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Refusing to Read


Cantabile

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A Muslim friend recently asked me for book recommendations for her children, and one of my suggestions was the Chronicles of Narnia due to its popularity. She outright refused to read the book due to its blatant Christian messages, which got me thinking: What does it take for us to outright refuse to even open a book, or by extension for us to quit reading it mid-book?

For me personally there is nothing that would make me refuse to read a book except for knowing that it's awfully written. But I've known people whom will stop reading a book if a protagonist dies, because it angers or saddens them too much, and others whom won't touch a book if they know beforehand it contains ideologies that contradict their own.

So what's it take for you to refuse to open a book, or to stop reading it?

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If I've had bad experiences with an author I won't keep buying their books. I generally read a book to the end though, no matter what. Only thing which might stop me is if I get so bored I forget. I don't care about the author's political or religious leanings though. China Meiville is pretty far away from me politically but he's my favourite living author.

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For me it's pretty logical; there are a lot of books, more books than we could ever read in our lives. Thus it's a zero-sum game, any book we read takes away from a future book we could read.

I can either go out on a limb and pick one up, or I can ask around and see what has good reviews. If something has a generally bad press (like, say, Sword of Truth) I won't bother to read it, because it's more likely to be a waste of time.

By this I mean, a book doesn't have to be repulsive, it just has to have a lower expected value than the time used to read it.

Likewise to quit a book...generally I try to give a book a good shot, some authors take a while to find their stride, but if it gets to the point where I'd rather go for a walk than pick up the book, or I'd rather load up a game of Mount and Blade or Dragonage and feel no desire to pick the book up again, I'd say I'll probably put it down.

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If a book is just crap, poorly written, badly plotted or the like I will usually put it down. Sometimes if it's pretty short and I can finish it quickly I'll soldier on but not usually.

I think the main reason for me putting a book down in the past has been when it just bores me. Lately I have gotten better about trudging through some boring parts to see if it picks up (*cough Consider Phlebas). At some point, however, the TBR pile(s) begin to cry out to me and I wonder why I am reading this boring peice of shit when there are so many other books a mere arms reach away.

I can't think of a time where subject matter has caused me to stop reading. I suppose if it were some kind of loving description of child molestation or something like that it would put me off the book but the usual reasons, religious stuff, zany political philosophies, strident pushing of a particular position usually won't make me stop.

Just don't bore me.

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Generally the only kind of fiction books I will REFUSE to read are those by an author whose views I find particularly disgusting and/or amoral. Or in the rare case that an author is a HUUUUGE asshole. I mean HUGE. So basically Orson Scott Card and Dan Simmons are no-no's. Even then I find myself tempted to pick up the latest Simmons sometimes. At least he can write. Card is another matter entirely.

Oh and "fiction" by political figures. See Glen Beck.

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For me personally there is nothing that would make me refuse to read a book except for knowing that it's awfully written. But I've known people whom will stop reading a book if a protagonist dies, because it angers or saddens them too much, and others whom won't touch a book if they know beforehand it contains ideologies that contradict their own.

So what's it take for you to refuse to open a book, or to stop reading it?

There's a couple different ways to answer this. Like many (most?) people, I'll quit reading a book if I get bored within the first couple of chapters, or I realize within the first few pages that the writing style is poor. But my time is limited and my tastes fairly demanding, so when looking for stuff to read it's more about looking for stuff I'm affirmatively interested in than eliminating books I don't want to read. I'll read a bunch of reviews and sometimes the first few pages of the book, and if I come away with the impression that it's nothing special or unlikely to appeal to me, I probably won't read it.

As for ideologies though? One reason (though not the only one) that I chose not to read The Life of Pi is that it's billed as "a book that will make you believe in God." No thanks. Lewis IMO is good enough to read in spite of the religious message, but I generally do avoid religiously preachy books. Sexism is also a big one; I'm unlikely to pick up a book by a male author who's reputed to do a poor job with female characters. I just don't have time for that.

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As for ideologies though? One reason (though not the only one) that I chose not to read The Life of Pi is that it's billed as "a book that will make you believe in God." No thanks. Lewis IMO is good enough to read in spite of the religious message, but I generally do avoid religiously preachy books. Sexism is also a big one; I'm unlikely to pick up a book by a male author who's reputed to do a poor job with female characters. I just don't have time for that.

I don't see why. I believe in God and was perfectly happy reading the God delusion.

Its interesting to at least see the other perspective.

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I don't see why. I believe in God and was perfectly happy reading the God delusion.

Its interesting to at least see the other perspective.

Sure. But I'm more interested in seeing perspectives I'm not familiar with, as opposed to ones I grew up surrounded by. And I'm not particularly interested in being preached to in fiction on opinions I don't agree with. Doesn't mean I'll never read a Christian book--I've read the Bible (in its entirety), the Narnia books, and for some reason I enjoyed the Mitford books as a kid, among others. But when I want to read a novel, I go for something I expect to like, and when a book I'm not sold on to begin with advertises its advocacy of an opinion I don't agree with, I see no particular reason to read it just to prove to myself that I'm open-minded.

Liadin,

What about preachy athiests? Do their works bother you?

Well, I am human, so people preaching opinions I agree with is not high on my list of pet peeves. :) But if a novel was advertised with lines like "this book will make you stop believing in God" I can't say I'd find that appealing either.

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Usually it's when the book has a reputation of being a thinly veiled tract for the author's unpleasant views on politics, culture, etc. It's the big reason I won't ever read the Gor novels by John Norman, or the Mission Earth books by L. Ron Hubbard (reading Battlefield Earth was bad enough).

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For me it's pretty logical; there are a lot of books, more books than we could ever read in our lives. Thus it's a zero-sum game, any book we read takes away from a future book we could read.

This sums it up pretty well, but I usually apply the process beforehand and don't quit in the middle of a book. It's not that I would refuse to read something, but that I would rather read something else.

If you locked me in a room and there was no opportunity cost for reading a book...well I'd probably read anything. But if the author was a POS I would refuse if my reading gave him money.

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I like to read, and I like to believe that even bad books have something to teach me (as an aspiring writer, that is: what not to do). Having said that, I rarely ever put down a book once I've decided to read it. I like to see things through to the end. I like seeing all the little blackened dots on my Kindle.

But, I will put a book down if I get the feeling that the author has absolutely no idea where they're going with it. Lots of airy, whimsical, insubstantial description. Vague and cryptic dialogue that will take hundreds of pages to be relevant. Hints with nothing to cling to. Backdrops with nothing memorable except that they are backdrops.

I can endure choppy prose. I could endure Twilight (since, if nothing else, the book has going for it that it knows what it's about). I can endure and even enjoy Catcher in the Rye which has about as much fucking around as I can stomach. But some books just pull you along, and it feels like I'm doing the author a favor by putting up with their nonsense looking for something substantial. It doesn't even have to be that interesting, just give me something.

Best example I can think of at the moment? Crichton's The Lost World. Holy sharks that book was stale. It was literally about nothing except 'huh, neat, these dinosaurs do something different'. It was clear that Crichton hadn't written a sequel before that (he admitted to this), and it was like he crapped it out due to peer pressure. But it just... didn't have anything interesting in it.

edit: Then again, how I personally feel about the author does hold a bit of sway over my reading, but that usually determines whether or not I'll read it at all. I try not to let opinions of the author seep in mid-book.

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I just want to be entertained for the most part. It doesn't have to be a classic, but it does have to go somewhere. I can even put up with political overtures, if the story works. Wish i could think of some books i quit on.

I will agree with the Lost World. It is the only book by the author i never bothered to reread, i know i hated it the first time.

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Sure. But I'm more interested in seeing perspectives I'm not familiar with, as opposed to ones I grew up surrounded by. And I'm not particularly interested in being preached to in fiction on opinions I don't agree with. Doesn't mean I'll never read a Christian book--I've read the Bible (in its entirety), the Narnia books, and for some reason I enjoyed the Mitford books as a kid, among others. But when I want to read a novel, I go for something I expect to like, and when a book I'm not sold on to begin with advertises its advocacy of an opinion I don't agree with, I see no particular reason to read it just to prove to myself that I'm open-minded.

Ok. I don't actually know the book your reffering to, but if its downside is simply that attempts to prove the existence of God then thats probably a poor reason not to read it imo. Unless thats all its known for and you are uninterested in the subject. I mean you don't necessarily know what take the novel will have, or whether it will be preachy, I assume. It may be a crappy novel and you made a good decision though, no idea really.

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Bad writing. I actually only read the first page of a book that was such a HUGE hit because it was like reading See Spot Run. In the name of all that is holy, I cannot stand that! I will also tend not to go for anything preachy, and I see I'm not alone in that.

Generally I will try to get through most things I start, but if I just can't care about the story, I'm done. I can not like the main characters even, but I have to be interested in where they are going. Dexter is an example...Did I like Dexter himself? No. However, the glimpse into his mind and motives was interesting in it's complete departure from anything I know so I read it all.

If that makes sense...

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Ok. I don't actually know the book your reffering to, but if its downside is simply that attempts to prove the existence of God then thats probably a poor reason not to read it imo. Unless thats all its known for and you are uninterested in the subject. I mean you don't necessarily know what take the novel will have, or whether it will be preachy, I assume. It may be a crappy novel and you made a good decision though, no idea really.

I need reasons to read something. I'll never get to the vast majority of the books that are out there, so it's not a matter of weeding out what I'm not interested in so much as finding what I am. In that sense my response wasn't directly in line with the OP; it's not a book I otherwise wanted to read but refused to due to its ideology, more just an example of one reason why it didn't appeal.

That said, I don't see anything particularly wrong with using ideology as one factor when choosing what to read. Exposure to other opinions doesn't necessarily do you any good (see all the one-star rants on Amazon when people found something they weren't expecting). Provided Cantabile's Muslim friend was able to find other good books for her kids, what's the harm?

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Agreed with Liadin. I was thinking of books I already have started reading. There are some authors I will not bother with at all because of reputation. I am not a wealthy enough man to go out purchasing books that I think will probably suck. For instance I will not bother with Goodkind because of his well established tool-hood and that his books apparently suck. (strangely though, I feel compelled to find the full Ted Rockson collection but I'm sure that's nothing counseling won't fix.)

As far as Card goes, I'm not familiar with what the issues are with him. I very much enjoyed Ender's Game and I already have Speaker for The Dead so I will eventually read it. Whatever homophobic shit stainary he might be guilty of I haven't seen it in his books yet. If I did, I would imagine I would finish the book and cross him off my list of authors to purchase. If he believes homosexuality is a sin according to the dictates of his personal god(s) then so be it. I don't agree but it's his right. If he is being a prick about it then I would probably take issue.

I used to stop reading books and toss them if they were kind of boring in the first few chapters. I notice some others are doing this now. I don't pretend to be someone who should be doling out advise but I have found over the last few years that sometimes, even often, if I continue one through the boring parts I will find the "groove" of the book and it will be well worth the effort. This may not be true for anyone but me, it's just food for thought.

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I need reasons to read something. I'll never get to the vast majority of the books that are out there, so it's not a matter of weeding out what I'm not interested in so much as finding what I am. In that sense my response wasn't directly in line with the OP; it's not a book I otherwise wanted to read but refused to due to its ideology, more just an example of one reason why it didn't appeal.

That said, I don't see anything particularly wrong with using ideology as one factor when choosing what to read. Exposure to other opinions doesn't necessarily do you any good (see all the one-star rants on Amazon when people found something they weren't expecting). Provided Cantabile's Muslim friend was able to find other good books for her kids, what's the harm?

Yeah, like I said if that was the only reason it was recommended and you weren't interested in the subject then its fine.

I'm always wary of tossing a book away after the first few pages. I'd have missed out on some great experiences if I'd done that.

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As far as Card goes, I'm not familiar with what the issues are with him. I very much enjoyed Ender's Game and I already have Speaker for The Dead so I will eventually read it. Whatever homophobic shit stainary he might be guilty of I haven't seen it in his books yet. If I did, I would imagine I would finish the book and cross him off my list of authors to purchase. If he believes homosexuality is a sin according to the dictates of his personal god(s) then so be it. I don't agree but it's his right. If he is being a prick about it then I would probably take issue.

The man has said some absolutely insane and highly offensive things over the years in interviews and his blog, which is why a people that were formerly Card fans currently loathe the man.

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