I used to finish every book I started. Then 30 years ago I went to a presentation by Nancy Pearl and she said that you should subtract your age from 100 and that is how many pages you had to read before you could put a book down without guilt. If you were under 50, you could just quit after 50 pages. So, this week I put a book down after 28 pages.
Funny. My fiance and I were talking about this last night. She is a dedicated book reader who just trudged through a book that was badly written with a poor story. She knew it early on, but finished nonetheless on principle. I'll have to share the food analogy. Time is precious! There are more books to read! Don't finish just because. At least, that's my take.
You've described my attitude toward books so well. I will quit feeling like something is 'wrong' with me because I love so many books. Writing is important to me so I love Richard Powers and Percival Everett, for example, but also enjoyed Stacey Abrams lasted thriller While Justice Sleeps. I'm 81 so have only so much more time for reading. If the book doesn't grab me, I quit. Too many good ones out there.
I agree with all your reasons I read so many good books, even though I have the high standards typical of English-majors, but I'd like to add one: I read a lot ABOUT books. In addition to your column (which nearly every week increases my To-Read list), I read the NY Times, New Yorker, Tribune articles, subscribe to a couple of book-related sites -- in short, anything anywhere about new releases or classics that I've missed. I can usually tell from a brief description if I will like something (and stop reading before any spoilers). Yes, I stop reading sometimes -- I give a book one eye-rolling annoyance (someone acting out-of-character, unbelievable dialogue, rhetorical clunkiness), but if I hit another one soon, I'm just not going to enjoy it because now I'm watching for bad writing instead of being swept away. I have also stopped even when liking a book -- I could only last 90 pages into "Ducks Newburypoint," but enough stream-of-consciousness was enough.
I'm not sure a book like Ducks Newburypoint necessarily requires you to read the whole thing to get something out of it. I've been reading it for a few years. It literally props up my laptop when I'm sitting at my desk so the screen is elevated as I use an external keyboard, and every so often, I'll pull it out and read a few more pages. I'll get to the end eventually...I think.
I still finish every book I start - not sure why, maybe out of a mis-placed sense of guilt from my Catholic up- bringing? I do know that I have many times not liked a book when I started it but was pleasantly surprised to find that I eventually grew to love, or at least appreciate it as I read on. So maybe it’s just optimism that it will get better
I do think there's a difference between a book you think is "bad" and a book you suspect you need some time to connect with, and keeping going on that latter often pays off. I try not to have too much of a hair trigger, or if I think a book might be interesting, but I'm not feeling it, I'll put it aside and have another go later.
Thanks so much for this column, John. Like a few others here, I used to be a dedicated book finisher, because that's what you're supposed to do, right? But now I give myself permission to abandon books that are not doing it for me, roughly along your stated guidelines. Case in point: Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, which I had thought I would LOVE, based on the movie (one of the VERY rare occasions when I like the movie better than the book). I had read the sequel first, Little Altars Everywhere, and went back to read the first one, and abandoned it at about 25% in. The protagonist had just had one too many too cute episodes, and was all over my last nerve, so I said goodbye. And there are SO many good to great books out there, it's a shame to waste any time on something you are not enjoying.
I always felt guilty not finishing a book. Even with a stack waiting to be read , calling me , I’d finish. Not any more. There are so many good books out there l, why waste your valuable reading time on something that has stopped peaking your interest.
For years I was a non-quitter- not any more. I stop if the book is not well written, if there is gratuitous violence, and even if I am just not into it. Life is too short to spend it reading a book I do not enjoy!
I used to muscle through a book I didn't love--- until I learned to just say no! If the prose doesn't amuse, astound or grab me by my book flaps, I am off to the next one. I try to give a book a good sporting chance and hope at some point the ones I don't like will start to gel for me. Life is too damn short to not enjoy turning those pages when there is a whole stack of worthy books waiting for me to get started on them.
A. I definitely have "junk" books and movies I love as much as literature - but they are still good pieces of entertainment!
B. I think you would really enjoy Donalyn Miller's book "Reading in the Wild" - it is about encouraging K-12 readers, but she frames it from teaching youth the habits of adults who read; she is definitely a proponent of abandoning books if needed. I loved her book just because it spelled out things that I do as a reader, and now I can intentionally pass them on.
C. I will abandon books, and also sometimes just put them back in my to-be-read queue if it isn't the right time for it. ("Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" took me 20 years of repeated abandonment to finally tackle.) I also am reading multiple books at a time, usually, so if I find myself repeatedly checking into other books more than a certain one, I will abandon it for the time being.
I have always thought this about myself—am I not critical or smart enough, because I always like a lot of the books I read. But as I read your reasonings, I realize I also do the things you do. I don't pick up something that doesn't interest me at the get-go, and I definitely can quit a book I'm not into (it took me a while to get into that habit, but now that I'm in it, I won't look back!). I also think it's about mood reading for me. When I'm having a hard time focusing, I'm going to pick up an easily page-turny thriller rather than one that will require a ton of mental focus. And I save those for another time. Thank you for making me rethink one of my big fears as a book reader!
I finish books I’m disliking for two reasons only: the first is to add to my Goodreads challenge for the year (which this year I have all but abandoned due to life priorities); the second is so that I can rip it apart on bookstagram. Just kidding I usually approach a bad review with humor and self reflection BUT it is fun to hate a little isn’t it?
I used to finish every book I started. Then 30 years ago I went to a presentation by Nancy Pearl and she said that you should subtract your age from 100 and that is how many pages you had to read before you could put a book down without guilt. If you were under 50, you could just quit after 50 pages. So, this week I put a book down after 28 pages.
Funny. My fiance and I were talking about this last night. She is a dedicated book reader who just trudged through a book that was badly written with a poor story. She knew it early on, but finished nonetheless on principle. I'll have to share the food analogy. Time is precious! There are more books to read! Don't finish just because. At least, that's my take.
You've described my attitude toward books so well. I will quit feeling like something is 'wrong' with me because I love so many books. Writing is important to me so I love Richard Powers and Percival Everett, for example, but also enjoyed Stacey Abrams lasted thriller While Justice Sleeps. I'm 81 so have only so much more time for reading. If the book doesn't grab me, I quit. Too many good ones out there.
I agree with all your reasons I read so many good books, even though I have the high standards typical of English-majors, but I'd like to add one: I read a lot ABOUT books. In addition to your column (which nearly every week increases my To-Read list), I read the NY Times, New Yorker, Tribune articles, subscribe to a couple of book-related sites -- in short, anything anywhere about new releases or classics that I've missed. I can usually tell from a brief description if I will like something (and stop reading before any spoilers). Yes, I stop reading sometimes -- I give a book one eye-rolling annoyance (someone acting out-of-character, unbelievable dialogue, rhetorical clunkiness), but if I hit another one soon, I'm just not going to enjoy it because now I'm watching for bad writing instead of being swept away. I have also stopped even when liking a book -- I could only last 90 pages into "Ducks Newburypoint," but enough stream-of-consciousness was enough.
That's about how long I lasted. Still have it on Kindle and think if I get bored someday I'll return to Ducks.
I'm not sure a book like Ducks Newburypoint necessarily requires you to read the whole thing to get something out of it. I've been reading it for a few years. It literally props up my laptop when I'm sitting at my desk so the screen is elevated as I use an external keyboard, and every so often, I'll pull it out and read a few more pages. I'll get to the end eventually...I think.
Good idea. I think I'll approach Ducks that way.
I still finish every book I start - not sure why, maybe out of a mis-placed sense of guilt from my Catholic up- bringing? I do know that I have many times not liked a book when I started it but was pleasantly surprised to find that I eventually grew to love, or at least appreciate it as I read on. So maybe it’s just optimism that it will get better
I do think there's a difference between a book you think is "bad" and a book you suspect you need some time to connect with, and keeping going on that latter often pays off. I try not to have too much of a hair trigger, or if I think a book might be interesting, but I'm not feeling it, I'll put it aside and have another go later.
Thanks so much for this column, John. Like a few others here, I used to be a dedicated book finisher, because that's what you're supposed to do, right? But now I give myself permission to abandon books that are not doing it for me, roughly along your stated guidelines. Case in point: Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, which I had thought I would LOVE, based on the movie (one of the VERY rare occasions when I like the movie better than the book). I had read the sequel first, Little Altars Everywhere, and went back to read the first one, and abandoned it at about 25% in. The protagonist had just had one too many too cute episodes, and was all over my last nerve, so I said goodbye. And there are SO many good to great books out there, it's a shame to waste any time on something you are not enjoying.
I always felt guilty not finishing a book. Even with a stack waiting to be read , calling me , I’d finish. Not any more. There are so many good books out there l, why waste your valuable reading time on something that has stopped peaking your interest.
For years I was a non-quitter- not any more. I stop if the book is not well written, if there is gratuitous violence, and even if I am just not into it. Life is too short to spend it reading a book I do not enjoy!
I used to muscle through a book I didn't love--- until I learned to just say no! If the prose doesn't amuse, astound or grab me by my book flaps, I am off to the next one. I try to give a book a good sporting chance and hope at some point the ones I don't like will start to gel for me. Life is too damn short to not enjoy turning those pages when there is a whole stack of worthy books waiting for me to get started on them.
I really loved this week's column!
A. I definitely have "junk" books and movies I love as much as literature - but they are still good pieces of entertainment!
B. I think you would really enjoy Donalyn Miller's book "Reading in the Wild" - it is about encouraging K-12 readers, but she frames it from teaching youth the habits of adults who read; she is definitely a proponent of abandoning books if needed. I loved her book just because it spelled out things that I do as a reader, and now I can intentionally pass them on.
C. I will abandon books, and also sometimes just put them back in my to-be-read queue if it isn't the right time for it. ("Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" took me 20 years of repeated abandonment to finally tackle.) I also am reading multiple books at a time, usually, so if I find myself repeatedly checking into other books more than a certain one, I will abandon it for the time being.
Also, this space nerd DEFINITELY aced that NY Times trivia (but I do have a tattoo of the Apollo logo, so it was kind of a lock for me!)
I have always thought this about myself—am I not critical or smart enough, because I always like a lot of the books I read. But as I read your reasonings, I realize I also do the things you do. I don't pick up something that doesn't interest me at the get-go, and I definitely can quit a book I'm not into (it took me a while to get into that habit, but now that I'm in it, I won't look back!). I also think it's about mood reading for me. When I'm having a hard time focusing, I'm going to pick up an easily page-turny thriller rather than one that will require a ton of mental focus. And I save those for another time. Thank you for making me rethink one of my big fears as a book reader!
I finish books I’m disliking for two reasons only: the first is to add to my Goodreads challenge for the year (which this year I have all but abandoned due to life priorities); the second is so that I can rip it apart on bookstagram. Just kidding I usually approach a bad review with humor and self reflection BUT it is fun to hate a little isn’t it?