Word for fear that a book might not be up to our expectation

Question

Last night I was talking to a friend of mine and came to know that she also gets a creepy feel (a fear, I guess) when she buys a novel and starts reading it. It's just our nature that we don't like to leave the work we started until it's finished, specially when it comes to reading books.

At the beginning of every book that we read, we fear if we start reading the book and don't like the story, we'd have to read it out of compulsion. Not just the two of us but, I believe, many other readers feel the same. I wonder, since this is common among so many people, if there is a word of it already.

I tried looking for it on the internet but couldn't find any.

Answer 1

I don't think there is a common, non-technical word. However you are apprehensive that you will be underwhelmed by the book but you are a completionist so you know you will still have to finish it.

(I get the same way, but I stopped finishing bad literature years ago.)

Answer 2

One viable option can be Atelophobia.

Etymologically, the word atelophobia is composed of two greek words; the prefix Atelo(s) means imperfect and the postfix phobia means fear. Therefore the word Atelophobia literally means the fear of being imperfect.

Atelophobia is the fear of not doing something right or the fear of not being good enough. People suffering from this psychological disorder may be often depressed when their perceived expectations do not match reality.

Answer 3

I guess the only close word is "Tristophobia" which is mostly the fear of sorrow and sadness but is also a fear of related emotions, such as grief, distress, despair, and disappointment. Since you feel disappointed if a book isn't up to our expectation you feel disappointment which is actually related to sadness. Fear of disappointment.