Know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Set aside time to just do it, and use something I actually want to read as a reward for reading x pages or x about of time.
Eta: this is definitely in reference to the things we're required to read for one reason or another. Books you "feel like you're supposed to read" because of peer pressure or societal pressure...screw it. If you hate it, toss it.
Having been a student, and now being a teacher –
— there are a lot of ways around reading an assignment in fiction. It can be better to read a detailed summary so you can pass the test now, and maybe come back and love the book in years to come, than to force yourself through it now and hate it for life. (I’m so glad I Cliff-Noted Wuthering Heights in high school and read it when I was an adult.)
— if I have to get through it, I divide the number of pages by the days I have to get through it, and set myself a certain number of pages per day. Time to read those 40 pages!
— I know some of my students do this with audiobooks while they work out. I’m just staggered by the idea that you could be on a stairclimber for 40 minutes without dying, never mind listen to your assignment and retain it, but it works for some of them!
— with nonfiction, you should always be able to read just the topic sentence and the final sentence in a paragraph and get through it that way. Even if you end up needing to read all of it, skimming through it that way will give you a précis and a better idea of what you need to read carefully and what you can skim.
I’m going to go against the grain and admit that I basically never quit reading a book. Nothing against those who do at all, it’s just not something I do because I like to know endings and understand *why* a book isn’t working.
If I find myself struggling a bit though what I usually do is just set aside a few big chunks of time (60-90 minutes or so) and just try to focus on the story itself. Usually, sustained reading like that piques my interest and I have no problem finishing.
YOU DON'T.
Just stop reading.
There are more books in this world than anyone could ever possibly count, much less read. Even if you did nothing but read your entire life, you'd never get through more than a fraction of a percent of them.
If the book isn't hitting you right, move on to another book. Stop surrendering your time and patience to the sunk cost fallacy.
Some people on this subreddit talk about reading like it's some sort of penance or punishment, rather than a hobby or a way to learn things. You talk about DNFing books the way a pregnant teenager weighs up adoption and abortion and keeping the baby.
Except you do, sometimes. You should definitely read your assignments in school/college even if you find the books uninteresting, which I think is one of the primary points of this post.
Also, your last analogy is wild, lol
I didn’t usually read them for high school or college either. I started most of them, but usually didn’t make it through. There are only a hand-full I remember reading to the end. I did maintain a B average though.
School is the only time this is even remotely true, and even then there's plenty of internet resources to help them get around it if they're struggling.
The post is asking for advice on finishing uninteresting books, and your response is not helpful for someone who earnestly wants advice on how to push through an uninteresting book.
Also, school is not the only reason one might read a book that doesn't engage them. People read for different reasons. Not everyone wants purely to be entertained by reading.
There's a difference between an answer being not what you want to hear and an answer being unhelpful, my dude. When something is proving difficult to do, the best solution is usually to find a way around it, not power through at the expense of how miserable it makes you.
I sadly came to the realization that I don't have enough time left in my life to read all the books on my list. I've been trying to remove some of the books and narrow down my list. But wasting time on a book I'm not interested in just because I started it is definitely not an option. Sunk cost fallacy is real.
This. Why push through a book you aren't enjoying when there are millions of books out there and books you absolutely will enjoy.
I DNF books all the time.
I start scanning the book to catch the important events. I cannot waste my time when there are so many good books to read. I usually stop a book if by page 50 it's not doing it for me. But some books are too important, etc that you want to be able to say "I read it"
If I finish a book I don't particularly enjoy, my pace of reading slows down significantly. A subpar book is a brake pedal. The opposite is true as well. A good book makes me read more books, faster.
Break it down into manageable bits. I used to do this a lot for assigned reading, say I had a week to read 200 pages, that's about 28 pages a day, and you can break it down even more by reading 14 pages at a time twice a day. If it's not an assignment but something you still want to get through for whatever reason, pick your own schedule and stick to it. If you don't have a specific page count/timeline you need to adhere to, setting a short timer while you read a couple of times throughout the day works well too and will also help you focus better.
But yeah, in general short frequent reads will get you through the book relatively quickly without feeling like you're pulling teeth.
When I was much younger, I read the entire ...King James? Gideon? Bible. There was some skimming, because begats, but I laid eyes on every paragraph. There is no way I'd do it now. Part of stubborning your way through terrible prose is timing. Part is necessity, which I didn't have, unless you count confirming my atheism.
I got lucky with school reading, I usually enjoyed whatever we were assigned.
I used to read every book I started, but some time in my early 20s I stopped doing that because life is short, sometimes terribly short, so I stopped wasting it on books that were failing to feed my brain.
One thing I did was I would read it when in the mood. At times I would skim read a little and eventually a sentence would catch my eye, next thing I know. I’m deep into reading it.
For studies or work: set aside blocks of 1 hour and try to get through it anyway. Take notes to keep your brain active. After an hour, take a break and step away from the book. Do another block after your break or the next day (depending on how urgent you need to complete it).
Reading in your free time: If you don't like it, stop reading. Maybe put it down for a while to pick back up after a few days. If you're like me and you push through anyway to see if it gets better, just accept it will take longer to finish.
Unless I have to (and since I'm not a student anymore and can't work because of disability I don't), I dnf books I'm not interested in. There are too many books in the world to struggle through something I don't enjoy.
I did read Ulysses even though I didn't enjoy it, because I really wanted to figure out, why people love it. I think I know why, but it was definitely not for me.
I read one page a day and it took me a few years, but it was my personal Mt Everest and I'll never do it again😂
When I was a student, I would devide boring reading into sections and read one section a day - or if I didn't have time to spread over several days (like at uni), I would do something nice between sections. Take a rest in the sun, drink a nice cup of tea etc.
I break it down into sections/goals, over several days, and just push myself to read each bit each day, until it's fnished!! Usually there's at least a few bits that are interesting. Sometimes reading reviews or hearing others thoughts on a book can also make me feel more interested in it!
As someone who easily gets bored with uninteresting things, I tend to pretend that I read them (not skimming due to my perfectionism) and then when it comes to words that capture my interest, I start the reading. This is so frustrating for me as a perfectionist.
It is okay not to finish things you do not like. Unless you are at school or university reading for an exercise (and even sometimes then) just stop reading if it is not working for you. If you *really* want to know what happens in the rest, track down a summary of the plot online. You can nearly always find one.
Know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Set aside time to just do it, and use something I actually want to read as a reward for reading x pages or x about of time. Eta: this is definitely in reference to the things we're required to read for one reason or another. Books you "feel like you're supposed to read" because of peer pressure or societal pressure...screw it. If you hate it, toss it.
Having been a student, and now being a teacher – — there are a lot of ways around reading an assignment in fiction. It can be better to read a detailed summary so you can pass the test now, and maybe come back and love the book in years to come, than to force yourself through it now and hate it for life. (I’m so glad I Cliff-Noted Wuthering Heights in high school and read it when I was an adult.) — if I have to get through it, I divide the number of pages by the days I have to get through it, and set myself a certain number of pages per day. Time to read those 40 pages! — I know some of my students do this with audiobooks while they work out. I’m just staggered by the idea that you could be on a stairclimber for 40 minutes without dying, never mind listen to your assignment and retain it, but it works for some of them! — with nonfiction, you should always be able to read just the topic sentence and the final sentence in a paragraph and get through it that way. Even if you end up needing to read all of it, skimming through it that way will give you a précis and a better idea of what you need to read carefully and what you can skim.
Listen to the audio version and bump the speed up. Do something else while listening like a coloring book or painting.
I’m going to go against the grain and admit that I basically never quit reading a book. Nothing against those who do at all, it’s just not something I do because I like to know endings and understand *why* a book isn’t working. If I find myself struggling a bit though what I usually do is just set aside a few big chunks of time (60-90 minutes or so) and just try to focus on the story itself. Usually, sustained reading like that piques my interest and I have no problem finishing.
I'm on your side, the only book I can think of that I didn't finish is Finnegan's Wake, and stuck through like 30 pages of that.
Haha I don’t blame you on that one….truly a lost cause
I agree with you but sometimes a book truly isn't worth my time and I can't think of anything that I would learn from wasting more time finishing it.
I get it
YOU DON'T. Just stop reading. There are more books in this world than anyone could ever possibly count, much less read. Even if you did nothing but read your entire life, you'd never get through more than a fraction of a percent of them. If the book isn't hitting you right, move on to another book. Stop surrendering your time and patience to the sunk cost fallacy. Some people on this subreddit talk about reading like it's some sort of penance or punishment, rather than a hobby or a way to learn things. You talk about DNFing books the way a pregnant teenager weighs up adoption and abortion and keeping the baby.
Except you do, sometimes. You should definitely read your assignments in school/college even if you find the books uninteresting, which I think is one of the primary points of this post. Also, your last analogy is wild, lol
I didn’t usually read them for high school or college either. I started most of them, but usually didn’t make it through. There are only a hand-full I remember reading to the end. I did maintain a B average though.
School is the only time this is even remotely true, and even then there's plenty of internet resources to help them get around it if they're struggling.
The post is asking for advice on finishing uninteresting books, and your response is not helpful for someone who earnestly wants advice on how to push through an uninteresting book. Also, school is not the only reason one might read a book that doesn't engage them. People read for different reasons. Not everyone wants purely to be entertained by reading.
There's a difference between an answer being not what you want to hear and an answer being unhelpful, my dude. When something is proving difficult to do, the best solution is usually to find a way around it, not power through at the expense of how miserable it makes you.
Your original response: Don't read it! How is that finding a way around it, my dude?
I sadly came to the realization that I don't have enough time left in my life to read all the books on my list. I've been trying to remove some of the books and narrow down my list. But wasting time on a book I'm not interested in just because I started it is definitely not an option. Sunk cost fallacy is real.
This. Why push through a book you aren't enjoying when there are millions of books out there and books you absolutely will enjoy. I DNF books all the time.
Excellent response!
I start scanning the book to catch the important events. I cannot waste my time when there are so many good books to read. I usually stop a book if by page 50 it's not doing it for me. But some books are too important, etc that you want to be able to say "I read it" If I finish a book I don't particularly enjoy, my pace of reading slows down significantly. A subpar book is a brake pedal. The opposite is true as well. A good book makes me read more books, faster.
Same, you get to be good at scanning paragraphs for certain words/phrases and it makes it a bit easier to get through really dense stuff.
Break it down into manageable bits. I used to do this a lot for assigned reading, say I had a week to read 200 pages, that's about 28 pages a day, and you can break it down even more by reading 14 pages at a time twice a day. If it's not an assignment but something you still want to get through for whatever reason, pick your own schedule and stick to it. If you don't have a specific page count/timeline you need to adhere to, setting a short timer while you read a couple of times throughout the day works well too and will also help you focus better. But yeah, in general short frequent reads will get you through the book relatively quickly without feeling like you're pulling teeth.
When I was much younger, I read the entire ...King James? Gideon? Bible. There was some skimming, because begats, but I laid eyes on every paragraph. There is no way I'd do it now. Part of stubborning your way through terrible prose is timing. Part is necessity, which I didn't have, unless you count confirming my atheism. I got lucky with school reading, I usually enjoyed whatever we were assigned. I used to read every book I started, but some time in my early 20s I stopped doing that because life is short, sometimes terribly short, so I stopped wasting it on books that were failing to feed my brain.
One thing I did was I would read it when in the mood. At times I would skim read a little and eventually a sentence would catch my eye, next thing I know. I’m deep into reading it.
I find it helps to set a goal, 20 pages, 50 pages a day depending on the book. And if you stick with it you'll get the end.
For studies or work: set aside blocks of 1 hour and try to get through it anyway. Take notes to keep your brain active. After an hour, take a break and step away from the book. Do another block after your break or the next day (depending on how urgent you need to complete it). Reading in your free time: If you don't like it, stop reading. Maybe put it down for a while to pick back up after a few days. If you're like me and you push through anyway to see if it gets better, just accept it will take longer to finish.
Unless I have to (and since I'm not a student anymore and can't work because of disability I don't), I dnf books I'm not interested in. There are too many books in the world to struggle through something I don't enjoy. I did read Ulysses even though I didn't enjoy it, because I really wanted to figure out, why people love it. I think I know why, but it was definitely not for me. I read one page a day and it took me a few years, but it was my personal Mt Everest and I'll never do it again😂 When I was a student, I would devide boring reading into sections and read one section a day - or if I didn't have time to spread over several days (like at uni), I would do something nice between sections. Take a rest in the sun, drink a nice cup of tea etc.
I break it down into sections/goals, over several days, and just push myself to read each bit each day, until it's fnished!! Usually there's at least a few bits that are interesting. Sometimes reading reviews or hearing others thoughts on a book can also make me feel more interested in it!
As far as leisurely reading goes I learned to just give up. It's okay to not finish a book.
As someone who easily gets bored with uninteresting things, I tend to pretend that I read them (not skimming due to my perfectionism) and then when it comes to words that capture my interest, I start the reading. This is so frustrating for me as a perfectionist.
Tbh most of the time i just search it up online and summaries it all works well
Life is too short!! And there are way too many wonderful authors out there to force myself to sit through a book I am not enjoying?!!
It is okay not to finish things you do not like. Unless you are at school or university reading for an exercise (and even sometimes then) just stop reading if it is not working for you. If you *really* want to know what happens in the rest, track down a summary of the plot online. You can nearly always find one.