📖 Day 5: When To Quit A Book (& How To Do So Without Feeling Guilty)

Welcome to Day 5/5 of The Art of Reading 101!

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📚 The Art of Quitting Books

Have you ever found yourself stuck on a boring book?

A book that makes reading feel like a chore instead of something fun?

If so, you’ve got 3 options:

• Force yourself to finish it. This option will make reading feel exhausting and will make you dread reading.

• Stop reading altogether. This is the last thing you want. One bad book shouldn't make you give up on all books.

• Quit the book. This is the best option. When you quit a book that's not working, you free yourself to find one that does.

But why is it so hard to quit books we don’t enjoy?

Here’s the thing: the problem isn’t just the book.

It’s the mindset and mistakes we make as readers that make quitting difficult.

Let’s talk about why you might feel stuck and how to get over it.

😬 Why You’re Having Trouble Quitting Books

Here are the 3 most common reasons people don’t quit their books:

Reason #1: You Feel Guilty About Quitting

One of the biggest hurdles is guilt.

You might feel like quitting a book makes you a failure. But consider this: if you got a meal from a buffet that didn’t taste good, would you force yourself to finish it? Of course not.

Books are the same. You deserve to enjoy what you’re consuming.

Quitting isn’t giving up; it’s like clearing your plate to make room to try a new dish.

Reason #2: You Feel You Have To Finish What You Start

This is a bad habit most people pick up from school.

In school, you HAVE to finish the book even if you hate it because there will be a quiz or test on it. If you don’t finish it, you risk getting a bad grade or maybe even failing the class. But the good news is that you aren’t in school anymore.

You’re free to read whatever you want and you can quit the book anytime without any consequences.

Reason #3: You Feel You’ll Miss Out On A Key Lesson

This mistake is known as the Sunk-Cost fallacy.

People will continue something they've put time or effort into, even when it's no longer a good idea because they don't want to feel like all their previous investment was wasted.

But the best thing you can do is cut your losses and move on to something new. Why?

99% of the time, anything amazing starts out amazing. Think about your favorite book or TV show, it likely started amazingly and only got better from there. If you started a new TV show and the first few episodes were crappy, it wouldn’t make sense to finish the whole season. A better option would be to find something new to watch.

The same is true for books. Don’t waste time reading a 250-page book for one great insight when you could be spending that time reading a new book that has amazing insights in every chapter.

🚮 When To Quit A Book

Here are 3 strategies that will help you give a book a fair chance before quitting it:

1) The 10% Rule

Read 10% of a book as a way of sampling it.

Just like how big grocery stores often have samples of new foods or drinks for you to try before you buy them, you want to sample books the same way. So if a book is 350 pages, read the first 35 pages to get an idea of what it’s about.

And if you don’t like the sample, don’t buy the product.

2) The (100 - Your Age) Rule

Read the first (100 - Your Age) pages of a book.

Life is too short for bad books, especially as you get older. The older you are, the less time you have to waste on books that are filled with fluff or are not enjoyable. So if you’re 75, only give the book 25 pages to convince you it’s worth reading.

3) The 3 Strikes Rule

Just like in baseball, give a book 3 chances to hit a home run.

Start by reading the first two chapters of the book. If it hasn’t won you over by then, give it one last chance and skip ahead to a chapter you think you’ll enjoy. If the book hasn’t hooked you in by then, it’s time to say, “You’re out!”

Pro Tip: A lot of books on Amazon have a “Read Sample” or “Audible Sample” that lets you read or listen to the first chapter of the book without having to buy it. Take advantage of this.

✅ Actionable Advice

1) Pick one of these strategies and apply it the next time you’re not sure if you should quit a book or not:

• The 10% Rule

• The 100 - Your Age Rule

• The 3 Strikes Rule

2) If you’re stuck on a bad book right now, quit it and pick up a new one.

3) Donate your quit books to a library or local bookstore.

PS: Stay tuned for a bonus email tomorrow. 👀

–Alex W.