Hello, all! My last blog post 10 Must-Read Classics & 3 Tips for Reading Them was such a huge hit that I decided to do my next blog post on reading, too. I love reading just as much as anyone, but there are times when I struggle to finish a book. Sometimes the book is too slow, the characters aren’t well-developed, the world isn’t believable…everyone has read a book like that before!
The problem is, when you have a big reading goal, sometimes putting down a book is hard to do. I made a goal on Goodreads this year to read 45 books—so far, I’ve only read 12. This makes putting down books even harder for me because I want to reach my goal! If you’re in the same boat as I am, or just want to learn how to let certain books go and move on with life, I hope these tips can help you.
#1. Weigh the Pros and Cons of Finishing the Book
Sometimes it can be very difficult to tell whether or not you like a book enough to keep reading it. That’s where weighing the pros and cons comes in! Grab a post-it note or consider it mentally—do you actually like anything about the book? What do you dislike? Is there a theme you’re resonating with, or is the book just blah overall?
I used this method with a particular Young Adult series I was reading. Each page featured grammatical errors and changes between past and present tense. Additionally, the characters were flat, and the story seemed like a rip-off from other popular YA books (something I’m finding to be very common in YA). When I realized I was reading this series for no other reason than to fulfill my reading challenge, I stopped reading it and found a book I actually enjoyed.
#2. Examine the Content of the Book
Another tip I’ve found helpful is examining the content of the book. As a Christian, I try to avoid reading books with an abundance of profanity and sexual content. If a book contains too much of either of those things, I tend to find it easier to put the book down. However, a book can also contain themes or messages that you don’t agree with; if you begin to notice, for example, a book with racist undertones, you can stop reading that book and instead choose one with anti-racist messages.
#3. It’s Not You, Book, It’s Me
I have often found myself struggling through reading something and realized the reason why is because I am simply “not in the mood” to read. Reading is an activity I find enjoyable, and it’s something I’ll often do to calm myself down or relax after a long day of work. If I’ve been doing a lot of relaxing or have other things to do, I often can’t focus on reading. When you’re struggling through a book, make sure you consider if it’s the book that’s being difficult, or if you’re just “not in the mood” to read.
#4. Determine What Your Next Read Would Be
Sometimes all it takes to determine whether or not you want to finish a book is to think about the next book you are going to read. If you have an ever-growing TBR stack like me, you’re constantly thinking about your next read. Occasionally this will hinder my reading process—if you’re too focused on moving to your next read, it can cause you to dislike your current read. If that’s the case, try to focus more on the book you’re reading.
However, if you’re just really not enjoying the book you’re currently reading, you can also look to the next book you have picked out. If you find you can easily put the other book down without a second thought to move onto the next read, you should probably just let the book go!
Well, there are my tips on how to put a book into your “did not finish” stack! I really struggle with this issue a lot, and I hope it helped you out a bit as a reader. I’m currently feeling #4 a little bit as I have a ton of books on my TBR list, but I’m trying to refocus in on the book instead of not finishing it. Did these tips help? If you’re interested in seeing more book-related content, please let me know in the comments below!
Much love,
Katie