When to DNF a Book + 4 More Questions for Readers

Every time I write about reading habits, I think I’ve exhausted the topic.

Obviously that’s utterly ridiculous! We readers are a fascinating breed, and there are always more questions to ask about how (and why) we read.

We’ve discussed whether you read the last chapter first (like my father… a highly divisive habit), whether you judge a book by its cover, and how you handle reading slumps.

Today’s questions start with something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately: when to DNF a book.

1. When to DNF a Book: How Long Do You Give It?

For anyone unfamiliar with the acronym, DNF stands for Did Not Finish… and I’m doing it a lot these days.

I used to feel an almost moral obligation to finish every book I started. The sunk-cost fallacy was a big part of it: I’d already invested all that time! Or I felt guilty because someone I knew had recommended it to me specifically (what would I say if they asked me about the book?)! It wasn’t unusual for me to give myself a little pep talk that things would surely improve if I just kept slogging through another 50 (or 150) pages.

Admittedly, perseverance can pay off. I came close to DNFing Theo of Golden because the middle felt PAINFULLY slow, but I kept going and was happy to see how everything turned out. Last week, I hit a wall with Good People, kept pushing, and ended up really enjoying it.

But there are way more books in the world than I could ever possibly read, and I do NOT WANT to spend my leisure time reading something I actively dislike.

Sometimes I know within a page or two that a book isn’t for me. Other times, I make it halfway through before realizing I don’t really care what happens next.

My biggest DNF triggers are:

• I feel bored every time I pick up the book.
• I dislike all the characters.
• The writing style annoys me.
• The book feels excessively long or repetitive.
• Another book on my nightstand is more compelling.

How long do you give a book before abandoning it? Do you have a specific page rule? I usually try to give a book at least 50 pages unless it’s an IMMEDIATE no from the very beginning. Does it depend on who recommended it or how popular it is?

Have you ever gone back to a book you previously DNFed and loved it the second time around? I know Birchie did this with The Correspondent! I’m planning to try Tom Lake again…

2. Do You Read Reviews Before or After a Book?

I like to know the basic premise of a book before I start, but I don’t want too much information.

Reviews can be tricky. I appreciate knowing about major content warnings, but I can accidentally find out more of the plot than I want to know.

Once I finish a book, I generally love reading what other people thought, especially if I had a strong reaction. (Like the ending to Of Mice and Men which, incidentally, most certainly has content warnings.)

Did everyone else dislike that character? Was I the only person who thought the middle dragged? Did other people interpret the ending differently?

Sometimes I finish a book feeling completely baffled and then see from the reviews that everyone else felt confused too; I find this incredibly validating!

Do you read reviews before choosing a book or avoid them completely? Do you want to know other people’s opinions as soon as you’ve finished reading a book?

3. Does the Length of a Book Affect Whether You’ll Read It?

For me, especially now, this is an unequivocal YES.

I’m much more likely to pick up a 250-page novel than something that is 400+ pages. (I already assume The Calamity Club will be a non-starter for me due to its length.)

A very long book has to sound compelling—or come highly recommended—for me to commit.

This doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy long books; some stories really do need hundreds and hundreds of pages to unfold properly.

But I feel like a lot of books would benefit from trimming 100 pages… or more.

I’m especially wary of long fiction because I need the plot to keep moving to stay interested. A 500-page book with a dozen characters and a giant family tree feels like an assignment. (I tend to struggle with Elizabeth Strout books for this reason; I can never keep all here characters straight. And when we read The Joy Luck Club for Engie’s book club, I had to keep notes about each of the characters to keep all the generations and families straight.)

Do you check the page count before starting a book? Is there a maximum length that makes you automatically put a book back on the shelf?

I’d say anything over 400 pages and I’m likely to avoid it these days…

4. Have You Ever Changed Your Mind About a Book?

Some books feel great while I’m reading them but fade from memory almost immediately.

Other books don’t seem especially remarkable at first, and then I find myself thinking about them weeks (or even years) later. I will never forget the first time I read the ending to The Grapes of Wrath.

This makes assigning star ratings tricky. Do I rate a book based on how much I enjoyed the actual reading experience? How well it was written? How memorable it was? Whether I’d recommend it to a friend?

Occasionally, I look back at an old rating and wonder what on earth I was thinking.

Do your opinions about books change after you’ve had time to process them? If you rate books, do you do it immediately… or wait a few days before deciding?

5. How Often Do You Return Library Books Unread?

I do this all the time. (See above about my increased appetite for DNFing.)

Library holds have an annoying habit of arriving simultaneously. ANYONE ELSE? I can wait months for popular books to come in, and then they’ll all arrive on the same day. #ReaderProblems

I used to feel guilty about returning unread books. Now I consider it part of using the library. I can always request the book again another time, and often the fact that it didn’t feel like a priority means I wasn’t actually that interested in it after all.

Do you ever return books unread? Does it bother you? Are you strategic about managing library holds, or do they all seem to come in at once?

Your turn! Answer one question or tackle all five:

1. When do you DNF a book?
2. Do you read reviews before or after reading?
3. Does a book’s length affect whether you’ll pick it up?
4. Have you ever changed your opinion about a book later?
5. Do you return library books unread?

And in case you missed them, here are my latest reading roundups: On My Shelf: April 2026, On My Shelf: May 2026, and On My Shelf: June 2026.