You started a book, but you’re not enjoying it. When do you decide to just give up on it?
Many people have a personal rule that the author has to catch their interest by a certain point, or the book is a waste of time. Some will decide on 50 to 100 pages or 3 to 4 chapters. Choosing a guideline like this ensures you’ve given the book a chance and you can lay it down and move on without guilt. It also keeps you from wasting time on uninteresting reading. After all, you can only read so many books; make sure they are ones you enjoy!
Occasionally, it’s good to challenge yourself with a harder read, like classics. How do you avoid being frustrated by it? Read it when you are alert. When you’re tired, you’ll more easily be bored by a harder book. Some classics use writing styles that we aren’t used to anymore. Courtney Jo from For the Joy of Books recommends, “If you are finding the older language difficult to get through, it may help to listen to the audiobook at the same time.” She recommends doing this with Bible-reading as well. Try reading challenging books in smaller snatches, such as one chapter per day, and read other books in-between so you don’t wear out.
Keep a list. By keeping track of the books you’ve read and a note about each book, you can start to see a pattern. Is there an author you’ve always given high marks? Check if they’ve written more books that you haven’t read yet. Are you stuck in one genre? Maybe you can learn something by branching out a bit.
Tell us, how do you choose which books are for you? Are there some that you didn’t feel like it, but you’re glad you finished?
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