We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is Ten Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish (Feel free to tell us why if you want, but if you do please be nice to the authors and don’t tag them when you mention your post on social media!)
So, the thing is, I don’t really “do not finish” books. This is something I’ve been actively working on trying to do more of instead of spending time reading books that I end up not liking at all. Why keep reading a book I don’t like when I can read something that will actually bring me joy and all, right? Most of it I think has to do with guilt but before I go off on somewhat of a tangent, this is something I talked about in this discussion post, if you want to know my thoughts!
On that note, let’s get to the books for this post! I’m sharing five books I DNF and five that I put down but might continue reading but I’m still not 100% sure about.
BOOKS I DNF
I had to dig way back for some of these because, as I said at the start, I don’t DNF a lot of books! I tried reading these earlier this year and gave them until about the 30-50% mark before I decided to put them down. I won’t go into too much detail but essentially, I didn’t vibe with the writing, characters or story and I felt either irritated or bored. Again, this is obviously just my opinion and I’m sorry if there are any favourites on here—they just weren’t for me! Not every book will be for everyone. 😉
TO DNF OR NOT TO DNF?
These are five that I started but I don’t think I was in the right mood for them so it didn’t take long to put them down again. None of these really grabbed me in the way I was hoping and while I think I might end up finishing them, we’ll see if that actually happens!
Do you DNF books often or is it something you’re working on (like me!)? Do you have general reasons to DNF a book? What is a book you most recently DNF?
dinipandareads 
I have not read, nor do I plan to read any of these, so I have no insight for you. I do believe in the DNF though. I read for pleasure, so there is no guilt if I abandon a book
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I need to believe more in the DNF cos you’re so right—we’re reading for pleasure! Not to torture ourselves 😂
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I’m in the same boat, Dini. I have very few DNF books, but am trying to put them aside if they don’t grab me. I haven’t read any of these, so can’t add anything, but if you do pick them up again, I hope they grab you.
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Baby steps and all, Carla! I’ve gotten much better at DNFing books if I already feel that they won’t work for me in more ways than one (like it’s a combination of writing style, characters I don’t connect with, etc.).
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Good for you for working on your DNF guilt. I DNF as often as needed and rarely feel guilt for it. Most of the books I read come from the library, so I think of it as releasing a book so someone else can enjoy it since it isn’t working for me. 🙂
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
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Thanks, Lydia! I think the fact that I have to buy all my books plays a factor in the guilt of DNFing. Honestly, it’s not just guilt but frustration cos I spent money on it. Sadly, no libraries for me! 😢 But I’m getting better at feeling less guilt at DNFing (certain books, lol). Thanks for stopping by!
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That KA Tucker series is the only one I haven’t read. Guessing I should skip it if you DNF’d.
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I completely understand why you DNFd The Alchemy of Moonlight. I was so disappointed by it. The first half was annoying and pointless, and the drama of the main love triangle felt super dumb since one of the love interests was a total prat. It did get better in the second half once the setting moved to the spooky castle, but it wasn’t good enough to make the first half worth it, in my opinion.
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Oh, *phew*—I’m glad to hear that DNFing was the right move for me. I was *not* feeling the insta romance vibes of that book! The way he was immediately obsessed with both boys for no reason and kept going on about their looks did not work for me! I’m bummed that it wasn’t better and that it didn’t get much better cos it looked/sounded so good!
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I don’t know if I wasn’t in the right mood for it but I’m not sure if I will return to it (or if I do when it’ll happen). I prefer her contemporary romances 🙂
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I’ve only been reading in earnest for the last few months and I’ve generally liked most of what I’ve read but I have put a few down for various reasons like you said.
I have yet to do a reread as a 30-something adult so take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt, but I read the original The Old Kingdom trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen—I stopped pleasure reading my junior/senior years of HS so I haven’t read any more) as an older teen. And I LOVED them. I’ve been meaning to try it again but I’ve just gotten busy or found other, new, adult books I’d like to read instead of something I’ve already read.
If I had to put my hat in for something to give another whirl, I’d say Sabriel.
Have a great week! 💚
My TTT: https://standingtreereads.wordpress.com/2023/07/25/top-ten-tuesday-%f0%9f%97%93%ef%b8%8f-july-25-2023/
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Honestly, Sabriel sounds like a book I’d love so I was surprised by how much it didn’t pull me in. As a mood reader, I feel like it was probably because I wasn’t in the right headspace for it. I know others who love it too so you’re not alone with that thought! I definitely hope to give that one another shot at some point 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great week as well!
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I’m like you when it comes to DNF’ing – I know it’s a good thing and I should do it more often, but I end up not doing it all that much. Mostly because I keep thinking I’ll get into a book after just a few more pages, a few more chapters, and then I’m too far so I might as well finish… But I need to work on DNF’ing more because there’s just not enough time to spend on books we’re not enjoying 🙂
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It’s nice to see how many others actually don’t DNF as often as I feel like people do (if that makes sense, lol)! I’ve improved a lot with DNFing over the past two years now but I still have to really reach a “breaking point” before I’ll do it if I don’t see/feel multiple issues with it from the beginning! But I do always feel like I might miss out on something if I put a book down early, lol.
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I’ve been trying to get better about DNFing too, but I still tend to power through. I think I’m always just scared of missing out on something, and I have a weird need to see things through.
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I totally get your need to see things through—it’s not weird at all! I think I’m quite the same a lot of the time and I feel like I have this obligation (to myself?) to finish a book once I pick it up cos it’d feel weird or incomplete if I don’t finish it. If that makes sense, haha.
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I’m with you…I don’t really DNF books, largley because I preview them before I commit. I went with a different theme this week that kind of grew off my thinking about DNFs and previews — “Top Ten Most REcent Books I Previewed in Kindle”. 🙂
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Oh, that’s definitely a smart way of doing it. I think most of the time I’m reeled in by the hype even though the hype also puts me off reading books immediately (so contrarian, lol)! But I think I should follow your route and take advantage of samples and previews. I think my bank account might be happy with that too since I have to buy all the books I read 😂
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I DNF books quite often, but it took me awhile not to feel guilty about it! Now, it doesn’t bother me a bit. I don’t have time for books I’m not enjoying when there are SO many others out there to try.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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I’m a work in progress with DNFing but I’ve made slow and steady steps to improving! 😂 I would definitely love to be spending more time reading books I enjoy especially with how many books I have on my TBR, lol. Thanks for stopping by!
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I struggled with Frozen Hearts and Death Magic too and decided not to continue the series.
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I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt this way cos it seemed like everyone else who read it loved it and I just couldn’t get through it. I know it’s supposed to be a story told in “telenovela” format (or something like that) which I thought wolud be interesting but the drama was not my vibe, lol. I love that cover though!
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Several of these are on my TBR, haha. I’m surprised you couldn’t get into SABRIEL…as you said, perhaps you weren’t in the right mood for it. It’s the only one I’ve read out of this list, but it’s one I would encourage you to try again when you’re in the mood for some lower-energy fantasy. The storytelling style reminds of me Philip Pullman’s THE GOLDEN COMPASS.
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For real, I’m surprised I couldn’t get into Sabriel too! 😂 It really sounds like a book I’d love so I definitely want to give it another try. My mood continues to be wonky though so I’m gonna have to wait for a better time, lol. I hope it works for me the next time I give it a try 🙂
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I finished Sabriel and K.A. Tucker’s book. Both were 3 star reads. Not super exciting books but I finished. I do want to continue with the K.A. Tucker series and see how book 2 goes.
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Interesting! I do have a feeling I’ll feel the same about Sabriel (maybe?) but I don’t know if Tucker’s book will work out for me. I’m glad you ended up enjoying it enough to continue with the second book. I think it’s out now too, right? I hope you enjoy it too 🙂
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Yeah it is. I just haven’t got to it yet lol.
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I’m definitely like you, I think I’m ever the optimist with books and keep hoping they’ll eventually get better if I push through (and sometimes they do!) and have the fear of missing out on something good if I put them down too early. I am working on getting better at putting down books I’m really not enjoying earlier, but it’s definitely a work in progress and I still rarely DNF.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/07/25/top-ten-tuesday-430/
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Yep, I think the FOMO is what really drives me to finish a book because I always think “But what if it gets better?” and “What if I miss out on the great thing about it?” …That usually doesn’t happen but like you said, I’m ever the optimist! 😂 I’m also getting better at putting books down but I’m hoping to keep getting better at doing it without being attacked by guilt! LOL 😂
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Yeah 90% of the time that really doesn’t happen, so I should stop convincing myself to keep continuing with books I’m really not enjoying on the very slim chance it does get better, but it’s definitely a work in progress!
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I’ve not read any of these but have been considering the K.A. Tucker series since I’ve enjoyed several of her other books.
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I also enjoyed Tucker’s contemporary romances but I couldn’t get into this one. Maybe it was my mood and I do plan to give it another go, so I hope I enjoy it more the next time around. I hope you enjoy it too, if you give it a try! 🙂
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Sabriel is a book that I also started and then put down. For me, I tried the audio version and did NOT vibe with the narrator, but I don’t know if I would like the book aside from that. I haven’t gone back to try it again yet, but I want to someday.
If you do try any of your “maybe” list again, I hope you like them better the second time around!
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Oh, glad I’m not the only one who put it down! I was kinda tempted to get the audio but I struggle enough with those most of the time so based on what you’ve said, I will definitely *not* be getting it 😂 Thanks for the heads up! I hope to get back to it someday too and I hope that we both enjoy it the next time we try reading it!
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LOL, you’re welcome! I do want to try it again, but as time passes it gets less likely since the book’s not top-of-mind anymore.
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DNFing is one of the hardest lessons to learn as a reader and blogger. On the bright side at least these all have gorgeous covers.
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I have to admit that some of them caught my eye thanks to the gorgeous covers, haha. Sadly, didn’t vibe with the inside of the books as much! 🫣
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Yeah, I don’t DNF often, either. Some of it is guilt, but mostly I just know what I like better now. I can be very picky. Haha! I haven’t read any of these, so I’m no help, but hopefully we can both learn to let go of that guilt! ❤
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[…] #TopTenTuesday: Most Recent-ish DNFs […]
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I think for me, in my mind DNF-ing seems too close to “quitting” something I started and I try not to “quit” things even if they’re not my favorite. But with books, that’s for enjoyment so I’d rather read the 10 books I would love and DNF the one I’m not. So yeah… it’s a process, but one I hope I’m getting batter at. 🙂
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Oh no, Sabriel! I read it several years ago but I loved that trilogy. I haven’t reread it, so I can’t say if it would hold up well… But I have a lot of love for those books. Hope you give it another try, Dini!
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