Flight of the Phoenix

I love little Greasle the Gremlin! I really can't leave a book unfinished so I'm reading to the end of the ones I didn't finish with the kids on the road trip. This book is sweet and I'm happy to read it through but in a broader sense I need to learn to be able to bail on books. How do people do it? I slog through them even if I hate them.

Owlizabeth Oh no, I'll quit a book with a quickness. Life's too short to read books you don't like, in my opinion. I don't know any tips besides just saying no. 8y

queerbookreader I usually just end up ignoring the book I'm part way through long enough until I finally become resigned to the idea that I don't want to finish it and shake the bookmark out and commit myself to bailing it. It's kind of passive lmao, but I'm working on it 8y

AmyS I used to not bail on books. I started by just putting down a book in an out-of-the-way spot where I wouldn't see it and leaving it for a few days. I realized I didn't care how it ended and was happy to be free. I still do that for many books I'm not enjoying. If I find myself wondering about it, I'll go back but more often than not, I just forget about it and move on. Life's too short and my TBR list is too long (and always growing). 8y

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CherylDeFranceschi @lemonlime799 That's how I am, too! 8y

queerbookreader @CherylDeFranceschi I'm like 98% ready to finally get around to bailing Julie & Julia that I haven't touched in about a month, I'm nearing the end of my bail process. Ready to get a bookmark back!! 8y

LibrarianJen If I'm struggling too much but need the completion feeling I resort to skimming. I'll read the first and last couple paragraphs of each chapter or skip to the end and read the last chapter that way I know how it ends. 8y

BookishMarginalia I fully support --and practice-- the #bookbail but it did take me a long time to teach this state of enlightenment 😜 Life is just too short for unsatisfying books when there are so many others waiting for my attention. 🤓 8y

BookHermit I find ebooks are easier to ditch. They get pushed back in the menu and I delete them--eventually. Some pop up on Litzy and haunt me, though. 8y

thegirlwiththelibrarybag Read the last paragraph of the book... If it's amazing continue reading the book otherwise pull that bookmark out and make Nancy Pearl proud! Think of all the amazing books that *this* book is preventing you from reading! 8y

[DELETED] 2232195534 Know it's hard to quit, but many years ago someone taught me the 'rule' of 100. Take your age and subtract from 100. That's the number of pages to give a book before deciding to bail. Each year it decreases by 1. We'll never get to read all the good books. Why waste time on a book that's not working for us? 😀. P.S. My number of pages to read is now 42. Ha! 8y

[DELETED] 3558467437 I read the last chapter or so if I am feeling guilty and/or care about the conclusion. #lifeistooshort 8y

readinginthedark If I make it to page 100, I make myself finish it. But it takes me a while to get to 100 pages since I jump around my books. That makes a difference, I think, how long it will take you to read it. 8y

Bibliogeekery @Owlizabeth @AmyS @BookishMarginalia - I like the "life is too short" concept of bailing on bad books - and it's so true! Maybe I should make a bookmark with that written on it as a reminder! ? 8y

Bibliogeekery @kaysreadinglife I've never heard of the rule of 100. What a great concept! (My number is 59) I'll try this! 8y

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