Reading is for Me.
I don’t always finish books that I start & I will not be shamed!
There’s a lot of pressure in the #bookstagram & #bookworm universe to always, always, always finish the books you start. I get it, I used to not only feel that pressure, but secretly shame those who pushed a book to their DNF (did not finish) stack.
-Oh, but you can get past the writing style-
-It’s a slow start, but it gets so much better!
-But it’s such a waste of money if you don’t finish!-
I hear ya loud & clear, but I’m done with that type of thinking.
The truth is that last year I read The Night Circus- and it took me almost TWO months to finish. I’m a pretty avid reader, trying to average at least a book a week (I usually have to fit them in on the weekend, because I work full time and I am just. so. tired.) and it took me almost sixty days to read a 300 page book. There is only ONE reason a book takes me that long to finish;
I do not like it.
And after I listened to everyone’s advice and pushed through to the end, I was left feeling defeated;
it never got better
I never enjoyed it
I wasted two months doing something I didn’t even enjoy
After I hate-read The Night Circus (and STILL didn’t like it after finishing it), I made a decision-
If I don’t like it, I’m not gonna do it.
Reading is for ME and ME alone-
It broadens my mind, it keeps me entertained, and it teaches me about other worlds, realms and realities.
Reading brings me joy and if for any reason that joy is tarnished by a bad book, then I’m not going to push through just to hit my annual reading goal.
I recently started a Sweet Little Lies from Book of the Month club (which is usually always on point with nailing exactly what I am in the mood for) that a friend of mine was also reading. She sped through it and kept on begging me to catch up. I finally told her, I just can’t. I started it, didn’t like it and had 2 others from BOTM waiting for m
e.
So, I moved it to my DNF pile and moved on with my life. In the end, I have lost nothing and gave myself the time to read other books that I loved and sped through myself.
And, if I ever need something new, I can just always pick through my DNF pile. Who knows what I might like 3 years from now.
(Just a note: a ton of people absolutely adore The Night Circus. I just want to make it clear that I am not saying it is a bad book, I’m just saying I didn’t like it. Not even a little bit)
(Just one more note: I do not take the “shame” of a DNF seriously in this context, and neither should you)
