I give you a lot of book recommendations, but I never tell you what not to read. I don’t tell you the books that I quit on.
You may remember that I believe life is too short to read bad books, so I have no problem at all quitting a book that I hate.
You should quit reading bad books. It doesn’t matter if your friends think the book is great or the general public accepts that it’s a classic. If you hate it, drop it. If it’s required reading, say for a college course, power skim and move on. There are just too many other options out there to spend time reading something you don’t enjoy.
I document the books I hate because, when you read as much as I do, what you’ve read and what you haven’t gets a bit confusing. I don’t want to read a bad book once, let alone twice.
An inability to relate to characters or just a boring subject/storyline are the reasons I dropped books this year. Here are the books I quit in 2017. The book links are in the headlines, in case you want to check them out for yourself.
So Much More
Boring storyline. Couldn’t get through more than a couple of chapters.
Find Your Why
I thought this book was going to help me find my why. Come to find out, it was about helping my team find their whys. But how can I help a team if I can’t help myself? I got about halfway and just was done.
You Will Pay
So… many… characters. Like Little Women with a murder. No thanks.
Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introverts Guide to Getting Out There
Come to find out, I’m just not this extremely introverted. I couldn’t relate.
Dark Matter
What manner of nonsensical sci-fi crap is this? Nope!
The Leavers
I often find that I dislike books that are highly reviewed in the mainstream. This was no exception.
We: A Manifesto for Women Everywhere
I was not empowered.
I Swear I’ll Make It Up to You
I remember nothing at all about this book. I feel like that should tell you something.
Modern Mindfulness
I clearly am not mindful.
One Thousand Gifts
I know some of my friends will disagree with this, but I found this book terribly overwritten. I mean, good for you if soap bubbles on your dishes in the kitchen sink make you realize how blessed you are, but I don’t need to read graph after graph about them.
The Four Tendencies
We don’t need more ways to classify people’s personalities. We already have methods that work. Also, Gretchen Rubin gets on my nerves now. I find her to be a know-it-all.
Little Boy Lost
I don’t remember much about this book. The description sounds interesting, but it must not have caught on fast enough for me.
The Shack
My sister recommended that I read this book. I tried, I really did. I just couldn’t get into it.
The Four Seasons of Marriage
Maybe I’m in the fifth season?
Shrill
Nope. You’re just annoying.
How to Raise an Adult
I’m less concerned with my kids’ success and more concerned with them just not being assholes.
There they are, the 16 books I dropped this year. Sixteen seems like a lot, but it’s really not when you consider that I read more than 100 books this year.
I’d love to hear from you. What did you read and hate this year? I’m sure you disagree with some books on this list. Let me know why I should give them another chance.
As always, happy reading!
