What makes you stop reading a book?

[pierrotlunaire0]

In terms of anachronistic language, I have to admit I love the Falco books.  I have no idea if it is authentic ancient Roman slang (and I don't think the author knows herself), but it just sounds right.

There was another thread about books we hated, and I don't even remember the title or the name of the book.  It was a police procedural.  But I hated every character in it.  Unpleasant beyond belief.  And yes, you don't want a Mary Sue, but when your characters are so mean, bitter, angry, and twisted that they should be institutionalized, then you have gone too far.

[VorFemme]

I *like* Georgette Heyer - but I was reading her in high school with my mother & sister - I'd just had to read Jane Eyre for literature class - and we all like history...so the historically correct word choice actually fit in with having just read a Bronte novel.

I can see where someone who doesn't like the feeling of being "in period" with the vocabulary at least close to the period correct might be jarred out of the book due to the words being unusual.

And I love the Falco books, the new series starting with his female British protégée, and the First Man In Rome series (Colleen McCullough) was also one that I enjoyed...and waited with bated breath for the next one to be published!

[gypsy77]

When an author disregards the character they have built over the course of several books, having them do something so completely out of character.

I was reading on my deck, and my copy of Hannibal went flying into the yard over that one.

[oz diva]

Unlikeable or unbelievable characters. I tried to read The Dinner last year. It was a best seller apparently, but all the characters were so unpleasant I didn't want to read it.

Sometimes, there's no reason, the story just doesn't grab me.

[iridaceae]

When it is just badly plotted. Don't set the characters up to fail. I got instantly irritated at several points in the Wheel of Time book but the one I could not stand was when the characters were told "it's dangerous outside. Don't wander around". Two or three promptly do. No!

Also utterly depressing books- it's why I hate the Game of Thrones books. Happy thoughts? Please. George R R Martin was clearly Thomas Hardy in a previous life.

[greencat]

I usually finish books once I start them.  I think the only books I didn't finish were A Confederacy of Dunces - I meant to finish it, but it got eaten, and I wasn't so interested in it that I wanted to go buy another one; and one series that I can't remember the title/author of any more that was so blatantly a rehash of LOTR that I put down the second book in disgust.  I did put down A Prayer for Owen Meany about 2/3 of the way through, but I picked it up again and finished it a few years later.  I was 14 the first time and 17 or 18 the second time...it made a big difference in my ability to handle the subject matter.  That book was very angsty!

Err, so dog drool and plagiarism will make me stop reading a book.

[cabbageweevil]

In terms of anachronistic language, I have to admit I love the Falco books.  I have no idea if it is authentic ancient Roman slang (and I don't think the author knows herself), but it just sounds right.

And VorFemme writes: "And I love the Falco books, the new series starting with his female British protegee..."

I know of the Falco books, but have never tried them. I don't on the whole, much cotton to the ancient Romans -- am probably far too hard to please fiction-wise !  From the recommendations here, though, Falco sounds worth a look at...

[HoneyBee42]

I think for me it's the "I don't care what happens next" or when I find myself thinking "just xx pages to go".  If I'm finding it a chore to turn the page, I quit.  At first, I felt guilty (the first book I gave myself permission to not finish was Doctor Zhivago and that was despite the fact that I had read and enjoyed pretty much the entire body of the works of Doestoevsky and Tolstoy).  I even tried watching the movie version twice and fell asleep both times.

[Goosey]

If I find the mail character repulsive, I won't finish.

For example, I've long forgotten the title, but there was a fantasy novel that began with the main character raping a girl who then commited suicide and her mother cursed him. Evidently she was just so pretty and his animal instinct took over. So, he needs to find someone to love him so his torment ends.

I realized that when I just wanted him to suffer, I shouldn't read the book. All I would be thinking as his love interest grew would be "He's a rapist!! Bet he hasn't told you THAT! Watch out, he can't control his baser instincts!!!"

Plus I hate when people portray men as unable to control their lusts. Of course they can. Implying they can't just gives them an "out" for misdeeds.

[Allyson]

In general, the "I just couldn't help myself" excuse is illogical. I think of "he insulted my wife, so of course I just had to punch him, instinct took over and I couldn't do anything else!" And the other characters typically either applaud or secretly think this is sexy/heroic. I just think, really, you couldn't help yourself because of the words said? But the person who gets punched is always someone of about equivalent physical ability. If you really 'couldn't help yourself' you'd punch that person regardless of whether they were a 6 year old boy, 90 year old woman, or 12 Marines. If you could not punch those people, you made a choice.

[LifeOnPluto]

Fluffy "plots" with no real conflict.

Boy meets girl. They immediately fall in love - no hurdles to overcome. One of them is usually an orphan, or from an abusive family. The other usually has a large, doting family, consisting of loving parents, siblings, and numerous first cousins. All of whom are ensconced in their own happy relationships. The Big Loving Family accepts the Orphan Partner with open arms. Pages are devoted to the characters' pleasant and fun interactions with each other.

Boy and girl get married in an incredibly romantic and touching wedding ceremony. They find out they are expecting their first child. Cue tears of joy from everyone. The baby is born. More pages are devoted to the main characters' awe and happiness over being parents. The story then ends with the couple expecting baby number two (or three, or four, if it's a particularly long story).

I find those "plots" incredibly boring and unrealistic, and quickly switch off.

[AngelicGamer]

I threw My Sister's Keeper against the wall and refuse to read the rest after the major twist.  I eventually did but the movie version of that is so much better.  Ugh.

Stop reading a series in the case of Song of Fire and Ice with being horribly depressing.  I read for escapism, like others, and he killed my favorite character in the first book.  THE FIRST BOOK.  I don't care that he died because he's an idiot, I liked him!  Yeah, I read to the end but I'm kind of done.

Breaking Dawn is still unread because I just couldn't.  What did me in was the mind hopping and not everything else wrong with it.  I was considering it brain candy and therefore ignoring a lot of the wrong with it.  Also, on re-reads, I can't read Catching Fire after half way through.  I know what's coming and I HATE it.  This is another case where the movie did much better than the books.

Um... I stopped Outlander because I didn't like the character for some reason.  I can't remember why, it's been so long. 

[Stricken_Halo]

I found a list of the most famous book set in each state, and I thought it would be fun to read all the ones I hadn't previously read. I flew through the first few, but bailed on Interview with the Vampire two thirds of the way through. What the above posters said about repulsive characters is completely true. Nobody is remotely relatable, let alone likable. If someone at all pleasant and normal person pops up, he or she will be vampire food within a few pages. And you don't even get the satisfaction of knowing they'll die in the end.

[Thipu1]

I also liked the Falco books.  The language might not have been absolutely proper for Latin but Davis was making Falco and his world at least partly familiar to modern readers.  In my opinion, she did an excellent job. Even my mother enjoyed them. 

On the other hand, we have Steven Saylor's Gordius the Finder books.  The first few were based on actual orations delivered by Cicero in criminal cases. They were inventive and interesting. 

Later on, Saylor became odd.  You do not turn around and make a character we've grown to know and love in several books suddenly become the murderer.  That soured the whole series for me. 

However, I must say that one of the Gordius books had possibly one of the best opening sentences in literature. 

[Stricken_Halo]

However, I must say that one of the Gordius books had possibly one of the best opening sentences in literature.

Which one? I think I've read the whole series but don't recall a particularly memorable opening sentence.

Later on, Saylor became odd.  You do not turn around and make a character we've grown to know and love in several books suddenly become the murderer.  That soured the whole series for me. 

Which book do you mean? You don't have to tell me the character, but I'd like to know the book.