When To Stop Reading Part I

When do you give up on a book? Do you ever put down a book you can't get into or do you just plough through until you're at the end? I have never been the kind to push myself to the end of a book if I just can't get into it for several reason. The first is that reading is supposed to be enjoyable and if it isn't then surely there can't be any point in doing it. Secondly, reading takes time and if you aren't concentrating then you're just reading for the sake of it. Why spend time killing hours when you could live them? Finally, reading is for you. No one can read a book for you or get the same out of it as you and so who are you trying to impress? Just like any form of art sometimes books, stories and characters just don't click with you and when that happens it's best just to accept it and move on. My stance remains that our TBR piles are towering over us most of the time and so lets move on to those instead of making ourselves miserable reading something that just isn't right.

In case you were wondering the book that prompted this post and just didn't work for me was Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. I've been getting itchy feet recently and this seemed like the perfect antidote, but sadly it wasn't. The premise was promising, but the writing style was basic, the dialogue poor and the characters hollow. Amy's bereavement should of course have been deeply touching and I read in reviews that this book even qualified as a romance. I didn't feel invested in either Amy's loss because she just didn't seem to have any personality. As for the romance in the book, I barely felt a spark of personality from Roger either let alone them as a couple. I just generally did not enjoy this book and after 100 pages, approximately a third of the way through, I decided to read something else instead. I did take a few suggestions from the playlists though!