The rule was simple: for one calendar year, I would finish every book I started. No exceptions. If I hated it at page 50 I would push to page 100, then 200, then the end. I expected to hate the year. Instead, the year quietly changed how I choose books, and by extension how I choose most things.
What I did not expect: starting a book became harder. The decision cost went up. I could not just crack a book open on a whim, because a whim now had 300 pages of consequence. I started reading Goodreads reviews. I started asking friends what they abandoned and why. I started being ruthless about the first 15 pages — if I did not feel the writer’s voice by then, I would just not buy it. The books I bought that year were, on average, much better than the year before.
The lesson generalised. When you cannot quit, you get more careful about starting. When you can always quit, you start too often and finish nothing. There is probably a bigger essay in here about career choices and relationships. I am still working out the extent to which the model applies. For now I am back to abandoning books occasionally, but the year gave me permission to only start ones I already suspect are worth finishing.