May 20, 2024
What determines whether or not you finish a book you’re reading? Do you review books you didn’t finish?
I used to take pride in finishing every book I started.
That doesn’t happen anymore. If an author spends the first three chapters of a book describing a world, with paragraph after paragraph of nothing but description of scenery, chances are I won’t wade all the way through. If there are major grammatical and spelling errors, it pushes my buttons. Then there’s terrible storytelling. Many of us have experienced that. I used to ignore everything and skim, not read, all the way to the last page. (No, I won’t be naming names.)
But somewhere along the way, I decided I don’t have time for that. There are so many good books waiting to be to read, why waste my time on bad ones?
I’ve made exceptions for authors I’ve enjoyed in the past, but the current book doesn’t feed my soul or mind, hoping that it will get better. Or deciding I’ve outgrown an author. This usually happens in a series, when I don’t see any real growth in the characters, and I stop following the story.
Do I write them reviews?
Bad books? In short, no.
I refuse to review books that deserve a one or two star rating. (If I haven’t finished reading them, I won’t review them!) Chances of me writing a three star review are slim. Heck, sometimes I feel bad giving a deserved four stars. I want to encourage other authors, especially indies or those with small presses. Shoot, I worry about pointing out obvious typos in a non-critique setting. (Yes, I hope someone will let me know if I’ve made a typo that has been missed by my editor.)
By the way, I struggle with writing reviews almost as much as I struggle with book blurbs. Yes, I know all I have to say is that I loved the book, but I can’t do it! I have to write more.
If you follow this blog, you know the drill. This is where I tell you to go check the other authors on this hop by following the links below.
And, as always, please stay safe until the next time!
What determines whether or not you finish a book you’re reading? Do you review books you didn’t finish?
One of my daughter’s teachers gave great advice that it’s okay to put down a book if you’re not enjoying it after reading the first 50 pages. Like you, I don’t slog through books I don’t enjoy anymore. I have too many books to read.
Exactly!
If I read 50% of the book and don’t really like it, then I’ll abandon it. Like you I cannot bear long descriptions, and so I’ll start skimming the pages. Once I do that, it’s downhill from there, lol.
There are books I can’t even get to 50% on!
I won’t leave bad reviews, there’s always been something constructive or positive to say about most of the “bad” books I’ve ever read.