1. On Book Guilt →

    digifreaks:

    I suffer from this periodically in the past, which is probably why I stopped reading for several years, partly due to no books interesting me and due to the fact that I don’t want to suffer from book guilt.

    Attitudes to the unfinished book take many forms. Multiple book readers—those comfortable having more than one book on the stack at the same time—are less susceptible; the single book reader tends to fall into one of three categories: those who happily chuck and move on, those who grind joylessly through to the bitter end, and those who agonise and go nowhere. All three tend towards the absolutist in their behaviour, unless something happens to break the cycle; the latter two are undoubtedly damaging.

    I tend to fall into the second category of the single book reader, chugging through a book just to finish it and not get book guilt.

    Now, I fall into the first category sometimes when I’m running out of time to finish a book before I have to return it, telling myself I’ll come back to that book soon. Then I come back from the library with NEW books. God knows when I’m actually going to finish the first 3 Harry Bosch books.

    So now I’m just trying to finish books by authors. Like Matthew Reilly, Brandon Sanderson, etc. Even Harry Potter, when I get enough money and space in my room to pick up the adult edition bookset.

    Owning a book is much easier for me to finish it, but I don’t have the space or the money to buy every single book that I may be interested in.

    So library’s still my best friends, albeit the limited amount of time I need to finish the book. But if the book is interesting enough, I’d be able to finish it within 3 days because I’ll get so absorbed in it that I forget everything else. So that’s become my gauge to whether I should bother finishing the book or not.

    I want to read more books that I actually enjoy. I want everyone to. Let’s start by saying it all together: “I don’t have to finish this book.“

    So yes, let’s all learn to say “I don’t have to finish this book.” especially when you’re not enjoying it.

    (via teachingliteracy)

    1 year ago  /  Notes  /  Source: digifreaks