I kind of hate the mantra of 'if you're not enjoying the book stop reading.

By HawkBirch2001

I’m reading *Jane Eyre* right now and I’m in the last stretch (like the final 100 pages). I’ll be honest, it’s been kind of a slog in some parts. It’s old and pretty dense, and even though I’m into gothic stuff, romance isn’t really the genre I naturally reach for. That said, I’ve still ended up finding it really rewarding. This has happened to me with a lot of classics and other books that are well-regarded but hard to get through. I wouldn’t say I always enjoy it while I’m reading, but usually by the end I can see why people love it so much. I did go looking at some discussion and I kept seeing the same advice: “If you’re not enjoying it, stop reading.” And it bothered me a bit. Is art only supposed to be for enjoyment? If we only stuck with the fast, easy page-turners that match whatever we already like, how many great books would never get a chance? Same with movies, honestly. With more difficult storytelling, I don’t think enjoyment is always the point, but if you push through it, it can end up being rewarding in a bigger way than just “I liked it.” Telling people to quit as soon as they hit a rough patch feels like it would rob them of that. What do other people think?