BTT: Too Short?

When I first looked at this week's Booking Through Thursday prompt, I thought the question “Too Short?” referred to the length of a book. Instead, it asks, “Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?”. Deb also says, “I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation.” and I can definitely identify with that sense of obligation.

In one of my earlier BTT posts I tell about forcing myself to finish reading Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen Donaldson, even though I was hating it. I concluded “While I couldn't get that time back, I did decide that I would no longer consider it a failure if I abandoned a book part-way through. It's rare that I give up on a book. I have been known to set one aside for a very long time and eventually return to it. But when I just know I can't find anything to enjoy in the book and I'm not interested in any of the sequels, I'm now willing to just admit I picked a book that isn't going to work for me and move on.”

In fact, I do keep a list of books that I've started but not finished reading, and why I didn't finish it. Where I can, I also record the page or chapter where I abandoned the book. This will help me find my place if I later decide to pick up the book and finish it.