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Labouring Away

phone sitting beside book with glasses on top all resting on wooden table

On this Labour Day, I've been wondering if and when reading begins to feel like work. For the most part, reading is a very enjoyable activity for me, which is why I engage in it as often as I can. There are times, however, when I've noticed that reading can be a bit of a slog. Though I try not to dwell on it, this has been a helpful signal to me to be better about not completing books that fall into this category.

I don't have an extensive list, but here are a few things that can make reading a book begin to feel laboursome:
  • Too many typos. I feel like this is universal amongst all readers, so I'll leave it at that.
  • Too many complications. When so many characters get introduced or the plot lines are quite convoluted, this can make reading less pleasurable.
  • A lot of pop culture references. A few well-placed ones that enhance the story or make it relatable to the audience is fine; however, when I'm reading a book and it starts to feel like a tabloid magazine where I don't know most of the people who are named, it doesn't make the book as fun to read anymore.
  • Toeing the line too much. This might be less work-related and more stress-related, but there are times when I'm reading scenes that make me squirm on behalf of the characters. This is different from when books have grittier content and show the reality or consequences of sin versus books that seem to romanticize or glamourize actual cringiness or where it seems like the author is trying to get as close to the edge as possible.
  • Superfluous writing. This is straightforward and probably something I struggle in personally doing. I have to remind myself that only the Apostle Paul can get away with run-on sentences 😅
  • Bad formatting for digital files. I will say that this is likely the number one reason why it can take me forever to get through an ARC, especially if it's a PDF that requires zooming in on every single page when using a device, or a digital file where the the text is laid out in such a way that it can impede the flow of reading. Talk about a lot of work just to read!
  • Questionable claims without references. This more so applies to non-fiction books, but I do encounter a number of books that make declarative statements without citing other sources. After a while, the book can either veer toward ranting or being overly authoritative in what readers should think/say/do based on the author's opinions.
  • Making assumptions. When I feel like I have to work extra hard to fill in all the blanks, it makes me more prone to give up. If an author is assuming I know something and I don't, I just end up feeling lost.
I'm sure there are many more I could add to the list, but I'll keep it reasonably short. Thankfully, I don't encounter these obstacles too often, which means that reading is still largely leisurely for me. And when that's not the case, I'm feeling more empowered to walk away and find other books that are less work in reading 😀
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