Should You Finish Every Book You Start?

I used to be the type of person that had to finish any book I started. I couldn’t put a book down before knowing what was going to happen or if the book was going to get better. Even if I hated every word, I had to keep going. As I have gotten older, things have changed. I am now willing to give up on a book if I don’t think it is going to be very good. I just don’t have the time to keep going with books that do not hold my interest. There are exceptions but for the most part, if I can’t get into a book by page 50-60 I am going to just put the book down and never think of the book again.

There are so many books out there in the world and I hate the thought of spending time on one book when another better book is out there waiting for me. It just isn’t worth it for me anymore. I want my books to draw me in with their characters, their settings and their stories. I want to think about the book when I am doing other things and I want to be guessing what is going to happen next.

Pick Good Books

There is a good way to ensure that most of the books you pick up will be worth reading all the way to the end. It’s a simple thing you can do to ensure that you won’t get frustrated. Read the reviews and watch how popular the book really is. This works for me because in my experience if a lot of people like a certain book, 9 times out of 10 I am going to like that book too. If you don’t find that to be true about the books you like, this method might not work for you.

When I first hear about a book that sounds like something I would want to read, I look at the reviews to see what other people are saying about it. If the book has a lot of high ratings I will probably go ahead and add the book to my list. If a book friend tells me about a book they loved and I know I usually like the same books that they do, I will add that book to my list. If I heard a lot of things about the book that makes me think that the book will be a chore to get through, I will probably skip that one. I know that most likely I would want to put that book down before I finished.

Books That Are In A Series

One of the biggest reasons I might keep reading a book even if I am not liking it as much is because the book is a part of a series I have previously enjoyed. This might be wishful thinking that the book will get better or it could be that I love the characters and I need to find out what happens to them. I might pause before I pick up the next book in the series but even that depends on what the book is supposed to be about and what other people are saying about the book.

There are times when I hear a book is bad but I just have to read the thing anyway. There is just something about the story or the characters that makes me want to pick the book up. I know I can always put the book down later if things don’t work out.

Breaking up with books is always a hard thing to do but sometimes it needs to be done. Remember that there are other books in the sea that you will enjoy more than the one you are trying to get through that clearly isn’t working for you.