Three Reasonings Behind Why I DNF’d A Book.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s category: Petty Reasons You’ve DNF’d a Book (Or reduced its rating. You don’t even have to say what the book was if you don’t want to! DNF means “did not finish”.)

When I pick up a novel, whether it be an advanced copy or a purchased book, I pick it up with the full intent that I will be spending the next several hours or days reading this book. Sometimes, that doesn’t always work out in the end. This past year, I made it my mission to DNF books I’m not vibing with. I can’t really say I have petty reasons behind why I decide not to finish books such as Character name choices and/or I don’t like a certain setting. My reasonings are more structural. Here are a few reasons that have caused me to DNF a book this past year.

1. If I’m not liking a book by the first quarter, it’s time to move on.

This is my most important rule for DNFing novels. In the past I found myself spending days reading a book I couldn’t get into. So now, in order to make my reading life a tad bit more fulfilled I give each book 25% to draw me in. If I’m bored out of my mind, not liking the characters, or not feeling the chemistry between said characters, that’s an automatic DNF for me. Life is too short to read books your not vibing with, especially when their are thousands of books waiting on my already expansive tbr list.

2. Graphic Abuse Scenes in the first couple chapters.

The first couple chapters in a novel sets the whole scene for me. One thing I’m not a fan of is when an author writes an intensely graphic abuse scene, whether it be sexual abuse of any sorts, physical abuse of any sorts, or child abuse OF ANY SORTS. I will automatically dnf a novel. I don’t believe in the romanticizing of abuse, especially child abuse, and the deeper in detail an author goes, the further down my auto-buy list that author gets placed.  It’s amazing how a person’s viewpoint can change in five years. If you have asked me what my favorite book was five years ago, I would have told you Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us, and while I still think back to that book and stand by my rating and my review… I don’t think I will ever read it again…

3. Character Connection and Chemistry

The third and final reasoning I have DNF’d a past book is due to the chemistry between the characters being off. I tend to give myself 50% of a novel to feel out the complete chemistry between the love interests in a novel. If I’m not vibing with the characters by the halfway point there is a good chance I won’t be vibing with them during the last half of the novel.

And those are my top 3 reasonings behind why I have DNF’d books in the past.
Now I’m curious to know, what reason(s) caused you to DNF books in your past reading?

Peace Love and Happy Reading,