Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is:
Top Ten Bookish Things I Want to Quit
But here’s the thing – I DON’T quit bookish things.
Almost ever. I have to force myself to DNF, even if I’m really not enjoying a book at all.
That author that wrote a book I hated? But what if I love the next one? I can’t give up on them, after all. They might improve and how unfair would it be for me to judge them on one book … or two … or … Sigh.
That series that bored me to tears? Well, I’m not quitting it, really – I’ll get to it eventually. I mean, how else will I find out how it ends? I can’t just read spoilers – that would be a disgrace!
I’m horrible at quitting!!! So, I’m writing a different list.
Top Five Reasons I Need to Start Quitting
My list (as written to myself):
- There aren’t enough hours in the day. Already you struggle to read everything you actually want to, so why are you spending time finishing a book you’re just not really into? You would have so much more time to read books you love if you would quit on the ones you don’t.
- Why do something you don’t enjoy? If the book is really driving you crazy (or, even worse, boring you), why should you torture yourself by plodding through it?
- You shouldn’t fool yourself. You know you’re not actually going to get back to that series that was making you miserable – even if everyone else loved it (I’m looking at you, Lord of the Rings), you didn’t enjoy it and you’ll just keep putting it off forever. Why leave it on your radar and use up valuable brain cells thinking about it? Nicole, you don’t have that many brain cells to spare!!
- You can’t be nice to everyone. I know, I know, there’s that thought at the back of your mind that you’re somehow letting the author and/or publisher down by not finishing that book you agreed to review. You tell yourself that it could get better or that the writing (or the characters or the plot or …) is really good, so you should be enjoying it. Face it, you can’t make everyone happy. And your review isn’t going to end up glowing no matter what, so why keep reading?
- Everybody’s doing it. Come, on Nicole, everybody else DNF’s. You can do it too. You can … really.
Anyone else have the same issues with quitting that I do? I want to know!
I also struggle to DNF books. I just keep hoping that they’ll get better. I’ve only DNFed two books this year. They were both self-published novels that turned out to be so poorly written that I couldn’t get through them.
I NEVER used to DNF (NF?) but I’ve been doing it in recent years with abandon. Not in the last few months though — I think I’ve gotten better at choosing books I’m fairly sure to enjoy, and detecting the ones I won’t ahead of time. I sympathize with the dilemma. I do want to give books a chance!
I’m such a serial DNF’er. I used to be a closet DNF’er, but I’ve come out of that closet and now I don’t feel guilty about it anymore! Not enough time in this world to read things that you don’t enjoy. So if I’m not liking you, I put you down. End of discussion. No more hurt feelings. The way I see it, if I spend my time reading books I don’t really enjoy, that means I’m missing out on SO MANY books that I’d probably absolutely LOVE! So even though it may hurt the feelings of the author I put down (not that the author will ever find out, most likely) I’m really helping another author because I ended up LOVING the next book. So yeah, no more guilt over DNF’ing. You should give it a try! A few years ago I refused… but since then, it’s taken a lot of stress off my shoulders. Also, I’m lucky enough to rate most of the books I read 3-5 stars since I put down the yucky ones! 🙂
I hav trouble quitting or giving up on anything, books, TV shows, old clothes, toxic relationships, etc. I just want things to get better or I think I can fix it.
This is only a problem sometimes…but only sometimes! If a book doesn’t grab me by the first three chapters I quit…UNLESS some one has warned me about a slow beginning. I don’t waste my time sub books that don’t grab me.
I still struggle with DNF’ing a book, I always hope it get’s better and give it another chapter. I mean there’s a reason I was excited for that book and I sort of hope to find that while reading. I did get better at DNF’ing books, but it’s still hard and it often takes me a few days before I finally decide to DNF, it’s frustrating. I am pretty good at not continuing a series if I don’t like the first book, it’s harder when the first book okay and the next book might be better? I mostly believe in DNF’ing books as life is too short to spend time reaidng books you don’t enjoy, but that still doesn’t make it easier.
I like how you did this! I do not DNF often because I feel the ending can redeem a book. It doesn’t aways happen though as we all know. I think I DNFed maybe two or three this year and pretty early on too. Great list!
I don’t understand the problem here. I DNF almost every book I start….
Hmm, maybe I have a more serious problem.
Recently I been trying to finish everything I start, but I did move a book to continue later because it was…blah
Yeah…I need to be better about DNFing…though I remain stubborn when it is a previously loved author! Though today I just DNF’d one and I still have guilt over it! LOL!
Here’s my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
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I have a hard time quitting too.. but I take indefinite breaks sometimes lol
I’ve gotten much better at quitting books and series. Some series just go on forever, and they tend to get weaker, not stronger. I try not to start so many new series, that’s a problem for me. I’ve thought about how long I give a book before I DNF — I feel like it needs to be at least a third, because sometimes a book starts slow and picks up.
Okay, for once, I’m going to say that I actually do ALL five of your list points. I don’t know what happened, but I think it was a series book that finally did me in. I instituted the 20% rule (like our 20 minute rule for a movie in this house), and if I’m not into a book by the 20% mark, I move on. Really. No hard feelings. And I don’t even talk about that book I DNFed. I just pretend it never happened. If you ask me point blank, I’ll tell you and then I won’t expound anymore, but normally, I just don’t say much. Recently, I’ve been brave enough to say I didn’t like a few audiobooks but that’s about it.
Just, move on! Pretend it didn’t happen! Nothing to see here!
I used to be terrible at DNF-ing books, especially when that book had come to me for free from an author or publisher. I felt really guilty that they had chosen me to read this and I couldn’t let them down, so I would force myself to read it and hate every minute of it. But I am actually getting better at DNF-ing books. In fact since January I have there have been 11 that I put down part way through and have no intention of going back to! Yeay me! *high fives self*
I haven’t quite managed to quit a series that I am struggling with, because as you said, even if I’m not enjoying it, or I don’t connect with the characters or whatever, I still want to know how it ends! Is that so bad?
Great list! Good luck, hopefully one day you will be able to DNF a book!
I’m also horrible at quitting a book! I can only clearly remember two books that I gave up on. When I read 1984 I absolutely hated it, but I kept on reading until I finished the book because so many references are being made to it and I felt like I had to read it because of its cultural significance. I still have this feeling that I have to read Animal Farm as well (also because of its significance), eventhough I don’t think I will enjoy that one either. I find it especially hard to quit classics somehow. I think I feel a little like ‘but so many people before me have clearly thought it to be a good book otherwise it wouldn’t be a classic, so it probably is a good book and you should just finish it’.
Also, weirdly enough I feel a little proud of myself when I finished a book that I didn’t enjoy at all. (‘THE BOOK TRIED TO GET ME DOWN, BUT I WON!’)
Until last year, I thought it was sacrilegious to DNF. And then I started dreading reading because there were some I just didn’t want to read…so I DNFed them! It was a long, conscientious battle like the constitutional and ethical dilemma Jefferson had with the Louisiana Purchase.
We say often in our society to do what you love, so why am I reading a book I don’t even like hardly at all? I always have hope that it will get better, but if it doesn’t by the 30% mark, I’m outta there!
And there definitely aren’t enough hours in the day.
I have the exact same issues with DNF’ing books!
I used to never quit books, no matter how painful they were. I always thought that maybe, just maybe, the book will get better, and I would hate to miss out on something good. Once I discovered the freeing feeling giving up a book I’m not enjoying, I’ve been so much happier. I still struggle giving up books that others have raved about, but I am so much better than I used to be. There are too many amazing books out there to waste your time on something you don’t like!
I have soooo much trouble DNF’ing too. D: But I’m okay with it, mostly. I mean, I waste a LOT of time reading books that are kind of awful and I know I’m only going to write a super ranty review about. But it makes me feel better to have them finished. >_< XD
I used to be really reluctant to DNF too, but then, when I started to get busy with school and barely have time to read, it has become easy. I really can’t waste my precious reading time on a “meh” book.
Quitting is hard. I think my parent ingrained it in me at an early age (clean your plate, finish the tennis season). However, I try to abandon books now that just don’t grab my attention. It’s not worth the struggle and sometimes it is just best to move on.
Exactly my problem! I don’t know how to pace myself, dangit! I find it hard to quit those same bookish things!
Those were all reasons that I had to start quitting as well. Trust me, before I NEVER quit and would always push through. Likewise, nowadays I quit very rarely – the last book I DNFed was probably somewhere around February? But sometimes it is so worthy and freeing to be able to put down a book you’re not enjoying and move on to one you like a whole lot more… so do try and be open to it!