How many books?

If it's rapey, abusive crap masquerading as erotic romance, I won't buy anything from them again.

If it's a traditionally-published book and the author is generally well-thought-of, I'll give 'em two or three goes. Maybe years later I'll try again.

I wish there was an option for not giving up, but I guess I'll have to settle for voting 5+.

EDIT

Whoops. I misread that. I tend not to give up on an author unless they've written a terrible book in a series that I really like. For example, I really love The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, but the last two books in the series have been terrible by comparison to the others. I refuse to read the newest one to spare myself such disappointment.

But if an author writes a bad book hear and there, I think I can be forgiving of that.

brainstorm77 said:

I'll never forget the historical romance I read where the hero(Loose term) kept raping the heroine. Blech! That was my first book buy that author and I've yet to try another by her.

Click to expand...

I don't blame you.

It also seems to be a popular get-out clause in shapeshifter erotica to say "But the rules are different for werewolves/shapeshifters/supernatural critters!"

Not for me. If they're in human form and force sex on another character, it's rape. Bollocks to the "It was the beast inside!" excuse.

But, I'll stop there or I'll go off on one of my rants again, and I don't want to derail your thread.

scarletpeaches said:

Not for me. If they're in human form and force sex on another character, it's rape. Bollocks to the "It was the beast inside!" excuse.

Click to expand...

Now you've got me wanting to read a story about a werewolf being put on trial for raping a young woman. Has John Grisham included a supernatural twist into his legal dramas yet?

I have some authors who I have gotten about halfway through the first book of theirs that I've read - some well known and highly recommended authors - and set them aside and off to the used book store with them.

Some people's writing style, focus of view, political viewpoints easily being seen through their writing, or misdirection (calling the book one thing and then veering into another subgenre) . . . whatever it is, if it's off-putting in one book, I suspect it will not improve for me in another. Too many other books out there to read to spend time hoping an author will get better.

If I can't make it through the first book, then it only takes one book.

If after five books I find the author getting repetitive, droll, or just out there in left field, then there will not be a 6th book. (Thinking of Robert Jordan here.)

Sometimes its not the author, but a particular storyline that has grown stale, or after starting a book, I find it really does not interest me. This is not to say others wouldn't like the style or storyline as is, its just my preferences.

I don't think I have a clear cut X number of books and your off my bookshelves limit...

It depends. If it's an author I like a lot I'll keep reading even if quality drops a bit, because there's usually still something there I enjoy. But if it's an author I really like and a book is egregiously bad, I'll give it one book after that, usually. Sometimes two.

I LOVED Elizabeth George's mysteries; I wasn't crazy about a couple of them but the books after those redemmed them (like, I didn't care for PLAYING FOR THE ASHES but the next one was IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ENEMY, which I loved, and then DECEPTION ON HIS MIND, which was one of my favorites in the series). So one bad book won't turn me off a series I love, at all.

But then she wrote WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS, which not only did I not think was very good in general but she killed a major character in it. Then her next book was a re-telling of that major-character murder for no point or reason I could see. I decided to give her next book CARELESS IN RED a chance, figuring maybe now that she'd gotten the look-I-killed-someone-you-like out of her system she could go back to writing involving stories again, but found it to be dull and pointless and kind of annoying.

So now I'm done, and I've stopped reading her books and don't plan to buy any of the new titles.

But in general I think anyone can have an "off" book or one that just doesn't appeal to me much (PLAYING FOR THE ASHES is often listed as a major favorite of George readers, but something about it just didn't do it for me), so I'll give at least two and sometimes three before I give up. And again, it depends on what they did.

thothguard51 said:

If I can't make it through the first book, then it only takes one book.

If after five books I find the author getting repetitive, droll, or just out there in left field, then there will not be a 6th book.

I don't think I have a clear cut X number of books and your off my bookshelves limit...

Click to expand...

Ditto, ditto, and ditto.

I'm like Stacia: if I like the author I'll disregard a few books that dip in quality.

If a book is just mediocre, not great but not terrible, I might give the author another try later on, especially if it's recommended. It's always possible that I just picked up a book that isn't as good or not as much my style, but I'd like others better.

If it's a book that I really dislike or that has serious issues with writing style or plot, I'll actively never read another book. Similarly, there are authors I've been turned off by if he/she turns out to be a total douche.

ETA: For a series I'm weird. I might give up on a particular series but be willing to try a different one by the same author. On the other hand, I also am someone who generally avoids books that are part of a series.

If I don't like the first book I read by an author I'll give a different author a chance. There are so many authors out there, why would I go for one who doesn't do it for me?

It depends. If I don't like it because it's full of cliches, poor grammar, poor spelling, or just a general lack of imagination, I won't try that author again.

If I don't like it because I find a character annoying, or it's a plot I don't care for, but I still like the writing style, then I might try one or two more by that author.

I don't have a hard cut-off number. It depends on what kind of a book it is, how much I don't like it and in what way.

In some genres/sub-genres, I don't mind a few faults if other aspects are done well. In some books, the weaknesses can be bonuses to the overall entertainment effect. However, in a different genre or in literary fiction, those same faults might be an enjoyment-breaker.

Sometimes, I'll collect a writer I absolutely hate in every way and I even read them because the way they fail (failure being subjective) is instructional or entertaining to me. But then, I'm really laughing at them, not with them, and if I were ever to meet those writers, I'd keep my mouth shut.

But if the first book I try leaves me cold, bored, or irritated, or I can't finish it, I'll probably never even think of trying another by that author, unless I get a lot of recommendations from people whose taste I trust. Even then, I'm usually disappointed.

Sometimes one, sometimes a dozen. Sometimes I give up on a series quickly, but give the write another chance if he comes out with a new series.

But I don't read, or at least never finish, any book I don't like. Some writers will write a book I love, then one I don't like at all, and then one I love. I keep giving such writers chance after chance, simply because I'm willing to stop reading one book with no harm done, and try another book later, if I know that writer sometimes pleases me greatly.

Eventually, however, be it after one book or after a dozen, I will give up completely. It's not like I can't find writers I consistently enjoy. I don't have enough years left in my life to read all the books by all the writers I know I enjoy, so giving up on any one writer is very easy to do.

I will usually do 2 books. I'm reading a Lynsay Sands book about vampires. Should love it. But it is so boring. I've been reading it for months. I may read another book by her but if things don't pick up I'm done.

Hard to say over all. Three seems to be my limit. Sometimes less than one if I can't get past the first half of the book. Sometimes more if I love the series/mc that much that I can forgive a soggy book or two.

It depends, if it is an author I used to like (*cough*mercedeslackey*cough*) I might reader 4-5 duds (from me-POV) before giving up.

There's no specific number. It largely depends on why I gave up on them. One author I just found the first book I read by them a snooze. I'd try another one of theirs if it sounded interesting. On the other hand, I recently threw another book across the room at the end because it annoyed me so much. It was a romance and the hero was too controlling/abusive and right where I would have been searching for the nearest sharp object and calling the police the heroine fell at his feet (tends to happen when your backbone suddenly disappears). It's a shame because I liked other aspects of the book, but when your romance novel leaves me with chills like a horror novel there's something majorly wrong. Not to mention it was a supposedly realistic novel that decided to suddenly throw in magic in the last few pages. That author I intend to avoid.

I give up when an author starts doing ass pulls to mess with the mythology/universe they established in their books. I like for a series to be consistent with certain elements that are established in the first book.

It's an author's right to tweak things but OOC behavior on part of the MC irks me.

I also quit when a character becomes a Mary or Gary Stu. I stuck with Anita Hamilton for a LOOOOONG time but reached a point when "WTF?" became "Oh,hell no".

It really depends on how much I disliked them.
I've read a lot of "meh" books, and I'd probably try the authors one more time. If it was really, really bad...then no.

If it's a writer I really don't know, then probably two books. Just one if I really, really didn't like the book probably.

If it's a writer I really, really like, hmm, I don't know. Probably four, maybe five. I don't know.

I've given up on Manda Scott, Simon Scarrow and Anthony Riches all before finishing one book.

I mean, where are the Robert Graves', Rosemary Sutcliff's and John Buchan's of the 21st century?