It happens occasionally. Unfortunately. We pick up a book thinking that we're going to love it, only to actually start reading it and discover the exact opposite.
We've all been there.
But the question is, how much do you read before you set it aside?
Sometimes for me I can just tell when a book and I aren't going to get along with one another from the first page, or more often the first chapter, and that's when I set it aside in my giveaway pile. I just wish it was always that easy.
Because sometimes, just sometimes, I hold out hope and keep reading...and I usually keep right on reading up until I reached the end of the book which often just feels like a waste of my time because I didn't enjoy what I was reading and could have spent that time with another book which I would have loved.
Lately it seems I've been doing the latter far too much; which is made worse by the fact that it always seems to be these chunkier books that I choose to do this with, books that remain on my Currently Reading shelf on Goodreads for ages with me only reading little bits and pieces here and there because I simply don't want to be reading it at that moment, or more honestly at all.
But I feel this compulsion to finish a book once I've started it, you know?
So, how do you break the compulsion? How do you know when to just set the book aside?
If I don't pick it up for 24 hours, not because I'm busy, but because I'm not wanting to read it, then I put it back on the shelf!
ReplyDeleteI like that way of dealing with it in theory. But it gets a little tricky for me since I'm usually juggling more than one book at a time since I'm such a moody reader. Like, I might be feeling the fluffy romance novel I've got on the 'side' more that day but after reading it I can pop right back into the darker fantasy world, you know?
DeleteAs a librarian, it is so important not to waste time reading books (and, especially, full series) that you don't like and won't be able to recommend to your teens. But, still, I am incapable of not finishing books once I start them... even if it takes me a VERY long time to finish them. I think the key is to be choosy about what you read in the first place... paying attention to reviews and recommendations from people you trust... so that you can avoid starting books that you will have no desire to finish to as great of a degree as possible!
ReplyDeleteA librarian?! That is such a lovely job. I spent a great deal of time debating between that career choice and being a professor.
DeleteOn topic though...you raise really good points. I have felt sometimes that by pushing through on a book I wasn't so fond of that I'm missing out on the chance to read some books that I would have absolutely loved. And while the amount of books to be read is always limitless, unfortunately my time is not.
You're right though, it really is about being more choosy with the books that you read. I have the worst habit of choosing to read books because everyone is reading them or because I feel I have to read them and that almost always ends badly. I'm going to definitely keep that in mind in choosing future books. Thank you for commenting! [: