Exploring Rule Three

Here I am, one book into my endeavor, and I already find myself pondering my rules. Many of the books I’ve purchased were on sale, so I usually had a “well, it’s only a buck” state of mind. This was partially responsible for a backlog of 171 books, and odds are that they aren’t all winners.

Which leads me to think a lot about Rule Three.

I have to give books a fair shot, but if something is just wretched I am allowed to walk away without finishing.

Rule Three

I know I need to have this rule in place – forcing myself to finish a book I’m not enjoying is just going to grind this to a halt. But this is something I’ve always found to be a challenge. Most of the time I will try to power through a book, which takes a lot longer than it should, and find myself miserable.

The first book I walked away from was The Jewels of Elvish by Nancy Varian Berberick. This was thirty years ago and I still remember this book. I made it about one-third of the way through before I finally threw in the towel. The characters were thin and poorly developed, the dialog wasn’t great, and it was just full of tropes that even teenage Dan wasn’t interested in reading.

But even though I was able to walk away from that book, I still have difficulty throwing in the towel. Especially if it’s a book that has received excellent reviews and ratings. I feel an obligation to finish what I’ve started.

Last night we had a virtual dinner with my brother and sister-in-law and while discussing this rule I asked a question: what would be considered a “fair shot”? The thought I had in MY mind was that I needed to get to 25% completion before being able to walk away. Everyone else saw it differently.

The consensus was that life’s short – why spend it reading books that aren’t grabbing me? The point they made was that I’ve read a LOT of books in my life. At this point I can tell pretty quickly whether I’m going to enjoy a book or not, and whether it’s worth it’s worth finishing.

Instead of a percentage, I’m just going to use my gut – I’ll know within a couple hours or a few chapters whether I’m going to enjoy the book or not. If I find myself nodding off after a couple of pages? It’s probably not grabbing me. Most books, as long as they are somewhat engaging, will find me cruising through the pages at a good clip.

So there we have it, some clarity for Rule Three. I’ve decided to keep track of this as well, so we know how many of the books I purchased fall under this rule…and maybe I’ll track how much money I spent needlessly…but that doesn’t sound like fun.