Feature and Follow Friday – Aug 2, 2013

Feature for Aug 2, 2013 – How do you handle a book you don’t like? Do you DNF or do you power through?

  Rose:

I typically reshelf the book as TBR.  I have a hard time giving up on a book and I know that sometimes I might set a book aside due to disinterest only to come back later to it and finish or re read the book and really like it.  Books are funny like that. I do not have a DNF shelf.  If the books happens to be for a book club I am attending, and I am finding it hard to finish, then I search out the audio book and listen while I am working or driving or cleaning.  I find that usually this helps me “get through” a book I would otherwise have trouble completing.

  Julie:

I’ve only DNF a few books. I hate giving up, but sometimes you just have to. Sometimes you just don’t have the time to read a book you just can’t get interested in. I actually made an exclusive DNF shelf on Goodreads so I could move those from my currently reading list to their own place. I usually try to power through if something isn’t holding my attention at first. Usually, by the end of the book I’m glad I didn’t give up. But there have been a few that didn’t seem worth continuing.

Here are some reasons why I might consider DNF a book:

• The book was very long and I couldn’t imagine continuing with the level of boredom I felt at the time.
• I kept falling asleep reading the same sections over and over.
• I was reading them on a deadline (book club for example) and knew I wouldn’t finish in time, and didn’t care to keep reading later.
• I didn’t like the way the book was written.
• I didn’t care at all for the characters.
• There was no plot development or the plot was too hard to follow.

Some reasons why I would not DNF a book (but instead power through):

• I made it more than halfway through the book so I might as well finish.
• I will be able to finish on time for a book club meeting and I want to know what happened so I can keep up with the discussion.
• Others I know enjoyed the book so I want to find out why and keep hoping it will get better.
• I don’t want to DNF since it won’t count for my Goodreads annual goal and it would have been a waste of time to get this far.

I have not DNF any books so far in 2013.

The Feature and Follow Friday blog hop is hosted by Parajunkee & Alison Can Read.