I also abandoned that one partway through. Not my style, I guess. Heartening to hear some others have felt the same.
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I stopped reading The Candy House with just 50 pages left. Lol. I kept giving it a chance over and over but I just was not enjoying any of it and didnât think I wanted to spend even an hour more with it!
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I slogged through The Goldfinch but regret that Iâll never get those hours back.
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Currently reading and enjoying âStars in An Italian Skyâ by Jill Santopolo.
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@ChoatieMom , I liked that one too. I think I may be a good barometer for some of you - if I liked it, beware!
I left The Goldfinch in Las Vegas (the Las Vegas section of the book, not the actual city)âcouldnât take it anymore.
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I stopped The Goldfinch as well - a few of my friends loved the book but not me.
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I sort of finished it, but lost interest in the LV section. That friend was awful. I basically skimmed the rest, lost track of what was happening in the end. Didnât care.
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I didnât mean to start a trend of âbooks you didnât finishâ!!! 
Itâs just rare that I run into this situation especially with well-known/reported books.
This is such a good thread and mostly positive, letâs have the âlesser booksâ be infrequent postings - or feel free to start a âOne of The Worst Books I Ever Readâ thread.
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I hear you, but frankly, this is helpful to me too. Getting a sense of who likes what does help sort through the referrals, because this IS one of my favorite places to find my next book.
I am sure @ChoatieMom and I would be great friends IRL, but that doesnât mean we like to read the same things.
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I made a comment a few years ago that led to the creation of a thread called âwhat book did you want to throw across the roomâ or something like that.
Not sure if it could be resurrected.
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I liked The Goldfinch. You gotta have time and commitment for a book that thick though.
I was so confounded by the praise for that book that I watched the movie just to see if, for once, the movie did it better. Nope.
And Iâm sure @gardenstategal and I have enough else in common that that wretched book wouldnât interfere with the enjoyment of our martinis.
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Iâd loved A Secret History, so I thought I might try The Goldfinch, but then some reviewer compared it to Catcher in the Rye, and that was the kiss of death. I know that I brought up that book it the throw it across the room thread. I donât mind long books, but I have to actually be enjoying them.
I will confess that while I can read about anti-heroes and unpleasant happenings, I far prefer books where I like at least some of the characters.
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Good point about characters. Iâve started a book with plot that is not at all pleasant, WW2 Jewish family (book jacket comment compares to âNightengaleâ⊠so figured Iâd like it). But the characters are compelling. Perhaps I learned of the title suggestion here.
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
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Donât go for my recommendations, then - I suggested both The Book of Lost Names and Bunny and it seems you didnât like either! 
But, Iâll still reply with a couple of new recommendations. 
Recently I have enjoyed The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. Very different books, but I enjoyed them both.
Recently finished Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. The beautiful writing made it totally worthwhile. Itâs another novel set in a dystopian future (a form I never love but is a useful way of highlighting how certain present day seeds could sprout). The plot keeps it moving along, and it captures much about the parent-child relationship. Would recommend although it is unlikely to end up in my âbestâ category.
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I found âA Secret Historyâ to be meh. Tried reading âThe Little Friendâ because the plot sounded good but found it tedious. I felt like the descriptions went on, and on and onâŠit felt like work to read. Didnât even bother with âThe Goldfinchâ.
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I am liking The Book of Lost names. (Nazi era books are somber, but I can understand them. Just feel I was not a clever enough reader to appreciate Bunny.)