Probably an unpopular opinion, but the most recent book that fits for me was Babel by RF Kuang.
What’s worse is that it starts out OK, but then just the awful writing built up and up until I couldn’t take it anymore. The characters are 2D, the plot’s dumb and the world building is nonsensical, but probably the worst part is the condescending tone the narration takes (those footnotes, woof!).
Probably an unpopular opinion, but the most recent book that fits for me was Babel by RF Kuang.
What’s worse is that it starts out OK, but then just the awful writing built up and up until I couldn’t take it anymore. The characters are 2D, the plot’s dumb and the world building is nonsensical, but probably the worst part is the condescending tone the narration takes (those footnotes, woof!).
I like the completion aspect too, especially when I haven’t liked a book.
I’d say I’m picky as well, and I don’t especially like a lot of what I read. But conversely there’s not a lot of books I think were an outright waste of my time to read either. Even when unsatisfying, there’s usually at least one interesting idea or insight or even just scene that makes it worth it for me on some level.
I’ve done it before. Usually in the form of a book I really like and can’t put down - getting the audio version from the library means I can keep “reading” while I have to work lol.
As for reading and listening at the same time, I’ve done that for some books I’ve found difficult to follow. For instance, Camus’s Myth of Sisyphus - my brain kept losing the thread in the middle of sentences, so having the audio as well helped keep me on track.