I know many book lovers consider giving up on a book a major sin. I used to think so too. It was unthinkable and something I never did. I ploughed through the words and pages till I reached the end even when I just couldn’t relate. I kept reading because the book was either a critically acclaimed or a classic.

Recently, I allowed myself to let go of books, to abandon them when I didn’t like them. I accepted the fact that not all books are perfect for me and there is no point wasting hours and hours on a relationship that will lead me nowhere. It was strangely liberating.

There isn’t enough time in this life to waste on books that don’t make your heart sing. It is ok to push a book to the depths of the book shelf and ignore it maybe forever.

Here are some occasions when it is totally ok to abandon a book,

You start dozing/dreaming in the middle of reading

I haven’t dozed while reading a fictional work yet but that is a great indicator that the relationship is going nowhere. Of course, this doesn’t include sleeping in the middle of a book when you are tired and exhausted.

The characters don’t talk to you

There are selected few books I read just for the way it is written but more often than not it is the characters that make a book memorable. If the characters don’t talk to you abandon the book as fast as you can. It is a surefire dead end relationship

You dread picking the book up

Unless you are reading for school/work, picking up a book shouldn’t fill you with dread. If it does, it deserves to remain unread.

It doesn’t pick up midway

Some books start slow. Really slow but if you hang around they pick up pace midway and reward you with a wonderful experience. But if you are at the halfway point and the book doesn’t pickup pace, drop it.

The writing doesn’t excite you

Some authors are word magicians. They bring words to life and you could see different worlds dance off the pages. But there are some writings that just don’t resonate with you. Such books aren’t worth your time.

It offends your beliefs

Our beliefs make us. There are times when one needs to open their minds to beliefs and opinions unlike their own but some books offend. They hurt and you feel like throwing the book against the wall. If the book deeply offends you, move on.

Do you abandon books? Why do you do it? What was the latest book you abandoned? Share your thoughts.