To read or not to read

How does one read? And, more to the point, perhaps, how should one read? A quick stab at answering the question is that it really doesn’t matter too much if we don’t read everything that we “ought” to read, as long as we take a stab at it and see if the book “takes” or not. I agree… mostly. I do think there are some books that one ought to buckle down and finish despite the excruciating agony, but for the most part I think that if the book doesn’t keep you interested, life’s too short and there are too many other good books to waste your time struggling through something that doesn’t interest. (Charles Dickens, I’m looking at you.)