I have trouble finishing books.Okay, so maybe that is a bit of a brash statement. I finished 100 books last year and 102 in 2012 so I obviously finish books. It's just I don't know how else to describe this feeling. I actually do have trouble finishing books.
See, the problem is, my favorite part of any book is the first 100-150 pages. I like the start of books where anything can happen and the characters could be anybody. By the middle I'm usually a little distracted because I've gotten to know the characters, the inciting action has taken place and we are just in a trot to the ending. In the present day YA market that is usually some form of a cliffhanger.
This isn't just limited to books I rate 2 or 3 stars either. There are a couple books I rated 5 stars where I hit the middle, and even though I was enjoying the book, I still had to push myself through to the end.
And this trouble finishing books extends, and worsens, if the book is in a series. I am terrible about finishing series. Last year I participated in the End of the Series Challenge and only managed to finish 5. I was a little better about sequels, or books in the middle of series, I read 15 of those.
So I'm wondering, am I alone or do you also have trouble finishing books, sequels, and series? How do you stay motivated to finish books when you've hit the blase middle?
Let me know in the comments!
I have trouble finishing books and series too, I have series on my shelves that I love that I just haven't carried on with, and some of my favourite books have been a little, slow, in the middle. I totally see where you're coming from Emily, this is a great discussion! :)
ReplyDeleteThankfully I don't get too many books I struggle to finish, because I end up liking most of the books I read.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest though, if I'm forcing myself to get to the end, I consider the book a loss and just DNF. I'm not going to force myself to read something I'm really not loving.
I'm actually really good at finishing series though, because I get absolutely addicted to them and end up buying all the books one after the other and turning into a huge fangirl :P It's the stand alones that can sometimes give me trouble!
I do have trouble continuing a series when it feels like things drag on or the same things keep happening. But, I find that the first 100-150 pages of a new book are quite boring as the world building and data dump happens there. Once that is done the plot picks up, so I actually like the endings of books more.
ReplyDeleteI have th opposite of what you have, sort of... I have trouble starting new books for me the books are easier to read after I have an overview of stories and characters.
ReplyDeleteAh, me too! I'm currently reading 5 books. FIVE! I always read multiple books because even if I love a certain book, I'll eventually get bored and just move onto another book :3
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! I can relate (:
Haha! I'm glad I'm not the only one I always have at least 2 going at a time, usually much more then that!
DeleteI totally have this problem. I'm a HUGE mood reader, so if I start a book and it just isn't quite hitting the spot (particularly if I don't like the writing style or if it's dense and hard to get into), I'll have trouble continuing (I'm in this place with The Book Thief right now). It doesn't mean the book isn't EPIC, it just means it's not making me want to pick it up and keep going, for whatever reason, right then. If I make it past about the halfway point (or 100ish pages, whichever comes first) I'll usually be into it enough to finish it, if it's a good one. But I have stacks and shelves of partially-read books littering my house. It's a problem, and the only thing I've figured out to do is just try to stop feeling guilty about it and move on. Sometimes I'll go back later and finish, sometimes I won't. But given the sheer volume of books I still have to read, it's not like I'm not getting anything done, so as long as I'm reading something, I try to just let it go!
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