How To Quit A Book
What to read next.
I never give myself permission to quit a book; I find myself suffering from the worst completion anxiety when dragging myself through a story I can’t stand, find boring or confusing. But in 2024, I’m just going to quit a book if I find myself dreading picking it up—there’s no need to punish myself. There’s no secret to it. I’m just going to remove my bookmark, never think of said book again and pick up one of the many books I’m hoarding for a “special occasion”.
These are some of those books.
Earlier
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
I’ll literally never stop recommending this book. Ogawa has such a beautiful way with words and her writing has been described as having a “dream-like” quality, which I couldn’t put any better. This dystopian novel presents a world where anything can go missing: Roses, people, limbs. And what happens in the aftermath of these vanishings.
Now
New Animal by Ella Baxter
One of my Well-Read subjects—Elke Steen—recommended this book last year and in keeping with my new quit-bad-books-read-the-ones-you’re-saving mentality, I decided to give this a try. I was literally hooked from page one and I’m certain I’ll forever read anything Baxter puts out into the world. Her observations about grief, death and sex are incredibly sharpe and I’ve found myself dog-earring page after page, something I never feel the urge to do.
Later
Revenge by Yoko Ogawa
A collection of short stories with a great title and reportedly supernatural, nightmarish slant. Sold.
Enjoy!
I just finished New Animal and same! What a book, her observations and the way she writes are so dog earring-worthy
Fascinating. I have quit reading more books without finishing in the past two years than in my entire life up to this point. (I’m 67.) My time is more important to me than ever before, and if something’s just not clicking for me then I’m over and done with it. But sometimes a book is just disturbing to me and I’ve got to put it down or I’ll never sleep another minute in my life. But I’ve also stopped reading a novel about three-quarters of the way and jotting down, albeit briefly, my own ending, then finishing the book to see what the author had in mind. I suppose this could be called “Pausing A Book,” and you might enjoy it too. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!