Books You Couldn't Finish

fuzzi: I didn't like anyone in the book, and it dragged on...

Bookmarque: HIGHLY speculative. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive.

Cecrow: Couldn't manage it as a teen, but will definitely try again.

merrystar : I did finish this, but only because it was required reading for a course. It remains my least favorite Dickens.

merrystar : I finished it, but can't say I liked it particularly

fuzzi : Did finish, though I despised the characters.

merrystar : Required reading, or I doubt I'd have even started it.

cej1027 : Took three tries and the motivation of a better book if I'd just finish a chapter each day, but I made it through. I still think it's trash though.

waltzmn: Modern fiction. Bah. If you're going to assign a book in a literature class (which is the only reason I went near it), at least least let it be a book where you learn something from the unspoken background assumptions. This book is one of the reasons I prefer non-fiction. I freely admit that this is personal taste.

Diane-bpcb: Although I loved this book at first, owing to the dockside atmosphere and Proulx's use of hard consonants, I lost interest.

Cecrow : One of the best animal perspective novels, if not THE best.

Diane-bpcb: have started this many times; never got far into it despite my being a Jane Austen fan.

fuzzi : Did finish, was a struggle.

Diane-bpcb: Too painful for me; reminds me too much of my Protestant roots

: Maybe give it one more chance. But if you're not feeling it, nevermind.

lorax: I actually finished this one, gave up after Book 2, but there's no one book to determine if you're a fantasy fan. You can dislike this, because of the violence or for any other reason, and still consider yourself a fantasy fan.

Cecrow : Any fantasy aficionado read this as a breath of fresh air when it was first published, and the genre has not been the same since.

merrystar: Have to disagree with Cecrow; I have always read and enjoyed fantasy, but could not finish this when I tried to read it in the late 1990s.

Bookmarque: It's too twee. Precious. Repetitive. Boring. Preachy.

Bookmarque: Boring. Not scary. Not even eerie. Just dull.

Cecrow: Not nearly so engaging as Watership Down, I thought.

Bookmarque: An orgy of misogyny.

Cecrow: Maybe it gets better, but an uphill battle through its opening chapter. Not worth the effort.

lorax : Thumbs downed with the suggestion that the OP try a different translation next time.

Cecrow : Skip the whaling detail chapters if you must, but they build sympathy for the whale and add a strong dose of realism.