Books highly prized you couldn't finish

Dylan_Perry

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The Passage by Justin Cronin.

I got 200 pages in and moved on to something else. Just got bored with the page-long paragraphs of exposition or background slowing down, or stopping the narrative.

I tried to stick it out on recommendations from people I trust, but it was a chore to read. I donated the book to a thrift store.
 
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Baryonyx

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Game of Thrones

I started it, tried to get into it but just couldn't get into it. It seemed like so much padding that could easily have been taken out/condensed.
 

LKSebastian

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Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I read more than half of it, but I just couldn't power through the rest. The story never pulled me in.
 

Night_Writer

It's all symbolic.
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Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce.

I would have loved to have seen the original query letter for that.
 

JRehnay

My cats don't let me sleep.
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I struggled through "A Game of Thrones" and, though I finished it, couldn't bring myself to read the rest. Now I constantly feel like I'm missing something when I hear everyone rave about the TV show. Drat.
 

Pearl

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I tried reading "Sophie's World" because of my interest in philosophy, but stopped halfway through. It has good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, so maybe I approached it wrong. I thought it would be just a novel about a girl discovering philosophy. But there were a lot of boring scenes with no conflict, just Sophie and the philosopher sitting there talking. Plus, the change in the storyline threw me off so much I couldn't continue.
 

Brn2bwild

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The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I skimmed through most of The Two Towers and got maybe 10 pages into Return of the King. Just not a fan of Tolkien's prose and his mythology doesn't interest me enough to make up for it.

And anything by Charles Dickens. I know, blasphemy.
 

JohnnyGottaKeyboard

Who let this guy in...?
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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Michael Chabon.

In theory I should have loved this book, and I did enjoy the first third. About 3/4 of the way through, however, I just felt like it was never gonna end. So finally I just stopped. I think it's the most of a book I ever read that I didn't finish.

Am reading The Yiddish Policeman's Union now. And liking the beginning. I can only hope it keeps my interest.
 
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Oreo1909

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I half-read Atlas Shrugged a few times before I made it through. Shogun was a fun read for me, but Noble House was a snooze. Never did get through Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, but I really should. Tried to read IT, didn't keep me riveted.
 

Emermouse

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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Michael Chabon.

In theory I should have loved this book, and I did enjoy the first third. About 3/4 of the way through, however, I just felt like it was never gonna end. So finally I just stopped. I think it's the most of a book I ever read that I didn't finish.
.

Yeah, I had problems with Kavalier and Clay too. Once it moved away from the early days of comics stage, I had a hard time following it.
 

Jolly-Boo

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Don't know of it's highly praised but whatever!

Tried reading The Hunger Games the other day. Damn that present tense. Every time I read, "I say" instead of "I said" it just ... I can't take it. "I try to forgive him ..."

Figured it'd read this and the other two before the second movie but ... oh well, I'll just watch the movie then.
 

Krelian

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Don't know of it's highly praised but whatever!

Tried reading The Hunger Games the other day. Damn that present tense. Every time I read, "I say" instead of "I said" it just ... I can't take it. "I try to forgive him ..."

Figured it'd read this and the other two before the second movie but ... oh well, I'll just watch the movie then.

Jolly-Boo, that tripped me up at first as well, but, once things got going in high-gear, I started to not care.

Anyways, for me, that would be World War Z by Max Brooks. I got through about 90 pages of it, and at least for me, I just couldn't get through the style of it. Apparently, many others disagreed.

And "It" was one of my favorite books. I don't know what it was about it, but the character development in it was top notch, and that was what ended up drawing me in. How you can interweave sentimentality and an evil clown is beyond me, but, Stevie did it well.
 

LaBelette

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The only book I have failed to finish is Ulysses. I intend to tackle it again someday.
 

Jazen

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I couldn't get through Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I loved the movie and maybe I should have read the book first, but when I tried to read the book I just couldn't do it.