The “Should I finish this book?” thread

[Anonymous]

If I can’t get into a book, I often wonder if I should stick it out or abandon ship. I trust DCUM more than Goodreads or Amazon. Let’s post our partially finished books end courage each other to finish them (or not).

My current unfinished reads are:

Creation Lake, Rachel Kushner (and I’ve loved all her books)

Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver

Stoner, John Williams

[Anonymous]

Three Body Problem

[Anonymous]

Creation Lake was meh. I dropped it.

[Anonymous]

I forced myself to finish How to Sell a Haunted House which is described as campy horror. The horror portions were ridiculous, IMO. I’m glad I stuck it out though because I did appreciate the themes of loss and grief.

[Anonymous]

Ok I feel better that someone else declined to finish the poisonwood bible.

[Anonymous]

Creation lake was pretty weird but I really liked it. If you’re not liking it though maybe don’t continue as I don’t think the ending changes much in tone.

[Anonymous]

I tried reading the Slow Horses books. DNF early on.

[Anonymous]

How far are you into Poisonwood (which section), and what made you put it down? (Asking to inform my POV on whether you should pick back up or abandon for good.)

I read Three Body Problem earlier this year; not my favorite (I’m not big on sci-fi, and some of the cultural components were interesting but made it harder for me to connect to the characters).

[Anonymous]

I haven't read Creation Lake, but a resounding yes to both Poisonwood Bible and Stoner.

Stoner is one of my favorites and an under-read American classic. However, it doesn't change much throughout - the writing continues to be clean and straightforward and there aren't any dramatic moments. So if you don't like that tone, I suppose you don't have to keep going.

[Anonymous]

My most recent unfinished read was The Books of Jacob. I enjoyed it at the start, but it kept going on and on, and I still had hundreds of pages to go. I just couldn’t.

[Anonymous]

The Poisonwood Bible is a classic, IMHO, but I also couldn’t imagine not being enthralled with it within the first few chapters. So it it’s not working for you, I guess you drop it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Three Body Problem

Yes, and book two is worth it, and book three is garbage and unnecessary to the enjoyment of the story.

[Anonymous]

Creation Lake was god awful. Self-important drivel disguised as something meaningful or esoteric.

Poisonwood Bible on the other hand is an amazing read. I'm actually surprised you haven't been immediately engaged by it.

[Anonymous]

I thought Poisonwood Bible was fantastic but also remembering it picked up quite a bit at a certain point. But look, if you don't like it after 50 pages, feel free to drop it! Life is too short.

[Anonymous]

Tender is the Night - Fitzgerald

- Have had trouble getting into it, but I love Gatsby.