The Big DNF

To “DNF” or not “DNF”—that (sometimes) is the question. For those of you who do not know what DNF means, it stands for “Did Not Finish.” This is the acronym given to books that we just could not get through for whatever reason, whether intentional or not. The reasons for DNF’ing a book vary. Maybe the book is too slow, or maybe the content is unappealing. Whatever the reason,how quickly do you DNF a book? Is there such a thing as DNF’ing a book too soon or too late?

As readers, we have had many different experiences reading books. We have books that capture our attention immediately and hold it the entire time. Conversely, there are books that catch our attention initially then start to just drag. It seems they don’t get to the point until damn near the end. Then, there are books that do not catch our attention and might make us cringe. In my experience, I know how I feel about a book from the first few pages. I am guilty of abandoning books after two or three pages. My pen sisters tell me I should give it a couple of chapters, because deciding not to finish too soon means possibly missing out on what could be a good story. Some people say read the first 50 pages before you determine whether you want to read it or not, and others who feel that time reading a book you don’t like is time wasted. I tend to be in the latter category. There are times I see readers comment that they couldn’t get into one of my books but they’ll try again. My response is always, don’t! Why drag through a book because others say it’s good? I don’t want people to slog through my work then review it poorly because it wasn’t for them.

There’s no hard and fast rule about how many pages we should read before DNF’ing a book. Exploring some reasons readers DNF a book might give us a better idea of when it’s time to move on.

There are a plethora of different topics that are discussed in books; just about nothing is off limits.  Remember the drama when that author tried writing a love story about a former member of the KK… well if you know, you know. This is an example of unappealing content to me and would constitute grounds for an immediate DNF as soon as that was mentioned. (Of course, this is a mistake that could easily be avoided by prioritizing reading black authors, cough cough.) IMO, one way to avoid unappealing content would be reading the synopsis. We know there are a lot of people who do not read synopses. Yes, I’m judging you!

Other cases that could constitute an immediate DNF would be encountering topics with which we are not comfortable or tropes we don’t like. Some readers will quickly DNF books that involve elements such as surprise pregnancies, hidden babies, ongoing cheating, kidnapping, and abuse of power despite the popularity of those tropes and plot points. I used to be a reader who would push through unappealing content because if I read to a certain point, I had to see how the story ended. However, many readers cannot force themselves to read things they do not like regardless of how many pages in or what percentage they are at.

A common complaint for DNF'ing a book is that the story is just “slow.” Many of us are familiar with the term slow burn, and if you are not it's exactly what it sounds like. The story is slow to heat up and for readers who want bumping and grinding from page one, having to wait until after 50 percent is not an option. Now, slow burn stories don't have to be slow. Often, they have other action or compelling plot elements. But successfully executing a slow burn takes a skilled author. Lack of spicy scenes isn't the only thing that makes some books slow. I'm sure readers could give a hundred reasons books drag for them. Sometimes, readers wonder how long does it take to get to the point! At the halfway mark, we want the story to have progressed to our satisfaction. Stories that are just coming together at this point can be frustrating.

Now let's talk about whether it is possible to DNF a book too late, like you are at 80 percent but just can’t take it anymore. Or even worse than that, you read a series and DNF the last book in the series. I am a reader who will read a book almost to the end then just stop. A common reason for DNF’ing late is because the book is just not going anywhere. You have been reading and hoping that maybe it's just a super slow story but then there is no climax or any character development, just a stagnant story. When it comes to DNF’ing a series a common reason for this can be due to the content being more or less the same. When I say this, I don’t mean that the books are literally repeating the same scenes but that a lot of the same types of things keep happening.

Whatever the reason, no one should ever feel bad for DNF’ing a book. The longer you are reading a book you are not enjoying the less time you have to find your new favorite book. The way authors are releasing books, our TBRs seem to be growing every single day. Dive into that list and find something you enjoy! We may never read all the books on our TBR, reading a book we are not feeling will not make reaching that unobtainable goal any easier. Reading is supposed to be our pleasurable escape. Why spend your reading time bored and unsatisfied?

Lastly, I do hope that you all were able to snag some goodies during The Black Love Reigns event. They had so many amazing books from some very talented authors. This online event was followed up by the Love Y’all Romance Book Fest in Atlanta, Georgia.  While I was not able to attend, from all the videos I saw on social media, it looked like a great event! I’d like to note one other event taking place this month. The San Antonio African American Book Festival takes place on February 24th in San Antonio, TX. I will provide the link below and as always…

Blissful Reading!

San Antonio African American Book Festival