I truly believe there is a right and a wrong time to read a book. Sometimes I'll start reading a book I think I'll love and it doesn't grab me. This doesn't necessarily mean that I don't like it, but that I'm not excited to read it at this time.
If I'm feeling this way about a book, I usually try and read 100 pages because some books take a little while to get into. After those 100 pages, if I'm still not super invested and desperate to read it, I'll put it down. I do this with the intention of finishing it at a later time: the right time. When I do this, I enjoy that book so much more than if I forced myself to read it when I wasn't excited to.
This happened to me recently when I finally finished reading Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. I started the novel last November, but after reading about 110 pages I decided to put it down and read something else. I was finding it a little boring and I wasn't excited to pick it up. Also, at 550ish pages it was quite a long book for me, and I wasn't in the mood for a longer read. When I decided to put it down, I knew I'd finish it when the time was right.
About eight months later, the time was right. I decided that I wanted to finish some of the books I'd started and I'd had multiple people tell me how much they loved Fingersmith, so I picked it up again with fresh eyes.
I didn't need to start it from the beginning because I'm pretty good at remembering what has happened in books, and just started from the beginning of the section. This time, after reading another 100 pages I didn't (couldn't) put it down, definitely not after how Part One ends. I found it far more exciting than when I initially tried to read it and sped through the rest of the book.
I'm so glad that I picked it back up and finished it. It was a great read and kept me guessing pretty much right to the end. Some sections I found a bit boring, but I learnt to keep reading to reach the really exciting scenes. It's definitely worth a read.
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