Readers who struggle on with a book... for months!

It’s a conundrum faced by every reader – give up on a book you just aren’t enjoying or soldier through to the bitter end.

the guilt at not making it to the last page sees many of us struggle on for weeks or even months, with more than one in five readers saying you should always finish a book, according to a survey.

but those facing ‘book block’ should feel no shame about putting it aside, a reading charity has claimed – saying that with so many books out there, we should instead put our efforts into finding those we can’t wait to finish. the survey of 2,000 people commissioned by the reading Agency for World book Night today found 22 per cent think you should always finish a book.

Almost one in ten said they would persevere with a gruelling read for up to three months, the Censuswide poll found, with others pressing on for even longer. but 15 per cent said they would give up after one to three weeks, 11 per cent after four to six days, 13 per cent after two to three days and 6 per cent after just one day.

While you might think the classics are the hardest to toil through, the most commonly unfinished book was racy novel Fifty shades of Grey by EL James. this was followed by Jrr tolkien’s the Lord of the rings: the Fellowship of the ring, JK rowling’s Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and Emily bronte’s Wuthering Heights.

sue Wilkinson, head of the reading Agency, said: ‘At a time when one in five of us will experience anxiety or depression ... reading has never been more important.

‘When so many brilliant books are being written ... you should never force yourself to read something you’re not enjoying.’