While I’ve gotten good at recognizing fairly early in a book whether or not I’ll like it, there are still books that slip through. With these sneaky books, there’s just enough about them that interests me, or that I like, or a strong enough reputation that I keep reading, only to find that they let me down in the end.
Once I pass a certain point, I fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy. Usually this fallacy applies to political rhetoric, but in my case it applies to books where I’ve managed to stick around until at least the halfway point. Once I see my kindle app tick up over 51% for a sneaky book, I almost always finish reading. After 51%, I’m over the hump. Why not finish? I’ve read most of the book by that point. In fact, I’m so likely to keep reading that I’m a little afraid to think about what it might take for me to stop reading. It would have to be something awful.
I’ve had this on my mind lately because I recently read a book, The Fortune Teller, that I finished only because I realized at about the 70% mark that it wasn’t going to get any better. But 70% is more than two-thirds of the way through a book. I’d read so much of the book (and it was a quick read), it seemed worthwhile to read just a little longer and finish the damn thing. I’m not afraid to DNF, but I’d already put in time and effort…So I resigned myself and finished the last, somewhat disappointing chapters.
The first sneaky book I remember reading and hating was Frank Herbert’s Dune. I picked it up because I’d heard it was a classic of science fiction and, at the time, I was really into science fiction and books with a lot of world-building. I remember being told so many times that Dune was great that I kept reading even though so many passages bored me stiff. This book took so long to get good that it actually felt like a betrayal when it finally did…right before the last page. I am still a little angry at Dune, to the point that I’m surprised when I hear from people that they like it.
I have bad book habits, like book buying binges (who among us does not?), checking out too many library books and having to return them before I’ve read them. My inability to stop reading a book once I’ve read most of it is the one that bothers me most. I might have to make it a new year’s resolution.
Oh, I didn’t know it had a name… I relate totally to this fallacy, but I’m getting better. Also, is there a name when you take too many books from the library, and start reading them out of guilt just 2 days before they are due back?