Put the Book Down

Have you ever started reading a book and then get to a point where it just isn’t working for you anymore?  I’ve had this happen a bunch both with fiction and non-fiction books.

I heard someone say once if you aren’t into a book after a third of the way through it, put it down and try something else.  The logic is that life is too short to spend time on books that don’t appeal to you.  There are so many other wonderful books out there.  Why waste time on something that’s not engaging?

I had this experience yesterday with a non-fiction book that I’m reading.  I’d gotten to about chapter 5, which is much more than a third of the way through, but the content in chapter 6 wasn’t sinking in for me.  I think I’m just not ready to internalize it yet.  I find that with non-fiction, like text books or personal development books, you need time to process the information.  So maybe chapters 1-5 are where I need to focus on and learn those concepts and come back to the book later when I’m ready to delve into the rest of it.

After all, what’s the rush?  I’m not racing anyone to a finish line.  In fact, that seems kind of silly doesn’t it?  🙂

Have you ever had trouble deciding when to stop reading a book?  Do you have any guidelines you use to determine when to stop and move on to something else?