Breaking Up (With a Book) is Hard to Do

I broke up with a book this week. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it but I couldn’t keep going. They say timing is everything, and so it seems to be with books sometimes. Here are 5 reasons you may want to break up with a book:

It’s not you, it’s me. This is the most common reason that I will put down a book. For me, this most often happens with nonfiction books. I love nonfiction in general, and will often read a book description and get excited to read it, only to get through a few chapters and realize it just doesn’t fit me right now. Most of the time, I will go back to that book months or even years later and find it to be an enjoyable read. This week, my breakup was just for that reason—the subject matter wasn’t resonating with my circumstances right now.

I don’t have room in my life for you right now. Sometimes you really enjoy a book but put it down because you can’t give it the attention it deserves. I find that this happens when a book has a complex plot or many different characters. Case in point-I am about 1/3 of the way finished with A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin. (Game of Thrones book 3), and I have been for over a year. As with the television series, there are many characters and many different plots happening at the same time. It isn’t a series you can read casually. I breezed through the first 2 books at a time when I had more mental energy. One-third of the way through book 3, my life generally got busier and I wanted a book that was fluffier and less dramatic. So back to the bookshelf it went. I will revisit it someday, when my life is calmer, but now is not the time.

My feelings for you scare me. Have you ever been really getting into a book and then, out of nowhere, it hits you–the emotional trigger you didn’t see coming. It could be death, cancer, love, babies, or trauma, to name a few. For me, it’s the death of a child or pet. Despite my daughters begging me to read The Hunger Games, I never have. Spoiler alert—a child dies. Knowing that in advance keeps me from reading the series. I appreciate a review or description that includes trigger warnings.

You have changed too much since I met you. This one is the hardest breakups for me. Three books into a fantastic series, the author introduced a romantic pairing that made no sense to me. It didn’t make sense for the characters—they would never get together, it’s just not right for them, how could she?! I loved these characters and I was invested in them, and nope, not going to keep reading this train wreck of (my) emotion. I do know that they eventually break up and all is explained but I couldn’t keep going. Sadly, this is probably a permanent breakup for me.

You will forget about me soon enough. Sometimes you just pick a bad book. Enough said.

What makes you want to break up with a book?

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