And Sometimes It's Perfectly OK to Abandon a Book

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Faith: A Journey for All by Jimmy Carter

I chose this book to read for several reasons: I need to read a book by or about a world leader for my reading challenge, I wanted to understand the faith of our 39th president a little better, and I was hoping to be encouraged by his faith in God and by how he lives out his faith.  I got about a third of the way through the book and had to abandon it.  He's a very nice man, but he rambles.  I wasn't always clear on the point he was trying to make.  Chapter titles and the content of the chapters didn't mesh.  He wasn't clear about where his faith is placed - is it in God or in the experiences of others or in his faith?  He didn't do a great job explaining what authority defines his beliefs - is it the Bible or one of the theologians he quotes or his experiences? Bottom line, this was a frustrating read.

I know some of us (myself included until the last couple of years) feel guilt for starting a book and not finishing it.  My friend, let that go.  If you are out of school and don't have to take a test or write a paper about the book, please take it back to the library and drop it into the book return with a heart at peace.  No librarian is going to take you to task for not finishing a book.  In fact, if you didn't finish the book we want to know why to help us determine whether or not we want to read the book! 

There are so many great books waiting for you to discover them, it would be a shame to waste time on a book you don't love.  Even if you need to learn something new (for personal gain, not a formal class), if you aren't connecting with a book it might be time to find another book on the same subject by a different author.  It's rather rare that you would need to suffer through a book without the hope of other options to learn a new skill.  

So, feel free to abandon that book you dread.  Know that you have so many options and your friendly neighborhood librarian is more than happy to help you find the book that will fit your need.

Until next time...


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