I can’t remember the last time I DNFed (did not finish) a book. I keep seeing content on social media encouraging readers to DNF books they don’t like. While I agree with not forcing yourself to finish a book you’re not enjoying, it’s something I struggle to do myself.
If I’m still early on in the book and I’m not enjoying it, part of me wonders if the book will get better. When I read The Wedding People, for example, I didn’t really enjoy the book until toward the end. However, the end was enough to make me happy I read it (see my full thoughts on The Wedding People here). That part of me that wonders if the book will get better is usually enough to keep me reading.
By the time I’m far enough into a book that I’m confident it’s not going to get better, I’m usually so far into it that I tell myself I might as well finish it. It’s not a big time investment at that point. While I’m sometimes eager to move on to a book that I expect will be better, my mentality is that a couple more hours reading the book I’m currently reading isn’t enough to affect whether I’ll have time to read the other books I want to read.
I wish that I was someone who DNFed books more frequently, but that possibility that the book will improve nearly always keeps me from doing so.
Do you DNF books?
Leave a Reply