I feel like I've seen a lot of conversation online about when people choose to DNF a book. Some people say they will absolutely never quit a book once they start it, I've seen other people say that they will quit a book if they are not immediately hooked on it by the first chapter, while other people have a certain amount of chapters or pages in a book that they will give it before they decide if they DNF the story or not. How long do you give a book before you decide to quit it if you're still not vibing with it and stop "waiting for it to get good"? How many pages/chapters do you usually give a book before you decide it's just not for you?
by thatvampiregirl
8 Comments
fifty pages
I will really give it a try, for at least a few chapters. Sometimes I’ll finish a book that I’m not a huge fan of, but it has to have enough redeeming qualities to keep me going.
Sometimes I just read a few pages and the prose and writing are so bad I dont carry on. Generally a few chapters. But I have no hesitation in not finishing a book if I dont like it. Life’s too short. Plenty of books out there.
Between 30-50% of the book.
I just put it down and keep kidding myself that I’ll come back to it.
I did actively DNF an audiobook once because I just couldn’t deal with the awful characters.
Honestly, it depends. My usual rule is to give it three chapters, and if I’m genuinely not enjoying any part of the book, I’ll quit. The key words here are ‘not enjoying *any part’* of the book – some books will just have slow starts, but I see no point in forcing myself to keep reading a book that I’m finding no enjoyment in reading.
That said, I’ve DNFed books after a few pages. Sometimes the writing style just isn’t for me, or the characters will be set up in a way that I know I won’t enjoy. And sometimes the prose is just god-awful from Page 1.
I don’t have a set rule. It depends on the book, why I chose it, what I’m hoping to get out of it, why I’m DNF’ing.
I picked up a Freida McFadden book in KU a couple of years ago and DNF’ed at 14%. With other books, I was halfway through before I decided I didn’t care to finish, for various reasons.
Too long. For some perverse reason I almost always finish a book, even if I’m hating it.
I’m really struggling to think of a book that I *didn’t* finish.
I’m only just having my first coffee of the day (am in the UK), so if I do think of one, I’ll reply again.