I’ve DNFed a record number of books this year, giving up on them after a few chapters. Mostly they were e-books borrowed from the library. I’ve become more ruthless at abandoning books that I’m not enjoying, because why spend precious reading time on them? There are so many books and not enough time to read even a tiny fraction of those I’m interested in. Here are some recent DNFs:
The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams. I liked Our Stop but unfortunately her next book didn’t draw me in. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for a comedy romance.
Who Killed John Lennon? by Lesley-Ann Jones. I was very disappointed in this one, as her biography of Freddie Mercury was so good, but the writing style was so wordy and unreadable.
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. I thought this started off well but it got a little too gross for me and I wasn’t keen on the characters.
Final Cut by S J Watson. The latest novel from the author of Before I Go To Sleep and Second Life was an advance copy from NetGalley. I found the writing disappointing and not gripping at all.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I liked The Night Circus (although I found it too long). Sadly I couldn’t get into her next book, which I found hard going.
Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan. I so wanted to like this book but I found the strong language uncomfortable and couldn’t get into the verse format.
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. The only Murakami novels I’ve really liked so far are Norwegian Wood and Killing Commendatore. His style can be frustratingly dull sometimes.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley. The concept for this one sounded like such a page-turner but I found that it didn’t interest me, once I was reading. I suppose the wedding theme put me off.
The Babysitter by Phoebe Morgan. Having been impressed by The Girl Next Door, I mistakenly thought this one would be as gripping. I think I’m going off domestic thrillers too.
If you’ve read any of these, I hope you liked them more than I did. Particularly in these troubled times, when reading is an important escape, I want to be gripped and engaged by what I read.
I share your philosophy of my free time for reading being too precious to waste on anything I’m not enjoying. I’ve been abandoning a ton of books this year too! Hope you’ve been finding lots of good ones in between 🙂
I’m glad we are agreed on that. Yes I’m finding some good ones too (generally non fiction and classic fiction, fewer ‘new’ fiction books). I still feel a bit guilty for not finishing books though.
I’ve been DNF’ing books for years and did just recently when I realised I really wasn’t enjoying it. I read the last chapter just to find out how it ended and I’m glad I missed out the rest of it.
I don’t even read the last chapter! Of course I now have fewer books to review, as I never review books I didn’t finish…
No time for lackluster books! I love the idea from nickimags, above, to read the end. I’ve always clung onto the idea from childhood that that’s cheating, which is ridiculous. Will do that from now on for those I can’t make it through!
I think with some books, the ending might not make sense if you don’t know the story in between, but with others it will be clear. It’s not cheating, unless you were planning to read to the end anyhow.
Awwww so sorry you didn’t enjoy The Starless Sea 🙁 I also enjoyed Murakami’s Norwegian Wood. I have yet to read Commendatore and Kafka! Kafka has been sitting on my shelf for a very long time and it came highly recommended by a close friend. I don’t intend on reading The Guest List, as the reviews have been polarized and I don’t want to waste any precious reading time LOL Great list, NS! I love this post!
I read so many positive reviews of The Starless Sea, including yours, but it just wasn’t for me. I have no idea how the story turned out, as I read very little of it. I’m glad you liked Norwegian Wood, I read it because a friend recommended 🙂 Thanks, I’m pleased that you enjoyed the post.
Oh no! I have 3 of these on my TBR.
I’ve DNF’d far more than usual this year. Hard to explain why but I think because of everything that’s been going on I’ve been perhaps more impatient with reading maybe..?? I’ve needed a book to grab me really early on to want to keep reading it.
Ha ha, well I hope you will enjoy them more than I did 😀 I think you’re right that this year we’re more impatient with books. I’m not very patient anyway. It’s great when you can find a book that draws you in straight away and makes you forget about what’s in the news.
It’s a shame you had to DNF these books. I can certainly see why The Guest List would not be for everyone.
I know 🙁 but I made the right decision. If I start reading a thriller and realise I don’t care about solving the mystery, then it’s time to DNF!
I had the same reaction to The Guest List! I got only like four chapters in before I DNFed it. It just really wasn’t interesting to me.
I’m glad I’m not the only one 🙂 Also I’m not as into thrillers as I used to be.
I’m not either. Thrillers are really hit or miss for me.
It’s nice to see how easily you DNF nowadays at least! Some wish they could be as ruthless as you! 😀 Sorry to hear about Kafka though. I enjoyed my experience with that one, a bit less for Norwegian Woods though. I also feared that Erin Morgenstern’s last/second novel wouldn’t do it for me too. Thanks for sharing!
I should be proud of my quick DNFing skill rather than guilty 😀
I agree with you that it’s not worth reading books you are not enjoying although I always find it difficult to DNF books and I try to power through even if I’m not enjoying them. I completely understand why you may have found The Guest List difficult as it wasn’t particularly gripping. Shame to hear about The Starless Sea as The Night Circus was a pretty great book!
I’m more ruthless about it now! The exception would be if I agreed to a blog tour, then I would definitely finish the book but I’d have to skim read it. I didn’t love The Night Circus but it was certainly intriguing. I’m all for giving an author a second try.
Nothing wrong with DNFing books. I haven’t come across many that I don’t want to finish, probably as I’m far more picky about the books I want to read these days. Life is definitely too short for struggling through books we don’t like, what’s the point of reading something you are not enjoying. reading is, after all, an activity to enjoy 🙂
Agree with you! I wanted to mention those books, particularly the most popular ones, that I didn’t finish. It kind of demonstrates the influence that other bloggers have on me, because I see a book that other people are raving about and I want to try it 🙂