# Reading a Novel: How Many Pages Before You Give Up?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-a-novel-how-many-pages-before-you-give-up/742082>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 3, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-a-novel-how-many-pages-before-you-give-up/742082 "2016-01-03T18:59:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-a-novel-how-many-pages-before-you-give-up/742082/41 "2016-01-05T21:05:21Z")

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> [@stillownedbysetters](#):
>
> Ugh, I wish I did have a rule. If I commit to a book, I read it to the bitter end.

This used to be me, until I figured out I’m not going to live long enough to read all the books I currently own, let alone all those I’ve yet to buy.

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**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-a-novel-how-many-pages-before-you-give-up/742082/42 "2016-01-05T21:35:31Z")

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> [@stillownedbysetters](#):
>
> Ugh, I wish I did have a rule. If I commit to a book, I read it to the bitter end.

Why? If you don’t like it why read it? No one’s keeping track if you finish a book or not, and it’s no shame to say this one isn’t for me.

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**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-a-novel-how-many-pages-before-you-give-up/742082/43 "2016-01-05T22:33:20Z")

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I know it seems futile, but every once in a while one of those books turns out to have something valuable in it that I would have missed otherwise. Once or twice I’ve pulled something back up out of the basement because later on in the book, something grabbed me.

I keep hoping for those occasional anomalies. Incurable optimist, I guess.

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