Sunday Bookish Discussion

Bookish Discussion Sunday — To DNF Or Not To DNF

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Hey y’all and welcome to another bookish discussion Sunday. This week I figured we could talk about DNFing books, or quitting a book before finishing it (DNF = did not finish). Some people fall on one side of the divide or the other, never DNFing books or setting them aside quickly, while others may set certain conditions for DNFing books. 

Personally, it took me a while to be okay with DNFing books. I still remember the first book that I DNF’d (The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde) and how much it bothered me, not only because it was a book I was supposed to read for class. As I got older, I kept pushing through any book that I was’t enjoying, because I hated the feeling of giving up on a book. 

After a while, though, the feeling of reading a book that I wasn’t enjoying, only to find that despite fervently hoping it would get better, it almost never did. I began to DNF books, but only those that I really wasn’t enjoying, and only those that weren’t ARCs. And I found that I had more time to read books that I enjoyed. As my friend who loves to DNF likes to say, life is too short to read books that you aren’t enjoying. And she’s right. 

So what do you think? Do you DNF? Why or why not? And feel free to share some topics you’d like to see discussed in the future!

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22 replies »

  2. My first DNF was incredily memorable: Moby Dick. I hated it so much that instead of writing the paper on the damn book, I wrote a paper on why I wasn’t gonna finish the damn book. Mrs. O’Grady, my 11th grade English teacher, raked me over the coals for that, made be argue my point in front of the class, but evenutally she conceded by visceral reaction to the story was well defended and we never spoke of it again. Thanksfully, DNFs since then have been much less dramatic.

    That said, I still struggle with _not_ finishing a book, and I probably read much more than I should once I am basically done with the story. Usually I am bored by the characters, or the writing is so bad my teeth are grinding. But as an author, I want everyone to finish my books and I get pissed when they don’t.

    I never want to NOT finish…but the older I get, the more I feel like the reader deserves good editing and consistent writing. Is that so much to ask?

    Apparently, so.

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    • I can definitely empathize with your feelings about Moby Dick – sounds like how I felt about Dorian Gray! But it took a lot of guts to go in front of a class and argue your position, so more power to you!

      Luckily, the vast majority of books I’ve read do have good editing, consistent writing, and a good story with characters that pull me in. I’m currently struggling with a NetGalley ARC that is killing me – there are too many inconsistencies that have me rolling my eyes, because I’ve worked in mental health and addiction treatment, and it’s like the author has done absolutely no research in this area before writing a book about it. Normally I would absolutely have DNF’d by now, but I try to push because it’s an ARC. If it doesn’t get better, it’s going to have to get reviewed as a DNF because it’s that bad.

      And you don’t have to worry about me DNFing your books – they’re always a delight!

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      • Thank you! You are very kind.

        Reading a book by an author I usually like/love, but the two MCs are from New York City….and she wanted iced with her _pop_. And he replied he never drank _pop_ without ice.

        I rose from the chair like Linda Blair in The Exorcist. POP! Really! ANATHEMA! Do your freakin’ homework! That kind of mistake, minor as it sounds, is right up there with “lives IN Long Island.” IN?????

        If you’re not native to the area, work really hard to get the lingo down. You can google POP versus SODA or IN Long Island vs ON Long Island. It’s not that hard. If you’re writing about a region with accent and colloquialisms, you need to get them right.

        I will admit when I see one too many of those kind of errors, I move toward DNF because it’s nails on a blackboard.

        End of soapbox rant.

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      • I recently DNFd an audiobook in the first chapter for exactly that reason! As a Long Island native, reading a book written by an author living on Long Island, that’s set in Port Jefferson, hearing them refer to it by the full name every time was like nails on a chalkboard because everyone always calls it Port Jeff. I just couldn’t go through with it 😂

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  6. I don’t DNF often, mainly because I think I choose wisely and know what I like. But I do DNF. And I have had to DNF an ARC once. I would’ve DNF a couple more ARCs early into my NG journey, but I was still a newb and wanted to complete & submit full reviews to increase my review %.

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    • Yeah, I completely get that. I think one of the first ARCs I got approved for on NG was just so offensive I had to DNF it! But as for now, I’m nearly 40% of the way into an ARC and it’s gotta get DNF’d, because it’s that bad.

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  7. I DNF without shame LOL. Not without an internal struggle first, usually, because I don’t want to DNF, but I often feel so much better when I do. I will also drop ARCs no problem, and I still review them just without a star rating, and include why I didn’t finish and who I think the book IS for if not me.

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  8. I used to be someone that would never give up on a book. I’d push through and keep reading until the end. However, that changed recently when I DNF three books. One, I shelved for later. I want to read it, but it just wasn’t the right time then. The one was written horribly in my opinion. While the plot seemed interesting, it was a lot of telling and no showing AND a lot of info dumping. If that makes sense? I felt the last one, besides some steamy scenes, was boring and pointless. I was halfway through when I realized the main drama (what was mentioned on the back of the book) hadn’t even occurred yet.

    I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ll still try my hardest to finish a book, but if I’m halfway through, or over halfway, and I’m still not feeling it for one reason or another, I’m setting it aside and moving on.

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    • I completely understand! I was the same way, but when I realized that I was pushing through and not enjoying books, I started slowly DNFing. I’ve encountered books like the two that you’ve mentioned, and I’ve also set aside books that I started but it just wasn’t the right time, or I started reading it as an audiobook and figured I’d process it better as an ebook or printed book. And it’s still hard to DNF, but sometimes it has to be done.

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