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:
- When do you DNF a book?
- Do you read reviews before or after reading?
- Does a book’s length affect whether you’ll pick it up?
- Have you ever changed your opinion about a book later?
- 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.
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I’ve been DNF -ing a lot lately. Summer brain! I return books to the library unread a lot. ( I check out an astonishing number of books..) I’ll grab something that I don’t find appealing later, books on end caps that seemed like a good idea, and ones that it’s just not the right time ( the NYC sanitation one seemed like a fall book after I started it. Summer books I devour quickly; fall books iĺl read in small bursts around work and kid stuff.)
I’m not a fan of long books. But I forced myself to stick with Gone with the Wind and loved it.
I DNF after a few chapters- I’ll start, switch to the ending chapters if it’s not appealing to see if it’s worth going forward, then down it goes.
I’m glad you’ve discovered the power of DNF. You’re not in college anymore- you get to pick and chose your reading material.
I’m laughing that NYC Sanitation sounds like a fall read… haha.
I want to read Gone With the Wind and forgot about it. Oops. That slipped off my radar. Going to add to my TBR list right this second.
I always read the reviews before I pick up a book, and I always start with the one-star reviews first. They can be very entertaining!
I also find book reviews from bloggers really valuable. Everyone has different tastes, so I don’t expect everyone to love the same books, but reading a range of opinions gives me a much better feel for whether a book is likely to suit me. The other day I caught myself discussing “Yesteryear” with someone based entirely on everyone else’s reviews!
Yes! One-star reviews can be HILARIOUS. You know whoever read that book really has strong feelings (and, for one reason or another, doesn’t believe in DNFing).
Interesting topic. here are mine answers:
1. usuall 10% of the book of 50 pages like you, unless i don’t like it right away.
2. i read reviews, mostly from people, not from amazon.
3. not really. i enjoy both long and short books. long books tend to stick for longer in my mind.
4. i love books that change something in me. i usually rate them based on impact on me, not necessarily the plot or writing but what it makes me feel.
I never look up books on Amazon, but I pay attention to what other bloggers say and when I’m finished a book, I LOVE to read through an assortment of the Goodreads reviews.
YES! I rate based on feeling, too. 100%
I am a firm believer in the DNF. Life is too short and there are too many good books to read books that aren’t doing it for you! I don’t have a specific benchmark that I have to meet before I give up on a book; I do it on a case by case basis. There’s a book that I’ve been listening to that just isn’t my favorite, and I’m dithering on whether to DNF it. I’ve listened to 42% of it, and have very little interest in finding out what happened… but at the same time, it’s a mystery and I’m a little curious about whodoneit… but also, it was kind of boring? I’m still holding onto it and will probably just allow it to expire.
But I definitely understand the value of persevering! The Goldfinch is one book that I actively hated while reading it. I disliked the characters, I hated that they all seemed to make terrible decisions, I was disturbed by their debauchery. But I stuck it out (probably because the writing was so strong) and the ending transformed it into one of my all time favorite books.
I haven’t read The Goldfinch and know it brings out STRONG feelings in people. Now I’m debating adding it to my TBR!
I feel especially torn when I get halfway and beyond into a book. Occasionally I just can’t stomach to keep reading, but I will flip to the end to at least learn how it all turns out.
The day that we run out of things to talk about with reading is the day that we run out of reasons to blog…there is a lot more water in the well.
Reasons to DNF: anytime that you feel like it! It’s true that there are cases where you just need to push through, but I feel like I end up regretting sticking with an Ok book more than I regret walking away from a meh. Case in point: Tom Lake! There were some good things going in, but the more I read, the more I realized that the characters weren’t coming alive for me, the story was boring, and after a long slog I was 50% in and it started to feel like a chore. I’m sure that if I had stuck with it there would have been a payoff, but it was just too much work for too little of a reward.
Reading reviews: most of my books come from one particular podcast (Sarah’s Bookshelves) and my bloggy friends. Every once in a while I’ll see an old school book review and get intrigued, but that’s rare. All that I really get from those sources going in is something that makes me say “ooh! I want to read that!”. I usually don’t read Goodreads or Amazon reviews. I think that I would have to either really love or really hate a book to take the time to do that.
Length: because I do most of my reading on the Kindle, I don’t know how long most of the books that I read are. I’m set up to see percentage read and not page count. If I see that an audio book is very long, it does sometimes make me hesitate. One reason that I often DNF is if I feel like I’ve read a decent amount of the book, it’s not gelling, and I can see that the percentage read isn’t very high. On the flip side if a book isn’t doing it for me but I feel like I’m getting through it quickly, I have more of a tendency to stick with it.
Change an opinion: yep, The Correspondent is a classic case. When I look back at my reading lists I see books that I rated highly that I barely remember.
Return books unread: not common, since most of my reading is Libby/Kindle. I usually don’t have more than 2-3 books checked out at one time. If I can’t finish by the due date, I have the option to put my Kindle in airplane mode to extend the loan. If I was reading physical books, this would most likely be a very different situation.
I use a Kobo and you can’t use the airplane mode trick and it drives me crazy! I hate the feeling of only having a day left on an e-book and knowing I won’t finish in time.
Okay, you’re making me feel better about Tom Lake. I know it’s universally loved, but I just could not get into it!
I usually give a book at least 50- 75 pages to redeem itself. My biggest reason for DNF-ing a book is that I don’t like the characters or care what happens to them, lol. Excessive and unnecessary swearing will do it for me too. I don’t read reviews before I read the book, but when I have a strong reaction to a story, either positive or negative, I will peek at the reviews to see whether anyone else felt the same way. I rarely return a library book unread. Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorite authors!
I really dislike excessive swearing, too!
I loved My Name is Lucy Barton, but struggled with some of the other Strout books I read; but I’m on the wait list for her newest one and can’t wait to check it out!
I have been on a DNF roll this year – life is too short to read books I am not enjoying.
When do you DNF a book? I have no hard and fast rule. Some books I have even DNS (didn’t start!), notably Matthew Perry’s memoir. Addiction and drug abuse is usually a trigger for me, and often anything child abuse-adjacent. Sometimes I will read those books, but often not. Usually it’s more of a “I’m bored” feeling than anything.
Do you read reviews before or after reading? I rarely read reviews, particularly Goodreads, because they make me mad no matter what. I almost always love a book and then find it’s got like a 3 star average rating, or I’ll hate a book and find it’s closer to five stars.
Does a book’s length affect whether you’ll pick it up? Not really, but it has to be a GOOD premise/ beautiful writing for me to pick up a real chonker.
Have you ever changed your opinion about a book later? Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe?
Do you return library books unread? Sometimes!
I really enjoyed Perry’s memoir! It was so sad and hard to read, but fascinating.
YES! It is a weird sensation to like a book that other people give horrible reviews and vice versa. That’s why I try to wait to look at any reviews on Goodreads until AFTER I read a book.
I listened to The Calamity Club as an audiobook from the library (as a download via Libby) . I loved Kathryn Stockett’s book The Help, which is one reason why The Calamity Club was so appealing. However, the length of the audiobook at almost 30 hours definitely created a hesitation. However, those 30 hours never ever felt like a slug, and I almost would invent reasons to be able to drive or put on headphones around the house to be able to listen to that book… It was that good! Don’t let the length on this one deter you; give it a shot.
But on that note… I DNF books all the time. As mentioned above, you’re not in college anymore and you get to choose what you read. As a 19 century English and American Literature major who used to read insane numbers of required pages the power of the DNF for me now is big!
There is a sense of satisfying autonomy involved with not having assigned reading and being able to stop reading a book you don’t enjoy. (How I wish that had been an option for As I Lay Dying by Faulker in my intro lit class at university).
I think I am on the wait list for The Calamity Club so… I’ll see. BUT 30 HOURS. That is a big commitment!!!
Whoa- I have missed a lot but NOW I’M BACK, just in time for a reading post, woohoo! So…
I rarely DNF a book, for several reasons. One is that I’m pretty careful these days about which books I pick up, and if a book just isn’t for me I usually can tell ahead of time and won’t even start it. But even if I’m in the middle of a book and not enjoying it, I feel like I want to see it through, due to the “Middlemarch phenomenon.” Years ago, I read Middlemarch, and found it so boring that I wanted to DNF halfway through. But I plodded onward, and on the last page, I was so moved that I cried. That’s the biggest book swingup I’ve ever had, but I’m always aware that a book could really turn around for me. Unless I really hate the subject or the writing style- but in that case, as I said before, I probably wouldn’t even start it.
I’ll skim reviews of a book before reading, but I don’t get too into them. I just want to read enough to know if it’s going to be a book for me, but I don’t want to know TOO much.
I’m usually willing to dive into a long book! And, recently on the Currently Reading podcast, they said that the more books you check out, the more it helps the library in terms of funding. So it’s not a bad thing at all to check out a book and return it unread.
That’s what keeps me from DNFing even more: what if it turns out being an incredible book at the end. I guess that’s a risk I am just more willing to take now, but it does niggle at the back of my brain. That’s one reason I love hearing from other bloggers about how they find a book. I’m more likely to stick with something for longer if I know people who share similar reading tastes really enjoyed a book.
Yes! I’ve heard the same thing about the more books checked out, the better the stats for the local library. I’m happy to do my part 🙂
I was so close to not finishing Yesteryear but kept going thinking it had to get better and at least have a good ending. I only carried on because so many peole loved it, I didn’t.
I listen to audiobooks and give it half an hour of listening and if I am not enjoying I give up then. Usually it’s down to the narrator.
I always read the reviews after I have finished a book and sometimes I do not agree with them at all.
The longest audiobook I’ve listened to was around 13 hours and I think that is long enough. I have seen some for 17/18 and think no, thank you!
Yesteryear is a VERY divisive book with people either seeming to love or hate it. I can totally understand why it isn’t everyone’s jam.
That’s one thing about audiobooks: the narrator can impact the experience tremendously.
I think 15 hours is the longest audiobook I’ve started, but I generally listen at a faster speed, so it doesn’t take quite the full time. Mostly, though, I read with my eyes.
I DNF when I no longer want to read a book. If I noticed that I am avoiding the room where the book lives, that’s usually an indication that I should DNF. I really and truly mostly want to be reading most of the time, so if I’m not leaping at the opportunity to spend five minutes with my book, that’s my sign. It could be ten pages, it could be two hundred. I let my reading heart decide. I have no guilt about DNF, either. As Suzanne said above, there are too many good books out there for me to be slogging away.
I try not to learn too much about a book going in to it. Sometimes I’ll pick things up here and there, but I don’t like to have any preconceived notions. Honestly, I don’t even really like to see the book cover.
Not really. Some of my favorite books of all time have been 500+, so I always go in assuming the long books are going to be terrific. But I side-eye any romance novel that is over 250 pages. You don’t need 400 pages for a genre book like that!
My best example of changing my mind on a book was how much I think about Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. When I first read it, I thought it was fine. But as night by night passed and I kept thinking about it, it wormed its way into my brain as a stellar book. It wasn’t even a reread – it was just sitting with it and thinking about it. I try to wait at least 2-3 days after I finish a book to write a review so I can really think about it. If it hasn’t left enough of an impression on me after just a few days, it might be something I enjoyed reading at the time, but it didn’t leave an impression on me. But some books aren’t necessarily something I adore right away, but when I think about them, they grow on me. I try to let the book marinate, if that makes sense.
Wait…are there people who read every library book they take out? That’s nuts. I always have far more books checked out than I could possibly read before they are due. If I really want to read it, I can check it out again later on!
So interesting re the cover. I LOVE looking at cover’s first and would never in a million years think of starting a book without looking at the cover. I’d never even thought about it. I just… assumed everyone looked at the cover.
Lincoln in the Bardo was a DNF for me, but maybe I should try it again.
I feel like my parents read all the books they check out, but they are more selective than me I think. I tend to order in a lot without doing too much research first. If someone recommends it or I like the cover or the title sounds cool. I like to have options!
If I’m not picking up the book regularly or wanting to read other things I know it is time to DNF. I do go back and forth on this though because as you and many people mentioned, sometimes the payoff or enjoyment isn’t readily apparent. I LOVE Historical Romance, but they are like junk food: quick and easy and a delight but easily forgotten. A good but hard book is like a meal you took time to prepare, or savored and enjoyed all the different flavors and the company and remember afterwards. There is a place for both and I try to keep a balance!
I try not to read reviews beforehand. When I encounter a book (your blog included) I add it to my list but by the time I read it, I often forget the details. I like to enter into a book as the author intended, if they want me to know something, they can tell me!
I do look at the length, just to get a feel if I want to commit. I have read some longer books (Lonesome Dove was 36 hours on audio!) but I really think twice before starting. My reading time is more scattered since having kids, so sometimes longer books are more difficult to do if I will only be reading in 10 minute chunks. I do have a 30 minute commute, so I will often read longer/more complicated books in audio and save the easier ones to read with my eyes.
I have attended a monthly bookclub at my local library for 16 years and we read very widely and I will often think differently about a book after our discussion. I will also sometimes change an opinion after reading a review. They provide a different perspective, a different lens to see the characters and their motivations. I also find it curious that some books I can remember character names and plots etc years later and others I just have a general feeling, but I usually can’t predict upon finishing which it will be. I include a list of my top 10 books for the year in my Christmas card and it is always interesting to go back over the year and see how I felt about books several months removed from finishing them!
I read mostly digitally (audio and ebook) and they nicely allow you to suspend a hold until you are ready for it. I try not to “hog” a digital book another reader is waiting for, so I try to only check out the number I can get thru. But in my paper book days, I’ve returned plenty I never get to! For that matter, I have probably a couple hundred books at home (mostly thrifted) that I don’t read because they don’t have a due date! Ha!
Reading is such a solitary joy, I love talking and sharing it with others! Thanks for the prompts!
“A good but hard book is like a meal you took time to prepare, or savored and enjoyed all the different flavors and the company and remember afterwards. There is a place for both and I try to keep a balance!” YES to this.
And another good point that the “depth” of a book can really be impacted by stage of life. Especially when the kids were younger I was almost always reading in little pockets of time and it was hard to sink into a book. I think that’s why I gravitated toward non-fiction for so long because I generally found it easier to pick up/put down.
36 hours. Wow… that is a BIG commitment!
Books, or rather our reactions to them change as we move through life too. I tore through “Wuthering Heights” as a teenager, couldn’t put it down. I can hardly remember a word of it now and tried to reread it a few years ago and it was a massive letdown and DNF. “Persuasion” on the other hand didn’t chime with me at all as a teenager but is now my favourite Jane Austen.
I felt similarly to Jane Eyre. I loved the book as a teen—LOVED IT, told everyone I knew it was my favourite book—and then read it again in my mid-30s and was horrified by it. The behaviour of all the men was deplorable to me now (as a wife and mother) and I read the content through a very different lens.
I’ve read Wuthering Heights twice and loathed it twice. So, so depressing to me. But I can see why it’s a classic.
Oooh, a post about reader habits! Love it!!
When do you DNF a book? I don’t have a hard/fast rule for this. If I’m not jiving with it (which could be for a variety of reasons such as tone, characters, plot decisions, etc), I ditch the book. I used to finish everything I read but life is too short to stick with a book that isn’t right for you.
Do you read reviews before or after reading? I like to have a general sense of what is going to happen so I read the back-of-the-book summary but I try not to read reviews as there can be unintentional spoilers, like in a blog post for example. I will look at Goodreads to see who has read a book I’m starting to get a sense for whether it will work for me. If certain people highly rated it, there’s a good chance I will like it. Like this woman Wendy who has the blog “Taking the Long Way Home” is such a reading twin for me! Also, if Kyria gave a book 4-5 stars, chances are I will like it. I will generally only go back and read a review of a book (usually in a blog post) when Nicole has read a book and written a little snip about it.
Does a book’s length affect whether you’ll pick it up? I often don’t know in advance how long the book is since 99% of my books are read on my kindle. I am less thrilled to read a really long book unless I know “the juice is worth the squeeze.” I had written “The Calamity Club” off but my MIL was raving about it yesterday. Paul and I just checked the 2nd book in the Nevermoor series out of the library last week and oof, it is LONG and CHUNKY but he doesn’t seem to be intimidated by it (probably because I am the one who will be reading it out loud to him). My ideal page count is probably 350 or less.
Have you ever changed your opinion about a book later? I will sometimes adjust the rating of a book after I’ve read it, and I move the rating in both directions. I am more generous with 5 star ratings these days. 3-5+ years ago, I was very very stingy. So sometimes I will go back and upgrade my rating for a book I read a long time ago. Lately, I’ll often shift a rating from 4 to 3 if I go back and I can’t remember a dang thing about the book.
Do you return library books unread? I only check out eBooks for myself generally speaking and I borrow no more than 3-4 at a time so I can be sure to finish them before they are auto-returned in 3 weeks. So the only time I return something I haven’t read is when I DNF’d it. We check out a ton of books for the boys, though, and not all of them get read. But I would say 80% or more do.
I frequently return unread library books. Unwatched library movies too. I enjoy perusing the shelves and pick out books, but if I don’t get around to reading them, nothing is lost, because borrowing is free.
I’ve noticed a funny thing recently. A blogger who I like has highly recommended a couple books that I read. She just really raved about them, but when i read them I found them just kinda okay. Now when I see her giving high ratings to a book, it makes me question if I should read it.
These were nonfiction, so maybe it has more to do with our beliefs. And just so you know, the blogger isn’t you!
I tend to only read books where I’ve either read about it from a fellow blogger or a podcast, or its one of my favourite authors, in which case I just pick up the book at read, no questions asked. I’m sure I miss a million books that way, but I rarely read a book I don’t enjoy. However, if I’m not enjoying, I’ll either DNF at around 50-100 pages, or I’ll skim to the end to see what happens! I definitely return books to the library unread (I also have the problem of books arriving all at once, argh). And yes I think I can always request them again. The length question – it depends on the genre. I read a lot of fantasy, and as I said, if its my favourite authors (think Sarah J Maas), those books tend to be long, and I wont hesitate. But more general fiction, or a non-fiction, I definitely prefer a shorter read. Oh and also, I CAN’T do long books on audio book. I’ve tried and its an epic fail. Short books only on audio for me (non-fiction preferred) – the only exception was Harry Potter, but they were done SO well on audio.
Yes, I can’t imagine a 30+ hour book. I have a hard time listening to podcasts. I am just not generally into consuming entertainment via audio.
I had a long comment and then
somehow deleted it. Sigh. I’ll
just focus on the library books! I
frequently return library books unread (or DNFd). Oftentimes I pick out a bunch of library books knowing that I won’t know for sure which are ones I’ll actually enjoy. Used to feel weirdly guilty about it, but now I figure that every book
I check out counts for the library in terms of circulation numbers for funding, so maybe it’s actually a good thing!
I used to feel guilty, too. Like I HAD to read every book that came home.
Now, I appreciate having lots of choices. I never know what book is going to hit just right.
I very rarely actively DNF a book. Usually if a book isn’t holding my interest, I’ll pick up something else and the first book with languish. I have *intentions* of finishing it, but more often then not, it just sinks lower and lower in my TBR pile. If I really do dislike a book and don’t want to read it anymore, I’ll often skim it so I know what happens.
-I love reading reviews after I finish a book. I like to see how other people thought of the book and if there was something that another reading caught that I missed.
-I try to read one big (600+ pages) book a year – so in that case, I will pick a book based on page number in addition to content. This year it’s an Antony Trollope novel, because I’ve never read Trollope. And maybe East of Eden. But otherwise, I don’t really think of page number, but I find that the books I’m drawn to have a pretty similar page number (300-450 pages)
-I don’t know if I change my opinion of a book from “loved it!” to “Didn’t like it at all!” But there are certainly books that I now read and think, “Whoa, that doesn’t land the same, but I still love a lot about this book.” I think a lot of times, revisiting a book reminds me of who I was when I read that book, and even if I don’t love the book now, I still appreciate the book feelings that the book gave me back then. On the other hand, there are often books that I didn’t like that just took a second reading to get into. Maybe that is more about who I am than the book itself?
-Books get returned to the library unread all the time, but if it’s a Libby borrow, I try to be more mindful of making sure I finish it because I know that it costs the library money for each borrow.
I also appreciate reading a review and gaining a new perspective or making an unexpected connection between events in the book.
East of Eden is LONG. I took one look and decided I’d start with Of Mice and Men. Haha.
Jane Eyre is the big book I can think of where my feelings have switched. I know you like that book. I read it and LOVED it in high school and then loathed it as a 30-something wife and mother who was horrified by women’s treatment by men in the book.
I had NO idea it costs the library for each Libby borrow. Eeks. I mostly only get books I’m interested in, but definitely do not get around to reading all the ones I borrow.
I’m like you, in that if I feel bored when I pick up the book, I will generally DNF. Sometimes, if I’ve got far enough in and I’m not invested enough to finish it but do want to know what happens, I might read the last chapter. Often I put something on my TBR after reading a blogger’s review, but if not, I don’t go looking for reviews of books I’m about to read. I do sometimes read reviews after the fact for some of the reasons you mention.
I read any-length book, I don’t usually take book length into account when I’m picking what to read. I use the library for most of my reading and often return books unread because I don’t get around to them. I also sometimes have to return partially read books because I don’t make it through them before I need to return them. The Age of surveillance Capitalism I borrowed three times. Once I didn’t read it, the second I read part of it, and the third I finally finished it. I usually just set them to paused on Storygraph so I can come back to them and know where I was up to.
I really like Ann Patchett (currently listening to her read These Precious Days, a memoir) but found both The Dutch House and Tom Lake to be boring!
I loved The Dutch House but could NOT get through Tom Lake. I’m glad it wasn’t just me that found it boring.
I loved The Calamity Club and The Correspondent, really liked Theo of Golden (although it read like a first book and needed stronger editing), hated The Goldfinch.
Something about Elizabeth Strout’s books pull me back in, always wanting to know what happens, not really liking the characters but unable to stop reading (or always putting the next one on hold).
Yesteryear holds zero interest for me. I need my books to be believable, my characters likable, and the setting inviting.
If an author can’t grab my interest in the first chapter, then buh-bye.
I return many ebooks without finishing —easy come, easy go.
And of course I will flip to the end of a boring book to see who died, got married, or did the bad thing.
Agreed that Theo of Golden needed more editing. I haven’t read The Goldfinch, but have heard really great things.
“And of course I will flip to the end of a boring book to see who died, got married, or did the bad thing.” This is me!!!
I don’t recall ever reading reviews before reading a book. Honestly, I like to go into my fiction with little insight to the storyline or characters.
I have to say I’m a little surprised that you liked Yesteryear. I mean, I liked it, but I wouldn’t have guessed that you did.
The length of a book means nothing to me.
I’ve found that most everything I’ve DNF’d the past two years has been either boring or the author was trying to project some sort of bias on a character for no reason other than their gender or ethnicity.
I liked Tom Lake, but maybe that’s because I did the audio version, which was top-notch!
I started a book last week (The Mad Wife), and I was so tempted to look at the last few pages, thinking of your dad! I resisted!! How’s that for you getting into my head? 😂
I really enjoyed the book! I found it fascinating and I really did not predict the main “twist.”
“The length of a book means nothing to me.” Hahaha. For some reason, I find this statement HILARIOUS.
I have heard so many good things about Tom Lake… on audio. If I try it again, I am definitely going that route. I think it’s Meryl Streep narrating? Do I remember that correctly?
Ooh, this is my kinda jam! Let’s get into it. 🙂
When do you DNF a book? I try to give a book at least 100 pages before I DNF. But sometimes I’ll get a few chapters in and realize I just cannot stand the writing style so I DNF it. That just happened recently with a book!
Do you read reviews before or after reading? I love reading reviews after I’ve read a book, ESPECIALLY if I really didn’t like it and need to feel validated in my opinion, ha. Sometimes I’ll read reviews beforehand to get a better idea if it’s a book that’s right for me.
Does a book’s length affect whether you’ll pick it up? Oh, absolutely! I have the same issue with The Calamity Club. I want to read it but it’s SO LONG. I am very hesitant to pick up any book longer than 400 pages, or start an audiobook that’s longer than 13 hours.
Have you ever changed your opinion about a book later? I’m sure I have. I mean, I am still kinda annoyed that I gave Hillbilly Elegy five stars because of who the author is. Speaking of Kathryn Stockett, The Help is a book that has not stood the test of time so even though I enjoyed it when I read it, I know there are issues with it.
Do you return library books unread? No, but only because I don’t borrow a ton of library books at one time! I usually only get one or two that I know I want to read.
Wow! 100 pages is giving it a good runway!
We see EYE to eye on the length of reading and audio.
I also have very mixed feelings about Hillbilly Elegy. I LOVED that book when it came out. I can’t remember if I was rating books, but at the time, I definitely would have given it a 5. And one of my favourite quotes of all time came from the acknowledgements section of that book. Who could have predicted…???
I just started Yesteryear – very intrigued because I heard mixed reviews. Some people loved it, some didn’t care for it .We’ll see where I fall.
I usually don’t DNF books, although I probably have a few times, but I generally finish books even if they seem slow at times.
I love REALLY big books btw, the more pages the better! I always hate when I fall in love with a book and then it ends after 200 pages LOL (that’s why I am such an Outlander-enthusiast).
I also changed my mind on Hillbilly Elegy, because the author really did a 180. BLERGH.
I really enjoyed Yesteryear. I wasn’t sure where I was going to fall on the spectrum. It was a solid 4 stars for me, but then I ended up loving the ending (I know lots of people don’t agree). It just really pulled me in. I didn’t want to do anything but read and finish that book.
It has been years since I read Hillbilly Elegy and I would 100% read it very, very differently now!
Yes, it was Meryl, so maybe that was why it was so good?
I mean… can that woman do any wrong when it comes to her voice and acting?
I am still so bad about DNF’ing books even though all of my blog friends always talk about all the reasons it is PREFERABLE to DNF books (as needed), so I should have learned this lesson by now. I think since I don’t read nearly as much as many of you all, I’m not sure if for me I feel like it’s even MORE sunken time?! Like I want credit for every single book I pick up, haha, because I don’t read that much to start with! Maybe if I read 100 books a year I’d more easily shrug off DNF’ing a few? But if I only read like, 15-20 books a year, a single DNF is a much larger percentage. Which is all super silly to even think about/ worry about, because it’s not like it even matters! I have been trying combat this goofy idea in my head though by saying if I DNF a book I still have permission to list it on my “book spreadsheet” so it still counts. lol. (Of course I’d still mark it as DNF). I’m also trying to remind myself that by DNF’ing books that I don’t like as much, it opens up space for other books I might like more- which might ultimately lead to me reading more! 🙂
Super fun topic for a post!!
You know, I feel like this makes SO much sense. I think scale definitely impacts my willingness to DNF. Also I feel like I read a broader range of things now. When I was a teen, I basically stuck with two or three genres and never deviated. So they were almost always going to be a “winner”… now I tend to draw from a broader selection (in large part due to blogger suggestions). But that also means I tend to have more misses.
There is no “right” way to read books which means there is no “wrong” way to read books. I totally get not wanting to DNF, though, and I still feel guilty about it!
Yes, to the stage of life! Even though my kids are older (9 & 12) I still don’t have the long stretches of time to read that I used to (I understand that is partially a choice as I fill those hours with other things!) In high school, I stumbled across the first book in the Outlander series (now a TV show) and these are big books, filled with detailed history and a great story. I gobbled them up and read them as they came out, but I haven’t read one in 12 years and the thought of picking one up is overwhelming! I also think my awareness of how many books are out there (blogs! Podcasts! Reading guides!) also makes me hesitant to commit a long time on a single book. I do miss the days when the only guidance I had on what to read were recommendations from people I knew personally and most of my books were random selections from the library shelves. What have I gained/lost from reading from “curated” recommendations? Something to think about!
I can definitely relate to the overwhelm of so many recommendations! It’s a blessing and a curse. I also think the publishing industry has changed, too. There are so many options now and types of series that didn’t even exist when I was a younger reader!
I could talk about this all day! I DNF a book if it’s not pulling me in. Sometimes I check the Goodreads reviews in the middle of a questionable book because I want to know if it’s going to get better or not. I find the length depends on my mood- I’m currently reading The Calamity Club and it’s a great book, but it may have been the wrong timing because nothing about life feels like I have time to be sloowww and slog through a book. I need a quick page turner instead!
I’ve done that Goodreads review check mid way through a book as well.
I think I’m going to pass on The Calamity Club. Though my hold on Gone with the Wind just came in and it is HUGE but so, so good.