At the recent APLFF New Fiction Confab (more on that later), an interesting question came up, one that I think most of us readers have considered. If you start a book, and you just don't like it, do you soldier on or do you cut your losses and walk away? I used to be the former reader, trudging through all number of terrible books, and there were many. In the last few years, I decided that my time was worth more than that, and I've started putting books down.
So what kinds of books do I put down? Two notable ones come to mind, only because they've received lots of love from friends, family, bloggers, etc. The first, The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls, I just couldn't finish. I saw Jeanette speak at a charity event, and she was utterly charming. But for some reason, the book was just too much for me to stomach, and I had to walk away.
Another book I put down earlier this week was the second book in Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone saga, Days of Blood & Starlight. I don't know if it's too much fantasy for me, or if it was the transition from Prague to some other world, but this book just did not keep my interest. And when I start skimming, I know it's time to reevaluate my choice.
What about you? Do you ever walk away from a book? I must admit, I find it a little liberating.