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

[Svrtnsse]

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.

 

[GeekDavid]

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

 

[Feo Takahari]

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

 

[buyjupiter]

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.

 

[Steerpike]

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.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

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.

 

[Sparkie]

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.

 

[Penpilot]

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.

 

[Philip Overby]

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.

 

[The Dark One]

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.

 

[CupofJoe]

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.

 

[Kn'Trac]

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.

 

[Dragev]

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

 

[C Hollis]

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.

 

[glutton]

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.

 

[Mythopoet]

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.

 

[Chilari]

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.

 

[deilaitha]

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.)

 

[BWFoster78]

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.

 

[Svrtnsse]

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.