I found this article on the Guardian website really interesting – it’s about some research done by the ebook retailer Kobo that tells us which books have been downloaded this 
year, but not finished. I wasn’t massively surprised that over half the people that downloaded The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt didn’t manage to finish it, probably overwhelmed by the sheer length of the book…
I did finish The Goldfinch but I found it way too long, and when I finished it I felt that 200 pages could easily have been removed and it would have made no difference to the story – but would have made it more palatable!
How did everyone else get on with The Goldfinch, or did you avoid it due to the length? What other books did you struggle to finish this year?
ahouseofbooks 
I guess I’m one of those who has a copy and has avoided it until now… Not because of its length, but because of the mixed reviews I’ve been seeing. I don’t mind a long book as long as it’s good, and I don’t normally DNF books, so I prefer leaving The Goldfinch alone for a while longer…
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I’ll be interested to know if you get round to it. I generally don’t like very long books – but I enjoy finding ones where the length is justified – if that makes sense.
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It does make sense! I don’t mind long books as long as they are worth reading… I will probably read The Goldfinch before the end of the summer, mostly because I’m curious what the hype around this book was all about.
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I struggled more with The Luminaries which had a very complex structure…but I did finish it in the end!
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I’ve been doubtful about this one because of mixed reviews but that combined with the length made me steer clear, but then a work colleague raved about it and has given me her copy so it looks like I will read it after all.
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I haven’t read the Goldfinch simply because I don’t like Donna Tartt’s writing style, but people who manage to finish it, even though they didn’t like it, amaze me. I have a habit of abandoning books I don’t like, so persevering through 800+ pages is quite a commendable feat to me.
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Yes I’ll also abandon books I don’t like – I know a lot of people persevere with them but I think life’s too short and there are too many books to read!
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