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Our tendency to keep reading even bad books is also (to some degree) a manifestation of the "endowment effect" documented in Dan Ariely's "Predictable Irrationa

Our tendency to keep reading even bad books is also (to some degree) a manifestation of the "endowment effect" documented in Dan Ariely's "Predictable Irrational": Once you've forked over money for a book, you value it more simply because it's now yours. Even if it sucks, you'll have an easier time convincing yourself that it is an Important Book. That said, I think there are cases where you should plow through a book you don't (at first) enjoy. E.g. when a book comes highly recommended by people you trust, or from an author who has delivered in the past. This is especially true for older books that were written for less attention-sapped audiences and have cultural gaps that take getting used to. I'm thinking of Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov." It was highly reccomended by friends with good taste, and I had enjoyed some of his shorter works. Still, it was incredibly slow getting started. But once I had ingested the multi-layered background and got a grip on Russian peasant culture, was one of the more amazing books I've ever read. And could not have been otherwise if not for the investment required to get into it.

Radix 17y ago
Another example is Les Miserables. That book is fantastic. I'm at a loss for adjectives. I haven't really read anything since, but I loved that book, and I loved Jean Valjean, and hated Thenardier. But the the book takes a little while to start, then just when it does it changes characters, and Hugo takes forever to describe things which have very little to do with the story or characters. So I bored reading when Hugo suddenly began building a new story arc at the height of the last one. Even still the ending was tearful. Haaah, I wish I loved reading as I did when I was a boy.
- bentoner 17y ago
  I agree Les Miserables is worth finishing, and I eventually did finish it, about two years after starting. It was my "gym book." I'd read it while on the cardio machines at the gym, and only allowed myself to read it there, so as to provide encouragement to go and to stay longer. (This was at Caltech where reading at the gym is normal: holders for books are provided.)

Radix 17y ago

Another example is Les Miserables. That book is fantastic. I'm at a loss for adjectives. I haven't really read anything since, but I loved that book, and I loved Jean Valjean, and hated Thenardier. But the the book takes a little while to start, then just when it does it changes characters, and Hugo takes forever to describe things which have very little to do with the story or characters. So I bored reading when Hugo suddenly began building a new story arc at the height of the last one. Even still the ending was tearful. Haaah, I wish I loved reading as I did when I was a boy.

bentoner 17y ago
I agree Les Miserables is worth finishing, and I eventually did finish it, about two years after starting. It was my "gym book." I'd read it while on the cardio machines at the gym, and only allowed myself to read it there, so as to provide encouragement to go and to stay longer. (This was at Caltech where reading at the gym is normal: holders for books are provided.)