Monday, February 25, 2019

What Makes You DNF a Book?


A couple months ago, my brother-in-law texted me about a Reddit thread he came across that he thought I would enjoy - what are the deadly sins that will make you stop reading a book?  I DNF quite a bit, so of course I was interested!

The contributors noted a lot of things that often make me roll my eyes when I'm reading - terrible characters, plots based on a misunderstanding that could be easily cleared up, worrying about a love interest when there's some sort of tragic or dangerous situation going on, infodumps.  It inspired me to go back through some of my DNFs and explore what made me give up on certain books.

 

I hope I won't be controversial with these first two!  I know these books are so beloved by many, many other readers and bloggers.  I actually really liked the beginning of The Cruel Prince, when it started in the "real world," but as soon as it switched to the fantasy world, I just lost interest in the world-building.  I started reading This Savage Song, but felt like it was getting too angsty.  I think part of the problem with these two is that I haven't been in much of a mood for fantasy recently, so perhaps if I was in a different mindset, I might give them another chance.

 

For some reason, Renee Carlino and I just don't mix.  I love women's fiction, and I thought I would like her books because they seemed similar to Emily Giffin or Taylor Jenkins Reid, both favorites of mine.  I wasn't crazy about the first book I read by her, and then I got to Swear on This Life.  The writing wasn't great, the characters were so melodramatic, and the book-within-a-book felt very pedestrian, so I quit it.

 

Onto two nonfiction books that I DNFed - I though the premise of Overdressed was fascinating (basically how we treat clothing as a cheap disposable item), but the first chapter was very unfocused and kept switching topics randomly from one paragraph to the next.  I really like Whitney Cummings - I think she's hilarious - so I thought I would love her memoir.  I started listening to it on audio, and while I enjoyed her voice, the subject manner was a different story.  I thought I was going to get the typical celebrity memoir, but it was more about her forays into therapy, so it felt at times like I was listening to a psychology textbook.  Also, she went off on random tangents that made following her stories difficult.  I stopped listening about halfway through.


Do you DNF?  What was the most recent book you DNFed?  What will make you stop reading a book?  Should I give any of these books another chance?

36 comments:

  1. I DNF when pacing drives me nuts. That's the biggest thing for me when it comes to books. For audiobooks -- narrators make or break a book for me.

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    1. The only audio I've DNFed was the Whitney Cummings books, but there have been times when the narrator has distracted me almost to DNF!

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  2. I DNFed like 4 books last week. One just wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't bad or anything, but I was 53% through, and still, nothing. Another was too angsty. I am ok with a little bit of that, but my tolerance can be pretty low at times. I also get frustrated, when I think I am picking up a romance book, and it ends up being erotica. I don't mind sex in the story, but I want a story, which is why I read romance and not erotica.

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    1. Too much angst is a big thing for me. It just makes me roll my eyes!

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  3. Like Verushka, I think slow pacing is the number one thing that makes me DNF a book. If I'm spending more time looking to see how many pages are left than I am focused on the story itself, it's time to stop.

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  4. I definitely DNF books if I can't connect with them. I usually give it 50 pages or so. Life is too short to read books that we don't enjoy!

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  5. I quit books easily, too, if I’m just not clicking. I have so many books to choose from to read, I don’t want to waste time with something that doesn’t work, and I also know pretty well what I like. Wonderful share, Angela!

    Jennifer Tar Heel Reader

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    1. Thanks, Jennifer! I know, I always have such a big stack of books, so it's not like I'd have nothing to read if I DNF something!

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  6. I used to never DNF books, but then I discovered how many books there are out there to read! I do not want to waste my time on something bad when I know there are so many more to enjoy. I hate wordiness and too many characters that come out of nowhere. I almost DNF'ed a book yesterday after the first page because I had to read it twice since I had no comprehension what was going on.

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    1. I've DNFed many books within the first page or two! It's never a good sign for me if I can't understand from literally the first page what's going on.

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  7. I DNF a few books every year. The last ones I DNFed because I didn’t care about the characters, and NOTHING was happening.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Yeah, if nothing is going on, it makes me wonder what the point is.

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  8. If the writer's voice isn't a style I enjoy, I'll DNF unless the plot is REALLY compelling.

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    1. Oh, me too! I can usually tell right away if I'm going to enjoy the writing or not.

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  9. I used to slog through every book I started because I was so stubborn, but then I finally learned to let go and DNF. For me, I quit when I am not immersed in the story, if my mind is wandering, I am hating what I am reading or when I find myself skimming or not wanting to read because I am not enjoying the book, that is when I know it is time to let go.

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    1. Yeah, skimming is a big thing for me, because if I'm skimming, I might as well DNF. I'm not really reading it anyway.

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  10. I think I DNF mostly when a book is just going to slow. When I keep looking at the page numbers or the % mark on a Kindle, it's a very bad sign. Bad writing or overly sweet characters are other things that will make me quit.

    I completely agree with you on nonfiction that doesn't stay on topic. The Library Book felt that way to me and I DNF'd it even though so many others loved it.

    Fun post!

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    1. Thanks, Susie! Bad writing is a huge one for me. I dislike characters that are too perfect, as well. I haven't read The Library Book, but now that makes me wonder!

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  11. Interesting to learn why others DNF! I don't DNF often, but when I do, it's because the book has the kind of issues that are bothering me so much it's actually aggravating me, or I'm just so bored that I can't stand to slog through the whole thing. And the issues have to be the kinds of things I feel 99% certain are not going to change. Sometimes something strange or annoying will end up getting explained, or the book will get better. But if the writing itself is bad, for example, that's probably not gonna change. Or like your example, characters being melodramatic is probably unlikely to change. But I don't have any set specific reasons that make me DNF.

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    1. I totally agree about the writing, that's not really something that can change as the book goes on. It is what it is!

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  12. I don't DNF a lot, but it does happen. For me it actually is more of a "feel", I think? Like if the book just doesn't appeal to me or I'm not clicking with the writing style- stuff like that? A lot of times I'll start a book and pretty early on I'm like- this is not my thing. It's actually pretty rare for me to get far along and then stop. I usually know early on if I don't like a book.

    I will say that lack of communication, or like when misunderstandings happen and are not resolved because so-and-so decides not to talk about it for some dumb reason- that irks me. :)

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    1. I totally agree with you, Greg. Sometimes I can point out specifically what made me stop reading (usually the writing) but yeah, a lot of times I just have a gut feeling that I'm not going to like it. I usually DNF within the first 25 pages or so, usually within the first 5-10.

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  13. I also feel I'm in the minority when it comes to The Cruel Prince. It just feel flat for me :(

    I have this "rule" that I can't DNF a book ;) It's silly, I know, but I just can't make myself do it. I hate leaving something unfinished!

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    1. Haha, I can understand that! I know a lot of people feel that way. If you're a quick reader, it probably doesn't matter that much!

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  14. I teetered on the edge of DNF-ing This Savage Song a few times, and I honestly htink I should have because I remember almost nothing about it and have no feelings of fondness towards it. I usually DNF if I just can't bring myself to get into the world/characters/etc. and it's becoming a chore to read the book. I can usually start to tell when I have no interest in a book if I want to start skimming most of it, haha. I also have DNF'd because of writing style before, as sometimes the voice of the narrator or just the style of storytelling is hard to get into. Bad dialogue can also sometimes ruin it for me. I most recently DNF'd Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson because I found it incredibly dry and far-fetched, I just didn't care about anything happening.

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    1. Yes, the writing style is a big one for me. Bad dialogue is a huge pet peeve of mine, I remember DNFing a book last summer because of that. It was so stilted and I remember thinking, did the author truly think this is how people sound when they talk?? And yeah, if I find myself rolling my eyes at the characters or the world, that's a big one, too.

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  15. well, I just DNFed two this week: A historical mystery (see here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2719094802) and an upcoming book I won: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39863448-in-the-blink-of-an-eye?ac=1&from_search=true
    It's got a lot of great ratings. But the beginnings were so confusing that I felt it was not for me. If you want my ARC copy, in brand new shape, we can swap with one of your books - do you have a list of books to give away somewhere?

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    1. I don't right now, but I will keep that in mind, Emma! I totally agree, I have to be invested from the start. If a book is confusing or bland at the beginning, that doesn't bode well for me.

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  16. I have a really hard time DNFing a book! I've found it's easier with the books I'm reading with my husband though. We're reading out loud, so the time cost is greater to finishing a book and getting a second opinion that something is worth giving up on helps too :)

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    1. That's a good way of looking at it! Sometimes when I DNF, I'm like, hmm, maybe I should have given that more of a chance... Perhaps if I had someone else's opinion, it would be even easier!

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  17. This is such a great discussion topic! I have MANY things that makes me DNF :) One is definitely poor writing and organization.

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    1. Thanks, Erica! Yeah, poor writing is a killer!

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  18. I have NOT- DNF a book before. In fact I have made it my life mission to not do this. I have flipped ahead and tried to get the boring, omg we are going over that again, pages tho. I really do try to read to the very end of the book. I just have to find out the dumb ending. =)

    Mary

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    1. Sometimes I will just read the ending or look at some spoiler-filled reviews, just so I know how it ends!

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!