Reading Time is Limited. It's Fine to Give Up on a Book.

Photo by Petras Gagilas, found on Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons

I’ve been in my current book club for years now, and I appreciate how it’s gotten me to read some wonderful books I would never have found on my own. But there have also been books that just don’t appeal to me. Some I know about right away. For example, I don’t like magical realism so I’m not even going to try to read One Hundred Years of Solitude, no matter how well-respected it is.

But others I begin and then give up on. In one case, the book centered around two people, the author and her best friend, and I didn’t like either of them. In another case I intensely disliked the author’s writing style. (As I wrote to a friend, “He seems to be a fan of very long sentences.”) While everyone else in the book club keeps going, even when they aren’t enjoying the book, I have no hesitation in just setting the book aside.

Reporter Mike Isaac captured (in a now-deleted tweet) the reason most people give up on books:

i also used to do this thing where id power through books that i wasnt enjoying because i felt bad quitting 

then in my twenties someone said to me “life is too short to spend your time reading shitty books” and i feel guilt-free ditching stuff i dont enjoy

Want more encouragement? I recently read a piece where author Nick Hornby goes over what he’s been reading lately, and the list starts like this:

BOOKS READ:
✭ [Unnameable Novel 1] (abandoned)
✭ [Unnameable Novel 2] (abandoned)
✭ Little—Edward Carey

Hornby goes on to explain those first two entries, making an argument I haven’t seen before:

Why give books up? Why not plough on until the bitter end? Because, young friends, we want to do everything we can to break the link between literature and grim duty. You wouldn’t stick with a long Spotify playlist consisting of music that displeases you; you wouldn’t wade through a Netflix series you were hating. Do reading a favor and treat it as if it were just like everything else you enjoy. You’re doing it in your leisure time. You don’t have enough of that.

So feel free to join Mike, Nick and me in abandoning books that you aren’t enjoying!

Related Posts:
Book Lovers: Stop Reading Books You Don't Like
It's OK to Give Up on a Book
Not Every Book is Worth Finishing
Don't Spend Time on Books You Don't Enjoy