Nick Hornby, the bestselling novelist, has argued readers should put down difficult books immediately if they are not enjoying them.
Put those books away (but only if you are not enjoying them) Photo: Chev Wilkinson/Alamy
When struggling through a classic novel, many have found honour in persevering to the end.
But it appears it might be better just to give up quickly.
Nick Hornby, the bestselling novelist, has argued readers should put down difficult books immediately if they are not enjoying them.
Battling through them, he said, would only condition people to believe reading is a chore, leaving a "sense of duty" about something you "should do".
Instead, Hornby argued, reading should be seen more like television or the cinema, and only undertaken as something people "want to do".
Speaking at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, about his new novel Funny Girl, Hornby argued even children should not be compelled to read books they do not want to, saying setting targets of books they "should" read is counterproductive.
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Speaking at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, about his new novel Funny Girl, Hornby argued even children should not be compelled to read books they do not want to, saying setting targets of books they "should" read is counterproductive.
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