My Musings for the Week...
And I’m back to blogging! I hope everyone had a lovely day yesterday. So, moving right along, this week my musings have to do with DNFing books. It’s a topic I haven’t really spoken much on before, so I thought I would do a post about it.
Usually, if I feel the need to DNF a book it’s because I’m not personally enjoying my reading experience. I give the books the first 100 pages, sometimes even a little more, to impress me enough to want to keep reading. But on some occasions I just give up and move on. It could be for a number of reasons—sometimes its the story itself despite the writing, which could be some of the best I've ever come across, it just depends.
I have no problem DNFing a book or sharing my reasons for doing so. Think of it this way. Why would I want to spend hours finishing something that I’m not enjoying? I have a bunch of books sitting on my shelf that are practically calling my name—I figure that it would be better to spend time reading what I enjoy rather than the other way around. I used to be the kind of reader that tried to finish every book I ever started, but by doing that—even trudging through books I didn’t like, from start to finish—I ended up in too many reading slumps.
The bottom line is that DNFing when necessary works for me, especially when I don’t have the enthusiasm to continue on with the book in question.
So, what are your thoughts on DNFing? Do you feel the need to finish every book you start?
If the book doesn't satisfy my reading needs, I would totally DNF it!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I feel, thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI'm willing to give most books 100 pages to get going -- and often times there is enough in there that I will keep going to the end even if it's not a book that I really love.
ReplyDeleteThis can lead to some frustration at times. I've plowed through a couple of books that never grabbed me simply to see how some threads played out. In a few cases, this has been in the first book of a series and I've never bothered to read any of the other installments.
I agree with you, sometimes I do read on until the end to see where it was even going. In fact, I did that recently with Landry Park by Bethany Hagen. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI agree. I don't DNF many books but some just do not call to me and why waste my time.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI agree completely about not finishing books that are not satisfying, for whatever reason. I usually give a book 100 pages, too, but sometimes 50 pages is enough to tell me we are not compatible!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing...and here is my BLUE MONDAYS MUSINGS POST
I agree, thanks for stopping by!
DeleteI have such a problem not finishing books! I was reading a book a few weeks ago and just couldn't get into it - didn't enjoy the writing, didn't like the character - and I kept telling myself to put it down. But I didn't, because I had bought it and it looked so interesting in the bookstore! Happy ending though - about halfway through it picked up, character got more likable and I ended up really enjoying it. So what am I supposed to do now?! Give up on a book when I now know there might be a chance?!
ReplyDeleteFor some people that method might work, but for most books I end up DNFing I'll skip ahead, maybe even check out the ending, and usually its still not something I end up being interested in. But if you enjoy the story past the halfway point, then that's a good thing. The first 100 page thing doesn't work for everyone. Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteI used to finish every book I read, but my time is so limited now I won't waste it on a book I don't enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThose are exactly my thoughts when the book isn't something that interests me. Thanks for stopping by!
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