One can never have too many bookmarks

So many acronyms regarding books: TR (to read); TBR (to be read) WTR (want to read); CR (currently reading). So far I’m the only person I know who uses WTF (want to finish). I have shelves of half finished, partially finished, or barely-cracked-the-covers-of books.  To be clear (TBC?) these are all books I want to finish.  I’m not the kind of reader who feels like I must finish every book I start.  Heck, no.  If a book is plain bad, out it goes.  I don’t care about the time I’ve already invested.  I don’t think, optimistically, well, maybe it will get better.  Fie on that.  Life is short and there are thousands of fabulous reading experiences to be had.  On to the next.  But I still end up with shelves notable mostly for the sparkling collection of bookmarks that adorn them.  There’s always a reason for putting down a book in mid-read, often that some other (usually newer) book has caught my eye.  I may have a book review deadline looming, and that book then takes precedence.  Library books trump books I own, since I’d rather not pay overdue fines.  I also read multiple books at once, necessitating bookmarks in each volume of the current stack.  Those are some of the practical reasons.  There are other, less tangible ones.  Many books start out slow, with background, before they really get going.  I have trouble disciplining myself to plow through it, but I’m afraid to skip over it in case I need the information later.  So, I stall.  Other books turn out to be not quite what I expected.  Yet, they have appeal and I still believe I want to know what’s in them.  Like many readers, I have shelves and shelves of books that I haven’t even begun yet, in addition to the ones I’ve already started.  The WTF books, however, are a class all their own.  A while back, I decided to dedicate one month to working my way through my WTF collection.  I got nowhere.  Since I no longer have to read assigned material for work or school, there’s just too much pleasure in jumping from one subject to another, one genre to another, as my fancy suits me, or as whatever time slot I have allows.  Meanwhile, I do actually finish tons of books, at least two a week.  But the stellar offerings just keep coming, more than anyone can read in a lifetime.  To which I say, YEAH!