DNF books

Good morning bookworms!

After much internal debate with myself, I've decided to talk about DNFing books today. Why the debate, you say? After only about a month of blogging, I didn't think it was my place to write about this subject. Then I thought "when is the best time?" So, here I am.

DNF. What is that? It means Did Not Finish. I picked a book to read and, somewhere in there, I put it down and moved on. But why?

There are many reasons a reader would stop reading a book. Here are some of mine:

• Story is slow paced or is confusing - either nothing happens or too much is happening that I get lost.
• Unlikeable characters - when there isn't one character that I like or can relate too.
• My mood - I've chosen a fantasy book when I would have preferred a mystery, for example.
• My expectations - the book is a complete letdown compared to what I hoped for.

Sometimes, I put down a book that I'll pick back up later. In my reasons I chose English post, I talk specifically about Lord of the Rings. I tried it as a young teen but put it down quickly and I've only picked it back up many years later. In 2018, I started my Goodreads reading challenge with books I had put down a few years prior.

Sometimes, I put down a book never to pick it back up again. "Wicked Willow: The Darkening" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of them. This book trilogy is an alternate version of what happens in the season 6 finale. My expectations were good and I was happy to read this but, halfway through, I gave up. I was too confused by the events and felt it was too much out of character for Willow from what we saw on the show.

DNFed ARCs this year and felt ashamed for doing so. I mean, I requested them and I was approved. The publishers ask for honest reviews in return. I can't be more honest than this, I think. Also, there is no law that says you can't DNF those, is there?

Here are some of them:

Shadow Frost (Shadow Frost #1) - Coco Ma

ARC from NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing and this is a book that went through both putting down to read later and putting down for good. 25% into it I gave up. It started with a bang, basically acion packed and then nothing happened for a while and I kept expecting things to get better but it didn't. I don't really like when things like this happen. They give you an action packed beginning and then nothing to come back jammed packed towards the end.

Ricochet - Kathryn Berla

ARC from NetGalley and Flux Publishing. At 45%, I stopped reading. The premise of this is very interesting but I got confused as to which one I was reading pretty fast even if the chapter titles tell you where you're at. Maybe it's just a me thing. Maybe if I tried it again, if I paid more attention to it, I'd be able to get through it but I don't know. 

Reading Through the Night - Jane Tompkins

ARC from Netgalley Darcie Rowan PR and University of Virgina Press. I knew from the get go this was a different book to others. I related to the author's chronic illness though my own is different. My expectations were too high and my hopes for it were crushed pretty fast. What I thought would be the story of Tompkin's reading and what it was doing for her turned into something else entirely.

What about you, guys?

Did you DNF arcs? Books in general?

What are your thoughts about it?

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