You can read it with the goal of having a solid understanding of why you think it's bad, in a way that can be communicated to other people. Having that kind of understanding is better than not, and it'll make it so that you have a better perspective on what you do like, and why you like it.
Audiobooks help me there sometimes. Most of the time I enjoy them for the performance and because I can “read” while driving or working on projects, but it also helps with slow spots in some books that are otherwise worth reading.
That said, I would not suffer through 40 hours of dislike, it’s more for that occasional 2 hour lull that might have caused me to put the paperback down and not pick it up again.
Enjoy what you enjoy—life’s too short and there are too many other books out there to waste time on what you don’t enjoy! I have no qualms about not finishing a book, no matter how far along I’ve gotten. I’ve been known to skip to the last chapter or last few pages just to see how it ends, then move on.
On the other hand, for books that you have to read (for school, e.g.) set a goal of X pages per day, and reward yourself when you make the goal. I also find it helps to read more interactively: take notes, argue with the author, think about what you read and whether it’s total b.s. or whether there was anything, however small, of value in it.
I've even read philosophical works that go against what I think and feel and spend the entire time arguing with someone who has probably been dead for hundreds of years.
But I enjoy that from time to time to keep my mind sharp.
No point in reading something that doesn't grab you and resonate with you. Life is too short to put myself through that.
I have a hard time making time for reading, so I want that time to count. I don't let myself get caught up in a sunk cost fallacy and will just move onto another book.
If it’s fiction, you are basically murdering all your head space imaginings of the charactors, carelessly cutting them down mid stride before their time. Only a pure psychopath could do this.
Not every book will be enjoyed by every reader. I DNF once I realize the book is just not my cup of tea. I just checked and of the 15 books I started this year, I dropped 4 at some point. Sometimes I hate-read a book. That happens when I find the book annoying, but it still has something to keep me going on. I am enjoying it to some degree, while also being angry at it.
In any case, if reading the book feels like a drag, close it and open another book. Maybe you abandon the book forever, maybe you pick it up a year from now and plow through it. Both are fine.
Pushing through a book that is not working is detrimental to every party involved - the author, the book itself, and primarily to yourself and your time. You should never do that.
Not exclusively, I have occasionally finished things that were challenging more than enjoyable. But I'm thinking about the content, not that they were just poorly written. Eg books on fgm, holocaust, etc.
Huge fan of Do Not Finish. There are too many good books out there to waste time with mediocre ones. I’ve noped out of books by my favorite authors. Finishing a book you started because you started it is the perfect example of the sunk cost fallacy.
If it isn’t for a test or essay for school, why would you push through a book you didn’t like?
If the phrase “time you enjoyed waisting wasn’t time wasted” is true, then spending time doing things you don’t want do is wasting time. Life is too short to waste time on a book you’re not enjoying
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