Sometimes at the shop I ask people this question.
Robert said that he finishes everything except for all the books that have been stolen from him over the years. His ex’s ex stole the most.
Barry said: oh mate, heaps. Don’t even remember, I mean, yeah, you know. But I always finish the good ones.
Irene said she finishes every book she starts, always.
One couple said they did not finish Fifty Shades of Grey.
Madeline, who is about 12 said that she…thinks that she might not finish…some books…if they are not very good…but some books she has read 4 times…if they are really good.
David will not continue if he cannot connect with the author. He could not connect with Patrick White.
Michael, who reads all the Spanish and Latin American novelists says he always finishes everything by the Spanish and Latin American novelists. He has a copy of The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Dominguez in his pocket; he always has a paperback novel in his pocket which he reads over coffee in the bakery next door. His answer to me was that anything by the Latins is worth finishing and he tapped his pocket to show me that this was true.
Cory said that he never finishes a book if it is dumb.
Peta said that Middlemarch was a concern.
Glenda told me that Bonfire of the Vanities and A Dance to the Music of Time were her triumphs, she made it to the end of both. But Poor Fellow, My Country defeated her finally.
Dale said he gives a book 15 pages and if it is no good for him after that he always knows. He has another way too: to open at any page and if that page is good he will get the book. He demonstrated his method for me with The Pox Party (The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing). He looked at one page and said that he would not read this book.
Margaret said that Miss MacIntosh, My Darling (Marguerite Young) was a book she did not want to finish. But she did and it is one of the most brilliant books she ever read.
I love words and the skillful use of them. If a book has an excellent storyline or interesting subject but is poorly written, i will not usually persevere with it. I have finished Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” 😀
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Thank you, I agree. Well done with War and Peace, I have not read it ( yet) :). I find now that the more I read the more I appreciate the finest writing.
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Winters Tale by Mark Helprin. Could not cope with the complete change of direction and characters in the middle. Also ashamed to say I could not get through Eucalyptus by Murray Bail. Was just a bit too clever for me.😢
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Well, I haven’t read either of those books but I have abandoned many books for that exact same reason 😊
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I can’t finish Northanger Abbey and Infinite Jest! And I’ve tried several times 😦
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Infinite Jest…is that David Foster Wallace? I haven’t read it but have heard it is really difficult. I tried to read Thus Spake Zarathustra by Nietzsche and couldn’t make anything of it at all. A customer recommended it to me! I didn’t get very far.
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