"...read up to half of it..."

.
A little odd, partly because of verb tense. Try this:

I borrowed the book, read half of it, and then returned it.
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I think all three tenses should be the same. (Of course the past tense of "read" is "read.")

You may be interpreting the bold part as "I read up to the half-way point," but the common understanding is, IMHO, "I read as much as half of it."

Yes, it sounds natural, or will, when you align the tenses.

- A.

Thanks for replying, Mister Micawber and Avangi.

Oh yes. The tenses.

Just wondering, Avangi, does 'I read as much as half of it' mean that I read more than half of the book? And that 'I read up to the half-way point' means that I read up to exactly the middle of the book? Sorry, I don't really get the difference between the two.

Thanks

PBF

"As much as" would tend to ere on the lesser side, but going over the mid-point would be no crime. It's something like, "No more than," with the difference being analogous to "The glass is half empty, not half full."

"up to the mid-point" would suggest a higher (but still un-specified) degree of accuracy in your estimate, but the error may be on either side.

Ah I get it now. Thanks Avangi.

PBF