Do You Guys Have Rules For... (1 Viewer)

[Lovely_Cornchips]

When you decide to put a book down?

I feel like I often times spend time reading books I don't enjoy
SIMPLY because I'm HOPING it'll get better.
However, this year I'm trying to do better for my own ADHD brain.
I lose interest quick.
It's either because I am NOT in the head space to read this type of book (I then put that book on-hold)
OR
it's because the book is just bad or not interesting to me AT ALL (I then put them on my DNF list)

That being said-I struggle to DNF(Do not finish) at times.
So I'm trying to create guidelines for myself.

So like if within 50 pages I am not interested I can DNF
OR
should it be if I reach 100 pages and am not enjoying it or am not interested I DNF.

I'm struggling to decide which one to do!
Do you guys have any guidelines you follow for this type of stuff?
Do you have any comments on my own system or suggestions for me?


HELP!


​

 

[Hoemantic]

I also have ADHD and what helped me the most to getting into reading at first was telling myself ''reading one page is better than no pages at all''. The more I did it, the better I got. Before putting the book down, I try to finish the chapter.

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I also have ADHD and what helped me the most to getting into reading at first was telling myself ''reading one page is better than no pages at all''. The more I did it, the better I got. Before putting the book down, I try to finish the chapter.

Oh crap I'm sorry I meant more like figuring out when to actually call it quits on the book not when to actually physically put it down.
I'm sorry!

 

[Hoemantic]

Oh crap I'm sorry I meant more like figuring out when to actually call it quits on the book not when to actually physically put it down.
I'm sorry!

OOOH OOPS

 

[StirFriedPanda]

Firstly STOP following the reading rules we were all taught in grade school! You don't have to finish a book, you do not need to and should almost never read every word of a book unless you have a very specific and good reason to. There is only 5ish authors I'll read that closely and carefully because the way they write is almost magical. Robert Holdstock, Dennis L. McKiernan, Deborah Harkness, Frank Herbert, Fran Billingsly, Elizabeth Haydon.

Don't set a specific number of pages might because you to miss out on something great. One of my favorite books, "A Discovery of Witches is sooooooooooooo freaking boring in the beginning of the book I stopped and started reading it like 3 or 4 times before I finally got hooked. Now it's now one of my favorite books ever. Also sometimes it's just not the right time for "you" to read the book. Maybe your not in the right head space, etc. There's no rule that says you can't start reading, stop, and return to a book 100's of times!

Look at the writing style of the author. Could be a good book but if the author doesn't write in a style that engages YOU it's time to move on. Reading should be enjoyable, not a punishment. Anne Rice writes good books but her writing style is like watching paint dry for me. Yes, the candle light looks awesome when your a vampire but do you need to go on about it for 5 freaking pages?!

Skim the entire book to see if anything that interests you is written and then make a decision to put it down or keep working a head. It's absolutely ok to just read the important/interesting parts of a book and skip the junk. When I read A Game of Thrones I only read certain characters parts and skipped others because I just didn't like the characters.

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

Firstly STOP following the reading rules we were all taught in grade school! You don't have to finish a book, you do not need to and should almost never read every word of a book unless you have a very specific and good reason to. There is only 5ish authors I'll read that closely and carefully because the way they write is almost magical. Robert Holdstock, Dennis L. McKiernan, Deborah Harkness, Frank Herbert, Fran Billingsly, Elizabeth Haydon.

Don't set a specific number of pages might because you to miss out on something great. One of my favorite books, "A Discovery of Witches is sooooooooooooo freaking boring in the beginning of the book I stopped and started reading it like 3 or 4 times before I finally got hooked. Now it's now one of my favorite books ever. Also sometimes it's just not the right time for "you" to read the book. Maybe your not in the right head space, etc. There's no rule that says you can't start reading, stop, and return to a book 100's of times!

Look at the writing style of the author. Could be a good book but if the author doesn't write in a style that engages YOU it's time to move on. Reading should be enjoyable, not a punishment. Anne Rice writes good books but her writing style is like watching paint dry for me. Yes, the candle light looks awesome when your a vampire but do you need to go on about it for 5 freaking pages?!

Skim the entire book to see if anything that interests you is written and then make a decision to put it down or keep working a head. It's absolutely ok to just read the important/interesting parts of a book and skip the junk. When I read A Game of Thrones I only read certain characters parts and skipped others because I just didn't like the characters.

My head is spinning-THANK YOU LOL

 

[Willow]

When I start to yawn, it is over

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

When I start to yawn, it is over

Like...literally or figuratively?

 

[ChiaraStar169]

I'd say if it doesn't get interesting by a quarter of the way through, then it's time to move on. Usually, that's when things start to pick up, amirite?

 

[Willow]

Like...literally or figuratively?

Literally, it means I feel sleepy

 

[Ahsoka]

Honestly I don’t have the issue just because these days if a book is boring I just don’t ever get around to finishing because I never have enough motivation to read it. I have the opposite issue if anything, I like a book but never get around to reading it But also one thing I’d say about the part where you talk about how many pages you go I’d say that it’s probably not that easy to make a marker of where to give up. For may reasons. Firstly, books vary in length, so if you give up on page 100 that may be 50% of the way into the book (if it’s 200 pages) or it might be 20% (if it’s 500 pages). Secondly, sometimes the genre difference can affect how quickly or slowly the book is paced, so maybe one genre takes longer to get to the best stuff, while another book gets to the drama much quicker. It just seems to me that there’s too many factors to make a hard cutoff. Not that I have a better solution, but just wanted to give my thoughts on that part

 

[litc]

When you decide to put a book down?

I feel like I often times spend time reading books I don't enjoy
SIMPLY because I'm HOPING it'll get better.
However, this year I'm trying to do better for my own ADHD brain.
I lose interest quick.
It's either because I am NOT in the head space to read this type of book (I then put that book on-hold)
OR
it's because the book is just bad or not interesting to me AT ALL (I then put them on my DNF list)

That being said-I struggle to DNF(Do not finish) at times.
So I'm trying to create guidelines for myself.

So like if within 50 pages I am not interested I can DNF
OR
should it be if I reach 100 pages and am not enjoying it or am not interested I DNF.

I'm struggling to decide which one to do!
Do you guys have any guidelines you follow for this type of stuff?
Do you have any comments on my own system or suggestions for me?


HELP!


​

I remember you told me “at least I know how to DNF” because for years starting per COVID I was trying to finish Kidnapped (the classic) and hadn’t read much for a couple years bc I was going to finish the book and then read another but I found it so boring

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I remember you told me “at least I know how to DNF” because for years starting per COVID I was trying to finish Kidnapped (the classic) and hadn’t read much for a couple years bc I was going to finish the book and then read another but I found it so boring

I odn't remmeber this lol

 

[litc]

I guess if it’s from the library and due before I finish, and I can’t renew

I don’t think I learned my lesson though because I put it on hold and start again when everyone else in line returns it

And this just lead me to try and “fail” to space the reading better and finish before it’s due

Cuz I would spend too much reading at once when I have other things to do that day

Or not get around to reading for many days because I was distracted

 

[magali]

i never use bookmarks....

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

i never use bookmarks....

WHAT

 

[magali]

WHAT

I KEEP LOSING THEM I JUST MEMORIZE THE PAGE OR LOOK FOR A LINE I RECOGNIZE 😭 😭 😭

 

[Lovely_Cornchips]

I KEEP LOSING THEM I JUST MEMORIZE THE PAGE OR LOOK FOR A LINE I RECOGNIZE 😭 😭 😭

That has nothing to do with my thread but also WTF

 

[magali]

That has nothing to do with my thread but also WTF

well, my rule is i don't use bookmarks whenever i put a book down

 

[magali]

i'm sorry my english is not that good when im tired