I am rather ashamed to admit that I actually DNF’d Clockwork Angel, the very first book in The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. The prologue just didn’t capture my attention right away, and at that time I decided it wasn’t worth it and moved on to something else. But it sat on my shelf for the next year, until one day I decided to give it another chance. After I got through the prologue and continued on, I was hooked. I devoured that book, then Clockwork Prince, and finally Clockwork Princess. Now, it is one of my favorite series—and to think I might never have discovered my love for that trilogy if I hadn’t given it a second chance! The same could very well be true for you; a book you DNF’d could be sitting on your shelf that will become your new favorite book.
Now, not all instances of re-reading a book end up in success. I have tried to reread other books that I didn’t end up liking, but at least I gave them a fair shot and can now give them to someone who may enjoy them better than I did.
Oftentimes I feel a sort of pressure to finish books even if I’m really not enjoying reading them. Especially if the book is really popular and now whenever anyone asks me if I read it, I either have to tell them I DNF’d it or lie and say I completed it. It’s normal to not want to devote your time and energy to books that aren’t interesting to you. When it is a book I am reading in my free time for fun, I want to enjoy it and feel invested in it. But I do think it is important to have a rule or place for yourself to determine if the time has arrived for you to DNF that book. That could be after fifty pages (although such an amount might not be great for fantasy) or two hundred pages. That amount is for you to determine based on when you start to feel a sense of connection to a book. Fantasy usually takes me a little longer to get into seeing as there is typically a lot of world-building in the beginning.
I also think that some of the pressure comes from my desire to finish a certain number of books in a year. I see more and more readers comparing books and pages read each year, and I am guilty of this as well. But I think it affects my ability to slow down and actually enjoy the books I am reading. Too often I’m so focused on getting through them as fast as possible that if the book is slower paced, I am not as likely to finish it or rate it highly. That is, again, not fair to the book, and I am working on really spending time with each book I read.
That said, I think the hard part about reading is that sometimes it can be easy to put a book down if it doesn’t immediately hook you. But I think it is fair to say not every book is going to immediately have you hooked from the first chapter. Sometimes it takes a little while, and giving myself a point where I decide to DNF helps me push through the occasional difficulty of starting a new book because often after a few chapters I get into it. I just remind myself to get over the hurdle of that prologue or first chapter. If I put down every single book that didn’t capture me right away, I fear my DNF list would be massive because I think it is normal to not love a book right away. We need time to learn more about the world and the characters first in order to form an emotional connection.
However, the time for that book to connect with me may not be right now. As people our tastes and perspectives change on a lot of things, including books. So perhaps a book that isn’t working for you right now may in the future. But also, don’t be hard on yourself for DNF’ing a book or disliking a book—your taste and opinions are valid.
I would also like to clarify that this is not me judging you for DNF’ing a book or for giving up entirely on a book. This is more so motivation for those that are wanting to retry a book they DNF’d and are unsure if it is worth the effort if they DNF’d it once. But if after reading this, you glance over to that book or can picture the one in your mind that you have been thinking about giving another go, take this as a sign to give it another chance, a proper one hopefully, and see where it takes you.
Katelyn Burklow, Pine Reads Review Writer