This month I’ve DNFed two books in a row! So, when I stumbled across the DNF book tag on Fatma’s blog, The Book Place, a couple of days ago, I immediately decided to do it as soon as possible. It was originally created by Gunpowder, Fiction & Plot on YouTube and, as the name indicates, it is all about the reasoning behind deciding not to finish books.
- Do you DNF?
Yes! Not that many years ago, I would force myself to finish books I was not enjoying, but then I started asking myself ‘what is the point?’. There are so many books I want to read, it’s better to give up on books I’m not liking and to pick up another one that may become a favourite.
- If you do DNF, does it count for your finished books for the month?
That has never happened, because I tend to decide not to finish books relatively early on. In theory, I would only count them as read and rate them with 1 star if I had DNFed them almost near the end.
- Is there a difference between DNFing & just putting the book down for a little bit?
For me, yes. When I put a book down for a while, I still hope to pick it up again at some point. Although I was not in the mood for that particular book at that time, I believe that I may still enjoy it in the future. When I DNF a book, on the other hand, I don’t have any desire to ever finish it, since I’m almost certain I’ll not enjoy it.
- What popular books have you DNFed?
Off the top of my head, there are three books that I’ve DNFed that I think are popular and generally liked by other readers – War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.
- What are some books you wished you DNFed?
All the books that I ended up rating with 2 stars. I hoped that they would still positively surprise me, but they obviously didn’t.
- Have you ever re-attempted to read a DNF? And was this successful for you?
I don’t think I ever tried to do it. I’m usually a very confident DNFer!
- What do you do with DNFed books?
I keep them in a box under my bed until I manage to pass them on to other people who may enjoy them or wish to read them. Occasionally, I also donate them to my local library.
- Do you choose more or less risky titles based on your DNF policy?
The fact that I DNF doesn’t tend to have any influence in the books that I decide to read or not. But I’m starting to think that I should read a couple of pages before buying a book, especially when it is written by an author new to me, because one of the most frequent reasons why I decide not to finish books is not enjoying the writing style.
Do you DNF books? Are you interested in doing this tag? Tell me in the comments!
