I've DNF'd several books recently because I kept wondering when they were going to get to the point where the exposition was over and the story would actually start … only to discover that a story never actually started.
A few examples of too much exposition:
Stoner
Wives and Daughters
Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey
A Psalm for the Wild Built (don't come at me, lol, I know this is a well-loved book)
Tess of the D'Urbevilles (I did finish this one, because it got great about 70% of the way through, but I'd prefer not to have to wade through hundreds of pages to get to the good stuff)
(edit) A few examples of books that start the story right away:
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
The Lady in White by Wilkie Collins
Demon Copperhead
Poisonwood Bible
Lady Audley's Secret
Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
Bleak House
Great Expectations
Count of Monte Cristo
Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment
I've read or tried to read all the most frequently suggested books on this sub – Project Hail Mary, Lonesome Dove, 11/22/63, Demon Copperhead, Count of Monte Cristo, Crime and Punishment, The Martian, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and many more.
I love Victorian sensationalist novels (but fear I've read all the good ones), modern 'classics', YA dystopia that stands out as not strictly adhering to the tropes, stories in non-western cultures, books where the story spans multiple generations (like Pachinko).
Dislikes: fantasy (unless its very light), sci-fi, historical fiction that tries too hard, Stephen King, romance (unless it's old-fashioned and ridiculous, like Georgette Heyer)
Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer!
by DTownForever