Friday, March 21, 2014

Did Not Finish (DNF)

I really do not like not finishing a book. It makes me feel like crap despite knowing that I don't want to waste my time on a bad book. I question myself about why I didn't finish the book. I wonder if I just didn't understand the book. It gets even worse when I appear to be the only one in the blogosphere that didn't enjoy a book. It feels like "Okay, what am I missing?" "What's wrong with me?" but in actuality, it's okay to not like a book. Not everyone is going to absolutely adore every single book.

There are many reasons that I choose to DNF a book but they basically come down to character development (no I don't have to love the character but I have to see some sort of effort in developing them) and writing style. There have been several books in which I hated the writing style but the characters were intriguing enough for me to keep going. There have been other books were the writing was beautiful and despite having flat characters, I finished the book.

Pacing is another big one. It's not a huge deal for me, but it's definitely a factor and if I am having a hard time trying to decide if I want to finish the book, pacing will come into play. Is it fast paced and trying to lure me in or is it slow paced and not really caring if I get drawn in?

Recently, I've DNF'ed 2 books. Both hyped (possibly overhyped) and at least one of them, I was the true black sheep for. It's disappointing but I definitely don't want to waste my time reading books that are just not working for me for whatever reason. I'd rather focus on books that I loved. I find that it is a much better use of my time.

So have you DNF'ed a book yet in 2014?

2 comments:

  1. I've not finished several, because I didn't like the content, the plot was dull, or I just couldn't get into it.

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  2. I agree completely! DNF'ing books is hard for me, but I find wanting to do it more and more often recently, especially because I want to read books and get reviews for them. If I don't think I'm going to finish a book any time soon, I don't want to be wasting my time trying to read it. I think for me one aspect of the novel really needs to outweigh its "crappiness," to put it bluntly.

    I hope that makes sense! I've DNF'ed The Tyrant's Daughter, Pathfinder, and Blood Orange Soda. :(

    Great post!

    Tori @ YA Book Queens

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