Hi all,
This week I’m going to talk about DNFing books and why I do it. A lot of readers do this with some books, some are never picked up again while others will be picked up in a few month’s time. It’s rare that once I DNF book, I pick it back up again
DNF means ‘did not finish’. A lot of readers will pick up books and end up not finishing them for a variety of reasons. My reasons for DNFing usually are:
Slow start - I like to be hooked in the couple of chapters, other wise I find myself getting bored too quickly.
Unlikable characters - If I don’t like the main character, then chances are I don’t finish reading the book. They don’t have to be perfect, but if they’re so unlikable that I can’t relate to them or feel sorry for them then I don’t continue reading.
Too much description - I’m not a fan of books that have pages and pages of description. If the first few chapters are just the characters getting their appearances explained in detail, then I put the book down and move on.
Uncomfortable events - I don’t like reading about sexual assault in books, so if the scenes get graphic the book immediately goes down and doesn’t get picked up again.
Spelling and grammar errors - I know that not all spelling errors can be caught through several rounds of editing, but some books are filled with them. It’s at this point that I’m taken out of the story and I’m not invested so I just put the book down.
Poorly written female characters - I’ve started so many books that fall into this category. The female characters are just there for the main characters to be gawked at and then saved by. They usually don’t have much of a personality and always get into danger.
I read a lot of books every year, so it’s inevitable that some get DNF’d. I know that some people have probably DNF’d my books as well, but it’s just a thing that happens. Not every book is for everyone and that’s okay. Even if I DNF book, I still rate it on Goodreads. Usually three stars, unless the book really irked me. I don’t think it’s fair to go lower because it isn’t the author’s fault that it wasn’t my cup of tea.
That’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week.
