why you shouldn't finish every book you start.

Let's talk about why you should DNF more books! We don't have to finish every book we start. In fact, we shouldn't! Let's make 2024 the year we quit more books. Happy reading 📚
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SOURCES:
📰 Social Security Life Expectancy Calculator
www.ssa.gov/OACT/population/l...
📰 Calculate How Many Books You Will Read Before You Die
- This is the article I used to show me a method to calculate the amount of books left til I die.
lithub.com/how-many-books-wil...
🎞️ Nancy Pearl TedTalk
- This is where I learned about Nancy Pearl's method for knowing when to quit, also where you can find more info on her "pie chart" method for choosing books.
• Reading with Purpose: ...
📰 How Many Books Americans Read in 2023
- A fun recent article about some book reading stats from 2023!
www.washingtonpost.com/busine...
📈 Pew Research Center Data for Average Books Read Per Year
www.pewresearch.org/internet/...
📈 Google Counts How Many Books Exist in the World
booksearch.blogspot.com/2010/...
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CHAPTERS
00:00 What you're watching.
00:24 Americans stink at reading.
00:43 Let's calculate how many books we'll read before we die. Fun!
01:02 No, it's not enough.
01:27 We can increase the number!
01:51 When to quit
02:11 Stop buying bad books.
02:30 Challenging books are still good.
02:37 The procrastination cycle caused by bad books
03:04 You'll know a good book when you can't put it down!
03:17 The price of bad books.
03:30 How to find good books.
03:47 Everyone is wrong.
04:06 Including you.
04:14 You're gonna fail. Embrace it.
04:24 The joy of not finishing a book.
04:33 Too many books. Too little time.
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Music from Epidemic Sound
Stock Footage from Pexels
Drawings by me 🙃

[@ayashelley]

not this video being uploaded a night after i forced myself to finish a book 😭

[@kurt11110]

this is good advice. i’ve spent more time collecting titles of books i should read, downloaded more than a lifetime of books to read, and now have to be a little more ruthless about what to stay the course and what to abandon. I’m 65. even if i live another 20 years, i won’t have even scratched the surface 😮

[@DrawntoBooks]

I feel this, I think I add 10 books to my collection for every book I read, there's just too many interesting things.

[@sealife13]

My main concern about dying is all the good books and series I will miss out on.

[@duncancole1742]

Generally good advice but I've read books that were a struggle at the start that I persevered through and ended up absolutely loving. On the other hand I've read books that were easy to read and engaging only for them to blow it in the closing chapters and I end up wishing I'd never read them. So I really have no idea on whether I should keep going in a book or not :P

[@TheVCRTimeMachine]

Just pick better books and don’t worry about how many you read per year. It made all the difference for me. I’m fine reading 15 to 20 books a year as long as they’re high quality. I used to read 50+ books a year, but would remember about 10

[@DrawntoBooks]

Yep, I learned how to read super fast at one point, but decided I didn’t like it because I didn’t remember as much, so now I like to slow down and focus on quality. It’s still hard for me to not quantify reading though!

[@kreggie891]

The way I have always managed books, if the book isn’t grabbing my attention in the first few chapters, I will skip ahead a few more chapters to see if the story picks up. If it does, I will go back and read the book from where I was, if not, I skim through the last few chapters to know the ending. That way I have gone through the entire book, have some idea of what happened but I didn’t have to torture myself by reading a book I wasn’t going to enjoy.

[@DrawntoBooks]

I need to get better about skimming/skipping entire chapters, that’s a good method to check out a book you’re not going to finish otherwise.

[@connorpeterman5024]

This video reminded me of the best advice I've heard on this topic from the channel "Better than food book reviews" "read what excites you, f**k the rest"

[@LaVictoireRosee]

I’ve always dropped books that don’t grip me. Life’s too short to spend time doing things you don’t like. Support your local library 📚

[@DrawntoBooks]

Libraries are the best!

[@Vompean]

Thanks for the video, it's always good to get some motivation for quitting books!

[@jamessgian7691]

I read 100 plus books a year, but I also read 50-80 partial books a year by stopping because I wasn’t really into it or it didn’t seem worth the time. Good advice here.

[@pacoEXNIHILO]

I just found this channel today and have binged everything. You are making wonderful stuff - it’s accessible, fun, and you have great charm and charisma. Please keep going and I can’t wait for what’s next!

[@DrawntoBooks]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that. 🫶

[@noeditbookreviews]

I think about this often, and I think you're quite right. Time is so precious, and I try to waste as little of it as I can. You know yourself and should trust your jedgement in deciding to quit a book. You might be thinking "I could be using this time to read something incredible." And that's true!

[@lilacskies2983]

my dnf list is getting updated tonight!

[@user-hm8bi5hk3y]

Thank you, i think i really needed this video

[@grethen123]

2:40 love your analysis!

[@mpulsiveartist]

Great advice. Just subscribed. Hope more people see your content.

[@DrawntoBooks]

Thank you, I appreciate that 🫶

[@booksmitin]

Loved this video and totally agree with the sentiment!!

[@DrawntoBooks]

Thank you!

[@delicadacomoumelefante]

👏🏻 this is why you became my favorite booktuber

[@DrawntoBooks]

Thank you so much 🥹

[@LivingDeadEnby]

Thank you, this was just what I needed, as I was currently forcing myself to read a book which didn't grab me at all. At just over 100 pages in I was also at a good point to dnf it 😄 Now on to something I really want to read!

[@DrawntoBooks]

Yes!! The sooner you quit the less sunk cost there will be too, got to get to the good books.

[@bartoszczerwinski8670]

Sound and the Fury being more difficult than Infinite Jest and Gravity's Rainbow? I stand a chance to go through the later two then! Great chanel btw

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

Daniel Pennac listed as his third right of the reader "The right to not finish a book" to DNF a book. Life is too short, as you point out to be reading books we are not engaged with, these are not necessarily bad books, just ones that don't work for us. I read a personal record of 100 books last year, which didn't include the dozen or so I DNFed. This year my target is lower 72 books, which is more suited to me, I was rushing too much in December to hit the ton. I have an idea of what kind of books I like (police procedurals are a comfort genre) but I do like to venture outside my comfort zone from time to time and have found some great books that way like Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow or Once There Were Wolves, but I've also found quite a few which I can't engage with, War and Peace has defeated me twice. Great video.

[@DrawntoBooks]

I loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow! Yeah, I’ve lowered my goals too this year, since I’m trying to take my own advice and quit more books, so I know I won’t finish as many.

[@dnckrk1701]

Great video and advice. When I quit a book, I skip ahead to the last chapter, just so I can say I know how the story is resolved. I usually know within 50 pages if I have enough interest to continue. If the author's use of language grabs me, I'll keep going. By the way, is that a Colorado shirt? I used to live there, but nowadays I'm a nomad. Hope to return someday. Thanks again. Keep up the good work.

[@DrawntoBooks]

I should start reading the endings, that’s a fun idea. Yeah, I’m from Colorado, I love it here :)

[@ClaireKinmil]

I've never considered how many books I have left to read before I die. I will incorporate the argument into my thesis that you don't have time to read good books. We should aim for great and amazing!

[@tylerdurden4285]

Excellent video

[@DrawntoBooks]

Thank you!!

[@zakirehman9023]

I've just come to the conclusion that quantity of books doesn't matter, what matters is enjoyment. If you are enjoying and having a nice time just read whatever you want no matter how long it takes. If we kept thinking about all the books in the world we won't read in this life, it would be a mental catastrophe. Just relax, enjoy what you are currently reading and prioritize quality over quantity.

[@martindiaries]

For me reading is relaxing, fun, educational way of getting rid of stress. Books that I didn't enjoy yet forced myself to finish made me angry and uneasy. One day I just said enough is enough, I want to do something enjoyable with my free time, not torture myself. Since then I give 20 pages for books to grab me, then I DNF, if it's semi-interesting I give it 50 pages. This is the golden tip people - listen to her advice and keep reading books that you enjoy 📖📚📓

[@DrawntoBooks]

Yeah, the majority of us are just reading for fun in our free time, why torture ourselves with bad books?! I did that enough in school 😅

[@BenjWarrant]

I've read 15 books this year and I have 3 on the go: one in the loo, one actual novel, and one on my phone (Galaxy Z-fold, so it's as big as a Kindle). They range from volume 4 of _A la recherche du temps perdu_ to _Five little pigs_ by Agatha Christie and there's several science fiction books in there. I reckon I should read at least 60 books this year (including vols 5 and 6 of _A la recherche du temps perdu_ and all of Anthony Powell's _Dance to the music of time._ The Proust is really hard going, but I'mma stick with it.

[@jamescrouch1693]

I read 'Interior Chinatown ' and liked the book. Coming to know through the laws recalled a more accurate indication of the problems of the Chinese in America. Thanks.

[@DrawntoBooks]

That’s awesome, I’m glad you liked it! I thought it was such a creative format

[@medaman15able]

Goodreads won’t let me remove books I add into my reading goal for the year, so I’ve def become way more selective.

[@DrawntoBooks]

What?! I didn’t know that!

[@medaman15able]

@@DrawntoBooksi was wrong, you actually can, I just wasn’t looking hard enough

[@meltalks]

@@medaman15ablehaha, story of my life!

[@gpfraser1]

Quality over quantity!

[@johnlone207]

The recent "bad book" I encountered is Hogg by Samuel Delany. I was not ready for that book - it's almost watching the unrated/uncut version of The Serbian Film. I thought I was, but I retreated to reading Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. I may try to revisit Hogg later on. We'll see.

[@from_Hell_1888]

Reading is an enjoyable activity, so you don't have to calculate how many books you're going to read each month, year, or in a decade. Just sit down, relax, and take your time-don't rush. Understand what you're reading and use your imagination to picture it, as well as to grasp the message the book wants to convey. If you find it interesting, delve into the author or the current of thought-immerse yourself in it. This is my advice.

[@DrawntoBooks]

That’s great advice! My brain still loves to count arbitrary things and check boxes though 😂

[@UraniumMilk]

People think when they buy a book they should read it, but buying/organizing books and reading them are two completely separate activities. One is a physical skill bc it's actually some form of exercise to walk around in a store finding carrying and then at home shelving books, so this is kinesthetic intelligence. Reading is of course sedentary and literary intelligence.

[@nobodygnomes]

This book gave me a crisis of mortality

[@DrawntoBooks]

😂 I think making it did the same to me

[@leebrownhill]

Gosh this is a macabre video, but I still really enjoyed it 😅

[@DrawntoBooks]

😂😂 That wasn’t my intention, but it definitely ended up that way.

[@thomasdickson62]

What about re-reading books? Is that worthwhile given our time on earth is finite?

[@davidfarley312]

NEVER!!!

[@buckiemohawk3643]

I quit Susannah Clarkes Jonathan Strange and mr norrell. Because nothing happened. Theres many books like that

[@DrawntoBooks]

That one’s so long too! Def a good choice to quit if you didn’t like it.

[@buckiemohawk3643]

nothing was happening and no offense to the author I could tell her writing style and she worked on the book and then stopped and wrote another part down. It was disjointed. @@DrawntoBooks

[@sealife13]

I read more pages of unfinished books than the once I've finished. Not good for my goodreads challenge

[@DrawntoBooks]

This is the way! My goal this year is to DNF more books than I finish 😆

[@papajohnloki]

but i've always forced myself to finish a book- enjoyment be damned.

[@DrawntoBooks]

😂 I used to do that too, until I realized how many books I still want to read!

[@roseNthorn]

Well, I’ve got 34.5 years left and last year I read 75 books so before I die I can read 2587.5 more books. I better quit watching KZbin videos…

[@DrawntoBooks]

Haha, that’s awesome, 75 books a year! Yep, better get reading 😁