Beckham, Rowling books among hardest to finish: poll

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2007

LONDON (AFP) — Bestsellers by Bill Clinton, J.K. Rowling and David Beckham are among the books Britons find hardest to finish reading, according to a survey published Monday.

Although the average reader spends more than 4,000 pounds (5,890 euros, 7,760 dollars) on books in their lifetime, 55 percent admit they buy them for decoration and have no intention of reading them.

Topping the list of unfinishable fiction is "Vernon God Little" by DBC Pierre, which 35 percent said they could not plough through, followed by Rowling's "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" at two (32 percent).

"Ulysses" by James Joyce (28 percent) was at three and Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" -- which prompted Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a...