Why I Would DNF A Book.

Published on by Amena @ Nerd In New York

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I am not one of  those people who finish every book, they read.

I wish I was, but I’m simply not. And I kind of envy those who do.  I rarely DNF a book, but today I’m going to talk about why I DNF books.

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  • Slow start – I hate it when books take forever to drag on. I’m usually a jump-to-action type of girl, and when a book doesn’t intrest me from the start, I’m prone to DNF-ing. I usually want something interesting happening around the 30 page mark or so. Sometimes, I do still read on, but if nothing interesting happens by page 70, I’m out.
  • Dense Writing – Have you ever read a book, that has a writing style that is just so dense, you don’t feel like reading it at all? I have,  many times. And it’s soo boring. Most of these books are classics, and one of the many reasons why I won’t read one.
  • Bad Characters – Characters are important to a novel (obviously), so if I don’t like a character why should I even read it?
  • Stereotypes – I am tired of seeing common stereotypes in the YA universe. These include (but definitely not limited too): The popular mean girl clique, the chosen one trope, or the bad-boy-but-golden-heart trope (I totally made up these names)  
  • Horrible Hero – In some books there are some male characters that act REALLY HORRIBLE, but most readers pass that off as ‘attractive’. That thing strikes me as really stupid, because no one should pass that type of behavior as ‘attractive’. Examples: Jace Herondale

Should I Feel Guilty?

Nope. Not at all. As a reader, I have a right to choose what I want to review, or read (unless it’s an ARC, but I don’t get too many of those). DNF’ing books is just a thing I do. I don’t encourage it, but if you really have to, you should. No reader/blogger should ever feel pressured to read something they don’t want.

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Soo that’s most of my DNF list! What makes you DNF a book? What are some books that you DNF’ed, because of  a certain reason? Do you disagree/agree with my list? Would you add more?

34 thoughts on “Why I Would DNF A Book.”

  1. Agh, yes, slow starts are the WORST! I just feel like it drags on forever and ever(ly) and it’s soooo annoying. And gosh, if a book has bad/poorly developed characters… I just can’t. Like characters are the most important parts of a novel and if it’s bad… *runs away*

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  3. I KNOW RIGHT. That’s why I usually read books that I REALLY want to read? If I hardly want to read it, my experience is that I just… don’t read it. Once I borrowed like 20 books from the library and read um… five of them?
    Anyways, I’m super picky, I think?? I HAVE SO MANY ARCS TO READ BUT THE BEGINNINGS ARE SUPER SLOW AND I JUST DO NOT WANT TO READ THEM?? *coughs* Blood Rose Rebellion

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  4. I usually give a book 50-100 pages (or 25% on ebooks), depending on the length to hook me. If I don’t feel somewhat connected to the characters or invested in the story, I’ll DNF it. But stereotypes are the worst for me, especially where the characters are ONLY the stereotype.

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  5. I agree with slow start, dense writing, and stereotypes. Also if I have to keep re reading to understand or there is too much going on that I can’t keep up

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  6. I agree! If a book doesn’t capture some of my attention by the 100 page mark, I will usually DNF it. I don’t have all the time in the world to read books that I really don’t like, I read for pleasure, I don’t want to make it a chore for myself!

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  7. I agree with every single reason. When I review a book or beta reader, I want to read the first chapter before I make a commitment. I know that if I can’t get through the first five hundred words, there’s no way I’ll be able to make it through seventy thousand words. For me, the biggest turn off in a book is dense narration that doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Especially when reviewing indie book, that tells me they didn’t get it professionally edited or skipped the beta reader test.

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  10. I’m more concerned with whether the writing style keeps me interested. I’ll read almost anything if I like the author’s voice and I’ll put up with poor characters and a story that is slow provided the writing itself is entertaining me. However, if the writing is dull or uninspired I’m probably not making it through the first three chapters.

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  11. I read classics sometimes so have some patience with the writing in them but with modern novels I prefer a quick and easy read. I’m getting more confident in DNFing arcs but it doesn’t happen too often thankfully. I do wonder though if it’s worth writing a review or at least mentioning it on a blog if book couldn’t be finished. :/ Great topic to talk about 🙂

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  12. Cliché / poorly developed characters are definitely a no-go for me. If I don’t care for the characters or I get really irritated by their actions, I don’t care what happens to them and I don’t see the point of reading on.

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  13. I agree with most of these points!! My list is very similar. Basically, if a book doesn’t capture me in some way or gets super annoying and I’m still not feeling it after 50-75 pages, I’ll DNF it. I used to NEVER DNF books, but I’m getting better about doing it, because otherwise I’m just wasting time I could be spending reading books I’ll actually enjoy!! And if I regret it, I can always try a book on my DNF list again later.

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  15. I’m a big believer in not finishing books that you struggle with, I actually do it quite often and always wonder why so many readers try to persist with books that are boring / horrible / poorly written or just something they can’t get into. They typically take so much longer to finish and it makes you feel worse for wasting your time. For me, If it’s not grabbing me within 50 pages or 25%, I usually move onto something else. Like a few other comments have mentioned, you can always go back to it at a later date. I personally don’t bother reviewing them either. So many bloggers are time poor and life is too short to be reading books you’re not enjoying ❤

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  16. My most common reason for DNFing is definitely slow starts. Slow BORING starts. I have a lot of things to do, and I like for what I read to be fast paced, and if it isn’t, at least be slow because it’s making the anticipation grow, not because it just draaaaaaaaaags. There are a ton of books that are pretty slow paced throughout but I have had no problem finishing because the wait was worth it.

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  17. I don’t really like DNF-ing a book but some books are so frustrating to read especially stereotypes mix in with a bad writing. It gave me a headache so I’d just damn, a waste of my money

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  18. Slow starts are the worst but a lack of logical plot progression is another! If a character doesn’t have a clear motivation that grows out of previous actions I start to let me disbelief take hold.

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