TIL quitting early isn't giving up, it's budgeting my reading time
For years I forced myself to finish every book I started, even if I hated it. Last month I slogged through 300 pages of a fantasy novel before realizing I couldn't name a single character besides the dragon. My coworker said she quits books by page 50 without guilt, and it hit me that I was treating reading like a chore with a completion trophy. Now I give a book 3 chapters, and if it's not clicking, I move on. Has anyone else felt that weird shame about putting a book down, or am I the only one who needed permission?
Man, that dragon detail cracked me up because same thing happened to me with a thriller once. The funny part is once I started quitting early, I found I actually remember and enjoy the books I do finish way more. It turns out the shame was just my brain treating reading like homework, but the real waste was finishing something that gave me nothing back.