In the past year, have you started reading a fiction or nonfiction book and did not finish it? I have. Many times.
There are a lot of reasons for this to happen. Here are a few examples.
Fiction:
I didn’t care about your characters.
The plot fizzled.
The story became ridiculous and unrealistic.
It was too easy to put down. Or, in other words, it was forgettable.
Nonfiction:
It became repetitive. I already got the point; why say it three or four different ways?
The conclusions were obvious, to the point of cliché.
The author lost focus and began to meander.
The whole book felt manufactured, as if it had been an assignment and not a passion.
What about you? Have you had a similar experience? Love to hear your comments below.
To be clear, I did not say, “The book made me mad because I disagreed with the author.” In fact, that is usually a good reason to finish a book, so you can craft your own response to a particular position. Instead, the small sampling of answers above are a reaction to poor writing craft.
As I’ve written before, every reader brings their own story to your book and thus creates their own new experience. But if the book is poorly written or poorly organized or long-winded, the reader is pulled out of the experience, the “critic cap” is put on, and the book is put down.
If your book breaks the trust of its readers, it will be hard to get them to read your next one. This is why agents and editors constantly discuss the value of a well-written story. Make those opening pages incredible, and then sustain that genius throughout the book. Let me give you one example (among many).
Years ago, at a writers conference, first pages were waiting for faculty to review upon arriving at the event. I sat in my room with a stack of pages to scan. While reading the opening chapter of an aspiring and unpublished novelist, I literally gasped. The craft was stunning. I met with her that weekend; and during the ensuing months, she worked hard to revise the rest of the manuscript a number of times before we took it to publishers. The book, Words by Ginny Yttrup, was published; and she received the Christy Award for Best New Writer. A few of those first pages can be found in the Look Inside feature on Amazon. It is interesting to note that the beginning pages you read in the finished book are exactly the same as the words I read that first day. Ginny crafted them so well they remain unchanged.
I finished reading her book.
Maybe yours will be next?
[An earlier version of this blog was posted on April 15, 2013. I still love Ginny’s writing!]
Fun Fridays – May 12, 2023
‘He flipped off the safety on his Glock,’
and I put the book right down,
for I saw then it was a crock
that was written by a clown
who really truly should have known
the Glock safety’s in the trigger,
but his cover had been blown
and I really had to figure
that other details too were wrong,
and hence, now lack of trust,
and it would not be very long
before the book went dust to dust;
if you want your words to engage me,
please, Please! look to accuracy.
Bravo, Andrew! Great sonnet! That’s why I’m close to fanatical about the accuracy of every little detail in my fiction, right down to finding out what time the sun sets on a particular day in a particular place, because a character wouldn’t turn on her headlights if the sun were still in her eyes, or flip on a light switch if the west-facing room were still bathed in late-afternoon sunlight.
I got confused. Maybe because. . .
There were too many threads too soon
There were too many characters or their names were similar or I got frustrated trying to figure out who was who.
You gave me too much information. You have to trust me to fill in the gaps.
I didn’t have enough background knowledge. Don’t trust me so much.
Yes, Steve, I have quit reading books for all those reasons. Plus poorly researched history and poor grammar will kill a book for me. Just last week an author I love used “me” instead of “I.” It clanged loudly. The editor/grammarian in me may be more critical than some readers would be, but even a grammar check would have caught that.
I’ve only quit reading one book in all my years of reading, and that was because the language in the story was so terrible, I just couldn’t go on. When I start reading a book, even if I don’t care for the style, the number of errors, and all the other reasons you’ve listed above, I want to give the story a fair change to gain my attention. What if, after the first few chapters, the story improves to the point where I can’t put it down? There have only be a few instances where I was sorry I didn’t throw the book out. All the others I’ve read have wound up being a good story in the end, or at least a halfway decent one despite it’s faults. And, in the process of reading all these books that were not top notch, I learned some valuable lessons for my own writing.
It is true that I’ve not read another of those authors books, because I didn’t want another lesson in patience. But maybe somewhere down the line, I’ll pick up another, written much later than the first, to see if they’ve improved.
I’m a pretty good audience, and I’ll keep reading a novel even if the story begins to wane. I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt.
However, if there are a lot of grammatical errors that keep bumping me out of the story, I’ll put the book aside. I’ll also put a book down if there’s heavy, graphical violence.
I’m quite picky about the books I read (so many books, so little time!), but recently I’ve been taking chances with new-to-me authors and, for the most part, have been able to learn something from them, even if I wouldn’t necessarily recommend them to a friend. Weak plots and overdone scenarios cause me to drift. The characters don’t even have to be likable, as long as they are relatable. I’m also a stickler when it comes to typos. But a two weeks ago, I finished a friend’s debut novel. It was riddled with grammatical errors, but I pushed through. Happy me, I was surprised to still be pulled into the story. Her writing was great! She just needed a better editor. I have half a mind to flip all my favorites open to the back page and send a thank you to the editing team.
A healthy dose of humility would also go a long way because, I myself, am in need of a great editor. 🙂 *a two weeks ago
Like Robin, too many characters. Patterns of grammatical errors; extra-long, unnecessary conversations that get bogged down with “he said/she said”; lack of scene settings; and/or gratuitous violence.. From the writer’s side, however–one beta reader for my last novel quit after reading the first chapter. Another told me “Don’t change a word!” and a third said she couldn’t put it down; but the one who gave up said she wanted ACTION, starting on page 1! My page 1–and first chapter, took the main character through dramatic, painful losses and her drastic decision that set up the conflict for the whole plot. I admit it: there were no airplane crashes, shoot-outs, or jumps from tall buildings my dissatisfied beta reader may have wanted on page 1, just a life-changing announcement followed by a desperate woman’s secret escape plan. Different strokes…? 😉
Beta readers should be fans of the genre. One of my best friends asked me to be a beta reader but I turned him down because he simply does not like literary fiction. He would have done the same thing as your reader did who couldn’t get through the first chapter.
Just yesterday I put aside a book and may return to it later. So your post is timely for me. My reason for not moving ahead with this book is due to the author’s writing style, but I’ve grown accustomed to it in her blog posts. This established author writes in what I think is stream of conscience style, but I got lost in the progression from past to present to past again with teaching in between. After two chapters, I noted in my list of books read this month: “put aside.” I like the author and style, but this time it bothered me. Perhaps it is more about me than the author.
Like Melissa, I can relate to so many books in so little time! But I also struggle with feeling a “duty” to finish something I’ve started.
Yes, that is something I allowed myself to change last year. The ability to close a book and set it aside, with no intention of finishing, it has been utterly freeing.
I DID finish reading this post.
Chris,
I’m glad!
But I didn’t finish writing my respon
Well, maybe mine will be next? I’ll talk to Ginny
hahahaha, well. it’s Monda
I’m multi-tasking most days, so I’d like to hear an audio version of Ginny’s Words, if she’d be willing to do it.
Wouldn’t that be ironic? ☺️
I just got home from a book club meeting where each member got to share a favorite book or author.
I grabbed my very late lunch and clicked on your post for something to read while I ate. Why such a late lunch?
People get rather long-winded when telling about books they love. Books they not only finish but love to reread and talk about. Books that make their way into their own personal stories. I discovered you get to learn a lot about a person just by asking about their favorite books.
My big dream as an author is no longer to make it onto a best-seller list or win a prestigious literary award. Nope. After that meeting and this blog post, I’m aiming higher.
I want to read a book people want to finish (starting with agent people and publisher people). A book someone might someday take to his or her book club on Favorite-Book-Sharing Day : )
Oops! I mean I want to WRITE a book like that!
The older I get, the more I put down books. I have so many in my TBR pile, I don’t have time to read a book that doesn’t hold my interest. So, the main reason I stop reading is your 4th one: it’s easy to put down/it’s forgettable.
It makes me sad to do this, especially if the cover is fabulous and the back cover copy makes me feel excited to open the book.
It’s even sadder when it’s a friend’s novel. I’ll push myself for a friend, but I started reading a friend’s novel months ago. Stopped. Tried again. Stopped again. She’s getting stellar reviews on Amazon, too. Which I’m happy to see.
Not every book is for every person.
Maybe the examples apply to me too, eh, eh. How do they reach the shelves? I even pick them up from esteemed authors, which leaves me astounded. I do the same as Pam.
Thank you for this excellent post, Steve! As a copy editor and writer, I am a special brand of reader. I will not spend my too-short relaxation/reading time on a book that was poorly researched, with an unnecessarily complicated format, and characters whose names I don’t know how to pronounce (pet peeve). Add to that, 100% intolerance for grammar, spelling, and usage errors and woo boy, the WTR bedside stack dwindles!
Now I can’t wait to pick up Ginny’s book, thanks to your review. I’m certain it will be a winner.
Dinah
I have written a picture songbook for babies and toddlers. I have good reviews and it could be made into a CD or the animals used in a mobile in a child’s crib. The tune is the one for Old McDonald had a Farm and it’s music and words are in the end of the book. There is much repetition, which is necessary for wee ones. On each page, the older children can see what the animal eats, what the farmer does and/or what his children do. I should like to send the picture book to someone who has the same desire that I do… to instill God’s Word in the hearts of little ones before they go to kindergarten and learn about evolution which Darwin himself refuted in his later years and regretted. I taught kindergarten and used songs for the memory verses in our Christian school. Whom should I contact to get this book into the hands of parents in churches, schools, WalMarts, et cetera?
Without shame (well maybe a tiny bit) I confess that my ADD brain has a hard time sticking with a book that has long chapters and small margins. I need periodic white space and short chapters to stay in my seat. It’s not uncommon for me to take a break ( to read another book or do dishes) halfway through a long chapter. And another. This coupled with mixed tenses or repeated phrases, preaching, or excessive explaining will kill my motivation to keep reading. And at times to keep listening when it happens in conversations. 🤦🏼♀️
I just put down a promising book because it was misogynistic. In the opening chapter, the Nazis (men) are brilliant and have just created a weapon that will give them world-wide domination.
In the next chapter, we are introduced to a 21st century woman who is too stupid to work a microwave oven. She soon dies.
(Not from the microwave.)
In the next chapter, we meet a cruel woman who’s going to dump her (almost) fiance. She too dies. (I don’t mourn her death.)
Then we meet the hero, a man who is perfection in every way.
The next women we meet is a corpse.
Sorry, but my patience is exhausted. It had a promising plot but I won’t read on. I turned to the ending, read the last ten pages, and put it down.