Books I Did Not Finish - 2021
It has taken me a very long time to accept the idea of not finishing a book. Or just allowing myself to realize I am not enjoying it and to quit reading. But, it has been a very freeing feeling and these are the books that haven’t made the cut for me this year.
There’s a bit of a fine line and some debating that happens in the book community over the idea of not finishing a book - also known as DNF (Did Not Finish). Some people can’t leave a book unfinished. Some will come back to it and try again. Some have a certian amount of the book at which if they aren’t connecting or enjoying the book, they quit. And there’s a wide range of opinions and rules and feelings on this topic.
As I said, I wasn’t always ok with leaving something marked as DNF. Especially an audiobook. Party because I figure I can just loosely listen to it and at least get through it. I also didn’t like to stop a book because I have come across many books that I wanted to quit, but stuck it out and ended up like the book because of the ending or how everything tied together.
But in 2021, I finally decided to embrace this idea and make a tag of DNF books to I could see. Then if for some reason I want to read it again one day, I’ll be able to see that I didn’t like it at some other time. Might save myself some time in the future.
So here are the books that I DNF and just couldn’t get into this year.
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Grown Ups by Emma Jane Unsworth
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The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver
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One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
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The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
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Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
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The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
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The Dinner by Herman Koch
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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Ponder This:
- What are your feelings on not finishing books?
- What are some books you never finished?
- Do you ever go back and try again with books your couldn’t get through the first time?
- Have you read any of these books I didn’t finish? Did you like them? Dislike them?