If you’ve ever googled something like, “How many pages before it’s okay to stop reading?” you’ll have encountered what seems to be the consensus advice these days, which is to stop reading whenever you want – whenever you feel like you’ve given the book enough of a chance.

And I strongly agree with it – not pushing yourself to keep reading a book beyond the time that you’ve grasped the basics of what it’s about and its style, and are still just not clicking with it, without feeling guilty. I find it utterly bizarre to suggest that it’s disrespectful to an author to abandon their book (Who cares? Unless you tell them, they’ll never know!) or that it could be more important to respect the author than to respect your own reading preferences and time. Being okay with quitting a book is extra important if you’re trying to establish or rebuild a book-reading habit, because making reading into a chore will take you in the opposite direction.

The Dilemma of the ‘Just Okay’ Book

Then there’s the problem of the “meh” books – the in-betweens. They’re not lighting you up; neither are they turning you off. We’ve got to be real here – not every book can be a favourite, the best, or life-changing – and even books that are only second or third tier (for us) can still offer lots to learn and enjoy. But how to decide whether the book in your hands is worth pushing through or not? I took some lessons from slogging through three just-okay books in a row. 

My Three-Novel Meh Streak

I recently read three novels that fell into the dreaded meh category and it certainly subdued my reading appetite. Sure,  I continued to read my one tiny-habits paragraph almost every day, and  usually many more – at least a few pages. But the difference between this pace, and this experience, versus that of reading a book I was excited about was significant and had negative ripple effects. For example, if I missed reading at my usual morning time, I found it a chore to fit in at other times. I didn’t strive to find time to read before bed or other times of the day. Reading these novels didn’t give me much pleasure, nor did I enjoy their presence at the back of my mind when I wasn’t reading them. I found each book somewhat depressing, both in subject matter and in the feeling of them dragging on and not offering me much. I think if I didn’t already have a robust daily reading habit, this streak could have led to a reading slump.

I won’t name these novels because taste is so personal – I’m not suggesting they were poorly written or that others wouldn’t enjoy them. There were aspects or moments of each that I did appreciate – and I know I’d had high hopes when starting each. I consider myself quite picky when it comes to choosing what to read. Each of these books was either the subject of some kind of buzz or acclaim or the winner of an award. In two cases, I had very much enjoyed other books written by the same author. That’s all part of why I continued reading these books even though I wasn’t really enjoying them. All this is to say, I genuinely tried to avoid choosing books that were going to put a damper on my enthusiasm to read – and I think it’s important to acknowledge that being careful will only take you so far. Starting meh books is inevitable, so we need to be prepared with ways to handle them.

Was It Worth Finishing Them?

Am I sorry that I kept reading any of those three novels? In retrospect yes, at least a bit, and more so for two of them. The longest took me 39 days to complete, mainly because I kept turning to other books that I was more interested in. That was a long time to have a pall cast over my reading life. Another was one  I felt I should be interested in, due to the subject matter and background of the author, but it just didn’t grab me. However, that one was short, and if it hadn’t been sandwiched between two other books that left me cold, I don’t think I’d regret reading it. I’m probably most disappointed in the long book that was the debut effort by an author who wrote one of my all-time favourite novels. That can certainly happen – disappointment in a book written by the same author as one you’ve tremendously enjoyed. I still think reading multiple books by the author of one you already like is a solid strategy for choosing what to read, though. You just have to lower your expectations a bit, and be willing to quit despite having a positive experience and association with them. And, incidentally, this strategy has been paying dividends for me this year with Gabrielle Zevin, whose Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a recent addition to my all-time favourites list.

Protect Your Reading Habit and its Knock-on Benefits

I guess when it comes to those difficult in-between meh books, my streak of three disappointing novels has lead me ever more definitively to advocate for abandoning a book that you’re not genuinely enjoying – at least and especially when you’re trying to establish a new or lapsed reading routine. And certainly, if you’ve just finished a book that was somewhat disappointing, I’d counsel that even more strongly. This is to protect your enjoyment and habit of book-reading, as well as whatever other benefits that has in your life.

While it’s important to have realistic expectations of our reading life, there’s also the effect that reading books that don’t make you want to read more has on your reading habits and routines. My three-book blah streak lasted about six weeks. That’s enough time for the beginnings of reading discouragement to set in. Fortunately, I read a couple non-fiction books that I found more compelling during this time as well, which helped offset it. However I did notice the negative effects on other aspects of my life. For example, one of my goals is to have book-reading be my default at-home leisure and relaxation activity – instead of turning to other, less demanding pursuits such as streaming TV series or movies. During this blah streak, I found I turned more often to these easier and less constructive activities. When my book-reading routines feel solid and established, I feel on a firmer foundation with the other healthy, growth-promoting activities I want to be a big part of my life, such as exercise and eating well. My sleep routines are a bit better too. Conversely, when reading books has a less prominent role in my life, I find this has a corrosive effect on my other healthy routines and aspirations.

To underline the point that it’s absolutely fine to stop reading a book if you’ve given it a chance and for whatever reason, it’s not for you, here’s a (somewhat dated) graph from GoodReads summarizing results of a survey they conducted to find out what makes their members put down a book

When to ditch: proposed guidelines

• It’s still okay to abandon a book, even if you’re already a quarter or more into it. There are so many great books to read and re-read. Your limited reading time could be better spent.
• Ask the (modified) Marie Kondo question: Is reading this book bringing me joy or improving my life in some other way? Am I learning from it, intrigued by it, or moved by it? If not…
• Does this book make you want to talk about it and share it with friends or book club members – for positive reasons? If not, you and that book may not be a match.
• Abandon meh books more quickly if your last book  was just okay for you – and even more so if your last two were.
• Be less generous with the time you invest in just-okay books when you’re early in the process of building or rebuilding your pleasure reading habit.
• If you have abandoned a couple books in a row and find yourself dissatisfied or restless as a result, fall back on one or more tried and true strategies and resources: Mine your “could read” list, read reviews and book previews before committing, ask friends, fellow book club members and librarians for recommendations. (Refer to lesson on building your could read list). Fall back on a sure thing – re-read a book you already love. Consider buying a book if a book you really want to read and feel is a good match for you is not readily available from your library.

Final Thought

Come to terms with the reality that for many of us, especially in an age of dopamine and distraction,

*I wouldn’t normally cite Marie Kondo as a model for how to manage the books in your life, given that she doesn’t seem to think that books are worth having or displaying in one’s living space, but note that I’m talking about whether to read a book at a particular moment in your life, not whether you should keep a book you own.