When I was younger and reading regularly, I would always force myself to finish whatever book I was currently reading, even if I wasn’t enjoying it. To me, giving up on a book was a sin, a sign of weakness.
Part of the joy of reading for me was the challenge of it. I thought finishing books that were either difficult to read or that I found boring would make me a better reader.
I would argue that it most likely did. Challenging myself made me not only a better reader in terms of schoolwork, but it also made me a better writer.
However, there shouldn’t be any shame in admitting a book is too difficult or challenging to finish. Even those who frequently finish books they start have probably given up on a book at one time or another.
It also might not necessarily be that a book is too difficult to finish. There are plenty of badly written or just plain boring books that even the most avid readers struggle to get through.
It’s fine to take an especially long or challenging book at a slower pace than an easy read. During my freshmen year of college, it took me nearly an entire semester to read one of the books in the “Game of Thrones” series.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t enjoying the book, it was just ridiculously long and contained a good deal of backstory instead of actual plot. I prided myself on not giving up on the book even though it was more time-consuming than other reads.
Although finishing books is generally a good thing, adults shouldn’t waste their time reading things they don’t enjoy. There are so many things to do, so many other responsibilities and distractions, and reading shouldn’t be considered a chore.
This is especially true for college students, since they usually have hours of laborious reading to do for their classes. If they’re reading for fun there’s no need to struggle too much if they can’t get into a book.
According to an article from Smithsonian Magazine, 27 percent of adults in the U.S. did not read a single book in 2015. I probably read maybe two or three that year. I also most likely did abandon at least one book that I started.
Not everyone needs to be an avid reader, and it’s okay to stop reading a book if it’s too difficult to get into. However, I also know that sometimes it’s easy to make the excuse that there isn’t enough time for reading.
Yes, reading takes some effort, but it’s a great form of entertainment if people give it time. I remember being disheartened in high school whenever my peers would say, “I don’t like to read. It’s boring,” partially because I was a huge nerd but also because I knew those people had never seriously given reading a chance.
Reading outside of class should be fun, not forced, but as I’m learning this semester all it takes is a little extra effort to find books I truly enjoy.
