Daily writing prompt

What’s a book you never finished but still think about?

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I’ve started plenty of books I never finished. Most of them have had the good manners not to follow me around afterward.

Two exceptions occasionally wander back into conversation: The Count of Monte Cristo and Atlas Shrugged.

I probably should not have started either one.

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of those books that sounds manageable until you realize Alexandre Dumas apparently had no one standing behind him whispering, “You know, this could probably lose 400 pages.” I liked the story. I still like the story. Betrayal, prison, escape, revenge, secret identities — what’s not to like?

Apparently, quite a few hundred pages.

The story still comes up because of the movie adaptations, and every so often I think, “I really should go back and finish the book.”

Then I remember how long it is, and the feeling passes.

Atlas Shrugged is a different animal. I started that one because I was interested in Ayn Rand’s ideas and the arguments surrounding them. And there are still times when something happening in politics, business or society will cause somebody to invoke John Galt, government regulation, people who produce versus people who consume, or some other theme from the book.

At that point I occasionally remember that I never finished it.

I also remember why.

Rand had ideas she wanted to explore, and she was apparently determined to make absolutely certain nobody missed any of them. Ever. Under any circumstances.

I’m pretty sure some of the speeches in Atlas Shrugged began before I started teaching nine years ago and are still going on.

So yes, there are two unfinished books I still think about every now and then. One returns because Hollywood keeps resurrecting the story. The other returns because current events keep resurrecting the arguments.

Do I regret not finishing them? Not especially.

There are too many good books in the world to turn reading into an endurance event. And if either Alexandre Dumas or Ayn Rand wants to complain about that, they’re welcome to send me the Cliff’s Notes.

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Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.