Potter’s Goblet Unfinishable?
That many readers don’t finish the books they start is no big surprise. Especially when it comes to great, but challenging works by the likes of Joyce, or Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky. But Rowling, Rushdie and Paul Coelho? According to a survey of 4000 Britons for something called the “Teletext Reading Report,” unread works include a surprising number of bestsellers.
The book fewest of those surveyed managed to finish was “Vernon God Little” by DBC Pierre, followed closely by “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. Reasons postulated for these findings include changing media habits and an increasing “soundbite” culture. More than a third of those questioned said that apart from lack of time and energy, they were no longer able to concentrate on longer works. 
Top Ten unfinished books are as follows:
1. Vernon God Little – DBC Pierre
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – JK Rowling
3. Ulysses – James Joyce
4. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
5. The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie
7. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
8. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
9. The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
10. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
FYI, I’ve read #s 2, 3,8 and 10 from start to finish, and recommend them all highly. I own, as a collector, because they won Booker Prizes, First Editions of #s 1 and 9, along with copies of #s 4&5, none of which I’ve even cracked. But if the ones read are any indication, perhaps I’d be wise to do so. Given the company these contemporary writers are keeping, maybe it isn’t so shameful to appear on this list.
