Since pursuing writing, I've encountered an endless stream of empathy, feedback, cheers, and.... book recommendations.
In so many ways, it's terrific. My writer friends have alerted me to stunning works that I might have missed otherwise. They've broadened my perceptions of the bookish world and exposed me to contemporary novels that help me me pinpoint my own place in the literary landscape. The books I've read this year have inspired and nourished me. My brain and heart are so full (the Scarecrow and Tin Man would be proud!).
Still, I have to admit that I have no problem casting aside books that don't move me. In 2024, I'm up to five DNF ("did not finish") books, and I'm sure there will be one or two more before the year is over. These were well-written books. They were books that received accolades and books which were on my TBR ("to be read") list for quite a while. For various reasons, though, I decided to close them before I reached "The End."
If a book's content is too heavy or disconcerting for me, I'll often choose to not finish it. If the writing style is distracting (I'm looking at you, dialogue-without-quotation-marks), I'll turn away from a book. Sometimes I choose not to finish when a character is too unlikable. I don't need achingly sweet plots, but I do need a book to offer hope and a shot at redemption for its harshest characters. If the overarching theme is too much of a downer, that's a no-go for me.
The beautiful thing about reading is that there are so. many. books. There's something for everyone, and what works for one person might not work for another. How amazing is that?! When I taught English, I gushed to my students about how wonderful it was that there wasn't one answer to the questions we posed in class. There were endless interpretations, endless analyses, and endless reactions. What mattered was that we backed up our claims with evidence, that we showed how we got from point A to point B. What mattered was listening to each other, to keeping our minds open to the possibility of something different.
That philosophy applies to pleasure reading, too. With millions of published books, it would be impossible to read all of them in a single lifetime. We have to be a little choosy, even while we strive to expose ourselves to new viewpoints and pioneering works.
No one is grading you on whether or not you read every book in your TBR pile. If you're dreading picking one up again, listen to yourself and let it go. I promise that there's another book clamoring to take its place.
Photo by Laura Kapfer on Unsplash
Commenti