WEBVTT - Quit a book, read more books

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:07.560
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:15.800
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:20.560
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to quit any books that you are

0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:25.319
<v Speaker 1>no longer enjoying. Doing so will actually help you read

0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:30.639
<v Speaker 1>more books in the long run. Over on Twitter a

0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.879
<v Speaker 1>few weeks ago, a gentleman posted that he found himself

0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.720
<v Speaker 1>abandoning more books than usual, and he wondered if this

0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:42.239
<v Speaker 1>was just part of growing older. I replied that it

0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:48.400
<v Speaker 1>might be, but for this reason. Eventually you realize that

0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:52.840
<v Speaker 1>you are only going to read so many books. If

0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:55.640
<v Speaker 1>you read fifty books a year, which is a lot,

0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:59.680
<v Speaker 1>and live for fifty more years, which is kind of

0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:03.680
<v Speaker 1>an optimistic assumption for many of us. That is only

0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:11.320
<v Speaker 1>more books, that is it. So it is really worth

0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:15.560
<v Speaker 1>asking if any book you are reading deserves to be

0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:21.400
<v Speaker 1>in that now. Of course, you don't actually know when

0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.199
<v Speaker 1>you start out if something is going to be worth

0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:27.760
<v Speaker 1>including in the cannon. I mean, for some books you

0:01:27.920 --> 0:01:31.640
<v Speaker 1>might have a good idea. Yes, you should listen to

0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:36.360
<v Speaker 1>English teachers everywhere and read The Great Gatsby. I Love

0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:40.920
<v Speaker 1>Jazz by Tony Morrison. There's a reason for her reputation.

0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.679
<v Speaker 1>I'd even recommend war and peace be part of your books.

0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:51.480
<v Speaker 1>It's far more readable then you are probably assuming. But

0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:57.080
<v Speaker 1>sometimes even really great books are maybe not for us.

0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:01.160
<v Speaker 1>I confess that I have yet to make it all

0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:07.120
<v Speaker 1>the way through Pride and Prejudice. I've read parts several times,

0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:11.959
<v Speaker 1>but never the whole thing. I love most Virginia Wolf novels,

0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.519
<v Speaker 1>but not all of them. I'd say put to the

0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:19.720
<v Speaker 1>lighthouse in that. But I think you can skip the waves.

0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:23.760
<v Speaker 1>If you are reading something for school or for work, well,

0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:27.639
<v Speaker 1>by all means power through. But if you are reading

0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:33.520
<v Speaker 1>for pleasure, then make sure reading is a pleasure, and

0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.520
<v Speaker 1>that means only finishing books that you find engaging enough,

0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:44.639
<v Speaker 1>or fun enough, or meaningful enough to continue the problem

0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.200
<v Speaker 1>is that when we think we need to finish our

0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:51.280
<v Speaker 1>books but we're not enjoying a particular book, we start

0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:55.720
<v Speaker 1>cutting back on reading time. Next thing, you know, you're

0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:59.320
<v Speaker 1>looking at gardening photos on Instagram during that hour before

0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:03.960
<v Speaker 1>bed instead of reading. You start slipping down from that

0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:07.119
<v Speaker 1>fifty book a year mark, which means you won't even

0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:14.079
<v Speaker 1>make it to because of this misplaced book loyalty. Give

0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:16.640
<v Speaker 1>a book up, though, and you can start on a

0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:21.760
<v Speaker 1>new one, which you might like more. When you enjoy reading,

0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:26.640
<v Speaker 1>you'll find more space in your schedule to read. You'll

0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:29.840
<v Speaker 1>start bringing your book with you and reading before phone

0:03:29.840 --> 0:03:32.720
<v Speaker 1>calls or while you're waiting in the car pool line.

0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.240
<v Speaker 1>You start finishing books more quickly when you read more,

0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:41.600
<v Speaker 1>and that keeps you on track for those books or

0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:45.960
<v Speaker 1>maybe even more than that. To be sure, sometimes we

0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:48.200
<v Speaker 1>can feel bad if we bought a book and we

0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.680
<v Speaker 1>decide we don't want to read it. Money down the drain, right.

0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:57.280
<v Speaker 1>There are a few ways around this. First, use your library.

0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.360
<v Speaker 1>If you're not sure, bar the book, and if you

0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:05.960
<v Speaker 1>love it, you can buy a copy. Also, Amazon lets

0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.400
<v Speaker 1>you download a free sample of many e books to

0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:12.000
<v Speaker 1>your Kindled app. You could probably tell in the first

0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:14.920
<v Speaker 1>twenty pages or so if you think a book will

0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.640
<v Speaker 1>be interesting enough to keep reading. I mean, sometimes we

0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:22.160
<v Speaker 1>do abandon books more than halfway through, but usually not.

0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:27.120
<v Speaker 1>In any case, it helps to understand that just because

0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:30.880
<v Speaker 1>a book isn't right for us doesn't mean it isn't

0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:34.880
<v Speaker 1>right for someone else, maybe lots of other people. I

0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.640
<v Speaker 1>once did a giveaway on my blog of books I

0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:41.279
<v Speaker 1>had abandoned. People wrote in with which of the titles

0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:43.920
<v Speaker 1>they wanted to read and I found good homes for

0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:48.680
<v Speaker 1>several titles. Ask around among your friends and you can

0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:53.719
<v Speaker 1>probably do the same thing. But ultimately, we need to

0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:59.880
<v Speaker 1>remember that life is short. We are only going to

0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:04.640
<v Speaker 1>to read so many books. If we commit to finishing

0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:08.839
<v Speaker 1>what we've started, we are inevitably going to finish fewer

0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:14.120
<v Speaker 1>books then if we only finish what we love. Personally,

0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:21.960
<v Speaker 1>I'm a fan of reading more, so try broadly and

0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:26.200
<v Speaker 1>abandoned liberally. You'll probably be happier as a reader in

0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.200
<v Speaker 1>the long run and more likely to read at least

0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:36.160
<v Speaker 1>more titles in your life. In the meantime, this is Laura.

0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:41.320
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:50.880
<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.760
<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:58.120
<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:03.000
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four, then

0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:06.440
<v Speaker 1>Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:10.800
<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com. That

0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.080
<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:22.080
<v Speaker 1>so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:25.120
<v Speaker 1>Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For more

0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:28.640
<v Speaker 1>podcasts from i heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,

0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:32.160
<v Speaker 1>Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.