I used to have all these books I "should" get around to reading but then a few years back I thought "hang on, how about I just read what I like?" . So now if I don't get past the first chapter, out it goes. That said, some books need to be read once you are older. For me it is Simone de Beauvoir's "The Mandarins". It is about a group of French intellectuals after WW2 and their turmoils and relationships. I have started it twice and got a bit further each time, but I've decided its a book IU will revisit every five years or so and read further as I age.