On the contrary, a rule of finishing things (36.6 per cent) and a desire to know what happens (25.2 per cent) will keep Goodreads’ members turning the pages of a book until the end. Another 18.8 per cent will abandon it if they feel it has “weak writing.” About 28 per cent of people surveyed will abandon a book about 50 to 100 pages in.Īlmost half (46.4 per cent) of readers surveyed say they will put a book down if it’s slow or boring. Most people, Goodreads’ stats say, will “always finish” books they start, with about 38 per cent claiming they don’t abandon books.

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings are among the most commonly abandoned of classic books. New books aren’t the only ones people tend to start and abandon. People may put The Casual Vacancy down, for example, because they have different expectations as it is “a far cry from the Harry Potter series.” Rowling’s first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy, are the most commonly abandoned or “unfinished” books. Rowling ( popular book recommendation website has delved into the psychology of abandonment and what makes people keep reading or set a book down before finishing it.Īccording to stats released on a Goodreads blog post on Tuesday, popular books such as Fifty Shades of Grey E.L. Bookmarks: “The Casual Vacancy” by J.K.Fifty Shades of Grey’s E.L James Tops Forbes’ Author List: Does She Deserve It? ().Without further ado, here’s Goodreads’ infographic on “abandoned books.” I’m not sure if that’s a triumph of marketing over quality, because the book wasn’t what the reader expected (I’m looking at you, Rowling) or because the book just isn’t accessible to many readers, but it is interesting.ĭo you drop books you’ve started? If so, how long does it take you to put the book down, and why do you usually drop it? Ironically, each one of those have been big sellers for its publisher. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.In the Goodread’s data, based on the books that are most often shelved by its users as ‘abandoned,’ ‘did not finish,’ or ‘unfinished,’ the following were the most abandoned books:

Goodreads asks an interesting question: Why do readers abandon books?

The casual vacancy goodreads