Hi everyone! While I still wait on a new book to magically appear in front of me, I decided I’ll tell you all about the books I DNF’d or Did Not Finished, in case you didn’t know what DNF stood for. Some of you may be shocked while others may not be surprised by this. I will do my best to explain my reasons for not finishing any of these novels and whether or not I will try to finish them.

IT by Stephen King: Everyone knows that Stephen King writes some super long books and It is one of the longer ones. Who knew a novel about a killer clown could be so complex? I did enjoy that complexity, though. I really want to finish It one day but not any time soon.

Origin by Dan Brown: I did a review/rant on this one a little while back. I got pretty far into the novel before I realized that 98% of was going to be build up to something that isn’t even substantial. Literally, the book was building up to a question. In other Dan Brown novels, you get some satisfactory answers or tangible victories before the big reveal, even if it is convoluted. The entire book felt like a mash up of Brown’s other cliches with no interesting history to back it up. Can someone prove religion wrong with one simple question? Well, Dan Brown can’t answer that.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: I’m a huge Donna Tartt fan and I did do a review on this novel as well but I didn’t exactly finish it. The style of this novel is “bildungsroman,” which is a novel that follows one character’s most formative years. Essentially, it is a coming-of-age novel. I liked the characters and the overall plot but it was just so damn long. My attention span can only take so much but I may have to try to thoroughly read it. I still recommend Tartt’s novels.

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman: Pullman’s novels are particularly popular and I tried to read this book once or twice now. The first time I tried to read it I was in grade school and the movie was coming out around that time. I know that the movie isn’t good, by the way. I remember being confused by all of the terms in the novel the first time I read it. I also was a little baffled by the whole “daemon” concept. Now that I’m an adult, I will definitely have to give this another opportunity as I will probably be able to appreciate this more.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth: I shouldn’t need to explain again why I hate this book but I do. The final novel in the Divergent series still makes my blood boil. I skipped to the stupid ending just so I could be pissed at the stupidity of it all. If you’ve read the novel, then you know what I mean.

Crossed by Ally Condie: This one was the second book in the Matched trilogy. I really enjoyed Matched when I first read it because I enjoyed the world and the characters. The problem with the second novel was that it was completely removed from the world that we had come know. It was mostly just the two main characters wandering through a desert. My mom and I actually both ended up not finishing this book. It also had two unnecessary POVs happening, much like Allegiant. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson: This is another really popular book series that I was just unable to get into. I thought that this one would be right up my alley with it being a mystery/thriller/suspense novel. I barely got to chapter five before I got very bored. Not only do I not know Swedish or really anything about Sweden, but the build up was just so boring. I wanted to know more about Lisabeth Salander but I felt like I wasn’t going to get to know her.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver: Lauren Oliver has written some of my favorite novels, including Rooms. Requiem is the third book in the Delirium trilogy and I really enjoyed the first novel. I did like the second book as well but not as much. Unfortunately, I simply wasn’t able to finish the third novel but I would like to re-read the entire series. The world of the novel was incredibly interesting and I liked the two main characters. I also felt it was a great twist on forbidden romance. I recommend this if you like YA dystopian novels.

These are at least some of the books I have DNF’d. Let me know if any of these are worth finishing or if I should just give up. Also, let me know what books you gave up on.

6 thoughts on “My (Honest) DNF List

  1. I think the appeal of Philip Pulman’s books is mainly the philosophical questions and the criticism of religion that plays into them. But this really isn’t for everyone. It is definitely not a book you would read as a child and completely understand though. I don’t even think I could compile a list of books I have dnf’d, there have been far too many (Allegiant, Dan Brown and Stieg Larsson would be on that list, too) 😀

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  2. I force-finished The Goldfinch and it was soooo sloo oo o o o o o oo o oooow – and I didn’t feel it had the pay-off at the end. It’s a gorgeous bit of writing, but I’m not convinced it was worth the effort (for me; I know lots of people who loved it) so I applaud your DNF!

    I enjoyed the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I didn’t like the sequels so much – by the third one the set-up felt absurdly over the top and the book was SO under-edited it wasn’t even funny. Good for propping doors open tho 😉

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  3. This is such an original idea. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before and I loved it. I feel like sometimes I have this pressure to finish books, even if I’m really not enjoying them and seeing other people DNF books helps as a reminder that I don’t have to spend my time on things that don’t make me happy

    Loved the post!

    Liked by 1 person

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