Dealing with DNF: The Practice of Did Not Finish

We have all come across a book we were excited to read and have finally found the time to start but it is not gripping us the way we would like. Maybe it is the timing of the book or the content. Whatever is going on, we are either avoiding the book or avoiding reading altogether. Most recently while exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) in fiction, I was reading The Archive Undying, set in an amazing futuristic world with AI gods. In my attempt to study and understand it, I stopped at 40% and put it back on my shelf. That got me thinking about the reasons I Did Not Finish (DNF) a book in the past. This article is an exploration of DNFs, why readers in the community do it and how we can get through reading a book that we feel stuck with.

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When I DNF

In recent years, I have been practicing putting the books on the DNF pile. Since Oct 2021, I have moved 20+ books to this pile. On the other hand, I have read over 230 books in that time. Ultimately, I have found that one of two factors contribute to a DNF:

• The timing of when I have picked up the book. This may be related to what is going on in my life (Christmas is notorious for reading), the kind of mood I am in, or the way I want to read the book vs the time I am able to put into it.
• The book itself is unable to draw me in. Maybe the writing isn’t resonating with me or the plot isn’t moving at the pace that I would like. Maybe one of the characters is too irritating to read about.

I do not take a DNF lightly, especially with review copies. I like putting words to my thoughts and feelings and that means I have to understand why I am struggling with a book. Do others feel the same way? Do they DNF books or read to the end? TBR Tales gave me the excuse to find out.

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The DNF Experience

I was curious about the DNF experience for readers and learned a lot from my bookstagram community and those who I was personally able to chat with. I was fascinated and humbled by the experiences people shared (check out my post on Instagram for the online public conversations). There is a sense of guilt when we leave a book unfinished. The struggle is ever present – whether readers DNF or not, whether they want to do more of it or less, a DNF leaves a lingering sense of guilt, doubt and emotions. 

Talking to readers one on one was a great way to learn intimately about DNFs. Avid SFF reader Allison shared a perfect example of struggle with a story when the genre isn’t one we normally read or gravitate to. I was reminded that after the success of our Horror A Month challenge, Ariel and I had decided to try our least read genre, romance. The Romance Throughout the Year  challenge lasted 3 months out of 12. While I could attribute its fizzling out to the year of my wedding, neither of us were truly interested in the stories enough to keep picking up more, even though we had a wide range of prompts. 

In this post, I want to highlight what I learned from the community as well as what I have found in my reading journey so far. We all pursue our hobbies in the only ways we know how and I believe we can learn from each other’s experiences but to do that, we need to be able to share what we do. I hope this is a good starting point.

The Fear

One of the fears I had when I did my first DNF is hard to describe. It was a ball of anxiety, an impending doom that would change me forever. I was worried that if I DNF one book, I will give myself the free reign to DNF whatever comes my way. Will I become fickle that I won’t give a good book a chance? Will I just start DNFing and not read at all? That’s how the mind of an overthinker works. Thankfully, there was learning from this fear and no doom.

I started to pay attention to my reading and found that about 10% into a book, if it hasn’t hooked me yet, it is ok to put it down. From my fellow readers who DNF, I have heard similar strategies: 100 pages (Jillian), a couple chapters (SK). 

It is amazing what we do to keep pursuing what we love. The unknown is terrifying and our fears can get the better of us if we let them. The key is to create a path for ourselves to help us out, no matter which book it is. Use what is common in reading – number of pages, hours spent on a book, percentage completed – to your advantage. Know your go-to way of making a decision but also have a few others handy in case you need them. I have a list of questions I ask myself when I feel stuck and I am excited to share that with you. But first, we need to talk about the guilt of a DNF.

The Guilt

Do I feel guilty when I DNF a book? I used to. One of the most frustrating books that I ever read, and one of the first books I DNFed, was a fantasy novel called Catalyst. I read 80% and couldn’t go any further. The idea of a religious/world conference with a chosen few religious leaders to represent the world was too ridiculous for me. Catalyst was the first time I did not feel guilty about putting down a book.

I find the guilt is harder with review copies that I have received from authors because I have made a personal connection with the creator. But regardless of where I got the book from, if there is something about the story that does not meet my needs or causes friction with me, I am getting better at putting the book away. 

In talking with the reading community, I realized that popular books that lots of people have raved about are hard to DNF for some readers. When we don’t understand the reason a book is so well received, we can feel like we are missing out. Hedda at heddas.bookgems shared that when she is already half way through the book, giving up feels like time wasted. 

These are all forms of guilt. Not doing enough. Not trying hard enough. Falling short of our expectations to finish every book. Are these expectations reasonable? That’s a question only you can answer for yourself.

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Giving the Potential DNF one last push

When we aren’t reading enough, whether it is the book or where we are in life, it can feel like we are not making time for ourselves. Suddenly, there is stress in our hobbies. Over time, I have learned to tune into my emotions and find the cause of my negative feelings. If the time I spent reading makes me frustrated, how can I make my experience better? Thoughts like “I will never finish this book” or “This book is taking forever” haunt me. A deeper reflection is needed if I want to get out of this cycle. Here are four simple questions I ask myself, answering as specifically or as broadly as needed.

1. Is it the timing of reading this book or is it the book itself? Is there something about this book or where I am in life that is hindering my reading?
2. Will a different environment/format serve me better at this time? I find a change of scenery can do a lot to get over a reading slump or potential DNF. The idea is to make progress in new ways. Try reading your book in a completely different environment. Switch to an audio/ebook rather than the physical copy. Take advantage of the next time you are driving for over an hour. I can get a lot of reading done on my phone in a car and I know friends who love audiobooks while travelling. With my Inheritance cycle reread, it was impossible to carry around the 850-pager everywhere so I downloaded the ebook and was content to read a few pages any chance I got.
3. Have I been giving this book a fair shot? Have I tried my best to enjoy this book but am just been unable to? If this was a half-hearted commitment read to begin with (happens as a reviewer), there is a chance my attitude is the problem and this book may be just fine if I wasn’t in a cycle of self-made stress. To me, that’s not a fair shot.
4. Do I want to try this book at another time? Maybe this is just not the right time. For example, you will never see me reading winter themed books over the summer because I know from experience that I enjoy winter books more on cold days. Sometimes, I will slot the book for the coming months, sometimes, I just leave it unscheduled. It goes back on my TBR without a timeline.

If a book is engaging, I don’t even think of these questions. Once I realize that I am feeling down or mad in my reading, I know I need to do something different. These questions have helped me find my next course of action many times. Once I know what I am doing, I can move on. Here are two examples:

As you will notice, I don’t elaborate on every question. Hard yes and nos are my favourite ways to make up my mind.

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The DNFs to return to

There are some unfinished books that follow me around. I have looked lovingly an uncountable number of times at my copy of House of Leaves, bookmarked at about page 80, last read in March 2021. Returning to a book has its challenges. “I already tried this book. Will it be better this time?” I don’t have experience with second chances with books yet. 

So far, I haven’t been able to pick up a book I DNFed and completed it. I have, however, been able to finish non-fiction books I started long ago. Feeling Seen is an amazing book that I left unfinished for months. I found myself unable to read a particular chapter that addressed discrimination and racism. I wasn’t in the space to read it. So, I finally decided to skip it and continued with the rest of the book as an audiobook, highlighting my physical copy as I listened. You know my favourite way to listen by now. 😉

It’s been over a year since I last read Surviving Storms. I have less than 20% of the book to go but I don’t see myself reaching for it in the near future. There are some stranglers like this throughout my home.

Kirsten and Kayleigh are the mother-daughter duo behind foldingthepage. They told me about the Not Right Now (NRN), a practice that they had been doing long before they came across the term but seeing it, was seeing their practice recognized. RNR is different from DNF because these are books to return to when in the right headspace. I like the idea of closing an unfinished book with an intention. I have mentioned a mix of DNFs and NRNs in this post. NRN is a great way to easily track what you want to make time for again. 

I was curious if anyone had returned to their RNRs. Thankfully, SK has picked up books that she once left unfinished, and this gives me hope for the ones I want to return to like The Archive Undying and For The Wolf. Her most recent was The Forgotten Lyric. I asked her if she started reading where she left off or from the very beginning. “I do usually start over because typically if I bounce off the prose/mood, it happens in the first few pages.” I love the insights that readers have about themselves. 

The decision to DNF isn’t one I have to hold myself to forever. It is about the moment in time when I am struggling with a book. I am allowed to return to a book I thought I would like. Afterall, I am constantly evolving as a reader. What happens to me also influences what I read. I never imagined rereading books that I read ten years ago. Who knows if one of my DNFs will become a favorite worth returning to in twenty years?

I encourage you to give yourself the flexibility to return to books you did not finish. If you know you will love it, when the time seems right, give it another try.

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To share or not to share?

The online book community is full of glowing reviews. You can always find someone who adores a book. But critical reviews and DNF reviews have their own place too. I don’t see many of them but when I do, especially for a book I struggled with myself, I feel seen in a completely different way. DNF reviews are great to identify what didn’t work in a book and in my experience, people are generally good with the subjectivity and personal aspects of the reading experience. 

It is hard to share a DNF, maybe harder than a negative review because of the unfinished element. If I didn’t complete a book, can I truly assess it? Maybe it was important to wait till the twist on the last page to make it a stellar read but I just never made it that far. Maybe those in my community who have read it will tell me so. 

I love the exhilaration of finishing a review and DNF reviews are particularly liberating to write. They tell me about myself as well as the book, in more ways that positive reviews ever do. Through them, I share a more vulnerable part of me and hope that someone who needs it will find it. If you are uncomfortable sharing a DNF publicly, you don’t have to. What matters more than sharing online is reading. However, I encourage you to talk to someone about the book. You will find, as I have, your bookish friends will support you in your decision. They will show you the kindness that maybe you are struggling to show yourself.

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Final Reflections and Invitations

I read to write about the stories I experience. My reading ends at a review. A DNF with a review is a success. It’s still a book, read. It’s still a book given a fair chance to engage me. That is all a book can ask of me and all I can provide to a creative piece.

As a reader, my hope is to make time for everything on my TBR, even those books I don’t even know about yet. I want books to delight me, challenge and immerse me. I will only be able to read a finite number of books in my lifetime. Based on how many books I read on average in a year, I can find that terrible number, I am just not going to. As Molly Templeton says in You Don’t Have to Finish Every Book You Start, “Some things should be a mystery.” I trust my reasons to put down a book for the time being or forever.

You can too. 

My hope for all of us is that we find books that we love and make time for what excites us rather than what pulls us down. I hope this article offers some insights. I would love to know if you would adopt any of the strategies I mentioned and which ones were already yours.

What’s the last book you DNFed or considered DNFing? Tell me your DNF experiences! One final thought from Molly as we end this reflection:

No book is for every reader. The only “should” in reading is that we should read widely, diversely, enthusiastically.

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