DNF
The option of DNF (Did Not Finish) was never one I used to take. I realise how overly dramatic that sounds, but when I was in my teens I rarely abandoned a book part way through, even some of the worse books I'd ever read. It's a strange feeling when I DNF a book, particularly ones that I was really excited to read. The completionist in me rises up in anger, I should finish the book, no matter what. Yet, all the unread books on my kindle/bookshelf cheer me on, in the hope, I'll finally get round to them. Sometimes we just have to abandon books we no longer enjoy, whether we are only 20 pages in or over halfway through. Recently I've only DNF'ed one book, which isn't much. I usually DNF around 3-5 each year and I thought I'd go over a few of them in this post.
The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova - DNF'ed in February 2019
I'll be talking about this book in my "Everything I read in February 2019" post in a few weeks, so I'll not say too much about this one. Roughly 20% in, I DNF'ed this book, and I don't know if I'll return to it one day. The pacing was a massive issue in this book, coupled with multiple viewpoints that sounded similar and made the pacing very choppy, it was hard to keep going with this book. I really wanted to love this book, having heard it compare to Labyrinth/The Da Vinci Code, both of which I really enjoyed so I was even more disappointed when I eventually gave up on this novel.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer - DNF'ed in April 2018
I wanted to love this one. It started off alright, it had a "cosy" feel to it, that I could snuggle down under a blanket as I read it. However, the book never really got going. It is told in an epistolary format, with letters being exchanged between the main character, Juliet. There is very little I remember about this book, so much of it was forgettable to me. I found this book dull, I wasn't interested in Juliet and I ended up giving in around 30% into the book.
Inferno, Dan Brown - DNF'ed in September 2017
Brown's Robert Langdon was very formulaic in how the plot's worked. There would a be a mysterious object/idea/ secret society that Langdon had to investigate, usually under some time restraint, with the help of a new female sidekick. After reading the first three books in the series, I knew what to expect with this one, yet unlike its predecessors, I wasn't able to finish it, DNF'ing around the 40% mark. I loved the first book, "Angels and Demons", and enjoyed "The DaVinci Code" but the series started to go downhill with "The Lost Symbol", the series became too repetitive. I haven't tried the latest in the series, "Origin", maybe I'll give it a go one day, hopefully, it'll be better than this one.
My experiences of DNF'ing have been pretty similar, I give up around a third of the way through as the book loses my interest. I still feel guilty sometimes for not finishing the books but if it is working for me, then why force myself to carry on reading if I don't enjoy what I'm reading. I read for enjoyment and to learn so if neither of those things is happening then it's much harder to convince myself I need to finish a book (unless I had to, back in my school/uni days).
The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova - DNF'ed in February 2019
I'll be talking about this book in my "Everything I read in February 2019" post in a few weeks, so I'll not say too much about this one. Roughly 20% in, I DNF'ed this book, and I don't know if I'll return to it one day. The pacing was a massive issue in this book, coupled with multiple viewpoints that sounded similar and made the pacing very choppy, it was hard to keep going with this book. I really wanted to love this book, having heard it compare to Labyrinth/The Da Vinci Code, both of which I really enjoyed so I was even more disappointed when I eventually gave up on this novel.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer - DNF'ed in April 2018
I wanted to love this one. It started off alright, it had a "cosy" feel to it, that I could snuggle down under a blanket as I read it. However, the book never really got going. It is told in an epistolary format, with letters being exchanged between the main character, Juliet. There is very little I remember about this book, so much of it was forgettable to me. I found this book dull, I wasn't interested in Juliet and I ended up giving in around 30% into the book.
Inferno, Dan Brown - DNF'ed in September 2017
Brown's Robert Langdon was very formulaic in how the plot's worked. There would a be a mysterious object/idea/ secret society that Langdon had to investigate, usually under some time restraint, with the help of a new female sidekick. After reading the first three books in the series, I knew what to expect with this one, yet unlike its predecessors, I wasn't able to finish it, DNF'ing around the 40% mark. I loved the first book, "Angels and Demons", and enjoyed "The DaVinci Code" but the series started to go downhill with "The Lost Symbol", the series became too repetitive. I haven't tried the latest in the series, "Origin", maybe I'll give it a go one day, hopefully, it'll be better than this one.
My experiences of DNF'ing have been pretty similar, I give up around a third of the way through as the book loses my interest. I still feel guilty sometimes for not finishing the books but if it is working for me, then why force myself to carry on reading if I don't enjoy what I'm reading. I read for enjoyment and to learn so if neither of those things is happening then it's much harder to convince myself I need to finish a book (unless I had to, back in my school/uni days).
Comments
Post a Comment