All time you spend reading a bad book comes at the expense of a good book

I have to recognize that until a couple of years ago, I had a hard time quitting—dropping—a book. Although I put some effort into deciding what to read next, you can never predict if a book is what you expected until you start reading it.

Shane Parrish summarizes brilliantly why we should quit more books:

When you pick up a good book, you feel it instantly. Not only are they well-written and packed with ideas and insights, but they’re well organized. They flow. You want to read the next page.

Our desire to finish what we start often works against us. Good books finish themselves. You can’t put them down. Trying to finish a bad book, on the other hand, is like walking through the mud with a wheelbarrow full of bricks.

When it comes to reading, you don’t need to finish what you start.
Once you realize that you can quit bad books (or reading anything for that matter) without guilt, everything changes.

Think of it this way: All the time you spend reading a bad book comes at the expense of a good book.

Skim many books. Read a few. Immediately re-read the best ones twice.

Of course, this doesn't apply only to books.