It’s Okay to Not Finish That Book

I don’t know who you are…..

I don’t know what you are reading….

But you don’t have to finish that book.

I know everyone in the book community is crowing about how good it is, how “important,” how transformative.

But those people are dumb.

Okay, they aren’t dumb, they just have different opinions than you.

Or perhaps not. Maybe it isn’t the book at all. It could be you just aren’t in the right mindset for it at this stage in your life. You need a comedy instead of a tragedy; a collection of essays rather than a nonfiction book on the Revolutionary War.

That is fine.

There are plenty of other books out there that deserve your love and attention.

Literally millions.

You don’t need to focus on this specific book.

I would even go as far as to say *whispers* you don’t actually have to read right now at all.

No, reader, if you need to take a break from reading now, that is fine.

In fact, if you stopped reading right now literally nothing in the universe would be different.

I’m not saying you should stop reading indefinitely (I’m not that much of a lunatic), but if you are at a place where you need to take a break and address all of life’s clutter, feel free to do so.

I’m not a huge fan of book-culture’s pressure on readers to finish books they don’t like. Life is too short to engage in recreational activities you aren’t actually enjoying. Unless you’re an editor and it’s literally your job to read books that suck, or you’re a student that is trying to tackle some required reading, there really isn’t a reason for you to torture yourself like this.

I respect your drive.

I respect your determination.

But come on.

You don’t owe this book anything.

But I need this book for my Goodreads reading challenge!

I don’t understand why people place so much importance on Goodreads reading challenges anyway.

Yes, it can be fun to push yourself to read more, but not at the expense of your valuable time.

Do you know how little life we spend on this earth? Why would you waste it doing something that will do nothing but waste your finite existence? It’s madness.

So I am telling you now, gently, as a friend––

You do not have to finish.