You don't have to finish the book.

There’s a quiet relief in saying this out loud:

You don’t have to finish the book.

You don’t have to power through pages that no longer feel like they’re speaking to you. You don’t have to keep reading something just because you once loved it, or because you should.

Sometimes a book is meant to walk with us only part of the way.

I think reading can be more like sitting beside someone than reaching a destination. We open a book for company. For comfort. For curiosity. And when that feeling shifts, it’s okay to set the book down gently--not as a failure, but as a listening.

This week, I’m thinking about the books I’ve left unfinished on my nightstand. Not with guilt, but with gratitude. They met me where I was. That was enough.

If you’re reading something slowly right now, or not reading at all, you’re still a reader. You’re still welcome here.

May your reading life feel spacious. May it belong to you.

Warmly,

Susan