do you finish your books?

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    Feb 28, 2014 8:37 PM GMT
    Many people always finish a book, even if they don't like it.

    This is a good example of a sunk cost; you've already spent the money on the book, don't compound the error by wasting your time reading it if you're not enjoying it.
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    Feb 28, 2014 9:18 PM GMT
    During the last few decades, never.
  • AMoonHawk

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    Feb 28, 2014 9:25 PM GMT
    I won't finish a book if it is a real stinker.
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    Feb 28, 2014 9:45 PM GMT
    I used to. It was sort of a hard habit to break.

    I think it was a combination of things. Books used to be harder to come by. Some of them are supposed to be "good for you." Or I may have read a positive review somewhere (i.e., maybe it's just me.)

    Well, I just recently just kept plowing through a real dog (Dave Eggers, "The Circle") because so many people said it was good. Maybe the good part is in the next chapter? Or there's some twist coming up that reveals all this banal stuff to be part of the Big Picture? Nope. Crap all the way through. icon_mad.gif
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    Feb 28, 2014 10:19 PM GMT
    mindgarden saidI think it was a combination of things. Books used to be harder to come by. Some of them are supposed to be "good for you."

    Agreed. Some people I know have said that their parents taught them to always finish a book; as if not finishing a book was wasteful and a sign of having a weak character.

    There are very few books where I'm not liking it and have gotten substantially through it and it turned the corner.

    And then some books are enjoyable while I'm reading them but after I finish it I realize that it was just cotton candy; no real story or substance. That's how the Harry Potter books were for me.
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    Feb 28, 2014 10:22 PM GMT
    Finishing a stinker of a book reminds me of my aunt committing to Bush to the end.
  • MikeW

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    Feb 28, 2014 10:28 PM GMT
    I seldom read books anymore. They have to be very interesting for me to even buy them, let alone actually get through them. I'll start reading and then just literally fall asleep! Didn't used to be like that, though. Used to have a personal library of hundreds of books. Now I keep a few that have special importance. Occasionally I'll buy a new one but chances are high even then I won't read it.
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    Feb 28, 2014 10:32 PM GMT
    I don't buy fiction any more since I've rediscovered the library. The only books I buy are reference books that I can use over and over; for example, cookbooks, bicycle repair, etc.

    I always have a pile of 5 or more library books on my book table.
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    Feb 28, 2014 10:35 PM GMT
    I force myself because, like slow movies, there is often a big payoff.
  • Timbales

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    Feb 28, 2014 11:49 PM GMT
    The only book I never finished was East of Eden because it was so damn depressing.
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    Feb 28, 2014 11:58 PM GMT
    Lumpyoatmeal saidMany people always finish a book, even if they don't like it.

    This is a good example of a sunk cost; you've already spent the money on the book, don't compound the error by wasting your time reading it if you're not enjoying it.


    Though I possess many books on my computer, I can't say I've actually finished reading any them... Then again I'm collecting a bibliography of important books that I haven't finished reading yet and anticipate the day that I return to finish reading them, if not to slow read them as well. I do that with some RJ threads as well, only to find that some of them have been deleted!
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    Mar 01, 2014 12:09 AM GMT
    Fiction: yes, even if it's really bad--sort of just to see if it get's any worse.
    Non-fiction: it really has to be a subject I'm interested in and not complete Hokum.
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    Mar 01, 2014 1:46 AM GMT
    Timbales saidThe only book I never finished was East of Eden because it was so damn depressing.

    Yep. I finished it and vaguely remember it reminding me of my crazy Jesus freak mother.
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    Mar 01, 2014 1:54 AM GMT
    If a book sucks and I feel like giving up on it, I just start reading it in reverse. If the ending/last chapter is ok, I'll read the next chapter back. If that's ok, I'll go to the next one. Either I'll keep reading backwards until I reach the point where I initially stopped, or I'll just stop if things don't get better.
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    Mar 01, 2014 1:56 AM GMT
    xrichx saidIf a book sucks and I feel like giving up on it, I just start reading it in reverse. ...

    That's bizarre! icon_twisted.gif
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    Mar 01, 2014 2:01 AM GMT
    Lumpyoatmeal said
    xrichx saidIf a book sucks and I feel like giving up on it, I just start reading it in reverse. ...

    That's bizarre! icon_twisted.gif

    If I've invested x amount of time reading a book, I'd at least like to know how it ends. If the ending is at least semi interesting, I'll try to fill in the gaps. I know it's weird. icon_lol.gif
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    Mar 01, 2014 6:07 AM GMT
    Broseph saidI'm envisioning Lumpy's bookshelf now... 43 cookbooks on oatmeal, book-ended by Harry Potter.

    Heh. You have no idea. I think I have more books on knitting than I do cookbooks. When I take up a new hobby I tend to go overboard with buying books for/about it.
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    Mar 01, 2014 8:40 AM GMT
    I ravenously devour books...even if it is 'slow'...just getting inside a character's head is such an awesome experience. Maybe I get too invested with my books...I often get depressed when a book ends icon_neutral.gif
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    Mar 01, 2014 8:47 AM GMT
    love finishing books so I always read series and just read one book after another
  • Karl

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    Mar 01, 2014 9:04 AM GMT
    I never read the last page of a book.
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    Mar 01, 2014 12:36 PM GMT

    Well, I try to. I read only fictions. Barring one, so far I have finished all the books that I picked up.
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    Mar 01, 2014 1:55 PM GMT
    Timbales saidThe only book I never finished was East of Eden because it was so damn depressing.


    OMG, I couldn't put East of Eden down. It made me so damned mad (Steinbeck was good at pulling my strings).

    If you thought East of Eden was depressing, stay the hell away from "The Grapes of Wrath". That book had me in tears by the end.

    To answer the OP question, yes, I generally will finish a book even if it is bad. In fact I'm reading a book now that is just not good. The story is ok but the writing style makes me think a teenager wrote it.
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    Mar 01, 2014 1:57 PM GMT
    yes icon_smile.gif
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    Mar 01, 2014 4:30 PM GMT
    I read a lot ! If the book has just been released , i will buy it directly out of the shelf , beside that i am frequent the used book stores , where you can buy or exchange book . If the book is a bore to me , i put it aside and then exchange it later on .
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    Mar 02, 2014 7:39 AM GMT
    Yes I do! There's only been a couple of books that I have never finished only because I thought the plot was dull! In college, my English professor wanted us to read Moby Dick in a week. I dropped the class!
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