When they Quit All the Books, update

I wrote about my frustration with getting some of my students reading a few posts ago, and how Pernille Ripp's blog post reminded me to be patient.  You can read that post here.

I have one boy who has probably started and quit - 30, maybe 40 books.  I thought he was hooked on the last one, because he got up to page 50.  But then he didn't read for a week.  We talked.

True confession:  I got really frustrated.

No, mad.
So did he.  He said I was "forcing" him to read books he didn't want to read.  I reminded him (not so gently) that every book he'd started was one he had chosen.

Finally, in frustration, I told him to quit the book and find something.  Anything.

He did.  A biography about NBA All-Stars.

And he just told me on Friday, that he's on page 97.

Not one of my finer moments.

But so, so, so happy!

Help me out.  Have you ever lost patience with a kid only to have them do the thing you wanted them to do in the first place?