Do you decide in the first two pages if you like the book or not?

[jaywalker]

Started to read ''McCarthey's Bar''. The Irish were lovable,the English uptight,the Germans humourless and the Italians had Style. I couldn't read more than a chapter.

[DaK]

Started to read ''McCarthey's Bar''. The Irish were lovable,the English uptight,the Germans humourless and the Italians had Style. I couldn't read more than a chapter.

Sounds like a wonderful character study, (yes, that was sarcasm) --- the author must have read "Stereotypes for Dummies" before writing.

[Rancher1]

I am afraid I am guilty of giving up on books to soon that don't grab me in style or content within the first twenty pages.

I am not very proud to say that there has been two book that I have read recently that I gave up within the first two pages because I didn't like the authors writing, (to many adjectives).

[johnson1010]

Books that i really like i usually consume in a couple of reading sessions. Books that are just OK, but i am still interested in finishing usually get relegated to bathroom readers.

I grabbed a "best of" H.P. lovecraft and it was a bathroom book until i got to "The Dunwich Horror" which i have really been enjoying.

Some books arent exactly my taste, but i read through them anyway, determined to get my money's worth. I persisted in reading Paradise Lost, despite the slog. That doesnt always work out. I found a copy of "Shardik" and pressed through some boring parts based on good word of mouth.

I got all the way to the last chapter before putting the book down in disgust. The characters had learned nothing, and they were just as useless and pathetic as they started out.

That is an exception though. If i drop a book, it is usually after about 3 chapters.

[Eunoia]

I usually read the first couple of pages, sometimes the first chapter, to see if I like the book.
If I'm not that interested in what's happening, it rather depends. Sometimes I think it'll get better so I keep reading, but other times I just can't see it going anywhere so I stop reading it. Also, it depends why I'm reading it. If I'm reading it for pleasure, then I must've been attracted to it for some reason so I tend to keep reading. Whereas if I'm reading it for university say, I'll read as far as I want to and then question why it didn't interest me. Sometimes reading books for university, you know you 'have' to read them so it may make the book less interesting and reading the book more of a chore.

[johnson1010]

I think that i give a book a chance up until the first big event. If i am reading and then some kind of bomb-shell takes place, i think i judge it on that. Did this twist interest me, or was it lame?

A character reveals something interesting about their life. the world has soemthing interesting in it that differs from ours. there is an intelligent comment on society.

something along those lines i think. if that comes through and is no good, the book gets dropped.

[Sigilscrye]

Personally I'm a big fan of referrals and book reviews. I won't buy a book unless I've researched it first and I normally won't read a book unless I own it. Libraries are okay for research but I hate waiting for books to come in and the more popular fiction books are almost always checked out.

[Shalimar]

Gosh, it almost makes me feel guilty and dirty that way ... I believe I could make a good editor. If the first page of a book doesn't capture me, it's doomed, I never touch it again. On the same premise that life's too short and there are so many good books out there. I tend to remember first lines of novels, or let myself be impressed by them.
Paul Auster's really good at first lines.

Almost missed The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo too, but I had read reviews and pushed myself to read through the first very very boring 60 pages or so ...