I did a bad, bad thing …

• Posted in About Books

I decided not to read a book I bought.

It’s a romance by an author whose books I’ve previously enjoyed. But the book in question has gotten so-so reviews, and I skimmed through the first chapter and wasn’t hooked. Too many names and a little more cutesy-ness than appealed to me at that moment in time. So, I’ve decided to give it to my local library, where hopefully someone will get more enjoyment out of it than I did.

Is this wrong of me? I don’t know. The money from the book’s sale went to a charity cause. But every time I look at the book, I just don’t want to read it. I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m just not in the mood for that genre right now.

I use to read every single book I bought all the way through. Even if I didn’t particularly care for it, I’d still finish it. Most of the time, I still do that. I can only remember putting one other book down in recent memory and not finishing it. I got about halfway through when I realized that I just didn’t care about the characters enough to see how it ended.

Maybe I’m just becoming pickier about how I spend my reading time. Ah, well. At least if I give it to the library, I might get around to reading it someday … or not.

What about you guys? Do you always read every book you buy? What makes you quit reading a book? Share in the comments.

6 Responses to “I did a bad, bad thing …”

  1. PurpleRanger says:

    Once I start reading a book, I finish it. Of course, I don’t start reading a book unless I’m absolutely certain that I will want to read all of it.

  2. Tia says:

    If I buy it, I’m more likely to try to finish reading it. If I don’t finish it, it will go on my bookshelf indefinitely. At some point, if I know I’ll never read it, I’ll put it in the pile for the used book store or the library.

    Classics I’ll keep around forever. I have a fifteen year old copy of War and Peace that I’ll finish one day. Same goes for Moby Dick, The Red Badge of Courage, and about a dozen others. I still have a copy of Wuthering Heights that I purchased when I was sixteen, and have never been able to get through.

  3. Jennifer Estep says:

    PurpleRanger — I used to do that too. But now, I’ve got so little free time that I’m a lot pickier about what I read.

    Tia — Classics, huh? I got enough of those in college. I think the only classic I have left from all the ones I had to read is Huck Finn. And Watership Down, if you consider that one a classic. I do. :blossom:

  4. Amy says:

    Life is too short for bad books. I try my hardest, but if it isn’t a good book I don’t waste any more of my time than I have to. I’ve had more than a few make their way to the library donation pile.

    (And libraries LOVE donations…at least mine does, anyway! :scooby: )

  5. Jody W. says:

    What Amy said. I hardly have time to read good books, much less bad ones. I can see slogging through something you didn’t enjoy if it was pure market research, though.

  6. Jennifer Estep says:

    Amy and Jody — It depends. If it’s something that everyone is buzzing about or an area I want to read more in for research, then yeah, I’ll slog through it until the bitter end. And then wonder why folks are buzzing about a certain book.

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