# How many times have you put down a book after the first sentence?



## Svrtnsse (Oct 23, 2013)

As far as I can recall, I've never put down a book after the first sentence or even the first page. I've probably done it after the first chapter and there are definitely books that I just haven't finished because I didn't feel the urge to go back to them after I had to take a break from reading.

Still, the first sentence is important. I don't think anyone disagrees with that. I'm sure there are people who would put down a book after the first sentence if they didn't like it, but I'm not one of them. If I've paid for a book I want to give it a go and I'm not going to let just one sentence decide on whether I've wasted my money or not. I'm pretty sure the same goes for a free book too. If I've gone to the effort of obtaining it I'm going to give it a go.

How common do you think it is though? Did you ever put down a book right away after the first sentence. I'm sure there's been research on this and in fairness I haven't looked. I'm interested in hearing what you guys think.


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## GeekDavid (Oct 23, 2013)

Not the first sentence. However, I have put books down before reaching the end of the first chapter.


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## Feo Takahari (Oct 23, 2013)

I almost always last at least ten pages. (I think the quickest was Atlas Shrugged, which I went into with no foreknowledge whatsoever.)


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## buyjupiter (Oct 23, 2013)

A couple of times in the library. I typically look at the cover then the blurb then the inside text, and if all that has caught my eye I will read in the stacks. I can't recall offhand any titles, because I did put them back, but I'm more likely to do it with a nonfiction book than a fiction one.

I will however continue reading the first chapter in a bookstore or in the library because of a good first sentence.


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## Steerpike (Oct 23, 2013)

I've put them back on the shelf after the first few sentences. If I actually buy it I'll give it a chapter or two.


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## T.Allen.Smith (Oct 24, 2013)

The quickest I've ever put a book down was a few paragraphs. This is a book that was given to me, not one I was looking to buy.  

The main character reached into a lava flow to retrieve an object and was able to grasp it. That was just asking me to suspend too much disbelief. I left it in the pocket of the airplane seat.


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## Sparkie (Oct 24, 2013)

As with most things in life, I hate leaving things unfinished (thus my penchant for writing short stories over novels.)  Once I start a book, I'm usually in it for the long haul.  I try to read at least 100 pages before calling it quits.  When I have read less than that, the writing has been atrocious to the point of scorn.


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## Penpilot (Oct 24, 2013)

When I pick up a book, I'm usually in the mood to give it a solid chance. I rarely put a book down, but when I do, It's usually not how many sentences/pages before I put it down. It's how many eye-rolls. Three is usually the tipping point. If it's early on in the book, I just put it down. If it's late, I skim the rest.


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## Philip Overby (Oct 24, 2013)

Can't say I've put something down after the first sentence, but usually after the first couple of paragraphs, I may know it is something I don't want to continue. This usually has little or nothing to do with technical ability (although that factors in), but usually involves stilted dialogue, a too-familiar-in-a-bad-way main character, or a dry history lesson prologue. That's just me though. I've stopped reading tons of books after the first chapter or two. This doesn't mean I don't ever plan to read them again, I just put them aside and want to read something I'm more in the mood for. I don't rush through novels like I used to. I tend to read something very slowly and jump in and out of different books. This is a habit I don't like, so I'm really trying to quash it.

I'm wrapping up Elmore Leonard's first book _The Bounty Hunters_ while I wait for my new Kindle. I dropped mine on the floor the other day. Second one I've broke. Damn my luck...

However, it's good in a way because I tend to finish more paper books than I have Kindle ones. Not sure why that is, but there you have it.


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## The Dark One (Oct 24, 2013)

I used to always finish a book regardless of how much I hated it, but I was saved from that hell by the most appalling book in the history of lit...god I nearly said literature!!!

I should have been warned off by the cover, which seemed to portray an alien dressed in scuba gear dancing on a beach...sigh. I soldiered on for about a 100 pages but it was just rubbish.

Ever since I've been freed from that curse of having to read to the end. Should be grateful really.


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## CupofJoe (Oct 24, 2013)

Phil the Drill said:


> However, it's good in a way because I tend to finish more paper books than I have Kindle ones. Not sure why that is, but there you have it.


I think the book waiting and looking lonely by the side of the bed [or where ever you read] is a far bigger guilty-trip than a Kindle that is turned off... 
There are many books that as I kid I didn't finish the first page of, but I have struggled back to some of them over the years [The Gormenghast Trilogy was one, Catch22 another] and enjoyed.


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## Kn'Trac (Oct 24, 2013)

> The main character reached into a lava flow to retrieve an object and was able to grasp it.



Sounds a lot like Krull, the adventure movie from the early 80's, when the MC reaches in the lave to retrieve the throwing star shaped dagger thingy.


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## Dragev (Oct 24, 2013)

I have never put down a book after the first line. Usually, I have a good instinct as to whether I'll like a book or not, and those I probably won't remain unbought. I have put down, donated or otherwise gotten rid of a few which were gifted to me under the bizarre impression that "more sales = quality". Some of those were excellent things for lighting fires with.

However, I don't know what I'd do if I stumbled onto one of these: 33 Of The Most Hilariously Terrible First Sentences In Literature History | Thought Catalog


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## C Hollis (Oct 24, 2013)

The only book I have ever not completed is the first book in the Thomas Covenant series, and I've tried to read it three times now.  I guess it's hard to hold my attention when I really don't care if the main character lives or dies.


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## glutton (Oct 24, 2013)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> The main character reached into a lava flow to retrieve an object and was able to grasp it. That was just asking me to suspend too much disbelief. I left it in the pocket of the airplane seat.



Was the character supposed to be superhuman? As for the question, no, never the first sentence.


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## Mythopoet (Oct 24, 2013)

It depends entirely on my level of interest/investment in the book in question. Though if the first sentence is an obvious hook my interest/investment needs to be strong to continue. I do not like my reading material trying to manipulate me. I find that most first sentence/paragraph hooks are not representative of the rest of the book. Also, if the first sentence is a hook, it's likely to be written according to conventional writing advice which I find unoriginal and tiresome.


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## Chilari (Oct 24, 2013)

I usually give a book a few pages at the least, and even then if I'm finding it uninteresting I give it the benefit of the doubt and go a bit further. For books I'm reviewing, this usually takes me to at least chapter 3 because I want to give the book a proper chance. However, for books full of spelling and grammatical errors, or with utterly terrible writing, I have been known to give up after a page, or before the end of the prologue.


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## deilaitha (Oct 24, 2013)

I do at the bookstore, sometimes.  I am not a fan of books that start with something sexual right off the bat.  If the first line is blatantly sexual I will not continue to read.  I prefer to get to know the characters before something that intimate occurs.  That is my personal preference, not a hard and fast (har!) rule. 

Sometimes, I can tell within the first page if something grips me.  Other times, I will browse the first chapter.  If the summary sounds really interesting, I will persevere past the first several chapters.  There are some books I have read where I kept reading to the end, because gosh darnit, it sounded so interesting and at some point the book has to stop being terrible...and at the end of it I want several hours of my life back. (Or in the case of Leo Tolstoy, several years. Just kidding.)


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## BWFoster78 (Oct 24, 2013)

Svrtnsse said:


> As far as I can recall, I've never put down a book after the first sentence or even the first page. I've probably done it after the first chapter and there are definitely books that I just haven't finished because I didn't feel the urge to go back to them after I had to take a break from reading.
> 
> Still, the first sentence is important. I don't think anyone disagrees with that. I'm sure there are people who would put down a book after the first sentence if they didn't like it, but I'm not one of them. If I've paid for a book I want to give it a go and I'm not going to let just one sentence decide on whether I've wasted my money or not. I'm pretty sure the same goes for a free book too. If I've gone to the effort of obtaining it I'm going to give it a go.
> 
> How common do you think it is though? Did you ever put down a book right away after the first sentence. I'm sure there's been research on this and in fairness I haven't looked. I'm interested in hearing what you guys think.



The term "put down" implies a book that I've picked up, as in already purchased.  If I've gotten that far with a book, I doubt I'd put it down without giving it a long time to develop the story.

However, I do check out a lot of books on Amazon.  If I like the description, I'll open the sample.

For those, there are many, many, many books that I decided not to buy after reading a few paragraphs, maybe even just a few sentences.  Not sure if I've literally put one down after a single sentence or not, though I'd say many weak opening sentences influenced my decision not to buy.


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## Svrtnsse (Oct 24, 2013)

I completely forgot to take into account that you can read the start of a book before you buy it, bot online or in the store.
It's something I never actually do myself, but it does make complete sense.
I tend to go with just reading the back and looking at the cover and then going by that. I don't actually open the book to look inside it (I just never thought about it). If I did I probably would be able to say I'd put down a fair few books based on the first sentence or paragraph.

As Brian says though, I was originally referring to books you've already bought.
I can definitely see how the first sentence/paragraph could affect your decision about whether to buy the book or not.


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## Steerpike (Oct 24, 2013)

I never read the back, so it's the opening paragraph or so for me. Maybe a page or two. Then I'll decide whether or not to get it.


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## Asterisk (Oct 24, 2013)

If the book hasn't been recommended to me or if I haven't heard about it, I read the back cover and first sentence. If that doesn't catch my attention, I usually move on to the next book. But books that have built themselves a reputation... I give those a few paragraphs.

Yes.  I know. Picky, picky.


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## SeverinR (Oct 25, 2013)

1 chapter minimum if I already commited to it (checked it out, borrowed or bought)
Of course the description had to catch my attention or I would never have started it.


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## druidofwinter (Oct 25, 2013)

I read at least the first 25% of a book before i give up on it.


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## Addison (Oct 25, 2013)

The soonest I've ever put down a book, which is hard to remember as there's been so few, was after the second chapter I think...or between the first and second chapter. Movies, on the other hand, I've walked out or turned them off before the first ten minutes were done.


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## David Toft (Oct 27, 2013)

Never after the first sentence, but often after the first few pages. If a writer can't hook me in the opening ten pages, life's too short to simply soldier on.


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## Guy (Oct 27, 2013)

I've never read _Catcher in the Rye_ but I've seen the first sentence because it's always offered up as the perfect example of what an opening sentence should be. It made me want to walk away immediately.


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## NellaFantasia (Oct 27, 2013)

I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to reading. I hate not finishing something, and this can be especially problematic when it comes to a series. However, if the book is bad enough that I can tell there's going to be nothing promising whatsoever, then I'll put it away after a few chapters.


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