Last year I noticed that my ALWAYS FINISH rule was really holding me back. If a book is boring me to tears, it takes twice as long for me to finish it. That just isn't ok anymore. For one thing, I'm supposed to be a reviewer now, so I need to get books read and reviews posted on a regular basis. For another, reading is supposed to be something I do for fun. If it feels like torture, something is wrong.
Now I've come up with an out-clause to my ALWAYS FINISH rule. I can stop if the book is really boring, or really stupid, or horribly offensive in some way. Usually it will be because of boredom, because I'm not that easily offended. This is a major concession to myself, but I'm hoping that it's made me a better, more efficient reader.
This gives rise to a new issue, which was the topic of this past week's poll--should I still write a review, even if I didn't finish? Even if I'm explicitly honest about how much of the book I read, it still feels a tad unfair to cast judgement on the whole book based on the slice that I read. More importantly, are DNF reviews actually helpful to potential readers? 60% of our voters said that they sometimes find DNF reviews helpful, and NO ONE said that they never find DNF reviews helpful. I guess the general message is: Yes, I should be writing DNF reviews.
What about you? Do you ALWAYS finish books, or do you let yourself give up if you want to? Do you write DNF reviews? I know we've all been bored by a book at some point! Share your experiences in the comments!
This week's poll question asks: Where do you get your books? Take a second to vote on the right side of your screen! Multiple answers are allowed!
And for those of you bored with your current read, have an adorable penguin video. Happy Reading, everyone!
I know what you mean. I would cheat if I have to but I don't like not finishing a book.
ReplyDeleteI don't force myself to read books I can't finish anymore. Way too much effort when there are so many other books to my taste. As you said, it's not necessarily that I hated a book, it could just be boring. I find DNF reviews quite helpful. I think writing a review all depends on how much of the book you read. If it's one or two chapters maybe not. But if you read half the book than a review about why you couldn't finish would be justified.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you say that. I'm definitely going to start writing DNF reviews, but I'll have to develop a different format from my usual reviews.
DeleteThis is kind of a tough one. I don't write DNF reviews and sometimes if I see people writing a negative review on goodreads for a DNF and they rate it, it just doesn't seem quite fair. BUT I do think people need to know. So if you give it an honest chance and you read far enough to feel it's an honest chance (like page 100 or even skim further into it) and then are upfront in the very beginning of your review then I think it's fine. I have the hardest time with the rating part though. On your blog it's fine, but if you review on goodreads and amazon, etc, then people may just glance at your rating. I don't know. I guess I have mixed opinions on the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI know that I don't have as much patience with books anymore. If I'm not into it then I set it down and if I never feel an urge to pick it up again then I figure it's not worth my time and I don't give it a second look. BUT if it's a review book I push myself to read to the halfway point. Even if I skim. If I'm still hating it then I just say forget it.
I think you've hit on the exact issue that makes me feel conflicted--it really isn't fair to rate a book that you haven't read in it's entirety. On my blog, I'll just stick with the DNF label and call it a day. But on goodreads or amazon, you have to rate them. I think I may just not bother with those in the case of DNFs. We'll see.
DeleteI was the exact same way! In the beginning, I used to make sure that I finished every book I read even if I absolutely hated it because I always felt terrible when I gave on a book without giving it a chance. But ever since I started blogging and responding to comments and reviewing in general, my patience is so much lower! Now if I'm not into a book within the first or two hundred pages, then I put it aside or return it until I have more time, or I just don't pick it up again at all.
ReplyDeleteAnd it makes me feel even more awful that my tastes have become so much more complex and hard to please, but I try my best not to guilt myself too much! Because not everyone can like every book, right? That's just the way the world works!
Awesome post!! :)
Blogging really has changed how I look at my reading habits. I'm just not willing to waste time anymore.
DeleteI *used* to be an 'always finish' person, but, well, I'm starting to believe that's life too short to waste on something you don't enjoy... and it's not just the time you spend reading the book, it's the time you spend after trying to write a balance review. And it takes me a LOT longer to write a review for a book I hated than one I loved. I've started breaking the 'always finish' rule. There's no point in making myself miserable. And at the end of the day, I'm OK with that. For every book I hate, there'll be someone who LOVES it.
ReplyDeleteDon't waste your time. I used to hate not finishing books, 'cos it was like letting it win, somehow. Now I think that if I keep on reading it, I'm letting it win. I'm giving it my time, energy, frustrations and fury. Let it go :)
It's true, some books just are not to my taste, and I need to accept that. And lets face it, there are some truly terrible books out there too. There's no sense torturing yourself.
DeleteI feel like I ALWAYS have to finish any book that I've started. It makes me feel horrible to put a book down, because what if I end up missing something awesome? Fortunately, I don't end up disliking a lot of books. Since I've started blogging, I don't think I've read a book that I wasn't able to finish, so I've never written a DNF review before. I think they are pretty helpful, though, because it at least gives people a general sense of how the book is. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously impressed that your able to stick to that! I guess I've just lost my patience these days!
DeleteLike you, I always used to finish books that I started. But then recently I have become a lot more lenient with this. My thinking is that there are so many great books out there that I want to read that I don't really have time to read the books that bore me. I always give a book a fair shot but if it isn't holding my interest then I will move onto the next book.
ReplyDeleteYeah, see that's the thing--there are five star books out there just waiting to be discovered. Some are probably sitting in my TBR pile, lonely and neglected. Why waste time on mediocrity?
DeleteMy personally policy is that I don't spend time on anything I consider to be a one-star or lower read. Like you say, there are so many amazing books out there - why waste time on the ones that aren't working for me?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm not comfortable with posting anything on the blog if I haven't finished a story, so I'll generally shove the book onto my DNF shelf at Goodreads and add a one-paragraph blurb about why I quit reading, and that's that. No rating.
Guess I feel if it's not worth my time reading it, it's not worth my time reviewing it, even partially?
That's a very healthy attitude toward the whole thing. Personally, I'm feeling that I DO want to include my DNF experiences on my blog, I'm just concerned with not getting them mixed up with my normal reviews.
DeleteNope, I definitely don't finish books that are boring me to tears. It's a too-many-books-too-little-time kind of thing. I simply refuse to waste my time on a book I'm not loving - no matter where it came from. As for reviewing books I don't finish, if it's a review book, I just contact the person who sent it to me and ask if they'd prefer for me to do a DNF post or no review at all. If I got the book from the library, I just return it and don't even mention it on the blog. HTH.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have found your blog!
I've been, for the most part, not mentioning DNFs up until now. The thing is, though, I kind of want to mention them. Let's say, for example, I get 50% of the way through a book and I get on here and say "This book is as boring as watching paint dry, I think I'm DNFing it." (A real post would, of course, be more detailed than this). I feel like that might generate a discussion. Other people who have read that book can share there experiences, and we'll all see some different opinions on the matter.
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