Why I Drop Books (And Sometimes Pick Them Back Up)

I finish a lot of books, but I also drop a lot of books. Because of this, I wanted to take some time to reflect on exactly why and how I pick up a book to read in the first place. Maybe you do the same thing.

Reading Out of Curiosity

When I get interested in something new, I pick up related books to understand the concept more deeply and learn more about the topic.

Recently, I started watching Formula 1 again after dropping it during the Mercedes era. As a child, I watched F1 because I loved cars in general. Even I didn't understand what the commentators said or the rules. I just knew the one who finished first was the winner. But this time around, I got curious about racing itself. I understand, more or less, how the car works, but I didn't understand how a race actually works. So I picked up How to Build a Car by Adrian Newey. I was interested in learning how F1 cars are built, especially considering aerodynamics and how teams adapt to regulation changes. But it didn't last long. I dropped it and just enjoyed watching the races instead.

The same thing happened with my black hole book, literal meaning. At that time I was into space and relativity, so Black Holes: The Key to Understanding the Universe by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw started off interesting. But quickly I realized I needed to go back and revisit my college thermodynamics textbook. In the end, it became a book I read right before sleep, mostly because it was hard to understand and made me drowsy.

One success story is when I read Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. Those two really helped me understand what I was curious about psychology and human behavior. Other than that, curiosity-driven reading doesn't always work out for me. Maybe I should read journal articles first instead of committing to a whole book.

Random Recommendations

When I don't know what to read or just want to find something new, I scroll through TikTok or check Kindle recommendations. I mostly use TikTok for fiction recommendations.

The Count of Monte Cristo made me open maps to find which island the character's ship docked on. However, I ended up dropping it because I wanted to restart it from the very beginning once I had a better visual sense of the geography. Maybe I'll try again someday.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky took me months to finish. It was really emotionally draining. I felt similarly when I read No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai. I first learned about Dostoevsky from the anime Bungo Stray Dogs, and then I kept seeing this book all over TikTok, so I picked it up. I actually have another Dostoevsky book on my reading list: The Brothers Karamazov.

The Correspondence was a random Kindle suggestion, and it surprised me. The author is so creative. I'd never thought about reading a book told from the perspective of character's letters and emails. I'm thinking of writing more about this one once I finish it.

As a Travel Companion

It has become a habit of mine to pick a specific book for traveling. Since there's always plenty of downtime, I love pulling out my Kindle while waiting to board, during flights, or just while chilling at a local cafe or hotel.

I've had lots of success with travel reading books. Here are some:

The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne mostly kept me company during my train trips to Surabaya. Those trips were about two hours, and I traveled there a lot back then. I can't quite remember why. The interesting thing is that I still remember what I read in this book even after I dropped it and came back to it later.

Tenggelam Nya Kapal Van Der Wijck by Buya Hamka was what I brought for a business trip to Singapore. At that time, I also wanted to read Indonesian classical romance, especially from the Pujangga Baru period. I picked Buya Hamka because I'd already read one of his books about religion and was curious about his novel writing. Unsurprisingly, I finished it before my trip even ended. The difference between during Pujangga Baru era language and modern Indonesian is really noticeable, which I found interesting. Because of this book, I think I prefer fiction for travel, and I should probably bring at least two books next time.

My Takeaway

I think treating reading as an enjoyable activity rather than an achievement is the best way to avoid feeling guilty during a reading slump.

Or, well... maybe I just need to travel more!