So … you’re halfway through a book and you’re hating it. It’s boring. It’s trite. It’s badly written. But … you’ve invested all this time to reading the first half.
What do you do? Read the second half? Just to finish out the story? Find out what happens?
Or, cut your losses and dump the second half?
I think the minds of an editor and a reader is very much the same, at least when it comes to the opening line of the book they are reading. Sure, a great opening line captures the attention of the readers, but what if the context becomes boring towards the middle of a book? Will you continue to read it? Give it a second chance? Or just simply dump the book? Decisions, decisions!
Unfortunately, I don't have a definite answer for today's question. There are times I skim the book because I hate not knowing what happened to the story. Then there are times I give it a second chance and read a few more pages, hoping there would be a change of momentum. And then there is the dread of dumping the book all together, but this would be my last resort. I would only do this if the book is super boring, or I am no longer interested in the story and doesn't care what happens in the end.
Anyway, this reminds me of a question which I am interested to find out from all readers: What if the book is badly written but the author is a great storyteller? Would you read it?
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