Is it hard for you abandon a book you're not enjoying?

I went through a period where I just had to finish any book, especially if it was anything of literary "importance" . From around 2010 to 2013, I think the only book I abandoned partway through was James Joyce's Ullyses, once I realised maybe a quarter or a third of the way in that I had gone over a hundred pages without the faintest idea of what was happening.

It was after wasting roughly five weeks slogging through Kim Stanley Robinson's Antartica that I came to the conclusion that life was much too short to be wasting it reading books I couldn't stand, especially when I could have read six or seven good books in the same time period.

Once upon a time, I'd see the book through.
Now, not so much.
Time is precious.
It doesn't mean it was a bad book, just that it didn't grab/hold my interest.
Some ARE terrible, but some poor bloke put his/her soul into writing it--I need to believe this--so I don't jump online and leave crappy reviews. I just put the dust jacket back on, and shelve it.
I've also had where, I hated the first handful of chapters, shelved the thing, and years later opened it back up, unable to put it down. Huh. Wonder what's up with that.

Nowadays, I just don't have either the time, nor the inclination to force myself to finish a book that fails to grab me, or loses me along the way. I give all books a fighting chance, but life is too short, and there are far too many good writers I'll never get to in a perfect world, so, yeah, I'll put down a book that's lacking...

I used to feel guilty about not finishing a book. But, nowadays, I am finding I have less time and attention span to read, so I don't like wasting time reading a book I dislike or am bored by. Especially when there are so many other books, fanfiction, video games/computer games, comics/manga, and tv shows/movies out there to choose from.

bunny-gypsy said:

I used to feel guilty about not finishing a book. But, nowadays, I am finding I have less time and attention span to read, so I don't like wasting time reading a book I dislike or am bored by. Especially when there are so many other books, fanfiction, video games/computer games, comics/manga, and tv shows/movies out there to choose from.

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Fanfiction is entirely the complete and utter sole reason that my new book is very, very, very late.

But on the other hand, I'm so incredibly happy that Mystrade is a thing now.

I used to require myself to read to the end. I've become more lax in everything in my life lately. Including not reading a book that loses my interest. I used to blame myself. Now I blame the book.