I’ve DNF’d many books! What are some petty reasons you’ve DNF’d a book? I’m becoming a more picky reader and I probably have more than 10 reasons!
10 Picky Reasons I’ve DNF’d a Book
Unfortunately, this is an easy list for me to make! Am I too picky?
“No Two People Read the Same Book!”
(in no particular order)
1.
Unhappy People Living Unhappy Lives.
2.
Unlikable Characters.
3.
Excessive profanity and/or extremely explicit open-door romance.
4.
Bored. Bored. Bored. (Slow-moving plot. Heavily character-driven with nothing happening.)
5.
Heavy Handed Author Agendas.
6.
Paranormal, Occult, Witchcraft, Psychic Content. Too Much Magical Realism. (I can tolerate a sprinkling)
7.
Misleading Synopsis. (Don’t tell me it’s laugh-out-loud funny if there’s a violent rape in the first few pages….you probably know which popular book I’m referencing!)
8.
Too Scary.
9.
Apathetic. (Not caring about one character or any situation or the outcome.)
10.
Emotionally Manipulative. (The author introduces relentless trauma until you ugly cry.)
Related (I guess I talk about this a lot!): Confessions From an Outlier, 10 Popular Books I Did Not Finish, My Love/Hate Relationship With DNF
I’m a frequent DNFer, so I’m sure there are more reasons. DNFing really does get easier with practice! QOTD: Do you DNF books?
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
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Definitely agree with 3 and 8!
🙌 Thanks for sharing!
I don’t DNF that many but all of your reasons are ones that I might have for not finishing something. I think that my main one might be boredom though and that’s mainly if I just don’t care about the characters.
That’s a big one for me!!! Thanks for sharing!
2,3,4 are my reasons.
It seems like DNFers have a lot in common today!
This could be my list Carol! 😂
Thanks for the solidarity! 🙌💯
Misleading synopses bother me, too!
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday.
So irritating!
Number 3 for sure!! Great list!
Thanks for commenting Erin!
Hopefully not too many unhappy people. A lot of fiction comes from people trying to find their way out of unhappy lives! My (short) list is here…
Yes…..I love the stories that have elements of hope, reconciliation, redemption, etc. Some stories are just too depressing!
If I’m reviewing the book, my main reason to DNF is content. But, if I’m just reading recreationally, I give myself a little more leeway to stop if I’m just not enjoying (if it’s boring me, for instance)
I’m an incorrigible mood reader and get bored easily!
I can relate to reasons 2, 4 and 7 and they also made my list today too!
Thanks for sharing! I’m hopping over to read yours now!
Yes I’m with you on all those especially misery memoirs which I always try to avoid. I don’t know which book you reference in number 7 but I’m glad I don’t as it would certainly upset me. Thanks Carol. A very interesting idea.
I’ve avoided some of those misery memoirs! The book in #7 is Lessons in Chemistry! I DNFed at 7%! Thanks for sharing!
If nothing is happening, I’ll eventually stop caring. Books need a little bit of action. 🙂
Yes, give some something!
I am getting better at DNFing books, but still not there yet. I often finish a book where I can’t connect with the characters because it is an ARC, but I do rate it lower. My mood is a big decider to me. These are all great reasons and I don’t think any of them are petty.
Yes, mood is a huge factor for me! I try to be so careful when selecting arcs….but I still get caught at times with one I’d rather DNF!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like excessive profanity or open door romance scenes. That and a misleading synopsis are turn offs for books although I still find myself DNF only very few books.
Thanks for the solidarity! It appears like DNFers have a great deal in common today!
I agree with heavy handed author agendas. I need authors to trust their readers to gain something from their books without being spoon-fed!
Yes! Let me do my own thinking please! Thanks for commenting!
I definitely agree with 1 and 3!
Thanks for the company!
#5 AMEN enough of these already!
Right?!
I will immediately put down a book if the author doesn’t follow basic punctuation. I’m thinking of Sally Rooney and William Landay not using quotation marks for dialogue. There is a reason for punctuation rules!
I hate this new trend! Puts more pressure on the reader for comprehension. For me it interferes with fluency as I have to reread to figure out where the dialogue is and it slows me down.
I’m learning to DNF books. All of your reasons are good, but 1/7/8/10 probably hit me the hardest.
I’m happy for some company!
Heavy handed authors with agendas a big one for me. I am finding out today that I am not alone in this.
Yes, we DNFers seem to have a great deal in common! Especially we want to think for ourselves!
I read a ton of mystery/thriller books and a lot of them fall into the category of #1. It’s depressing for sure, but I also just can’t seem to get enough! However, I can’t read too many of them in a row because it’s too much of a downer.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I often wonder how thriller readers manage it! I’m so susceptible to nightmares! 😱
These are great reasons for not finishing a book. Sadly, I still struggle with not finishing, and as I am usually reading for Book Club, or a Buddy Read, or a commitment to Netgalley, etc. etc, I keep on reading. My goal for 2024 is to bravely do a DNF when appropriate. Thank you for the encouragement.
😂 awww! Wishing you all the DNF courage! It’s a slippery slope though because it gets easier with practice! 😂 I know what you mean about commitments though.
I agree with so many of these! Extremely explicit open-door scenes are a big no for me — although unfortunately, sometimes they don’t appear in the story until it’s pretty far along, and by then, it can be too late for me to walk away (but I’ll be grumpy about it).
I wish books came with steam ratings!
[…] This is my recent blog post about my DNFs and underwhelming books in 2025.I’m getting better at knowing my reading tastes and passing on books/genres that I know won’t be to my taste. You might be shocked at the number of popular books I resisted this year because I’m better at knowing my reading tastes. This number does not take into account the books I abandoned after reading only a few paragraphs or pages and didn’t bother to record. I’m not reluctant to abandon books that aren’t working for me. There are too many great books waiting to be read to make myself finish something that isn’t right for me at the time. Related Posts: My Love/Hate Relationship With DNF. Confessions From an Outlier. 10 Petty Reasons I’ve DNF’d a Book. […]