Do you rate/review books you didn't finish?

GFischer · Post by **GFischer** » 18 Jun 2015, 10:34

I would never rate/review a book I did not finish. I do not think it is fair to the writer. Sure, you might not be captivated in the first few chapters, but that is not a reason to rate the whole book a 1 star.

Stephania120 · Post by **Stephania120** » 18 Jun 2015, 10:43

beebee216 wrote:Personally, I always make sure to finish the book. I feel that I can't accurately tell what's good and what's bad without having finished it. When a book is really awful though,I just drink loads of coffee and power through. Then I can write a sassy review about it, my personal specialty

I completely agree with you about making sure that I finish the book. I thought I was the only person who did this!! I have had a couple surprises which would have received awful reviews had I just stopped reading but powering through made me appreciate the lengthy intro. I my goal is to be able to write the sassy review! I often find that I endorse the positives but shy away from saying what I really think in the negative aspects. Hopefully this will be a skill building experience!!

booklover_0413 · Post by **booklover_0413** » 18 Jun 2015, 16:02

I don't think there is a book I haven't finished. Even if I don't care for it, I still finish it. I guess I can't not know. Its like going for a house tour, but they won't let you up to the third story. It kills me. So I finish it. Always. So the answer is no, I don't rate books I don't finish.

chumki_pattanayak · Post by **chumki_pattanayak** » 19 Jun 2015, 10:03

No. I seldom put down a book once I started it. I feel it would do injustice to the writer/author who may have put many many painstaking hours in completing a book. A book, how much boring its topic may be.. . do not stop us giving a new experience a new light.. I would never do such a disrespectful thing as putting down a book in the middle and then rating it . I would like to request people also to never rate a book unless and until you finish the book completely. .

SOWMYA SUGUMARAN · Post by **SOWMYA SUGUMARAN** » 19 Jun 2015, 13:50

I do not believe in reviewing without reading the entire book. That doesn't do justice to the author- for his time and effort. There are times when the language and the usage of words are not upto the mark, but that doesn't always mean the plot is bad. A book has to be read to its last page, analysed and then reviewed.

kjsoccer · Post by **kjsoccer** » 19 Jun 2015, 16:25

I do see this a lot too. It's quite annoying. The book is either really bad or the reviewer is just really lazy to not finish the book.

slingram · Post by **slingram** » 19 Jun 2015, 17:32

I hate that I have reviewed a book before I have finished it. I had my own book club a couple of years ago and monthly we selected books to read and discuss. My cousin is an author and also owns her own publishing company and because of this I have chosen a book or two written by an author that she tried to promote. There was one that I really tried to enjoy but the grammar and spelling were so bad I could not make my way through it. I felt bad because she sent my book club gifts and expected a review from us and it was hard to make that review because of the relationship. I did point out that it should be re-edited or that maybe an editor needed to be used for the next book but I did not finish that particular book personally.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 19 Jun 2015, 22:48

slingram wrote:I hate that I have reviewed a book before I have finished it. I had my own book club a couple of years ago and monthly we selected books to read and discuss. My cousin is an author and also owns her own publishing company and because of this I have chosen a book or two written by an author that she tried to promote. There was one that I really tried to enjoy but the grammar and spelling were so bad I could not make my way through it. I felt bad because she sent my book club gifts and expected a review from us and it was hard to make that review because of the relationship. I did point out that it should be re-edited or that maybe an editor needed to be used for the next book but I did not finish that particular book personally.

Youch, that sounds like a sticky situation.

Welcome to the forum!! I'm Meg.

Hendmosaad89 · Post by **Hendmosaad89** » 23 Jun 2015, 11:53

No. If I couldn't finish the book, I dont give it a review. I think its not fair to the author to say my opinion of a book I didn't even finish.

literarycat · Post by **literarycat** » 23 Jun 2015, 12:05

gali wrote:
dee74 wrote:I don't rate them because I feel that it is unfair by me not finishing the book.
Ditto!

I'm the same way. If I don't finish them it is unfair to review them, but if I got over half way and couldn't finish I would review it and explain why I couldn't finish it. At least if I was that far in I had reasons why it was hard to get to the end.

oxford · Post by **oxford** » 23 Jun 2015, 12:49

I would never rate a book without finishing it simply for the fact that the best part might be just a few pages ahead. I have read some slow books in the past that I almost quit, but kept going for some reason, and they turned out to be some of my favorites.

Eyre-thee-well · Post by **Eyre-thee-well** » 23 Jun 2015, 18:46

I haven't ever left a review for a book I didn't finish. But if I were ever to do that (which I could never see happening) I would probably give it a middle of the road rating and chalk it up to a story that just didn't appeal to me. It doesn't always mean the writer didn't do a great job, it's just that every story will not appeal to every reader. I've read reviews with that approach and I think that's fair.