I start many books that I don't finish, sometimes because I don't like the writing and sometimes, in the case of nonfiction, because I don't trust the authors. Here are some of such books:
Fiction
Mystery
Jonathan Gash - The Ten Word Game
I didn't like the writing style, too choppy for my taste.
Non-Fiction
James C. Davis - The Human Story
I've long wanted to read a "history of the world", that would give me a general idea of how we've gotten where we are and would fill up the great gaps in my historical knowledge (i.e. the history of Africa, East and Central Asia and Eastern Europe). This book wasn't it. It's written in such a simplistic style that it reminded me of a paper by a 3rd grader. The sentences are unbelievably short and the vocabulary is not beyond that of a kindergardener. That makes the book terribly tedious to read. But beyond that, the book starts with prehistory - something that I know something about - and its approach to the early history of man is also so simplistic, so full of holes and misplaced emphasis that I found it misleading. If I can’t trust Mr. Davis to tell me the history I know, I certainly can’t trust him to tell me the history I don’t know. If you read this and know of a good world history book, I’d love the recommendation.