How long?

[Major]

How long do you give a bad book and film before you sack it?
I give a book forty pages, a film twenty minutes.

[MrsCatInTheHat]

I think it varies for me. If I'm reading it for my book club, I keep on reading even if I'm not into it. Same for reviews, for the most part. Just for fun, a couple of chapters. Movies? At the theater, I don't walk out. At home, if hubby is into it and I'm not, I just pick up a book and read while he watches the rest of it.

[Manang Muyang]

I don't usually give up on any book or film that I start. I always give the benefit of the doubt. Or maybe I have not encountered something that really sucks.

[AliceofX]

For a book, it's something like three chapters or an hour of reading. In the past, I didn't like to quit on books, but now I'm less forgiving. Life is just too short to waste on bad books.

As for movies, I don't really have any rules. Unless it becomes offensive, I'll usually keep watching even if it's not that good.

[Jaime Lync]

I trudge forward with most books but I can stop reading a book at any time point.That is so unlike the younger me (mind you I'm not even 22 yet but I'm speaking like an old man).
I can only recall one movie that I stopped watching after about 15 minutes - Guardians of the Galaxy - I found a blatant error in the script that made the characters seem so dumb that I instantly gave up on it.

[Major]

Life is just too short to waste on bad books. As for movies, I don't really have any rules. Unless it becomes offensive, I'll usually keep watching even if it's not that good.

I'm surprised more people have not given the same response as you.
You're right, reading a bad book is a waste of time and it's better to try a different one.
I feel the same way about a bad film though.

[Katherine Smith]

If I do not like a movie, I give it twenty minutes. If I do not like a book I will keep reading it especially if it is for the book club. Thankfully I have not come across a bad book yet, but I know that one day it will come.

[jemgirl202]

I usually don't give up. There are times when the book seems impossible to finish but I am always worried that there will be a twist and I will miss out. I can't handle not finishing a book. It drives me crazy.

[Harmony Hills]

Ranging from 1/3 to 1/4 of both. But there's this movie, that has a really boring start, but still i was eager to watch it because it has good reviews and keep on telling myself "You can do this" up until i finished it and did not regret having watched it. The title is Interstellar and ghad! It was awesome!

[bookiegalke]

I don't think I would get to 40 pages, may be I would do 5 pages. for a movie, it would be 20 minutes

[Jolyon Trevelyan]

I always finish movies and books i start.

[Anirudh Badri]

I dont watch as many movies, and when I do, it is because it comes highly recommended. As a result, I sit through most movies and only stop if I hate it.

Books, I generally give about 4-5 chapters before I make a call.

[Angela Stripes]

I trudge forward with most books but I can stop reading a book at any time point.That is so unlike the younger me (mind you I'm not even 22 yet but I'm speaking like an old man).
I can only recall one movie that I stopped watching after about 15 minutes - Guardians of the Galaxy - I found a blatant error in the script that made the characters seem so dumb that I instantly gave up on it.

The only reasons I sat through Guardians of the Galaxy: 1) I paid for it 2) I kept hoping it would get better, or there'd be something that would hook me in... and then the ending crushed all hope.

But overall, something has to really put me off (inappropriate) for me to close a book and not pick it back up. If that happens, there are no second chances. Like previously stated, life's too short. The real test is, once I set it down, will I pick it back up? Am I able to put it down at all?

[Elle Howard]

I had a book where I felt the language being used was very offensive and degrading. I only got a few chapters in before I had to put it down. Then I had a really bad day at work and finished that book in one weekend. Sometimes the right book just needs to be read under the right conditions.

[ayoomisope]

Well, for me, I have what I refer to as a 'completion spirit'. Unfortunately, I don't stop reading a book or watching a movie even if it's bad until I just can't anymore due to reasons I can't avoid. That's why I do proper research into movies I want to see before seeing them.