This one was tricky for us! In the last few years our views on sticking with books have changed often. Sometimes we’ve felt like it’s always best to stick it out and see if a book gets better by the end. Other times we’ve felt the opposite. Thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl for the topic!
Here is our cobbled together list of books we’ve abandoned over the years.
Pete’s Five
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair Joel Dicker
I found the protagonist a bit pathetic and just couldn’t bring myself to root for him. On top of this, I’d heard that the book is problematic in its treatment of female characters, so I didn’t feel much of a need to press onward.
The Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
While I really enjoyed A Game of Thrones, I got 100 pages into the sequel before tiring of people talking about doing things without actually doing them—and I just can’t stomach Martin’s sex scenes.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré
The start of this one was simply too slow for us.
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
I tried reading this one with my brother, and neither of us could find a reason to root for the protagonists.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
There’s a pattern here—I found the protagonist whiny and irritating, and I was bored by his “chosen one” introduction. I need to find a character interesting to be gripped by a book’s story.
Indiana’s Five
Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz
I read this one for a book club and when I didn’t finish it in time for the meeting I just never went back to it.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
I was so excited for this book when it first came out but I couldn’t get into the storyline.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
This was another book club read where I didn’t finish it beforehand and after the meeting I couldn’t get back into it.
My Struggle Book Six by Karl Knausgaard
Pete and I read this series together and the first few were excellent and heartbreaking. By the fourth and fifth books we felt like the series was running a bit thin and after reading reviews of the sixth book we decided to hold off on picking it up.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carré
We both tried to read this one as well and just couldn’t get into the writing.
Lit Lens 
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