Last week we discussed how to recognize you are reading a book you secretly don’t like and shouldn’t read (4 Ways to Realize You are Reading a Lemon). This week we’re going to take that one step further and focus on what to do when this happens.
1. Start skimming
Sometimes a book just has a slow spot and once you get past it things will speed up. Start by skimming a few pages to get the gist of the story. It may catch you back up or you may go through 50 pages in 5 minutes. Either way you will either re-discover a book you do like or you finish a book you didn’t in record time and you still know what happened.
2. Know it’s okay to not finish
This one is so hard for me because it doesn’t seem right to not finish a book. If I’m going to pick a book up then I am promising to finish it at least that is how it seems. Yet this is not true. By trying to hold myself to that standard I can make reading stop being fun and then where will I be? It’s better to love to read than to finish every book you’ve started, so it is completely okay to not finish all the books you start.
3. Read the last page
If you’re like me you may have an uncontrollable desire to know what happens. I may not care about the characters or the plot, but I have to know what happens at the end. Reading the last page quenches that thirst. Sometimes reading the last page can make me want to give the book a second chance, other times it frees me to move on to the other books on my pile.
4. Read something else
There are some times when the only option is to just start reading something else. You may not like the book enough to skim or care enough to read the last page and that’s okay. Not all books are meant to be read by you. As an author there are times when I would prefer someone not read my books than to read them and misunderstand them or just not get them. I’ve met people who’ve expressed interest in reading my books, but inside I know they are not the type of reader I was writing for and if they manage to make it through my book they won’t really get it. So it’s okay to not read a book. Find the kinds of books you like and will make you want to read and major on those. Yes, do read outside of that every now and then. You never know when you will find a new favorite genre, but don’t feel trapped by the books you read.
This whole post is meant to encourage you to read more. If there is anything that keeps you from wanting to read, then get rid of it. Reading should be fun and exciting, wonderful and beautiful. So tell me what books have you absolutely fallen in love with! Maybe you’ll give me a new favorite too!
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