This is something that has been on my mind a lot lately so I thought I’d write a blog post about it. I am learning to be ok with not finishing books that I am not enjoying. I’ve always had the stance that I have to finish a book even if I am forcing myself through it. I don’t know why I’ve always felt that I had to finish every book I start. It might stem from school where you had to read books that you didn’t always enjoy. I’ve kept this up until recently. I have been forcing my way through too many books I didn’t like. I told myself it was in hopes that the book would get better or I “had to know” what happened at the end, but really I hate the idea of not finishing what I’ve started. After reading so many books that I wish I hadn’t, I’m finally done. And here’s why…
Why have I been forcing myself to read something I don’t enjoy? Am I really that desperate to know what happens at the end? Because if that’s the case then I should probably just read the book synopsis on Wikipedia. Enough is enough. No one should force themselves to do things in their free time that they don’t enjoy. Life is too short to do things you don’t enjoy. So I have begun quitting books. In the past 6 months I have stopped reading several books that weren’t my jam and I am really glad I did. I moved on to books that I enjoyed much more and it was worth it. Sure – I am still going to end up finishing some books that I don’t end up loving, but I’ll never force myself to read something that I don’t enjoy ever again. There’s no point. It’s ok for me to not finish a book. There is always going to be someone else out there that will pick up that same book and they will feel differently about it.
Anyone else out there who has been forcing themselves to finish books? Did you decide to quit finishing books as well? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Shut The Book Up 
Last year I gave myself permission to do DNFs. When I was reading a book I really didn’t like and was forcing myself to finish it, it made me so unhappy that there was no way that the review I was going to write wouldn’t emphasize the fact that I’d just spent time that I could never get back on something that to me wasn’t worth that time. It was liberating to know that I didn’t have to finish a book and that the world was not going to end because I didn’t know how a book ended. Yay, you for probably getting there before I did! 🙂
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I don’t really know why it took me so long to start doing this, but I’m really glad I did. It feels stupid to waste time on something you’re not enjoying. Glad to hear I’m not alone in waiting so long to start doing this! And I completely agree that it feels liberating. I absolutely know what you mean!
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🙂
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Hello there, great post, beautifully written. 🌺
For me, this mostly happens in some pages and I go back to reread so many times that at one point I just start over! But somehow I learn new things along the way 😊.
Does that ☝️makes sense?
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I absolutely know what you mean! I do that too!
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I know exactly where you are coming from. I would stop reading a book because I wasn’t enjoying it, but then I would stop reading entirely until I could force myself to get back to the original book. A few times the book did get better, but more often than not I just ended up with a grumpy headache. Good for you for learning to be ok with letting go.
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I have to admit that there have been a few times that I’ve gone back to a book that I was struggling with and ended up finishing and really liking it. I think that was part of the struggle with allowing myself to quit… what if it gets better? Haha.
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