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Thread: Books that you just can't finish

  1. #1
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
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    Default Books that you just can't finish

    I am currently struggling through Invisible man by Ellison, this is one of the great american novels of the 20th century, and is certainly very well written.

    No matter what i do though, i can't seem to be able to flip another page to continue reading. It is as though reading it is a task and not a joy to me.

    I had similar problem with other classics in the past such as Potrait of th Artist as A Young Man.

    However, heavy tomes such as W + P, Catch 22, Catcher etc was a joy to read.

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    What makes it hard for you (the readers) to continue reading a book?

    What can make it easier to concentrate on a book?


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    Senior Member remember_Cedric's Avatar
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    Ahahaha..... hmmm, Revolutionary Road? lol I thought the movie was quite enough.

    I managed to reach the middle of the book though.
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    Senior Member jadebunny9's Avatar
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    My textbooks. All of them. =(

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    Junior Member galadriel's Avatar
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    Kama Sutra - Penguin Edition.
    May my Earendil be Light in your Darkness when others Died out.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jadebunny9 View Post
    My textbooks. All of them. =(
    Same for me. Some textbooks I haven't even touched. Talk about wasting money. I do intend to read them on my deathbed though.

    It is hard for me to continue reading a book that I can't relate to or understand. What makes it easier to concentrate on a book is reading the summary of the book. When I was in high school I'd always ask friends who have read the book to give me the spoiler. So when I read it I have something to look forward to or anticipate. In 9th grade I had to read The Sound and the Fury and I just couldn't concentrate. I was so confused as to who was talking... All my classmates seemed to love it but I just didn't get it. Heh. After my teacher explained, I reread the book and actually enjoyed it.

    If the story is boring to me no matter how I read it, I quit reading it altogether.

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    Senior Member junny's Avatar
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    Some book by Robert Ludlum, it was so boring. Can't remember the title. And I stopped halfway for Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. I don't like to leave books unfinished, but unfortunately classics and I don't mix.
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    Senior Member patricia n's Avatar
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    "darwin on trial". i think the book itself is very interesting, but i can't seem to get past page 76 or so. i've picked up the book 3 to 4 times, and everytime, i seem to enjoy the book but life keeps on interrupting my concentration. it's a book i simply can't start at page 77 after last attempting to read it years ago.

    a book i wished i never finished reading is "a room with a view". talk about an anticlimatic novel from beginning to end.
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    Anything written by Henry James is a struggle to read. His grammar and stories are boring to me. Edith Wharton's writing was easier to read and concentrate on than Henry James's.

    I could not finish Moby Dick, I might give it another try now or someday since I don't have to read it for class anymore.
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    Senior Member PJ's Avatar
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    Ayn Rand - "Atlas Shrugged". It's very interesting, but I was perhaps too young for it. Thanks to this thread, I may pick it up again soon.
    忽见柳荫下两个小孩子在哀哀痛哭,瞧模样正是武敦儒、武修文兄弟。郭芙大声叫道:「喂,你们在干甚麽?」武 修文回头见是郭芙,哭道:「我们在哭,你不见麽?」

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    Senior Member sniffles's Avatar
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    I couldn't finish Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. It was just boring.

    I've also attempted on two separate occasions to read Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, and have not managed to finish it either time. It's so dense and filled with metaphor and allusion that I just don't seem to be able to relate to it.

    Ursula K. LeGuin is one of my all-time favorite authors, and The Left Hand of Darkness is considered a ground-breaking novel, but I've never been able to finish that, either. I liked the concept, but not the execution. I think she's written far better stuff since.
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    Senior Member junny's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sniffles View Post
    I've also attempted on two separate occasions to read Focault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, and have not managed to finish it either time. It's so dense and filled with metaphor and allusion that I just don't seem to be able to relate to it.
    I'm battling it. I enjoyed Eco's Il Nome della Rosa and would like to finish Foucault's Pendulum as well, but I realised it's better to read the book in small doses so that it doesn't overwhelm you.
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    Senior Member rosely's Avatar
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    Stephen King - The Dark Tower Book 1 - The Gunslinger, it's so dreadful with the travelling on the desert thingy
    Last edited by rosely; 05-21-09 at 07:58 AM.

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    For fictions...can't remember all. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (and other books in the series) and Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. Twilight because I just cannot feel anything for the characters, other than getting annoyed towards the female protagonist ; Angels & Demons, which I tried early last year or even earlier, I like the plot but think the author's writing style and my reading preference aren't exactly compatible
    Last edited by BearBearNweather; 05-21-09 at 11:02 AM.

  14. #14
    Senior Member blueberry's Avatar
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    Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder - everybody was saying it's a good book, so I attempted to read it. I can't even go half way with this book. I kept falling asleep when reading it. Then my dog chewed the book, so it's gone. After that, I read his other book (The Solitaire Mystery) and managed to finish that though took a long time.

    Narnia - few pages and I'm bored to death. The book is still sitting on my bookshelves.

    There are few other books that I can't remember - they are buried/hidden on the back of the shelf. Even though I know I can't finish the book or not even interested to give it another try in near future , I can't seem to bring myself to sell/donate the book. I keep thinking maybe 10-20 years from now I'll want to try again.

    PS : I'm surprised some people here don't like Angels & Demons. I like this book better than DaVinci's Code. When I read A&D, I couldn't put down the book until I finished it.

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    David Copperfield. I have a copy of the book my dad brought my but I never got through the first page....

    Also, The Lord of the Rings. I love the movies, but I can't just seem get through one long paragraph consisting of one long sentence.

    Sophie's World. I have not finished it, ever since about a few years back. I enjoyed it while the excitement lasted, but I can't seem to pick it up from where I left of. I think I may as well as read it again.
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    Senior Member mind_wander's Avatar
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    Books by Jean M. Auel because the 6th book isn't out yet. I am still on the 3rd book. Although, there should be at least 7 books. I love the fictional historical setting when the age of time the netherathals existed.
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    Senior Member sheraldine's Avatar
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    Tao Te Ching.

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    Eomance of The Three Kingdoms.

    It's not taht I couldn't flip another page, but I always skipped the part where Guan Yu and Huang Zhong died.

    And yes, I've read it for more than 10 times already.
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    I had trouble with "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood.

    Most books on philosophy end up unfinished.

    Book 4 or 5 of the Dark Tower series made me give up on the series.

    There were some books that I thought were really bad, but I pushed on since I hate leaving a book unfinished.

  20. #20
    Senior Member junny's Avatar
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    Lord of the Rings. Stopped at page 300+ or something, too much singing.
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