Books You Couldn't Finish

fuzzi: Despised the characters, why read about people with no redeeming qualities?

lorax: I actually finished this one, gave up after Book 2, but there's no one book to determine if you're a fantasy fan. You can dislike this, because of the violence or for any other reason, and still consider yourself a fantasy fan.

Cecrow : Any fantasy aficionado read this as a breath of fresh air when it was first published, and the genre has not been the same since.

merrystar: Have to disagree with Cecrow; I have always read and enjoyed fantasy, but could not finish this when I tried to read it in the late 1990s.

merrystar: I generally love re-told fairy tales, but I couldn't make it through this one.

merrystar: I'm possibly too old, but I found the beginning of this unreadable.

merrystar: Enjoyed the first half, but then it bogged down.

merrystar: the only assigned book I have ever given up on.

merrystar: Could not get through this when my librarian suggested it in 6th grade.

merrystar : This was actually my favorite of the David Brin novels when I was a teen.

fuzzi: I didn't like anyone in the book, and it dragged on...

Diane-bpcb: have started this many times; never got far into it despite my being a Jane Austen fan.

Cecrow : Defending: the language is thick, but the mystery is solid and based on the Sherlock Holmes model.

merrystar : Not my favorite by this author, but still readable.

Diane-bpcb: Was not interested enough in the story to try to follow the complexity of it

merrystar : Required reading, or I doubt I'd have even started it.

cej1027 : Took three tries and the motivation of a better book if I'd just finish a chapter each day, but I made it through. I still think it's trash though.

waltzmn: Modern fiction. Bah. If you're going to assign a book in a literature class (which is the only reason I went near it), at least least let it be a book where you learn something from the unspoken background assumptions. This book is one of the reasons I prefer non-fiction. I freely admit that this is personal taste.

merrystar : I finished it, but can't say I liked it particularly

fuzzi : Did finish, though I despised the characters.

lorax : Thumbs downed with the suggestion that the OP try a different translation next time.

Cecrow: Couldn't manage it as a teen, but will definitely try again.

merrystar : I did finish this, but only because it was required reading for a course. It remains my least favorite Dickens.