The DNF Files!
This is an interesting topic for me. On the one hand, I am not shy about abandoning a book. You know what they say, too many books, too little time. On the other hand, I tend to just delete the book and act like it never existed.
I am not one to spend my time and energy rehashing a novel I did not enjoy. I also believe that there are readers for every book. Just because I did not like it, doesn't mean that there aren't people out there who will. In fact, there were many readers who enjoyed the books below. They simply were not for me.
I DNFed some because there was subject matter involved that I do not want to read about, others because of soapboxing, and some I simply did not click the story. Whatever the reason, I opted to not finish these books. If you read and enjoyed any of these, let me know in the comments. Maybe I gave up too soon.
- The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
- Sugar and Salt by Susan Wiggs
- Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur
- Without Further ADO by Jessica Dettmann
- The Comeback Summer by Ali Brady
- Silver Alert by Lee Smith
- If We're Being Honest by Cat Shook
- This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs
- The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel
- Someone Else's Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews
What makes you DNF a book?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
Your introduction is right on, Sam. If a book starts our with a lot of foul language, I will usually abandon it. That doesn't bother other people and they might love the book. I have read Sugar and Salt and did enjoy it. I have a couple of the others on your list on my TBR and will give them a try.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know what you want/don't want in a book. If it's mild, I will usually let it go, but when the author transgresses over and over, I am out. I got pretty far in Sugar and Salt. It was not the warm fuzzy book I was expecting, and there was this moment regarding the post rape that I wasn't up for.
DeleteI DNF pretty early on too but I don't keep track of them so I couldn't do today's TTT
ReplyDeleteI have started putting them on a tab in my spreadsheet, just in case I want to try again.
DeleteI haven't read these, so that's probably a good thing. I think if you DNF'd them, I probably would want to as well.
ReplyDeleteA few surprised me because they are authors I had previously enjoyed. Like I said, could have been my mood and that I was super sensitive to issues I don't really enjoy
DeleteI firmly believe that not every book is going to be for every reader. It's impossible to please/appeal to everyone. So if I'm not jibing with a book, I don't necessarily consider it a "bad" book, it's just not for me. Goodness knows there have been *many* that others loved that did not work for me.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I am offended when people trash books and declare that how dare anyone enjoy it. We can't all like the same stuff.
DeleteDNF's are so individual, true. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a book, no matter how great it might be.
ReplyDeleteThere are certain kind of books that my mood definitely affects. Those are the ones I will sometimes go back to, if I have the self-awareness to know it's my mood.
DeleteYeah I am not a fan of soapboxing either but normally if I DNF a book its either I couldn't get into it or it had some troubling content in it that wasn't for me. I haven't read any of the books you listed. Love this post and you sharing this with us. Hope you are enjoying your week so far.
ReplyDeleteIf I am not feeling it within the first 10 - 20%, I let it go. How long should one wait to click with a book? If I know the content and select the book, that's one thing. I don't like having it sprung on me. I want it to be my choice to read about particular things, not forced on me unknowingly
DeleteThe Comeback Summer is the only one from your list that I've read and I enjoyed that one. I agree though that not every book is for every reader. For me, it's just kind of a vague feeling of "Yeah, this one isn't working for me." I try to get at least to the 30% mark since some books just start out slow but after that I give up.
ReplyDeleteThere were things in the beginning of Summer that I was not in the mood for. Not sure if that persisted, but I was not willing to continue regardless of how much I adored their previous book. I used to set a specific percentage I had to try, but not any longer. I go with my gut - not working, not reading it
DeleteI am so bad at DNFing. I wish I could abandon with ease, but alas. I have not read any of the books on your list, but I do have If We're Being Honest, so I am sad to see that one on your list. Maybe I'll give it to my mom to read first heh.
ReplyDeleteI know there are many readers who would enjoy Honest, but it just wasn't for me. There could be a big payoff if I pushed through, but I'm too old for that
DeleteI haven't read any of these books, but I totally agree with a reader DNF-ing a book that doesn't work for them. There's only so much time and it certainly shouldn't be wasted on a book that isn't working. Not every book will work for every reader and there's nothing wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteThe world would be a very different sort of place if we all liked the same thing, and it's ok that we don't - this is what nurtures innovation and creativity.
DeleteI agree, I don't usually want to make a big deal about a book I DNF, either. Someone out there would probably enjoy it. I've only read Honest from your list, and it was one I really enjoyed. But it's another example of a book with mixed reviews that I just clicked with for some reason.
ReplyDeletePeople won't receive each and every book the same way. (Only pizza and tacos have earned such love.)
DeleteI don't dnf very often. I will though when a book just isn't working for me. I just mark the books dnf on Goodreads and move on. Life is too short!
ReplyDeleteI don't even mark it in GR. I put it on my spreadsheet, but that's about it. It's true, life is too short to pour energy into stuff like that.
DeleteI haven't read any of these but I absolutely agree that just because a book doesn't work for one doesn't mean it wont work for another. Some books I just know once I get reading that it's not going to work for me - ever. Others I can tell that at another time I'd probably like it so I set those aside and cycle back to them eventually.
ReplyDeleteI'm not shy in saying why I don't like a book if I read it to the end (for whatever reason) but I tend to DNF quietly.
I also think I can tell pretty early on if a book is or isn't "for me". There is always the chance it gets better/changes, but I am not willing to wait it out. If someone asks, I would be honest as to why I DNFed, but I don't feel the need to make a public statement.
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