Enjoying a book vs enjoying the idea of enjoying it

Just read a discussion about how people shouldn't give up on a book simply because they're not enjoying it. The idea was that you shouldn't quit a novel that you don't enjoy but which is critically acclaimed because you're intellectually rewarded by the art.

I'd like to counter this by arguing that enjoyment is the main point of fiction. You're intellectually rewarded through an entertaining narrative. Forcing oneself to finish a book that you find painfully boring or ludicrous doesn't engage you intellectually because you're just focused on crawling through it. There's no emotional investment or desire to examine the narrative or prose or wider context, just boredom and resentment.

I think people who force themselves to finish books they don't enjoy and aren't invested in are just enjoying the idea of enjoying the book. They want to enjoy the book because there's either a desire to prove they have superior taste or are not a quitter; and by quitting, they're "proving" they're not cultured or well-read. People attach their identity to their "good taste" (or desired taste) and that's why when someone says they didn't enjoy Pride and Prejudice for example, they're viewed as a heretic who "just didn't understand it".

I think it's beneficial to quit books you're not enjoying on the basis of reduced ability to absorb anything meaningful from them and because life is short. There's no shame in having taste at odds with the trends.