Most books that I don't finish don't earn that title because I can't get through them; it's more a matter of time and getting caught up in other books. :/ Nearly every book I haven't finished (which is admittedly a very long list) I mean to get back to. In fact, half of them are sitting in front of me in my to-read pile right now!

The only two I absolutely gave up on that I can think of... I listed them on the worst required reading thread: The Iliad and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. Ugh.

The Iliad
Anna Karenina
LOTR: Return of the King
Big Brain
The Favoured Child
Lace
Jane Austen Book Club
Treason of Isengard
Secret Life of Bees
Historian
some book on vampires...
I can't think of anything else at the moment...

I read most of the books I start, but i few i just can't seem to finish...
*Carrie - Stephen King
*Christine - Stephen King
There where a few others, but i can't remember them :sweat:

Sea of Trolls.

I could not finish Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. It dragged on far too much, and the plot didn't appeal to me at all. >_<;. I also never could finish The Yearling for the same reason. >_<;.
There are some books that I can never manage to finish that I don't hate, too- I cannot finish Les Miserables. ^^;. I LOVE it- but I never seem to be able to find the time to finish it. :(. And it's a shame- I'd love to be able to finish it soon. I plan to finish it eventually- but I don't think it'll be for awhile. :(.

I was unable to get very far with The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell. I attempted the first novel, Justine, and could not get into it at all, which is unusual for me, as I love reading and have dipped into a variety of genres. :?

Also, there are several books by Henry James which I cannot read. The thought that came to mind at the time was that it was like chewing on old leather. :stare: (Love the film versions that have been made of some of his stories, though.)

"Brisingr" by Christopher Paulini xD

I borrowed it off a friend, but i had to return it within a couple of days and i didn't get to finish in time ><"

Books I couldn't finish...

The first, second, and third harry potter books. Her writing style back then was soooooooo boring and my mind hated its simplicity XD

Inkheart. I liked the frst two three chapters, but then it just moved a bit slowly with nothing going on. Then a couple months later when i found out it was going to be a movie (have to read the book first except the first 5 harry potters XD) i picked it up, and read about halfway. again, BORING.

The memory keeper's daughter. Urgh. I just didn't particularly like how much description and how slow it went. X_X

uhhh...The first sisters grimm book. that series, i read the third then the second then tried the first. gawd, its so annoying. its like a fourth grade reading level (even though i was only like a fifth grader then) and it bored me to no end. i already knew the ending since id read the next two. and my reading level is a lot higher than average.

maximum ride: max. I absolutely love love love the series, but the last one's a bit...different. I mean, the story plot seems to do a belly flop, and changes a lot. though eventually ill probably finish it. XD

damn, there's probably more i haven't finished, but my mind is on strike right now :sarcasm:

I couldn't finish LOTR, the writing is so detailed it gets really really boring. I made it to the mirror part once but I gave up on it.

Only Three books that I can remember just not being able to finish...

The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. I try, I really do but I can't read it for more than 5 minutes without falling asleep or being utterly sick of it. Yet, I stopped reading The Fellowship near the end to go read the Dark Elf Trilogy that was all put in together as one book...over 900 pages xD

The other book was Artemis Fowl. I've started it a dozen times and I just can't get into it. Maybe I'm too old now to see Genius behind Artemis xD Raito and L from the DeathNote manga ruined me I guess.

I usually can finish any book I start reading but there is one I can't seem to get further than page 20 it is confusing and boring which considering the author is quite amazing. It's the Similarrian by Toklien . I have tried and tried to read it but just can't get interested in it.

I couldn't finish "Lord of the Flies"- I was completely bored by its slow start.
I also couldn't finish Stephanie Meyer's "Breaking Dawn", it was too illogical from my view.
I've never finished the Bible because... I actually don't know why for that one.
I've never fully read Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables" because of the way it's rhetorically written at parts. I have to read some of it over 2 - 3 times to get it.

There are only two books that I've started and never finished because I just couldn't get past the dry beginnings.....what are they? I'll never tell!

Secrets of the Gin Shi

It was fantastic, but then half way through, it was like the author got bored, and just threw in some alchamy... It didn't make sense, it was totally random, and from that moment on, I just couldn't enjoy it...

I still have a bookmark in The Deerslayer from 8th grade. Also, I have a pile of books from school (monographs, essay collections) that I've read partway, because I didn't have to read the whole thing.

How can someone not finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? It's not *that* long!!

I started reading the LOTR series many years ago, when I was 9. I haven't actually, to this day, finished reading the Return of the King. I just... augh. I had about 7 chapters left and I just couldn't get through it. I haven't tried rereading the series since, either.

Also, the last book from the Hitchhiker's Galaxy series there... one of my teachers owns a book which is like all of the books combined, and I've had it for over a year and I still haven't finished it. I don't want him to ask me about the end if I haven't actually read it, and I just haven't gotten around to finishing it yet, haha.

I started the Silmarillion when I was like 10 years old.

Sufficed to say, I didn't get very far in the beginning.
Recently I re-read it and pushed through the beginning, and after that I loved it!

I don't know. The only time when I am unable to finish a book is because it has gotten boring or the story just died in the middle. Also If I just completely stopped reading it for years and when I want to get back into it. I am uninterested at all.

I remember how (a long time ago) I tried to read Inkheart. The begining was so boring and predictable that I had to force myself to read each word. Finally I gave up after a while of trying to be interested.

The TommyKnockers by Stephen King owO omg the book is just boring and drags on and on it's hard to get into any but of it.

Lord of the rings for sure... ;-;
I don't think i'll ever get past the first few chapters without falling asleep, or ending up only skimming the book. I think they need to make a shorter and less hard to read version. D:

Lol, I can understand why Harry potter is there. That book was a mammoth read and very boring. It took me 2 attempts to read it, I think with that book it was the first 200 pages where it is a load of usless procrastination it was when they got to hogwarts that it was tolerable.
I think the only books I ever really put down are books that i find diabolically bad- not because I struggle with them, I think the clearest one in my memory was 'Sabriel' by Garth Nix. I started reading it and found it so terribly written that I couldn't stand it! I think books that I have to take several attempts with tend to be classic novels like 'A little princess' Francis hodgeson burnett and things like that as the copys are often in really small print and with complicated language it makes it near impossible.

IT by stephen king, it was too looooong and boring even though hes magneficent for making pennywise scary as H***!!

The second Lord of the Rings book. I vowed to read them all, because I thought the movies were excellent, plus I count myself a well-read person, and LotR is nearly a requirement for that. I made it halfway through the second book, then I couldn't go any further.
The other one was the first book in the Robert Jordan massive series. Eye of the World, I believe it's called. I couldn't get in to it at all. Then I realized there were around 10 or more other books to follow it, and I gave up.

Ugh.. .Until I started University I thought I could finish any book they threw at me... Like I'll admit I've never finished Lord of the Rings, but I don't find it disagreeable. If I was asked to read it I would finish it. Other books though are on my list could not finish even if I tried.

I have two lists, one list of books I have never finished but if push comes to shove I will because really they aren't that bad, and then I have a list where I haven't finished it just because I can't stand it. Seriously I can't.

This includes:

Emma (first assigned book I never finished in university)
Female Quixote (I couldn't stand the character enough to finish it)