Another Wrong Lesson From Mom and Dad

My topic of today may not be an issue for others, but it really is a problem I’ve had when reading.  This is actually a problem I have with movies as well.  I feel like once I’ve started it, I’m obligated to finish it.  I blame society, and my parents to some extent (sorry Mom and Dad).  But think about it.  How many times growing up were you told not to quit, to finish what you started, to stick with it through the end, or some variation on that theme? This is clearly very important when talking about important life tasks, but when it comes to reading a book or watching a movie, it’s not so relevant.

While lots of people struggle with finishing a book, I struggle with not finishing.  It’s not always that the book is bad, but sometimes I’m just not in the right mood for a book, or am having trouble getting into it.  It’s actually worse if the book is well written, because I feel like I really should stick it out.  Often that feeling stems from the book I’m reading being critically acclaimed or a classic, which means I feel like I’m missing out on something that society gets.  I hate not understanding what appeals to society.  I get that feeling enough when I see The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy on the bestseller list.

The problem has actually become much less pronounced since I’ve had my Kindle Fire (which I LOVE, by the way, and totally recommend to anyone looking at getting an e-reader/tablet).  This is because Amazon has tons of free books available every day. While they do have mainstream books for free, often for a limited time, many of them are self-published authors.   That does not mean that all self-published authors are bad authors.  In fact, I’ve discovered many new authors through Amazon’s free books, and many of the good ones get picked up by publishing houses rather quickly.  However, the problem with self-published authors is that often they don’t have good, reliable editors (more on this topic in another post). 

To make a long story short, I’ve learned something from all of these free books I’ve downloaded.  If they’re not good, I don’t have to finish them.  Why it took me this long to figure this out, you ask? Because I wasn’t freed from the burden of keeping a book until it’s finished before then.  I honestly feel that if you spent the money, you should give a book a chance.  But when it’s free, who cares? If it’s crappy, delete it, no harm no foul. 

This led to a revelation about books that I’ve bought or borrowed from the library as well.  If you start a book and just can’t get into it, it’s okay.  It’ll still be around later. Try again.  If you try multiple times and you still can’t get into it, it’s maybe just not for you, and that’s okay, too.  If the book is just terrible, don’t finish it.  Why torture yourself for something that’s not going to entertain and/or educate you?  So don’t worry about it. Go back to the library or bookstore and try to find something else.

The moral of today’s story: when it comes to books (or movies!) it’s okay to not stick with it.