In March, the popular book tracking website Goodreads added a new category. Alongside “Want to Read” and “Currently Reading,” users can now mark books as “Did Not Finish.”
University of Virginia literacy expert Tisha Hayes hopes the new category will be used without shame.
“When it comes to reading for fun, putting aside a book you are not enjoying is perfectly fine and sometimes helpful,” Hayes said. “How many times have we started a movie or TV series and turned it off because it wasn’t as interesting as we thought? We need to be OK with doing that with books.”
Hayes, a professor at UVA’s School of Education and Human Development and director of the school’s McGuffey Reading Services, works to help readers of all ages stick with reading. But sometimes, she says, putting a book down may be the right thing.
Tisha Hayes is a professor at UVA’s School of Education and Human Development and director of the school’s McGuffey Reading Services, helping readers of all ages stick with reading. (Photo by Tom Daly)
“It is important – especially for kids – to know that not wanting to read a particular book doesn’t always mean they don’t like to read,” Hayes said. “Kids can start to internalize that they just aren’t a reader, when the reality might be that they don’t like the topic of a book, or the chapters are too long.”
If moving a book to the virtual “Did Not Finish” shelf happens over and over, Hayes said, that’s fine. “Giving up on a book and giving up on reading are two completely different things. Knowing that distinction might be the most important thing a reader can learn,” she said.
The solution, Hayes said, is to find a better book, again and again if necessary.
“The benefits of reading – like building vocabulary, teaching us new things or helping develop empathy – stack up over time,” Hayes said. “It can even feel like a small victory to finish a book and build your confidence. But none of that accumulates if you give up on finding books that make you want to keep going.”
A book’s topic, what Hayes calls an “access point,” matters, but it isn’t the only way for readers to find a book they like. Chapter length and the number of words on a page can also make a book feel more approachable.
Graphic novels, for example, combine words and images to tell a story, while books in verse use fewer words to carry a lot of meaning. Both may be good options for readers struggling to finish dense books, even ones on topics they enjoy.
A book series is another access point. After completing the first book, readers are relieved of the heavy lift of getting to know new characters or a new setting.
Research shows that when readers, especially adolescents, have access to books aligned with their interests, they are more likely to keep reading.
To find a better book, it’s helpful to have some tools. Hayes suggests that we leverage librarians. They can help find books that can transform readers from “drop-in” to faithful.
