Why it's ok to give up on a book.

I began writing this post at the beginning of April as it was something I mentioned in my 5 reading resolutions for 2018 post back in January, which you can read here and I wanted to go into more detail about in a blog post. We are always encouraging people to read more, but there is this stigma that once you start a book, you have got to finish it, regardless of whether you are enjoying it or not. This is actually crazy as if we are supposed to be encouraging people to read, this would completely suck all of the enjoyment out of what reading is supposed to do!  

World Book Night came around again on the 23rd April and I was surprised and happy to see that their campaign for this year was to #quitlit. At first I thought (and only for a couple of seconds) that they wanted us to read less! But of course my silly brain jumped to conclusions far to quickly. This campaign is for those of us who just don't seem to want to quit reading a book even if it isn't for us. Their research found that more than half of us bookworms spend up to three months reading a book before and if we decide to give it up! Three whole months! That is a crazy amount of time to technically force yourself to read a book.
Now I've never struggled through a book for that amount of time, but I have forced myself to finish every book I have ever read. That was until last year, where I had a bit of an odd year and my priorities massively changes. Reading wasn't giving me the same joy as it usually did and this was partly to do with putting pressure on myself to finish all the books and make sure I made my Goodreads count for the month. It was sucking the joy out of what reading is supposed to be about, so at the beginning of this year, I told myself that if I wasn't getting into or enjoying a book all that much, I would put it down and start a new one.

Why you shouldn't feel guilty to give up on a book:
1. Life is too short and there are far too many other books crying out to be read
2. Reading is supposed to be enjoyable, don't suck the fun out of it
3. Not everyone is going to like the same book, so don't worry if you don't like the latest bestseller
4. You won't offend anyone- but of course don't tell the author!
5. Your Goodreads target is just a guide you don't have to stick to it


Bring the joy back into reading again, it has really helped me already.