I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd ever post here again. But sometimes I get the urge to write a blog post. Since I haven't written anything since like 2012, I would just push the urge away and continue on with life like I don't own 15 different blogs.
Today, however, I just feel like posting something anyway.
Here is how I read books:
I will read the first few pages. Normally, I start with just the first chapter. Sometimes, though, the first chapter is very short and I end up reading the first three or four chapters. Whatever, I just read at least the first five or six pages. If I'm not hooked by then, I stop reading.
This is a problem because it takes a lot for me to get hooked these days. I don't know if turning into an adult has affected how I enjoy things, but I can't just read anything anymore. It has to be good enough, and if I don't feel like it's good enough within the first couple pages, I won't waste my time.
Almost every single book I've attempted to read this year has ended up sitting in my "Not interested enough to get past page 10" pile. I don't rate these books and I don't count them as read, but I know it's very unlikely that I'll ever return to try again.
This discourages me and puts me in a funk where I am unable to read anything for weeks.
That's why I'm 19 books behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge. That's why I've read only half the amount of books this year that I'd read last year by this same date. That's why I've created a rule for myself that I'm proud to say I'm actually following.
My mom loves reading books as much as I do and a good portion of her room is taken up by stacks of books. Those books are her "to-read" books. She tells me, "I have too many books to waste my time on one I'm not going to enjoy." And she certainly does. The pile is ever growing and she probably only gets through one book every week, if that. So she has what she calls the 40 Page Chance. If by page 40 or chapter 4 (whichever comes last) she is not invested in the book, she will put it down, rate it as one star on Goodreads, and move on.
I decided that was a brilliant idea. Except that 40 pages just seemed too short for my usual 400-500 page books. So, my personal goal is to read at least 25% of the book before I allow myself to put it down and mark it as read.
I've tested this goal on the last three books I've read and I am loving how well it's working. I wanted to put down all three books within the first 10 pages, but I forced myself to keep reading. Each book came to about 400 pages, which meant that I had to read to at least page 100 before I would allow myself to give up. The result is that I've completely read all three books. Two were worth it, the third one not so much. But I felt so much better giving the low rating and posting my review because I'd actually read the whole book and not just the beginning.
I've started my fourth book today and I'm on page 23, but this time I'm already hooked. I've still calculated what page I can stop at just in case, but I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this book from beginning to end. It's still nice knowing that I have goal to reach if it gets to hard, and it's even better knowing that my goal is working so far.
What do you do to keep yourself reading a book you find yourself not enjoying? Are you one of those people who have to finish a book, no matter what? Or are you okay with putting a book down that you haven't finished?
