Should You Keep Reading a Book You Don't Like Hoping It Will Get Better?

Or do you give up?

How much time do you give a book you don't like? Photo: Unsplash

How often do you give up on a book?

Giving up is not in my nature. I am nothing if not persistent. "Stick-to-itiveness" is a word we used in my family growing up, and I pride myself on seeing a project through to the finish.

Reading is my thing. While the phrase "Obsessed with books" may be too strong, I do admit to a definite passion for literature. Reading is what I want to do in my spare time, and I listen to books whenever I can't physically read them. My money is not spent on sporting events or fancy clothes, but on new "reads." People who love me give me gift cards to book stores for birthday and Christmas presents. As an English major in college, I had to read dozens and dozens of books, whether I liked them or not, and usually I was required to compose a paper defending, detailing, or debating some aspect of the book. But I'm not only a reader, I'm an author, so I know the time, fear, hope, and emotional energy that is poured into the writing of a book.

So when I start a book, I intend to finish it, reading to the bitter end whether I like it or not.

Do you?

Is something wrong with me?

But something has happened to me, making me wonder if something is wrong.

In the last month, I have started TWO books, one in hard copy and one in audio format, and quit them, dropping them like the proverbial hot potato or stopped absorbing them, with an abruptness like getting fired or confronted with your spouse's marital affair.

The first was a book that I had purchased from Book-of-the-Month club and had been on my shelf waiting its turn for almost a year. The premise involved the art world, something I'm interested in, and it got a good write-up.

So I dove into this book, its cover blaring neon colors of pink and orange and yellow like other books of its ilk. The first chapter didn't hook me. I kept reading, hoping it would get better. Page after page, I struggled with the tone of the book. Anger. Vitriol. A wronged character.

Maybe it was just my state of mind or the weight of sadness from the recent loss of my husband, but I thought to myself, "There are too many other good books to force myself to read this book that rubs me the wrong way. Life is just too short to suffer through a book I don't like."

So for the first time in memory, I read only 50 pages of more than 300 before I quit.

It happened again

Audiobooks are fantastic for bibliophiles. If you love reading, you want to do it all the time, but tasks like driving, cooking, cleaning, walking, gardening, and showering make it physically impossible to read.

Listening to books whenever I can't read triples my reading time!

After reading the fantastic reviews for a new release, endorsed by prominent authors like Sandra Cisneros, Ann Patchett, and Khaled Hosseini, I eagerly downloaded the more than 25-hour-long novel, expecting to be enchanted.

I was not. I listened to eight hours and fifty-three minutes before deciding that this book was never going anywhere, or if it was, I couldn't wait to journey long enough with it to get there.

How much does mood matter?

Is there some magic that happens when you start reading a book that makes you like it? Are there unseen elements that affect your perception of a book when you open it for the first time, like maybe weird atmospheric pressure? Or possibly how your day has gone up to that moment? If you are feeling happy when you start reading, will you automatically feel good about the story as soon as you start it?

When asked, several friends said they used the following tactics to decide whether to quit reading:

• Decide after forty pages.

• Read at least three chapters.

• Put it down, and come back to it the next day, and if it still doesn't entice you, give up.

I'm serious. I want to know. How do you know if you should keep reading a book? Do you finish a book you don't like, hoping it will get better? What are your signs to quit? Please share!

Should you keep reading a book you don't like?

It's taken me a long time to learn that time is short and to believe that my life is limited, so I should carefully consider how much time to spend reading a book that I don't connect with. After all, each year, there are 500,000 to 1,000,000 books published worldwide through traditional publishers, and about 3 million self-published books released.

To quote my favorite nightshirt, "So many books. So little time!"

My philosophy may be changing. Instead of struggling through a book, I may read more books faster because I'm enjoying them more!

Wondering why I didn't tell you the books that I quit reading recently?

I would never want to discourage someone from reading another author's work! Just because it didn't appeal to me, doesn't mean that it won't appeal to you! You may love those books, ingesting each plot twist and page turn with gusto. Books, after all, are highly personal, and I would never want to discourage someone from reading another author's work!

Try, try, again?

Will I try to read those two novels I abandoned at some point in the future?

Who knows?

Maybe some mood will compel me to try again. Perhaps a change in barometric pressure will trigger an urge. Or it could be that I'll feel bad for not following through on a project I started. . . but I doubt it.

There's just too many books out there that will delight me!