, horror or creepy paranormal books. So if I start reading a book and it turns out to unexpectedly have those elements, I’ll stop reading. I can put up with a bit of swearing as long as it’s necessary for a particular character or situation, but I’ll stop reading if there’s frequent crude language. However, I’ll also stop if I can’t relate to at least one of the characters or if not a lot is happening. I love reading suspense, so if I’m 90 pages into a book and everyone’s just sitting around talking about their problems, I’ll switch off.
I agree. I don’t want a book mislabled in a genre I don’t like. The one with swearing I couldn’t read was more slang but I counted and the word was used 20 times in the first chapter or two. If the character had been killed I could have handled it. (It was set in the Civil war and about the war but the English Officer used a word I don’t want to hear then the Americans wrote back saying what he said)
*Swearing
*Unrealistic characters
*Full chapters of historical context
*Not connecting with the characters or plot
*20-something singles constantly saying they will never find a husband (that may be true for some, but probably not for that character since they are fiction and will have found someone by the end of the book)
*Lots of big words (I have a fairly decent vocabulary, but there are a lot of words creeping into books that I just don’t know)
*Detailed descriptions of displays of affection
*Graphic descriptions of crime scenes and violent crime
I agree with a lot of this. With the Historical Content I don’t mind if the Author writes a bit about the Historical events or times at the end of the book or even the beginning to set it up before the actual story.
30 year olds also complaining they will never get married. or their life is over cos they are still single etc annoys me even more than 20 year olds. I have trouble with large words that I have to look up to find out what they are.
Hi Jenny, I rarely stop reading a book once I’ve reached Chapter 3. I will often stop reading during the first chapter, or even the first page. If the story doesn’t grab me at the start, I know it won’t get any better if I keep reading. Sometimes I’ll go back to that book later and it will hold my interest and be the right time to read it.
Poor grammar, spelling and writing craft will discourage me from reading on. Poor story structure and weak characterisation is usually something I can pick from the opening 10% of the story. That said, if the author has a strong voice and great story telling ability, I can forgive many writing technique issues if I’m drawn into a compelling story world. I will also ditch a book if it’s not meeting genre expectations eg. Labelled/categorised as Christian fiction but not meeting my expectations regarding content.
For some historical periods, there are good reasons why two characters might not have a conversation that would clear up the misunderstanding underlying the whole plot, but when it’s a contemporary, that’s usually not the case. I get bored with contemporaries where people don’t do the simple things that real people would do to resolve a conflict. I don’t necessarily quit reading, but I do roll my eyes a lot. Then again, can I count rolling my eyes as part of my exercise regime? Along with jumping to conclusions and pulling people’s legs (American for making someone believe something untrue as a joke), that seems like a good addition to my not-regular-enough workouts.
Hi carol thanks for stopping by. Aussies get the pulling your leg as we say it too. I think it should be an exercise. I agree and also when there is a conflict but it’s all forgiven without it actually being worked through.
What an interesting question, Jenny. I struggle to read novels where the dialogue is unnatural or stilted, especially in contemporary books. This often goes hand-in-hand with unrealistic characters. It’s difficult to read about people, places or things which seem unbelievable. I need to feel like I’m part of the story, or being given a special view of what’s happening on the pages.
I understand that. I find books where the pacing is so slow annoying too. I once read one and it was constantly saying her thoughts. Where it was written like she was writing in a diary was good the other times it was what she was thinking and all those dialogue words which were not needed. It was like she had to explain why she was doing things like having a glass of water. it wasn’t as simple as I am thirsty so I had a drink it was so much that it was really bogging me down but the diary entries were done well.