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On my livejournal, I write quick reviews of every book I read. I also write quick reasons on why I didn't finish reading other books. There's a post somewhere on my LJ that says something along the lines of "Don't be offended if I didn't finish reading your book; it's a subjective business. There are simply some stories that are good but not for me."
I finish reading far more books than I give up on. This is bc I only pick up books that call to me for one reason or another: the subject is of interest, the author is a favorite, it got great reviews, the cover is fantastic, the online buzz got through to me, etc. But every so often there's a book that I pick up for one of these reasons, and I can't finish it.
The place where this most often happens for me is in the fantasy realm. I'm not a huge fantasy reader. In fact, I've only read books 1, half of 6, and all of 7 of the Harry Potters. I've read none of the Tolkein books.
BUT -- I LOVE the Harry Potter movies, as well as Lord of the Rings on film. And I'm a huge Star Wars geek. I think this is bc on screen, I don't have to try so hard to understand the magic/world/descriptions that sometimes take too much of my brain power to make reading the same story an enjoyable experience for me.
Yet, I will recommend the same books I stop reading after chapter 1 to the teen readers at my library. I'll also rec books I've never read (simply bc the genre is not a fave of mine) to teens who DO enjoy that genre. If a teen comes in looking for a new author to start reading and they like fantasy, I'll point them to Tamora Pierce -- despite the fact I haven't ever read her books. And I'll say, "I haven't read this, but it's about this, and everyone who read it loves it."
In fact, I'm more likely to rec a book that I stopped reading based on a genre mismatch for me than a book that I read completely and only so-so liked.
Will you recommend books you stopped reading but know someone else will like?
Deena, Miss Subbing for Pubbing
Hmm, that's a hard question for me. I don't think I often do recommend books I haven't finished. For me not to finish, there usually is something really not working, and I if that's the case, there are plenty more books where things DO work and I'd probably recommend those instead. :)
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