That's right. I am physically, mentally and (probably) spiritually unable to DNF a book. No, seriously. My handicapped little brain won't let me. It's all due to this little thing called OCD. I've got it baaaaaaad. Okay, maybe not to a debilitating degree but just enough for it to be hassle. Just ask the hubster, he knows. Everything has its own place. My routine is very important. Cleanliness is next to godliness. That sort of stuff.
And with regard to my reading habits, my OCD manifests itself in a rather interesting form --- the complete inability to DNF books. Where most of you are able to set aside a book that just doesn't do it for you, I, otherwise, cannot. I don't know how you guys manage it but you have no idea how much I envy you for that right now.
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| Me = FAIL |
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| I may FAIL but you just got rickrolled! |
Ultimately, this book is not what I thought it was going to be, so perhaps I should chalk my dissatisfaction up to unrealistic expectations. We've all been there, right? Or maybe it's that I'm not in the right frame of mind/mood to read this type of book right now. That seems pretty valid too. Or maybe I'm just making excuses for a bad book. I dunno. I've never really struggled with this so much before.
Bottom line: As unhappy as I am, I just can't bring myself to let it go which makes me feel a bit like Kanye, all like...
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| BUT... |
If that weren't crazy enough, now I harbor the GUILT too! It's like, what if I'm missing out!? What if the book gets really reeeeeeally good? Lord knows, it's happened before. What if this book will enrich my life in some meaningful way?! That's happened too. It seriously could do all those things and I wouldn't have any clue because I jumped the DNF gun. How do you know when to stop? When are you absolutely certain that DNF'ing is the right choice? Why can't I trust my own gut?
Until the book is read all the way through, there is one thing I know for certain --- that it will be both amazing and shitty.
Much like Schrödinger's Cat.
So tell me --- Have you ever DNF'ed a dud? Do you ever struggle with DNF'ing? What makes or breaks a book for you? Any tips or tricks for a DNF virgin are always welcomed!
Ha, nice use of rickrolling. Lollllll.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really struggle with DNFs too. If I stop, how do I know if the book gets better halfway through? What if I find out later that that's the case and have to reread that freaking boring first part? Noooooooooo!
However, I'm trying, because my September pile is too tall for me to waste time in books that are heinously offensive to me.
Ha, I thought it was well-placed! And I'm even happier that someone got it!
ReplyDeleteI guess I always try hard to give an author/book the benefit of the doubt. I mean, I've had cases where for the first few chapters I HATED a particular book, but after pushing through, it actually became one of my favourites! I feel so guilty right now, but you're right, there are too many great books in the world. Why waste time with the bad/boring?
I HATE DNFing - I've only learnt how to in the last three or four months. However I am quite sneaky about it - I put it back on my to-read shelf and hope it will just get lost in the massive pile of stuff there so I will never accidentally stumble on it again.
ReplyDeleteStops me feeling bad and takes away the problem (from in front of my face anyway). I also have a DNF-may-try-again shelf on GR in case I forget - and then I don't feeeeel soooo baaaddd! ;)
Hmm... sneaky is a tactic I never really considered before. I like the way you think, Kat! I will probably go back and give this one a try again sometime in the future because the guilt of abandoning it is killing me. I want to like this book soooo much, but I just can't bring myself to finish it!
DeleteSince I started blogging, I've rarely DNF'd. This is in part because I feel an obligation to review ARC's I requested, whether good or bad, but also because I always hold out hope that there will be SOME redeeming quality. Recently, I almost DNF'd Shadows by Paula Weston at 75%, but I kept on, and I'm glad I did, because the ending was good. It wasn't a great book by any means, but it made me feel better about the initial 75% that dragged.
ReplyDeleteStephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia
I completely understand that. I feel like you can't really review a book, be it good or bad, until you've finished it. And like you, I've had those cases where bad books turned out to be really great! So yeah, it's a constant struggle, especially with this particular book because I've had my eye on it for quite some time.
DeleteThat's a great way to put it "spiritually unable to DNF a book". I hear ya sister! I feel obligated to finish a book until the bitter end. Ugh. Then I dislike reading it though. I don't want to pick it up and it slows my review pace down.
ReplyDeleteI hope the book-in-question gets better, over 600 pages is a long time!
I know! I think I'm going to set it aside for awhile and try to come back to it, hopefully when I'm in a better frame of mind. We'll see. But thanks for the input, Naida!
DeleteI used to hate DNFing too but I have embraced it because there are too many books I want to read and waaaay too little time.
ReplyDeleteI keep trying to remind myself of that fact with the hope that it'll make me feel better. I think I've settled for "I'll come back to it" at this point. We'll see...
DeleteI agree with others, you could always come back to it later if you feel the urge. It's really hard for me to DNF a book too because there have been a few times that I have loved a book after making myself push through to the end. That and I have some awesome OCD too. Great topic for a post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kay! I totally know how you feel and I think I'm going to shelf this one for awhile and see how it goes on round #2.
DeleteI am a pro DNFer. One thing you could do is put it aside with the intention of returning to the book. Just take a break, you can go back to it when you're more in the mood or you have a sudden desire to find out what happens.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think that's my plan. I have to learn to get better at this because there are TOO many great books out there for me to be wasting my time like this.
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