Hey everyone, I am reading a book called The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. It is a good book, with some very interesting ideas, but, after half of the book, it is becoming insanely boring. The book is full of examples of the application of the author's ideas, which is nice, but there are just too many examples, and it becomes repetitive after a while. I have other books in my shelf I want to read (like the Satanic Bible of LaVey), but I have this habit (ironic considering the first book, huh?) of finishing a book before I start the next. I also find it really hard to give up on a book and move on to the next one, even if it is being boring anx uninteresting. This has led me to just stop reading any books for some time, because I don't want to move to the next one without finishing the current, but I'm also not finding any pleasure on the current book. So, I'm wondering: Fellow readers, do you "suffer" from the same habit? How do you deal with it? Do you have other reading habits (good or bad)? Oh, and of course... I love the smell of new books.
I love the smell of books too! I find that I have trouble sticking with one book. I start one, then pick up another and before you know it I have five on the go.
I generally have four or five books going at once, and I never finish a book simply on principle--there are too many wonderful things out there I could be reading to keep reading one I'm not enjoying out of some sense of duty.
Sometimes I read another book and then go back to the one I couldn't get through, sort of like taking a break from the boredom. I always finish a book I start though, except for a couple of short stories that were just blah and I honestly just said "not worth it" and went on with my life.
I almost always finish a book if I start it. Once in a while though that doesn't happen. Like recently, I was reading a decent book but then I got a new one about a subject matter that I was very curious about at the time (and still am). I couldn't resist putting the old one down to dig into the other one.
I'm required to read extensively for what I study and not all of it is captivating, to say the least. That said, I think my level of determination causes me to always finish what I start reading unless it's particularly abysmal (yet this is rare as I tend to research what I read ahead of time, at least enough to know that it won't be abysmal). I also will try to read only one book at a time if I notice that what I'm reading is becoming less interesting as it progresses. At the same, if it's truly boring you, then forget it! Life is too short to waste time on uninteresting reads. There is so much to read out there that you could be spending that time on something much more fulfilling.
I love going to bookstores partly because of the new book smell! I also kind of start books but sometimes take breaks to read other books although I never read more than one at a given moment.
A few months ago I used to read about 4 books at a time, then went down to 2 at a time, and now I just read one at a time. My English teacher recommended it to me, because although you take longer to read it, you become much, much more perceptive and I've found that I appreciate every single aspect of the author's craft and the structure of the novel much more than I did when I had more than one on the go. However, when there's something that I have to read that I'm not particularly interested in, I always read the one I don't like, in between one that I do like to read, which makes them both easier to read and understand, in a way.
I'm a binge reader. I'll go through a phase where I'm devouring books on a certain topic or from a certain series and I'll have to read them all. Then I won't pick up a book for a week or so. I've been reading less lately; I need to get back to it. I love the new book smell too, but I also love my Kindle. It's nice to be able to carry around over 100 books.
I understand where you're coming from. I am currently reading a book titled, "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" by Dale Carnegie. I am currently on the 2nd chapter of the book. But I continue to slack. I have some other hobbies that I want to enjoy as well. So it's pretty complicated.
I usually just read one at a time. I have so many projects going at once that I can end up getting plot confusion if I read too many books in between.
I just read one book at a time, or if that book gets boring I'll read and finish another book, then go back to the first one. I did that multiple times when I read the Lord of the Rings.