Once upon a time, I considered myself to be the kind of person who'd stick with a book through thick and thin partly because I felt that reflected well on me as a person and partly because it might turn out to be a good read in the end. Then I tried to read Moby Dick (Star Trek: First Contact really sold it to me). I really tried, initially reading with care page after page of pure whale trivia, then skipping ten pages at a time of random whale factoids in the hope that the book would get back to the point. After that, if a book is boring me, I find something more interesting to read. Life is too short to be bored to tears.