Half

By --Deb on

btt button

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?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

(A post inspired by the fact that it’s my half-birthday … I’m not the only person who remembers celebrating these when I was a kid, am I?)

Posted in: Wordpress

65 responses

  1. BooksPlease

    Happy half-birthday!

    My post is here – http://www.booksplease.org/2010/05/06/half-booking-through-thursday/

  2. DawnTreader

    I remember giving my age as 6½ or whatever, but I don’t think I ever paid any attention to the actual halfyear-date! 😉

    About the boring books, here’s my answer:
    http://islandofvoices.blogspot.com/2010/05/httpbtt2.html

  3. Melody

    Here’s mine.

  4. Novroz

    Been away for quite sometime now, but I’m back 🙂

    here’s my post (this week and last week)
    ttp://bokunosekai.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/btt-2-questions-in-1-post/

  5. Novroz

    Been away for quite sometime now, but I’m back 🙂

    here’s my post (this week and last week )
    ttp://bokunosekai.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/btt-2-questions-in-1-post/

  6. Novroz

    ups…wrong link

    BTT : 2 Questions in 1 Post

  7. tNb

    How timely! I’m half-way through The English Patient and I hate it. I’ve been agonizing about whether I should finish. I have to remember the concept of sunk costs from Economics 101 … even though I’ve already invested time and energy in the first half doesn’t mean I should waste any more time and energy reading the second half!

  8. gautami tripathy

    http://readbookswritepoetry.blogspot.com/2010/05/so-youre-halfway-through-book-and-youre.html

  9. chrissys_angel

    Hey! I like half-birthdays! ;o)
    So happy half-birthday!

    My answers are up:

    I hope you’ll find the time to hop over and leave a comment.
    Luv, Sonny

  10. Janet

    Here’s mine:
    http://www.acrossthepage.net/2010/05/06/booking-through-thursday-half/

    Happy booking!

  11. JLS Hall (Joy's Blog)

    One of my favorite topics! I’ll be interested to see all the answers today. Here’s mine:

    http://jlshall.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-half.html

  12. Booking Through Thursday « Windows Wide Open

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  13. Sa Toya

    It depends…

    Feel free to stop by and have a read…I’ll check out as many as I can too!

  14. DanaB

    Great question–a timely one for me, as you’ll see…

    ~*Happy Half-Birthday!!*~

    ~DanaB

    http://mywindowswideopen.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/booking-through-thursday-4/

  15. bookeywookey

    Happy 1/2.
    http://bookeywookey.blogspot.com/2010/05/triple-threat.html

  16. Cheryl "Mash"

    Great question this week. You can find my answer here
    CMashLovesToRead

  17. Susan Helene Gottfried

    I answered this over at my third blog, Rocks and Reads. But click over to the Meet and Greet for some special, pre-Mother’s Day fiction of my own, as well!

    http://rockread.westofmars.com/2010/05/06/btt-half/

  18. Yvonne

    Mine is here

  19. Alison

    I wish I could stop finishing bad books, but I so often push through to the end!

  20. Sa Toya

    Oh! also Happy Half Birthday!

  21. thestampinmom

    Answered: http://frugalhippiebusy.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/booking-through-thursday-half/

  22. Marce

    You made me giggle with the half birthday 🙂

    My post

    http://teawithmarce.blogspot.com/2010/05/btt-half-way-give-up-or-complete-book.html

  23. MizB

    My answer: http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/btt-half/

    PS… Happy Half-Birthday! 😀

    ~MizB

  24. Michael

    Happy half birthday.

    Interesting question this week.

    Booking Through Thursday — Finish Or Not?

  25. mervih

    Here’s my short answer:

    Half

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  27. Alayne

    This is an AWESOME question! My answer, and example, is at The Crowded Leaf.

  28. Maggi (Mama Librarian)

    There are two books I’ve tried reading multiple times and never got through them. Read about them here:

    http://mamalibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-half.html

  29. Maggi (Mama Librarian)

    Oh, and I always remembered my half-birthday because it was on my parents’ wedding anniversary. =)

  30. Chase

    Here’s my answer:

    http://the-bibliophiles-lounge.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-12.html

  31. bibliophilist

    Happy Half!

    BTT – Half

  32. Amused

    Cut my losses! http://amusedbybooks.blogspot.com/2010/05/half.html

  33. Amused

    Oh and happy Half Birthday – I always remember mine too 🙂

  34. Freda

    Happy Half birthday!

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-half.html

  35. Li

    Happy half birthday!

    Here’s my response to this week’s question: http://www.rulethewaves.net/blog/?p=1431

  36. Jess M.

    Here’s my answer–enjoy!

    http://jessikay89-likearollingstone.blogspot.com/2010/05/im-back-hurrah-also-btt-half.html

  37. Carol

    My post is up. Happy BTT everyone!

  38. Vicki

    I’ve never heard of celebrating half birthdays, but if you get a present, I’m all for it!

    Here’s my BTT http://www.readingatthebeach.com/2010/05/btt.html

  39. Kirsten

    I needed this question this week – Thanks! My answer here

  40. Ewa Munchkin

    Mine is here:

    http://ewamunchkin.blogspot.com/2010/05/six-of-one-and-half-dozen-of-other.html

  41. Sheery

    Good question; my response:
    http://sheeryhall.blogspot.com/2010/05/halfway.html

  42. Barbara

    Happy 1/2! I have three God-daughters and 4 step grandchildren and I celebrate with them their 1/2 birthdays. They love it. My adult God-daughters will remind me weeks beforehand, in case I may forget.

    Here’s my brief answer to the half question. Have a good weekend!
    http://blog.readinggroupchoices.com/content/blog/barbara/10/may/booking-through-thursday-56-half

  43. Jen

    Here is my response

    http://lifeisshort-readfast.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-may-6-2010.html

  44. Karoline

    Here’s my answer…um..what’s a half birthday?

    Booking Through Thursday 5/6

  45. Carina

    I hadn’t really thought this out properly before. My post is here.

  46. Rose City Reader

    I’m going to go figure my half birthday right now so I can celebrate.

    Happy half to you!

    Here is my answer on Rose City Reader.

  47. vampira2468

    Mine is here
    http://vampira2468.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/cant-quit-the-hunt/

  48. pam

    Here’s mine:
    http://pamr.blogspot.com/2010/05/half.html

  49. Jim Randolph

    No time for a full post today, but I’d have to say when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. I’m getting to old to finish every book I start if it’s not grabbing me!

  50. Trilllian

    Here’s mine:
    http://trillianbooks.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-half.html

  51. Tim

    Happy half-birthday. And here’s mine.

  52. pussreboots

    Of course. You can read my full answer here.

  53. Anesthezea

    Here’s mine: http://iheartpaperbacks.com/?p=3496

    Happy reading!

  54. Elsi

    I’ve posted a rather lengthy reply at http://reading.elsi123.net/2010/05/btt-half.html The essence of it is that after struggling all the way through a novel that I hated—read the blog post to find out which one—I was wishing I could get all of those hours back. I felt I had been robbed of my time. Since then, I’m much more willing to abandon a book mid-way.

  55. Susan

    I haven’t participated in a while! It’s nice to be back!

    http://susanlovesbooks.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-may-6.html

  56. Allison

    Here’s mine:
    http://readintothis.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-24.html

  57. Melanie

    http://www.cynicaloptimism.net/2010/05/btt-for-56.html

  58. rift

    Static8: Half
    … yep, I keep reading! 🙂

  59. Sara Harricharan

    Happy 1/2 birthday! ^_^

    Mine’s here:
    http://fictionfusion.blogspot.com/2010/05/halfway-through-bbt.html

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  61. Patrice

    I used to feel compelled to finish ~ but no longer! While I l-o-v-e to read, this incarnation [life] is too short to waste my time: so once I’ve re-confirmed my high impatience level, I then skim ahead, then do the verboten…I read the ending, gasp! Who knows: every now and then, my interest is renewed enough so that I return to actually reading such a book ~ with varying results…

    Caveat lector: if I really DO like a book but am “merely” all afire to learn what happens (does Seth/a the Beloved reeeeeally die? was it Murphy who killed the plumber in the kitchen with a coffeemaker? etc.), caught up in the suspense, or otherwise champing at the bit, I resist ~ ~ ~ for I HAVE LEARNED: a wonderful book will be spoiled, in some small measure but nonetheless, by my skipping ahead! I can return to where I left off and read faithfully all the way through, but it is just not the same now that I know the ending. I am sadder but wiser now…

    Thanks for the opp to share my thoughts, hence my recognizing what I think about this! :^}}

  62. sara

    FINISH IT!!!

    http://readandbead.blogspot.com/2010/05/booking-through-thursday-half-way.html

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  65. Terry Elisabeth

    I’m so sorry that I missed that question ! I was too busy to check my RSS feed. Oh well, I can answer here.

    If I read a book and I don’t like it, even if I’m at half of it or near the end, I don’t finish it. Life is too short to feel obligated to finish a book or to feel guilty about it. I don’t like it, I close it and I return it (or sell it if I bought it).

    With that book closed, I can concentrate on another book that I hope will be better !