Comments on: What makes you put a book down?

By: Deb Salisbury

Deb Salisbury — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 01:47:58 +0000

A book has to be incredibly bad before I’ll give up on it once I’ve bought it. But I always read a few pages in the bookstore, and if the writing is lame, or the characters are flat or obnoxious or too violent, or if I just can’t believe in the premise as given in those first pages, then back on the bookshelf it goes.

By: C. A. Kobu

C. A. Kobu — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:27:09 +0000

A few things spoil it for me. I put the book down if:
- I’m constantly aware that I’m reading a book. I should be immersed in it. I shouldn’t be thinking how well the author has crafted a sentence or a paragraph.
- If the characters are poorly developed. Since I studied stuff related to developing fictional characters, this really turns me off. I want to be able connect with every major character in the book. Even with the antagonist. And I want to establish an imaginary but human bond. If I feel as if the author is a ventrilogue and the characters are mere puppets, I stop reading.
- (concerning translated work) If the translation is poor.
In the past, I used to force myself to read a book until the end even if I hated it. I don’t do that anymore.

By: CB

CB — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:54:23 +0000

I get turned off if I don’t have at least a hint of what the plot is supposed to be, if the characters feel fake, or if semi-serious scenes feel ULTRA serious.