"Readers purchase books because of the plot, but they stay for the characters."

I've heard a variation of this line many times, but lately I've been wondering if that's true. At least not for me. I've started so many books that have eye-catching covers and cool premises, only to be bored to tears by the pacing and lack of action. The main character and the secondary characters might start off interesting enough, with a cool new world I've never seen, but for me, a lack of anything happening beside internal growth leaves me wanting more.

I started noticing this pattern in the books I didn't finish. While some readers are determined to "make it to the end," I'm not so generous with my time. If by page 50 or 75, I find that the characters are "all talk and no action," I toss them like a stale cracker. I've even read the first book in a series and abandoned the second book when I've read more than three-fourths of it because I realize I just don't care if that person is successful in their goal or not.

So ultimately I'm saying that a character's internal tension alone doesn't do it for me––there has to be some outside force causing main character to do something he or she might not do, some goal that he or she must accomplish no matter what. THAT is what keeps me turning pages.

So for me...I purchase books for the premise, but stay for the story.

How about you? What makes you purchase a book, and what makes you keep reading? Will you finish a book no matter what, and if not, what's your tipping point for abandonment?