Hello, dear bookish friends,
I hope you are well rested and enjoying this amazing autumn morning. I have sent my three kids to spend some ‘quality fun time with grandma, and instead of cleaning as I was supposed, I am sitting here and sharing my ramblings with my bookish friends…
Lately, I am discovering that I honestly have a problem choosing what I to read because the selection of literary works is huge, with the daily publication of an extensive number of new literary works from a great number of well-known and new authors.
Before choosing what to read, I usually read other people’s reviews and check ratings, but I just frequently get disappointed with the selection. There are days when I really think that the selection is mainly focused on quantity, while the quality of the works is somehow getting worse and worse. There are also days when I simply can’t tear myself away from the pages of a book and forget about everything around me……
And also day when no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to force compel to continue to read the book….
But how to decide to DNF a book???? (For the uninitiated, “DNF” stands for “did not finish”.)
I don’t know about you, but I most certainly have issues with not finishing books I’ve started reading. When I start a book (based on an engaging suggestion or review) I feel like I would like it, but after a few pages, I find out that I am not really into it. Reading becomes frustrating, and feels more like a chore, and yet I continue reading and have a problem bringing myself to “DNF”. Somehow I think that if I don’t finish the book, then buying it was a complete waste of money, or that maybe at some further point in the book I will come across parts that will nail me to the pages, or a part that will fulfill my expectations, so I try to continue. Being a book reviewer furthermore complicates my dilemma.
But on occasion, there will be a book I run into that just fails to hold my attention, I re-read sentences I’ve read before and can’t go on. Sometimes the book is just too awful to force myself through. I do give them a good chance, I’d say I read at least a quarter of the book before deciding that I really can’t continue reading.
I don’t have any strict rules about how long I’ll give a book – if it holds my attention then I’ll keep going. If I’m actively disliking my reading, how do I get rid of the annoying feeling about bailing on a book as soon as my dislike reaches critical point?
Just for the record, I do not post reviews of books I haven’t finished. I try to respect the author’s time and skills invested in every book, so my reviews focus on the positive aspects that I liked.
But should you ‘DNF’ a book?
You should! Definitely! Don’t you agree that every moment spent continuing to slog through a book that you’re not enjoying is a moment you won’t be able to use reading a book you might love? Life is too short to waste time finishing books that cause emotional distress and no pleasure at all.
How about you? Do you DNF books?
Let me know in the comments….