What’s Made You Drop a Book?

[HouseOfUkiro]

Ngl when I read, I simulate myself into the writers world. I invest. As soon as I get a fleeting whiff of stretching chapters out, fillers, purple prose, world building that has nothing to do with the story, narrative betrayal or any kind of gimmick or tom foolery I stop drop and roll away…

What are you reasons for dropping a book?

 

[Alski]

Mostly small annoyances. I recently dropped a story that had the MC pushing pronouns on a character that obviously didn't give 2 fucks about it and them making offhanded comments about being patient with CiS people like they were stupid or something.

 

[Envylope]

One time, it was because I tripped on a root in the ground.

 

[Alski]

One time, it was because I tripped on a root in the ground.

Were you trying to threaten the tree with the book in question?

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

Mostly small annoyances. I recently dropped a story that had the MC pushing pronouns on a character that obviously didn't give 2 fucks about it and them making offhanded comments about being patient with CiS people like they were stupid or something.

Imagine putting up with that for the rest of the book/series… Hell no.

 

[Envylope]

Were you trying to threaten the tree with the book in question?

It was Twilight, so the book was as hollow as the tree. If I hadn't dropped it, I'd have dropped it in the non-literal sense anyway.

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

One time, it was because I tripped on a root in the ground.

It took me a minute to process that one. Ngl, I’m ashamed ?

 

[Yamemai]

Similar, small fractures builds up & finally shatters my interest in the story.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

I end up dropping novels, manhwas, and webtoons because the story starts to fall off. I just simply get bored and lose interest if the story is being rushed, or vice versa, taking too damn long to get through a single arc or w/e. The most recent story I dropped was because new developments weren't that entertaining to read, and I couldn't stay invested.

Hard to explain without specific context, but there are just so many stories that have a GREAT build-up, only to trip and fall off a cliff blindfolded, y'know? ?

 

[BigBadBoi]

I remember dropping a novel once because I seethed so hard that the MC didn't pick best girl. I knew it was a harem so they might get together anyway but it pissed me off enough to drop it.

I end up dropping novels, manhwas, and webtoons because the story starts to fall off. I just simply get bored and lose interest if the story is being rushed, or vice versa, taking too damn long to get through a single arc or w/e. The most recent story I dropped was because new developments weren't that entertaining to read, and I couldn't stay invested.

Hard to explain without specific context, but there are just so many stories that have a GREAT build-up, only to trip and fall off a cliff blindfolded, y'know? ?

Korean novels are the biggest offenders of this. Most of them start of great but the endings are mid as hell. The author Jee Gab Song is the biggest example of this. Dude makes stories with a great premise and it slowly falls off then has a shitty ending. Every single time without fail every novel he wrote turns into dogshit.
Chinese novels are different. They're either dogshit from beginning to end or they're peak.
Japanese novels are mostly generic trash unless they're light novels and absolute cinema.

 

[Jerynboe]

One of the few I can think of that I actively decided to stop instead of slowly petering off is in Wheel of Time. I found the setting more interesting than the characters already, but then we came to a segment in which a guy is getting sexually harassed by a powerful woman repeatedly and is clearly distressed about it. 95% of the cast, including most of the narration, treats it as a joke.

Exactly one character I can remember called that out as pretty fucked up, and thankfully the response wasn’t further justification, but by that point I had such an overwhelming level of ick that I had no interest in picking up the next book. (Yes I finished the book itself, but this is the closest example I could think of)

 

[JayDirex]

Ngl when I read, I simulate myself into the writers world. I invest. As soon as I get a fleeting whiff of stretching chapters out, fillers, purple prose, world building that has nothing to do with the story, narrative betrayal or any kind of gimmick or tom foolery I stop drop and roll away…

What are you reasons for dropping a book?

Same as yours. and, these days, as I've gotten older, there's a "Well, that satisfied that. That's just fine."
Meaning I'll get invested in a particular Arc, or just the first novel of a series. and Once it scratches the itch. I'm like, "Well that's just fine. That's all I needed"

lose interest in the rest of the story, or I was never interested in whatever subplot so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Xcalibur_Xc]

Never dropped a book, but when the views rate drops way too much, I end the book on a sweet note. Abandoning books feels unfair to those who are still reading.

 

[jrell]

Whenever the work is about to get stubbed, I lose all interest in it. I'm not sure why that is, because I genuinely feel happy for the author who gets published. Even if it's the most amazing book out there, and even if I've already read the soon-to-be-stubbed part. It's weird, but I just can't force myself to read any further when that happens.

 

[HouseOfUkiro]

Same as yours. and, these days, as I've gotten older, there's a "Well, that satisfied that. That's just fine."
Meaning I'll get invested in a particular Arc, or just the first novel of a series. and Once it scratches the itch. I'm like, "Well that's just fine. That's all I needed"

lose interest in the rest of the story, or I was never interested in whatever subplot so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Doesn’t matter how popular the title is. When it’s ran it’s course …

Whenever the work is about to get stubbed, I lose all interest in it. I'm not sure why that is, because I genuinely feel happy for the author who gets published. Even if it's the most amazing book out there, and even if I've already read the soon-to-be-stubbed part. It's weird, but I just can't force myself to read any further when that happens.

It’s an unwritten rule… Once you get that feeling you know it’s over

 

[Azhurie_Mythephan]

There was a scene where they talk about a toilet, and I just couldn't take it anymore.

 

[Daitengu]

I have insta drop tags. Rape, slavery, mind control. I have never once read a story online that includes any of those and take them seriously enough. There's just no emotional weight.

If anything them three tend towards sexual abuse fantasy writing and/or supporting them. I'm not about that small dick ugly bastard gooner crap.

 

[radiocake]

After 15 years of daily online reading I can confidently say that I have no clue what makes me drop a story... It could be anything from a strange sentence about a toe being stubbed (despite me liking that same sentence in a different story) to just losing interest because of lackluster writing... or something.

I do avoid books with certain tags. I just won't start reading them so I can't say I drop them. If I suspect it might happen in a story (without it being tagged) I do do some recon by reading reviews, comments or snippets from later chapters. It does happen though my recon sucked and I yeet something into the bin mid read.

 

[L1aei]

I believe that I proceeded to discontinue my engagement with a recent novel on account of the protagonists possessing common sense that approximated, in a fashion both alarming and mundane, the rationality typically attributed to bureaucratic entities.

 

[Maelstrom556]

A lot of times, I'll drop books by accident. I don't even mean that in the "haha, I physically dropped the book" either. I'll be partway through a book but have to put reading on pause due to life stuff, then when I finally get around to where I can read again, I won't know wtf is going on where I left off and won't feel like starting over again.

Other times, there were books I wish I could've dropped, but they were assigned reading at school. Most of those were some of the most boring things out there and one of them actually made me so physically sick that I had to vomit.

And recently, I've been considering dropping a webtoon because the current chapter just feels like a crappy crossover fanfic. Literally, between the previous and current chapters, MC1 has given up on the main plot and went off to date some random no-face guy, and MC2 who has been in love with MC1, has started summoning a character from an entirely different webtoon to hang out with. You can't tell me that isn't something a fanfic writer would do to make their ship work. The creators are even monetizing the anxiety and confusion because they've literally said that if you're worried about what's going on, you can donate $40 for a recording of their talks about future plans and where it's all leading.