My mom uses boring books to help her fall asleep, so anything I DNF a book for being too slow, I give it to my mom, and she's always like, "That book you sent me is such a snooze-fest! Put me right to bed!"
I like your distinction between hard DNFs and soft ones! I started DNFing shortly after finishing 1984, which I absolutely loathed. I remember thinking "I could have read 5 other books I might've actually liked in the time it took for me to force myself to slog through this one" and I've been DNFing ever since! My reasons are pretty similar to yours, too: wrong timing, wrong mood, Not My Thing™, and just plain bad books. I have 1 additional category too: books I tried multiple times but never made it through. If I try a book twice and DNF both times, then it becomes a permanent DNF!
THANK YOU for sharing your honest thoughts on “Powerless!” As someone else who didn’t love it, it’s been so nice to see some of my fave booktubers (you, the book leo and newlynova among them!) talk about this book in recent weeks and point out things I had issues with that I feel like no one else has articulated. I think Lauren Roberts truly has great potential, seeing as how “Powerless” is her debut, but I’d love to see her write something that feels uniquely hers!
i read like... 10%? maybe? and all i remember is the main girl is too good of a fighter for a girl so everyone thinks she's a boy, because only boys are good at fighting!! and the main boy is just.. shirtless? always? to the point his dad scolds him for it? It was enough for me to stop :) Also the thank the plague/plague's sake thing was getting old even in the first few chapters.
Having a supremely awful day so seeing your friendly face is an immediate brightener. I have so much trouble DNFing because I get to the point of like, "I'm going to finish it for spite," lol. Have a great weekend, Cari! 🙂
i completely understand the spite :''') and maybe end the day by reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to finish off strong :(
I feel that. Docile by K. M. Szpara is one I finished out of spite because I wanted to have all my facts right in order to write a scathing review of it. It was bad writing and triggering and terrible worldbuilding all in one go lol
I DNFed a book yesterday, and today started a new book, which referred to the one I DNFed! I mean, both are partly set in Mexico City, but I still thought it was a wild coincidence.
Getting comfortable with DNFing is such a valuable skill for a reader! I struggle with it still, but i did dnf Faebound this year. i feel so validated that you dnfed it too cari, because every other channel i've seen either really enjoyed it or atleast thought it was okay!
there has only been ONE book that I didn’t regret not DNFing, which was Six of Crows. Honestly I’m so glad I pushed myself to finish it because I’m officially obsessed with it
I feel like that’s why putting a book down for a bit can be great! Like if it has a slow moment or you’re just not in the mood taking a bit of a break is awesome :)
I also dnf'd Only a Monster but will definitely return to it at a different time. I met Vanessa Len and bought the books directly from her and she is one of the SWEETEST nicest people I have ever met and i really want to keep supporting her career
I am so glad someone else feels like that about Powerless. I made myself finish it because I had DNF'd Shatter Me that month and was feeling like I was just giving up. This was a good video to help make it feel less bad to just put the book you aren't enjoying down.
I don't really dnf books anymore because i have a couple of booktubers like you that i take most of my recommandations from so it's rarely a miss for me!! So glad for this though, it was harder to find books i like when i was younger!
okay two things: 1) i also DNF’d Jasmine Throne about 2 years ago. it sat on my shelf until i got the flu earlier this year and was desperate for something to read, and i’m glad i finally finished it! i don’t think i’m going to read the rest of the trilogy right now, but i definitely get where you are coming from with it being a right place right time kinda book (and i think i finally was pulled in by the characters about 50ish% of the way through the book, which is right after where i’d stopped the first time lol) 2) i feel so SEEN by your Faebound takes. i read it the day it came out and was so ready to love jt, and i just couldn’t get into it. the main character does seem to flip from one character extreme to the next and none of the romance feels earned for anyone. i ended up finishing it, but it was more a begrudging and resigned endeavor, unfortunately :(
This is why libraries are so radical too! If you aren't sure you'll love a book, then please, please, PLEASE check with your local/school library! I get all of my experimental and guilty-pleasure reads from the library, and if I dont like em I can send them back early! They appreciate the interest regardless
I had started reading 'Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss and was LOVING it. Then my husband told me that it's supposed to be a trilogy and only the first two books were done and everyone had been waiting for years (and still are!) for the third book to be written. So I was like, "ok, I'll just put this aside and wait for the third book to come out because I just know this is going to be an amazing story and I need to read it all at once." Then a couple years later I decided it was ok to read the first two and then reread them once the last book was released as I've done with other series before. I read through the part I had read before, but it was sort of bland. I couldn't figure out why I had been so enamoured with it. And as I continued on passed where I had read to before, I became more and more disenchanted, and finally dnfed it. Sadness.
How interesting! I tried reading it recently and I only got 27 pages in, I just didn’t think it was very interesting and I had only heard really good things about it. And I’ve heard the writing is descriptive and beautiful but I didn’t feel that way yet. I might try to finish it someday
Ooo my experience is so similar! I read like 50 pages when it came out and found it intriguing, but when I tried to get back into it I just wasn't feeling it anymore. It's still lounging in my "currently reading" on storygraph but I think I need to realise it's a dnf at this point (it's been 2 years since I last opened it) 😅 Maybe I'll revisit it again in 10 years? (or when/if the third comes out lol)
i read the first two books at the intense urging of my partner when i was DESPERATE to read something after being in a very long reading slump, and i agree with the comment on its blandness. the whole time before i begrudgingly picked up the books, my partner was hyping them up to the heavens, saying it was one of the best fantasy series ever, i would love it, etc etc. i finally slogged through them that summer and they were BORING 😭 it was an incredibly done-before sort of fantasy setting with an insufferable narrator and NO compelling female characters. then, when i finished after many long painful hours, my partner didn't even want to discuss the series with me 😭
@@anon9067 Yeah, my husband had been so excited when he told me about Name of the Wind so I was expecting...more. Just more. The part that I had read was exciting at the time I first read it, but on second read was basically "good feeling gone!". I did try to move on because we love to talk about books/series we've both read even if they aren't ones we've enjoyed much. However, life is too short and I have a lot of books/series I want to read. And since I am positive he's never going to read something like The Bedwyn Saga just so he can talk with me about it, I'm fine with having dnfed King Killer Chronicles. We still have other fantasy series we both love.
I loved the tiktoks that it started as. The author is REALLY good at the one-woman show, short-form video skits and communicating other characters' actions and words through just the main character's responses and actions! I did complete the novel, but I had to lean into the way she wrote, which I would describe, at least at the beginning of the novel, as "took 1 writing 101 course and included all the writing cliches". For example, in the first chapter, she describes the MC's dress as plain and brown at least twice with basically those exact words. Within 2 or 3 sentences of each other. That and other examples makes me believe the author just isn't as skilled at writing a novel as she is at writing the skits. Which, honestly is fine. Once I was able to get over the writing style, I ended up loving it and I'm super excited for the sequel. But I think it's incredibly important to go into it understanding how the novel came to be and that the author could use some additional experience writing (or at least a better editor than she got, I mean come on!). Also, and this is what *would* have made me DNF if I was going to, the audiobook narrator's speaking style is SO STILTED! I cringed more at the way she read some of the sentences than the sentences deserved :/ I also eventually got over that, but it was a lot harder than leaning into the writing style was.
But after hearing all the reasons Cari didn't finish it, makes sense and it sounds like it just wasn't a good style of book for her. Again, it could be stuff that the author just isn't skilled enough to do better, but that does unfortunately mean this book will never be right for Cari, perhaps unless the author re-releases an edited version in a few years.
All of those reasons why Assistant to the Villain isn't good I was a little worried that Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup wouldn't be very good, but she did and absolutely AMAZING job with it!
I dnf books all the time but sometimes I do it (especially the last book of a series i really enjoyed) because I don't want it to end lol. I try so hard to do that less 😭
I dnfed the cruel prince probably in 2018 when it came out because I didn't really get it and didn't like the characters and then tried it again last year because of all the hype and i wanted to know why does everyone love this series when i didn't. And then i loved it. And i love the characters. One of my favorite series now lol.
omg I tried to return a book today and it didn't work, and I was like "why is this not working?" I was in a rush so I left it for another time, and only now watching your video I realize THIS is why I wasn't able to return the book, so THANK YOU for mentioning it!! Honestly, not really a fan of this new update, it was much easier to do it all within the app, but we'll see hahaha
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who didn't like Powerless. I saw it EVERYWHERE and was so hyped to read it but it just didn't land for me. 😭It wasn't bad per se but I just couldn't connect with the characters and the plot felt like an after thought to the flirting. To be clear I enjoy reading good banter but when every other line was a 'witty' quip I got tired of it. When the author said it was a mashup of Red Queen and the Hunger Games I didn't expect the plot/world-building to be literally the same thing (minus the interesting social commentary in the Hunger Games).
I so agree, i have only finished it because i listened to it as an audiobook so i could be doing other stuff but it’s just not good. The idea is so cool but the dialogue is dragged out and bad, situations just repeat, there were so many setups for more interesting plot twists
What a great breakdown of DNFs into categories. It has taken time to learn to do this and is one reason why I am hesitant to commit to book clubs. If I’m not liking the reading then I want to be able to put it down without guilt because I promised anyone that I would finish it. NetGalley gets me sometimes because I feel obligated to finish. I recently was reading a book that was highly touted but I hated picking up because it was slow and hard to keep the characters straight. I had to just give in and let it go. Also, Ring Shout was a great audiobook if you can get it that way.
Thank you for the warning on Butter!! I have a similar trigger and agree it doesn't get set off too much but it's definitely great to know I should avoid, especially since (typically) I was ALSO interested in reading that book! Really appreciate it, love your videos!!
yes I have soft DNF’s, Vengeful and Viscous were two of those. I was on a really hard depression and that duology is intense and VERY gray/dark and I mentally just could not handle it. Afterwards, I picked those books back up when I was in a good headspace and ate them up!!!! However, I feel like I hard DNF romance novels all the freaking time HAHAHA, no regrets. It’s so hard to find a really good romance that I’m willing to sit through and actually read. Anyways, thank you always for a fresh perception Cari!!
Same with the romances, I know tropes can be good if you want to turn off your brain but in my head I'm just 'you had such a good world, you had something to dig into... why are we obsessing over chiselled abs rn? Girl FOCUS!' Maybe I'm just too ace for romance. Sometimes you'll see some actual good pairings but majority feel... like the same man with different eyes, usually covertly abusive to make him 'interesting' and always his main character trait is sassy and in love. Like. Nothing will make me DNF harder than copypaste bad boys who take up the whole plot and aren't actually interesting. (I couldn't even touch ACOTAR. So many guys just became Rice or whatever.)
i had to CLAW my way through the assistant to the villain and i was still dissatisfied by the ending. the premise had so much promise and yet it failed to deliver in so many ways. i'll probably read the second one because it's one of those books i didn't super enjoy reading but i could not get out of my head so i had to finish it
I absolutely ADORE the Raven Boys series! I damn near gasped to hear you didn't finish it at first. The characterization that Maggie brings to the pages is unreal. I'd never been able to imagine characters so well--I strive to write such believable people like that.
it’s so interesting seeing different booktubers having different opinions, just a reminder it is all so subjective. another booktuber I watch DNF’d five broken blades, but powerless is their favourite series of last year, and you had the opposite experience! ❤️
thank you for sharing your opinion on powerless! it’s not bad but i was feeling the same way and trying to read it thinking there was sm wrong with me because so many people were praising it. again it’s not bad, i’m just glad someone can agree with me
I used to dnf books sometimes when I was younger (there's still a book from ninth grade I need to finish), but I changed for the most part. I'm very goal driven now, so I intend to finish whatever I started now. If I start a book, I'll finish it. Even the one from ninth grade.
@@19Rena96 oh. I don't start the book over, I finish it anyway. If I don't like it very much, then I just don't. I've been reading the same author exclusively for the time being, so that's that.
i really love the idea of soft dnfs. that’s such a good way to put it! i tried to read empire of silence by christopher ruoccio last year, and dnf’ed it. it’s a fantastic book, but it covers some quite heavy scenes that i was not mentally in the space to handle. also, it’s a big series and my library only had the first book, and i just couldn’t make that commitment without having the next books readily available loved the video cari!
i was catching up on videos and thank goodness I watched this one, I was going to recommend Throne in the Dark! OMG I'm so freaking happy you like it I ADORED it! it got me back into reading, I sped thru the trilogy I almost want to reread it again (it's only been a month) so I can live in that world more (will eventually dip my toes in the spinoff standalone). It's funny when I was going to recommend it I saw like 3 references to "that's my girl" and I think you mentioned in a video you were tired of that cliche/trope lol, so I was hesitant and I made a note while I was reading "warn cari about that" lol If you do plan to read the sequels please make a video on it! i adore it!! i feel like the 2nd's a touch slow but the 3rd was awesome! i also feel like I haven't heard enough people talking about it so I want everyone to know to read it!!
I totally understand DNFing to avoid a reading slump! I've put myself in one now trying to read three books at the same time and not being super excited about any of them 🥲
I find that I’ve also been learning it’s okay to dnf books this year. And a lot of the books ive dnfed it’s just bc I wasn’t in the mood. Like I totally still want to read those books. I was inspired bc I’ve seen you dnf so many this year and I realized it wasn’t giving up its just not the right time or right book
I finished ACOSF and wanted a little palette cleanser before I dive into Crescent City. I read That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon and fricken loved it!! I found it in your short books video and I'm so glad I did!
Completely agree, Assistant to the Villain was so awkward and clunky. I think about it all the time, so many things didn’t make sense! By the end I was laughing and rolling my eyes when I think the author wanted me to be emotional 😬 I will be checking out Throne in the Dark though! That sounds amazing!
I like the term soft dnf. I’ve been trying to read Dracula for nearly 7 years. Every fall I pick it up and just cannot manage to finish it, but every year I get closer. Last year I made it about 90% before I stopped. I bought a really nice hardcover illustrated version so maybe this year will be the year.
Throne in the Dark is one of my fave reads this year. Sooo good! I actually wanted to recommend it to you - glad you already love it. (But I still also love Assistant to the Villain.)
I had such a bad day, I'm grateful for this video 🥲 you're so funny and your voice is really nice to listen to! I'm also trying to learn to give up on books that I have to interest in finishing, our time is valuable!
I've recently read Throne in the dark because of your recommendation and I loved it! I also picked up the rest of the series which I'll hopefully get to soon.
I struggle with dnfing books as welll, but I am trying to prioritize my time to just really things I LIKE. I am so glad to see you DNF’d Assistant to the Villian. I could NOT get through it, but I have seen so many people liked it and I cannot understand it.
I appreciate your comments on Faebound. I have a huge TBR and I've been on the fence whether I wanted to try it or not. Such a shame, because I have the Fairyloot edition which I think is aesthetically one of my favorite for its cover art.
I really relate to your comment about feeling pressure when a library deadline is looming - reading when I feel like I have to read does not feel as enjoyable. I agree with other that are sharing that DNF'ing is a skill that I'm working on developing. I never used to put down any book I had started, good or bad. Up until last year, the only book I had ever DNF'ed was Hannibal Rising. Having purchased my books probably played a role in feeling like I had to finish them since I paid good money, but now that I borrow books from the library, I don't feel the same pressure to keep reading a book that's not a good fit for me. The Hating Game from Sally Thorne was the book that pushed me to get my library card. Had I not purchased this book, I would have DNF'ed it so hard.
Thanks to discovering your channel, I have grown comfortable with DNFing books this year! It’s helped me stay out of a rut and read more since I’m a moody lady.
Is it easier to DNF a song (album) vs a book, film, or TV show because the song or album takes less time to experience? If you don't like the song, there is absolutely zero reason to keep listening to it even if you haven't gotten to the chorus yet? But books, films, and TV shows take are much longer and involve more factors in its artistic and technical composition, so you feel like you have to stay through the end because it could get better?
@@caricanreadYes! the mental energy required to finish a book is even more than a movie or TV show. The latter two can be more passively consumed than a book. I imagine an ebook *could* be easier to DNF if you flat-out hate the narrator, but it might require more focus than reading with eyeballs?
I'm so relieved to find people who had the same opinion of Powerless that I did. I felt like something was wrong with me for not liking it because of all the good reviews on social media. I forced myself to finish it and wished I hadn't. I did recently DNF Bride of the Shadow King, I got about 15% into and it wasn't clicking for me. Read some reviews and it wasn't going to get better and it evolved into a trope I can't stand.
ring shout on the cover scared me but i totally get the time constraint thing! i get the same way with netgalley expiration dates. clark’s new book is fantastic by the way!!
As a librarian, when I recommend a book to someone, mainly kids, I make sure to tell them that if they can’t get into the book that they can return it. That it won’t hurt my feelings and it just means we need to find another one. I try to put emphasis that they don’t have to finish every book the pick.
I also found Powerless cliche and stale, however, the ending was a big shock! Thats literally the only thing that is keeping me invested for when the sequels released.
I have two book recommendations. Author Garth Nix. Title : Book 1 The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. Book 2 The Sinister Booksellers of Bath. I had both books as audiobooks because the author narrated both. There is a bit of everything in these books, plus such good humour from this author. Highly recommend if you haven’t tried them already.
Okay I’m just a passerby, but I just wanted to let you know that I find your videos so soothing and have them playing in the background while I’m doing my homework hahah
I absolutely hate when I do my research on trigger warnings and a book still triggers me. It creates a reading block for more then half a year. Authors should worry less about hiding twists and care more about accurate trigger information. Thanks for including that in your video as a valid reason to avoid books. ❤
I usually have at least 3 books on my Libby shelf so I have some variety to choose from depending on my mood. Sometimes I will fly through a book in a day and other times I feel like I’m just kidding myself because I keep avoiding a book. If I notice that someone else is waiting for it, I immediately feel guilty and return it back 😅
Only a Monster is definitely a perfect easy read when you need a breather. My boyfriend bought it for me as a late birthday gift on our first date, so I have a sentimental attachment to it, but I genuinely enjoyed it.
Getting comfortable DNFing books has honestly helped me read MORE. When I'm reading a book I want to disappear into the world and think about it even when I'm not reading. If I'm not feeling that, I move on. Reading a bad book puts me into a reading slump!
I feel the same about Powerless, it might be my first DNF, and I tried to like it since so many did but just like you said, hearing that someone else didn’t like it makes me feel less like “I just didn’t get far enough” or “did I just not get it”
I “soft” DNF’d the book The Tainted Cup yesterday after 3 pages because Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries came in the mail and I wanted to read it instead. Wonderful decision! I’ll definitely go back to Tainted Cup, but wasn’t the right time.
lol, it appears we have very similar taste in DNFs 😅I also DNFd (or powered through but ultimately hated) Raven Boys, Biography of X, Butter, Faebound, TGUWG, Lore of the Wilds, and Assistant to the Villain. Though I did love Jasmine Throne and liked Ring Shout (once I switched to physical only, the audiobook really ruined the first half for me) I really feel like AttV is an unfunny middlegrade that's just 200 TikToks in a trenchcoat, but a better, funnier, YA implementation would be Nimona and I highly recommend that graphic novel instead. (Note: it's not a romance)
Just this morning I DNF’d The Binding right as I hit halfway point. Completely enthralled but I could see that my heart would eventually be ripped from my chest. I made the choice to protect myself from drowning in a million billion tears.
Oh, when Leoni release her video with Powerless on her thumbnail, I was too worried she liked it, because I knew you didn't, and I too have a very similar taste to you and her (I trust you both with my life). But she also hated it, so I will definitely not be reading it hahah.
I actually DNFed the Crave series after book two because that book ended the way I wanted it to end, so I have of course watched your reading of it and haven't regretted DNFing it since
No way, Thrown in the Dark love!? I never see people mention it. It’s one of my favorite trilogies. The main male character is such a phenomenally written sort of villain.
I tend to not DNF books very much, because usually I can find something or other in it to enjoy and keep me going even if most of the story is bad. However there are times when I just stop caring and my patience with the book ends
I'm a writer and working on the first draft of my novel. During that I don't really read much - I've temporarily soft DNF'd book 5 of 8 in a series I'm loving solely because I have a rule about not reading other novels when writing so I'm not overly influenced or spend all my free time reading instead of working on my own book. 😅 It took a lot of time though to get comfortable with that.
I also dnf'd assistant to the villian. It gave me 2014 wattpad vibes and normally Im good about forcing myself, but I just couldn't. We should all be more comfortable dnf-ing books though, thanks for talking openly about it all
I actually asked you about DNFing just last week. I DNFed the book 50% in right after that… then ordered it via libby again. That’s rare, but tells me that I DO want to read it, but something was just a little off. I think i’ll just skim if i feel like i’m getting slowed down again, but I do want to know what happens in it (i’m normally somewhat liberal with DNFs)
I don't often DNF books because I'm a bit picky about what I start reading in the first place, but I do have a handful of books that I have put down for a while and plan on coming back to. One of them was Shadows of Self, the second book in Brandon Sanderson's second Mistborn series. I love Brandon Sanderson books but I could not get through Shadows of Self to save my life. Like I had that book on my "currently reading" shelf for over two years, I have started the audiobook twice and tried reading the physical book twice. Only on my second try at physically reading it did I actually finish it and I ended up liking it! To this day I cannot tell you what was not clicking exactly. BUT I'm glad I was able to push through it because I absolutely loved the next book in the series, Bands of Mourning, I ate that one up and read it in two sittings lol Another one is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I started that one and then almost immediately somebody spoiled it for me. So I put it down, and now I'm not sure if it's worth going back to or not.
thank you for validating something that’s a bit taboo in the reading world!!! I’m finishing my second year of American law school and my patience for crappy books is nonexistent
Dnfing is almost like therapy lol you have to sift through what emotions you are feeling, why you are feeling them and if that was the purpose of the media, and then decide if you personally wanna deal with that
As soon as I saw your short on Five Broken Blades I ordered it immediately!! As for dnf’s, mine normally fall into two camps; can’t read it right at that moment for what ever reason or, I didn’t like it at all for some reason. One of my dnf’s that I have tried over and over to read is Jade City since it was so highly rated. I finally gave up and said “not for me”. Life is too short for a read that you don’t enjoy! 🙂
I have no problem DNFing books because if I'm not enjoying something, why waste my time further. The two main reasons I DNF are two of your reasonings, Cari. One, I'm a big mood reader and sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a particular book, and I'll put it down for however long and pick it up later (a soft DNF). The second reason is that I'm simply not clicking with a book, be it the writing style or the book is just not good or something else. In that case I'd call those hard DNF's and I don't return to them.
My mom uses boring books to help her fall asleep, so anything I DNF a book for being too slow, I give it to my mom, and she's always like, "That book you sent me is such a snooze-fest! Put me right to bed!"
My first DMF book “Devil and the white city” non fiction so slow detailed and boring. My recommendation for your mom.
LOVE this
LMAO. At least trashy books still have some use.
I love that 😂
Lol your mom sounds great
"I feel like I could write the rest of this book" has to be the most unintentionally savage thing I've heard said about a book in a while
"It is an extremely cold and rainy and dark day." Thanks. I just found the opening line for my book.
🌧🌧🌧
Giving myself permission to DNF books was a skill that I had to learn. It’s difficult!
I like your distinction between hard DNFs and soft ones! I started DNFing shortly after finishing 1984, which I absolutely loathed. I remember thinking "I could have read 5 other books I might've actually liked in the time it took for me to force myself to slog through this one" and I've been DNFing ever since!
My reasons are pretty similar to yours, too: wrong timing, wrong mood, Not My Thing™, and just plain bad books. I have 1 additional category too: books I tried multiple times but never made it through. If I try a book twice and DNF both times, then it becomes a permanent DNF!
THANK YOU for sharing your honest thoughts on “Powerless!” As someone else who didn’t love it, it’s been so nice to see some of my fave booktubers (you, the book leo and newlynova among them!) talk about this book in recent weeks and point out things I had issues with that I feel like no one else has articulated. I think Lauren Roberts truly has great potential, seeing as how “Powerless” is her debut, but I’d love to see her write something that feels uniquely hers!
I also hated it! I’d even say it was the worst book I ever read. More people who didn’t enjoy it need to talk about it!
THANK YOU!!! i feel the same way omg like she has such great potential but i felt like i was reading fantasy tropes the book and couldn’t get into it
I mostly listened to the audiobook which helped a lot, I read a few chapters and it was really difficult to get through it
i read like... 10%? maybe? and all i remember is the main girl is too good of a fighter for a girl so everyone thinks she's a boy, because only boys are good at fighting!! and the main boy is just.. shirtless? always? to the point his dad scolds him for it? It was enough for me to stop :) Also the thank the plague/plague's sake thing was getting old even in the first few chapters.
Having a supremely awful day so seeing your friendly face is an immediate brightener. I have so much trouble DNFing because I get to the point of like, "I'm going to finish it for spite," lol. Have a great weekend, Cari! 🙂
i completely understand the spite :''') and maybe end the day by reading Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to finish off strong :(
I feel that. Docile by K. M. Szpara is one I finished out of spite because I wanted to have all my facts right in order to write a scathing review of it. It was bad writing and triggering and terrible worldbuilding all in one go lol
I DNFed a book yesterday, and today started a new book, which referred to the one I DNFed! I mean, both are partly set in Mexico City, but I still thought it was a wild coincidence.
the universe is watching!!
Getting comfortable with DNFing is such a valuable skill for a reader! I struggle with it still, but i did dnf Faebound this year. i feel so validated that you dnfed it too cari, because every other channel i've seen either really enjoyed it or atleast thought it was okay!
there has only been ONE book that I didn’t regret not DNFing, which was Six of Crows. Honestly I’m so glad I pushed myself to finish it because I’m officially obsessed with it
I feel like that’s why putting a book down for a bit can be great! Like if it has a slow moment or you’re just not in the mood taking a bit of a break is awesome :)
i read siz of crows in 3 days but crooked kingdom has taken me a hot minute. not a dnf though
I also dnf'd Only a Monster but will definitely return to it at a different time. I met Vanessa Len and bought the books directly from her and she is one of the SWEETEST nicest people I have ever met and i really want to keep supporting her career
thats so good to hear!! will definitely continue
I read that one but I haven't picked up book 2 yet. Kinda in the whole haven't been in the mood to read which is weird cause i liked book 1
I am so glad someone else feels like that about Powerless. I made myself finish it because I had DNF'd Shatter Me that month and was feeling like I was just giving up. This was a good video to help make it feel less bad to just put the book you aren't enjoying down.
I don't really dnf books anymore because i have a couple of booktubers like you that i take most of my recommandations from so it's rarely a miss for me!! So glad for this though, it was harder to find books i like when i was younger!
Thanks to booktubers, I now have a "nah" shelf on Goodreads 😂😂😂
@@KYX1994 same 😂 I'm so thankful for them 🙏🏻
okay two things:
1) i also DNF’d Jasmine Throne about 2 years ago. it sat on my shelf until i got the flu earlier this year and was desperate for something to read, and i’m glad i finally finished it! i don’t think i’m going to read the rest of the trilogy right now, but i definitely get where you are coming from with it being a right place right time kinda book (and i think i finally was pulled in by the characters about 50ish% of the way through the book, which is right after where i’d stopped the first time lol)
2) i feel so SEEN by your Faebound takes. i read it the day it came out and was so ready to love jt, and i just couldn’t get into it. the main character does seem to flip from one character extreme to the next and none of the romance feels earned for anyone. i ended up finishing it, but it was more a begrudging and resigned endeavor, unfortunately :(
This is why libraries are so radical too!
If you aren't sure you'll love a book, then please, please, PLEASE check with your local/school library!
I get all of my experimental and guilty-pleasure reads from the library, and if I dont like em I can send them back early! They appreciate the interest regardless
I had started reading 'Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss and was LOVING it. Then my husband told me that it's supposed to be a trilogy and only the first two books were done and everyone had been waiting for years (and still are!) for the third book to be written. So I was like, "ok, I'll just put this aside and wait for the third book to come out because I just know this is going to be an amazing story and I need to read it all at once." Then a couple years later I decided it was ok to read the first two and then reread them once the last book was released as I've done with other series before. I read through the part I had read before, but it was sort of bland. I couldn't figure out why I had been so enamoured with it. And as I continued on passed where I had read to before, I became more and more disenchanted, and finally dnfed it. Sadness.
How interesting! I tried reading it recently and I only got 27 pages in, I just didn’t think it was very interesting and I had only heard really good things about it. And I’ve heard the writing is descriptive and beautiful but I didn’t feel that way yet. I might try to finish it someday
Ooo my experience is so similar! I read like 50 pages when it came out and found it intriguing, but when I tried to get back into it I just wasn't feeling it anymore. It's still lounging in my "currently reading" on storygraph but I think I need to realise it's a dnf at this point (it's been 2 years since I last opened it) 😅 Maybe I'll revisit it again in 10 years? (or when/if the third comes out lol)
i wanted to like the first book but it was boring to me. have read too many fantasy books and I could guess the story
i read the first two books at the intense urging of my partner when i was DESPERATE to read something after being in a very long reading slump, and i agree with the comment on its blandness. the whole time before i begrudgingly picked up the books, my partner was hyping them up to the heavens, saying it was one of the best fantasy series ever, i would love it, etc etc. i finally slogged through them that summer and they were BORING 😭 it was an incredibly done-before sort of fantasy setting with an insufferable narrator and NO compelling female characters. then, when i finished after many long painful hours, my partner didn't even want to discuss the series with me 😭
@@anon9067 Yeah, my husband had been so excited when he told me about Name of the Wind so I was expecting...more. Just more. The part that I had read was exciting at the time I first read it, but on second read was basically "good feeling gone!". I did try to move on because we love to talk about books/series we've both read even if they aren't ones we've enjoyed much. However, life is too short and I have a lot of books/series I want to read. And since I am positive he's never going to read something like The Bedwyn Saga just so he can talk with me about it, I'm fine with having dnfed King Killer Chronicles. We still have other fantasy series we both love.
I also just DNFed Assistant To The Villain 😅 I usually force myself to finish any book I start reading…but I just couldn’t do it with this one.
yeah literally nothing about it made me want to keep reading hahah
I loved the tiktoks that it started as. The author is REALLY good at the one-woman show, short-form video skits and communicating other characters' actions and words through just the main character's responses and actions!
I did complete the novel, but I had to lean into the way she wrote, which I would describe, at least at the beginning of the novel, as "took 1 writing 101 course and included all the writing cliches". For example, in the first chapter, she describes the MC's dress as plain and brown at least twice with basically those exact words. Within 2 or 3 sentences of each other.
That and other examples makes me believe the author just isn't as skilled at writing a novel as she is at writing the skits. Which, honestly is fine. Once I was able to get over the writing style, I ended up loving it and I'm super excited for the sequel. But I think it's incredibly important to go into it understanding how the novel came to be and that the author could use some additional experience writing (or at least a better editor than she got, I mean come on!).
Also, and this is what *would* have made me DNF if I was going to, the audiobook narrator's speaking style is SO STILTED! I cringed more at the way she read some of the sentences than the sentences deserved :/ I also eventually got over that, but it was a lot harder than leaning into the writing style was.
But after hearing all the reasons Cari didn't finish it, makes sense and it sounds like it just wasn't a good style of book for her. Again, it could be stuff that the author just isn't skilled enough to do better, but that does unfortunately mean this book will never be right for Cari, perhaps unless the author re-releases an edited version in a few years.
All of those reasons why Assistant to the Villain isn't good I was a little worried that Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup wouldn't be very good, but she did and absolutely AMAZING job with it!
I dnf books all the time but sometimes I do it (especially the last book of a series i really enjoyed) because I don't want it to end lol. I try so hard to do that less 😭
Me too! I do this with long tv shows as well such as game of thrones 😢
I dnfed the cruel prince probably in 2018 when it came out because I didn't really get it and didn't like the characters and then tried it again last year because of all the hype and i wanted to know why does everyone love this series when i didn't.
And then i loved it. And i love the characters. One of my favorite series now lol.
Timing with books is a real thing.
omg I tried to return a book today and it didn't work, and I was like "why is this not working?" I was in a rush so I left it for another time, and only now watching your video I realize THIS is why I wasn't able to return the book, so THANK YOU for mentioning it!! Honestly, not really a fan of this new update, it was much easier to do it all within the app, but we'll see hahaha
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who didn't like Powerless. I saw it EVERYWHERE and was so hyped to read it but it just didn't land for me. 😭It wasn't bad per se but I just couldn't connect with the characters and the plot felt like an after thought to the flirting. To be clear I enjoy reading good banter but when every other line was a 'witty' quip I got tired of it. When the author said it was a mashup of Red Queen and the Hunger Games I didn't expect the plot/world-building to be literally the same thing (minus the interesting social commentary in the Hunger Games).
I so agree, i have only finished it because i listened to it as an audiobook so i could be doing other stuff but it’s just not good. The idea is so cool but the dialogue is dragged out and bad, situations just repeat, there were so many setups for more interesting plot twists
I love the last minute Throne in the Dark appreciation! Love those books
Absolutely LOVE this Cari! Love the cozy vibes, and love the concept of different and relevant reasons for DNFs and soft DNFs! 😊👍
thank youuuu!
What a great breakdown of DNFs into categories. It has taken time to learn to do this and is one reason why I am hesitant to commit to book clubs. If I’m not liking the reading then I want to be able to put it down without guilt because I promised anyone that I would finish it. NetGalley gets me sometimes because I feel obligated to finish. I recently was reading a book that was highly touted but I hated picking up because it was slow and hard to keep the characters straight. I had to just give in and let it go.
Also, Ring Shout was a great audiobook if you can get it that way.
Thank you for the warning on Butter!! I have a similar trigger and agree it doesn't get set off too much but it's definitely great to know I should avoid, especially since (typically) I was ALSO interested in reading that book! Really appreciate it, love your videos!!
yes I have soft DNF’s, Vengeful and Viscous were two of those. I was on a really hard depression and that duology is intense and VERY gray/dark and I mentally just could not handle it. Afterwards, I picked those books back up when I was in a good headspace and ate them up!!!! However, I feel like I hard DNF romance novels all the freaking time HAHAHA, no regrets. It’s so hard to find a really good romance that I’m willing to sit through and actually read. Anyways, thank you always for a fresh perception Cari!!
Same with the romances, I know tropes can be good if you want to turn off your brain but in my head I'm just 'you had such a good world, you had something to dig into... why are we obsessing over chiselled abs rn? Girl FOCUS!' Maybe I'm just too ace for romance. Sometimes you'll see some actual good pairings but majority feel... like the same man with different eyes, usually covertly abusive to make him 'interesting' and always his main character trait is sassy and in love. Like. Nothing will make me DNF harder than copypaste bad boys who take up the whole plot and aren't actually interesting. (I couldn't even touch ACOTAR. So many guys just became Rice or whatever.)
i had to CLAW my way through the assistant to the villain and i was still dissatisfied by the ending. the premise had so much promise and yet it failed to deliver in so many ways. i'll probably read the second one because it's one of those books i didn't super enjoy reading but i could not get out of my head so i had to finish it
love that you post on fridays. it's my day off and it's become a ritual that i start my fridays with your videos 😌
12 MINUTES AGO???? IVE NEVER BEEN SO ON TIME!!!
wahhh thank you for being here!
@@caricanread Thank you for giving me somewhere to be!!!
I absolutely ADORE the Raven Boys series! I damn near gasped to hear you didn't finish it at first. The characterization that Maggie brings to the pages is unreal. I'd never been able to imagine characters so well--I strive to write such believable people like that.
One of my reading goals this year is to DNF more liberally. It's still a struggle for me bc I always think "but what if it gets really good??"
i know the struggle :''''(
For me it was If we were villains M.L Rio. I didn’t vibe with the writing style. Then after a few months, I feel in love with it!
I was hoping cari would mention "house of flame and shadow" 😂 we need update on crescent city!
it’s so interesting seeing different booktubers having different opinions, just a reminder it is all so subjective. another booktuber I watch DNF’d five broken blades, but powerless is their favourite series of last year, and you had the opposite experience! ❤️
thank you for sharing your opinion on powerless! it’s not bad but i was feeling the same way and trying to read it thinking there was sm wrong with me because so many people were praising it. again it’s not bad, i’m just glad someone can agree with me
I used to dnf books sometimes when I was younger (there's still a book from ninth grade I need to finish), but I changed for the most part. I'm very goal driven now, so I intend to finish whatever I started now. If I start a book, I'll finish it. Even the one from ninth grade.
LOL!
why?
@@19Rena96 why what? Why did I dnf books? Elaborate a little.
@@TheEmeraldSword86 Sorry 😅Why do you feel the need to finish a book even though you don't like it
@@19Rena96 oh. I don't start the book over, I finish it anyway. If I don't like it very much, then I just don't. I've been reading the same author exclusively for the time being, so that's that.
i really love the idea of soft dnfs. that’s such a good way to put it!
i tried to read empire of silence by christopher ruoccio last year, and dnf’ed it. it’s a fantastic book, but it covers some quite heavy scenes that i was not mentally in the space to handle. also, it’s a big series and my library only had the first book, and i just couldn’t make that commitment without having the next books readily available
loved the video cari!
I saw your short about Five Broken Blades and immediately chose it for my book of the month so I cannot wait for that wrap up
i was catching up on videos and thank goodness I watched this one, I was going to recommend Throne in the Dark!
OMG I'm so freaking happy you like it I ADORED it! it got me back into reading, I sped thru the trilogy I almost want to reread it again (it's only been a month) so I can live in that world more (will eventually dip my toes in the spinoff standalone).
It's funny when I was going to recommend it I saw like 3 references to "that's my girl" and I think you mentioned in a video you were tired of that cliche/trope lol, so I was hesitant and I made a note while I was reading "warn cari about that" lol
If you do plan to read the sequels please make a video on it! i adore it!! i feel like the 2nd's a touch slow but the 3rd was awesome! i also feel like I haven't heard enough people talking about it so I want everyone to know to read it!!
I totally understand DNFing to avoid a reading slump! I've put myself in one now trying to read three books at the same time and not being super excited about any of them 🥲
omg i cant read multiple books at once, it always ends in disaster!
I only read multiple books if I am rereading them
I find that I’ve also been learning it’s okay to dnf books this year. And a lot of the books ive dnfed it’s just bc I wasn’t in the mood. Like I totally still want to read those books. I was inspired bc I’ve seen you dnf so many this year and I realized it wasn’t giving up its just not the right time or right book
I soft DNF books allll the time! Very much "I'm coming back baby, I promise!"
I finished ACOSF and wanted a little palette cleanser before I dive into Crescent City. I read That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon and fricken loved it!! I found it in your short books video and I'm so glad I did!
Completely agree, Assistant to the Villain was so awkward and clunky. I think about it all the time, so many things didn’t make sense! By the end I was laughing and rolling my eyes when I think the author wanted me to be emotional 😬
I will be checking out Throne in the Dark though! That sounds amazing!
I like the term soft dnf. I’ve been trying to read Dracula for nearly 7 years. Every fall I pick it up and just cannot manage to finish it, but every year I get closer. Last year I made it about 90% before I stopped. I bought a really nice hardcover illustrated version so maybe this year will be the year.
Throne in the Dark is one of my fave reads this year. Sooo good! I actually wanted to recommend it to you - glad you already love it. (But I still also love Assistant to the Villain.)
I had such a bad day, I'm grateful for this video 🥲 you're so funny and your voice is really nice to listen to!
I'm also trying to learn to give up on books that I have to interest in finishing, our time is valuable!
I've recently read Throne in the dark because of your recommendation and I loved it! I also picked up the rest of the series which I'll hopefully get to soon.
New video from the new apartment woot!
I struggle with dnfing books as welll, but I am trying to prioritize my time to just really things I LIKE. I am so glad to see you DNF’d Assistant to the Villian. I could NOT get through it, but I have seen so many people liked it and I cannot understand it.
Thank you for the sparkles 😢😢😢 it felt special ❤❤
Love all your opinions especially on TGUWG and the controversy surrounding it ❤
I appreciate your comments on Faebound. I have a huge TBR and I've been on the fence whether I wanted to try it or not. Such a shame, because I have the Fairyloot edition which I think is aesthetically one of my favorite for its cover art.
I really relate to your comment about feeling pressure when a library deadline is looming - reading when I feel like I have to read does not feel as enjoyable.
I agree with other that are sharing that DNF'ing is a skill that I'm working on developing. I never used to put down any book I had started, good or bad. Up until last year, the only book I had ever DNF'ed was Hannibal Rising. Having purchased my books probably played a role in feeling like I had to finish them since I paid good money, but now that I borrow books from the library, I don't feel the same pressure to keep reading a book that's not a good fit for me.
The Hating Game from Sally Thorne was the book that pushed me to get my library card. Had I not purchased this book, I would have DNF'ed it so hard.
Thanks to discovering your channel, I have grown comfortable with DNFing books this year! It’s helped me stay out of a rut and read more since I’m a moody lady.
Is it easier to DNF a song (album) vs a book, film, or TV show because the song or album takes less time to experience? If you don't like the song, there is absolutely zero reason to keep listening to it even if you haven't gotten to the chorus yet? But books, films, and TV shows take are much longer and involve more factors in its artistic and technical composition, so you feel like you have to stay through the end because it could get better?
i also think it takes a lot more mental energy to read a book so you've invested so much to it, its harder to give up haha
@@caricanreadYes! the mental energy required to finish a book is even more than a movie or TV show. The latter two can be more passively consumed than a book. I imagine an ebook *could* be easier to DNF if you flat-out hate the narrator, but it might require more focus than reading with eyeballs?
I'm so relieved to find people who had the same opinion of Powerless that I did. I felt like something was wrong with me for not liking it because of all the good reviews on social media. I forced myself to finish it and wished I hadn't. I did recently DNF Bride of the Shadow King, I got about 15% into and it wasn't clicking for me. Read some reviews and it wasn't going to get better and it evolved into a trope I can't stand.
new cari video! so excited to watch!
ring shout on the cover scared me but i totally get the time constraint thing! i get the same way with netgalley expiration dates. clark’s new book is fantastic by the way!!
As a librarian, when I recommend a book to someone, mainly kids, I make sure to tell them that if they can’t get into the book that they can return it. That it won’t hurt my feelings and it just means we need to find another one. I try to put emphasis that they don’t have to finish every book the pick.
I also found Powerless cliche and stale, however, the ending was a big shock! Thats literally the only thing that is keeping me invested for when the sequels released.
I have two book recommendations. Author Garth Nix. Title : Book 1 The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. Book 2 The Sinister Booksellers of Bath. I had both books as audiobooks because the author narrated both. There is a bit of everything in these books, plus such good humour from this author. Highly recommend if you haven’t tried them already.
Okay I’m just a passerby, but I just wanted to let you know that I find your videos so soothing and have them playing in the background while I’m doing my homework hahah
I absolutely hate when I do my research on trigger warnings and a book still triggers me. It creates a reading block for more then half a year. Authors should worry less about hiding twists and care more about accurate trigger information. Thanks for including that in your video as a valid reason to avoid books. ❤
I usually have at least 3 books on my Libby shelf so I have some variety to choose from depending on my mood. Sometimes I will fly through a book in a day and other times I feel like I’m just kidding myself because I keep avoiding a book. If I notice that someone else is waiting for it, I immediately feel guilty and return it back 😅
Only a Monster is definitely a perfect easy read when you need a breather. My boyfriend bought it for me as a late birthday gift on our first date, so I have a sentimental attachment to it, but I genuinely enjoyed it.
I really liked this video. It was so thorough about why. I hope making videos like these helps you feel less guilty.
I am a mood reader for sure!!! exactly why I dnf too. need to feel swept in!
Getting comfortable DNFing books has honestly helped me read MORE. When I'm reading a book I want to disappear into the world and think about it even when I'm not reading. If I'm not feeling that, I move on. Reading a bad book puts me into a reading slump!
I feel the same about Powerless, it might be my first DNF, and I tried to like it since so many did but just like you said, hearing that someone else didn’t like it makes me feel less like “I just didn’t get far enough” or “did I just not get it”
i love your content
I've had Throne of the Dark on my list for too long. You've given me the nudge.
Every time I see “DNF” I have to remind myself it means “did not finish” and not the other thing I do not wish to speak of. I get war flashbacks, man.
A fellow ex-dsmp member I see 👀
I “soft” DNF’d the book The Tainted Cup yesterday after 3 pages because Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries came in the mail and I wanted to read it instead. Wonderful decision! I’ll definitely go back to Tainted Cup, but wasn’t the right time.
With Ring Shout you should absolutely listen to the audio if you can! It’s much easier to process and the accents really immerse you
lol, it appears we have very similar taste in DNFs 😅I also DNFd (or powered through but ultimately hated) Raven Boys, Biography of X, Butter, Faebound, TGUWG, Lore of the Wilds, and Assistant to the Villain.
Though I did love Jasmine Throne and liked Ring Shout (once I switched to physical only, the audiobook really ruined the first half for me)
I really feel like AttV is an unfunny middlegrade that's just 200 TikToks in a trenchcoat, but a better, funnier, YA implementation would be Nimona and I highly recommend that graphic novel instead. (Note: it's not a romance)
TYSM for the powerless review… I felt like I was going crazy seeing everyone’s positive reviews bc I found it unreadable and generally awful LOL
AHH, Phoenix Unbound is a favourite of mine. I ❤Grace Draven and specifically this storyline. 😅
Ring shout is one of my favs
Just this morning I DNF’d The Binding right as I hit halfway point. Completely enthralled but I could see that my heart would eventually be ripped from my chest. I made the choice to protect myself from drowning in a million billion tears.
Oh, when Leoni release her video with Powerless on her thumbnail, I was too worried she liked it, because I knew you didn't, and I too have a very similar taste to you and her (I trust you both with my life). But she also hated it, so I will definitely not be reading it hahah.
wow, I haven’t heard someone mention Starflight in years! I read that back around 2016 and enjoyed it as a teenager but never read the sequel.
I totally get you about powerless it felt like i was reading hunger games all over again couldn’t go through it
The magic eye metaphor was chef’s kiss 👨🍳💋 I don’t know if I’ve heard of a better explanation for not being into a book 😂
I actually DNFed the Crave series after book two because that book ended the way I wanted it to end, so I have of course watched your reading of it and haven't regretted DNFing it since
Thank you so much for making DNF-ing the new norm!!! We all needed to watch this video!
No way, Thrown in the Dark love!? I never see people mention it. It’s one of my favorite trilogies. The main male character is such a phenomenally written sort of villain.
I tend to not DNF books very much, because usually I can find something or other in it to enjoy and keep me going even if most of the story is bad. However there are times when I just stop caring and my patience with the book ends
I'm a writer and working on the first draft of my novel. During that I don't really read much - I've temporarily soft DNF'd book 5 of 8 in a series I'm loving solely because I have a rule about not reading other novels when writing so I'm not overly influenced or spend all my free time reading instead of working on my own book. 😅 It took a lot of time though to get comfortable with that.
I also dnf'd assistant to the villian. It gave me 2014 wattpad vibes and normally Im good about forcing myself, but I just couldn't. We should all be more comfortable dnf-ing books though, thanks for talking openly about it all
I actually asked you about DNFing just last week. I DNFed the book 50% in right after that… then ordered it via libby again. That’s rare, but tells me that I DO want to read it, but something was just a little off. I think i’ll just skim if i feel like i’m getting slowed down again, but I do want to know what happens in it (i’m normally somewhat liberal with DNFs)
I don't often DNF books because I'm a bit picky about what I start reading in the first place, but I do have a handful of books that I have put down for a while and plan on coming back to. One of them was Shadows of Self, the second book in Brandon Sanderson's second Mistborn series. I love Brandon Sanderson books but I could not get through Shadows of Self to save my life. Like I had that book on my "currently reading" shelf for over two years, I have started the audiobook twice and tried reading the physical book twice. Only on my second try at physically reading it did I actually finish it and I ended up liking it! To this day I cannot tell you what was not clicking exactly. BUT I'm glad I was able to push through it because I absolutely loved the next book in the series, Bands of Mourning, I ate that one up and read it in two sittings lol
Another one is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I started that one and then almost immediately somebody spoiled it for me. So I put it down, and now I'm not sure if it's worth going back to or not.
Yes girl! Pumpkin Spice all year! Just gives cozy vibes ❤
I put down Assistant to the Villain very quickly too. I can’t put my finger on why! Until you said “trying too hard” and it’s coming back to me now 🤣
thank you for validating something that’s a bit taboo in the reading world!!! I’m finishing my second year of American law school and my patience for crappy books is nonexistent
gosh! I LOVE your videos so much!
I literally put Assistant to the villain down after 10 pages. It was a BIG no
Dnfing is almost like therapy lol you have to sift through what emotions you are feeling, why you are feeling them and if that was the purpose of the media, and then decide if you personally wanna deal with that
As soon as I saw your short on Five Broken Blades I ordered it immediately!! As for dnf’s, mine normally fall into two camps; can’t read it right at that moment for what ever reason or, I didn’t like it at all for some reason. One of my dnf’s that I have tried over and over to read is Jade City since it was so highly rated. I finally gave up and said “not for me”. Life is too short for a read that you don’t enjoy! 🙂
I have no problem DNFing books because if I'm not enjoying something, why waste my time further. The two main reasons I DNF are two of your reasonings, Cari. One, I'm a big mood reader and sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a particular book, and I'll put it down for however long and pick it up later (a soft DNF). The second reason is that I'm simply not clicking with a book, be it the writing style or the book is just not good or something else. In that case I'd call those hard DNF's and I don't return to them.
I feel so validated that Leo and you didn’t enjoy powerless!!