Don’t finish that book!

I’m here to tell you not to finish that book. You know which one. That book that you’ve been reading for a few years, on and off. That book that brings you no joy. That book that makes your eyes roll as you try to get through the pages. That book that you dread picking up, and that’s made you stop reading entirely for a few days or even weeks. That book you don’t care about but feel like you should finish.

We need to get comfortable with DNFing books (DNF= Did not finish). If I read 100 books a year, I might be able to read about 6000 books before I die. It might seem like a lot. It really is not. There are over a million books published each year and millions that already exist. 6000 is barely putting a dent in the number of books available. And, very few people read 100 books a year. It can take 5+ hours to read one book. Those are precious hours to waste on something that isn’t making you happy. So, why do we insist on wasting hours on a book that does not bring us joy?

Many of us feel a need to finish reading a book we’ve picked up. And thus, we keep on trying to read. But, oftentimes, it just ends up putting us in a reading slump, preventing us from getting to books that make us happy or have an impact on our lives and minds. You might say, “I only have a few hours left; it’s not that long!” But why would you force yourself to do something you’re not enjoying, and that brings nothing to your life? Or, you might also think, “I’ve already invested a few hours. It feels like a waste of time not to finish reading this book.” Isn’t it just adding more wasted hours by forcing yourself to finish it?

Stop wasting your time on books that you won’t remember in a few months, that brings nothing to your mind, that makes you hate reading. Remove the unmoving bookmark from that book that makes you dread it. Put the book away, donate it, give it to someone else who might enjoy it. It’s okay not to finish that book, and you shouldn’t do it. It’s not contributing anything to your life other than unhappiness. Read something else. It’s okay.