As of: March 14, 2024, 2:03 p.m
By: Sven Trautwein
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Should you read a boring book to the end?
There are various rules that can help.
© jm_video/Pond5 Images/Imago
The book looks promising from the cover, but the content doesn't really work.
When should the book be put aside?
Maybe you know it, you're in your local bookstore and browsing through the new releases.
You pick up one or two books, carefully open them and start reading.
The first sentences sound exciting.
You buy the book and when you get home you realize that the initial excitement of reading it in your favorite place isn't quite there.
How do you recognize a boring book and when should you put it aside?
Put boring books aside?
Life is too short for bad books and films.
The characters may not be pleasing, the writing style doesn't seem lively.
Then why should you read the book to the end?
In any case, there is only a short amount of time to be able to enjoy a book until the end.
If you're watching a boring film, you'll also turn off the TV or change the channel.
So why not with a book?
70,000 books every year – how are you supposed to read them all?
Around 70,000 new books are published every year.
There are very long queues for bestselling authors at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
It is impossible to take a closer look at all the titles, let alone read them.
70,000 books were found in one of the largest private libraries.
If the owner had read all of AZ, he would have lost at least 80 years of his life just for it.
But what is reading about?
The
Augsburger Allgemeine
writes that it is about “empathizing with other worlds”.
This can only be achieved if you read a book to the end and persevere.
50-page rule: Is the book exciting enough?
Reading a book is like other things: sometimes as a reader you have easier access to the text than on other days.
That's why it's a good idea to put the book in question back on the shelf and then pick it up again when you feel like it.
If that doesn't work either, here are five tips on what you can do with the books you no longer need.
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Librarian Nancy Pearl published a “Rule of 50” in her 2003 book “Book Lust.”
She is of the opinion that a book should have 50 pages to determine whether the story is compelling, according
to
br.de.
Then you should decide whether to put it away.
She also advises reading the last sentence of a crime novel.
True crime fans are likely to be up in arms here.
The
Washington Post
also conducted a survey among newsletter recipients about how they deal with boring books.
For many of the readers, it is “okay to give up on a book if it doesn’t draw us in.”
Feelings of guilt about unread books should not arise.
Boring book?
The third chapter decides
Stay up to date on new releases and book tips with the free newsletter from our partner 24books.de.
Perhaps the tip from a publisher's editor who said that you should open the third chapter of the book and start reading before buying it may also be helpful.
If the story captivates you, you can buy it.
The book will continue to be exciting.
Everyone can decide for themselves whether it is that easy.
Tastes for what makes a good book are as different as the book market itself: whether it's a thriller by Sebastian Fitzek or a historical novel by Ken Follett.
You can test how well you know Sebastian Fitzek in the book quiz.