Why I DNF Books

I’ve dnfed a lot of books recently. And honestly, I didn’t realize how controversial it was. There are so many split opinions on why you should keep reading a book or why you should dnf it. Ultimately, that’s totally your call as a reader. We all read and enjoy things differently. But here’s why I dnf books.

If I’m not enjoying a book, I won’t read.

Seriously, I can’t even trick myself into reading a book I don’t enjoy. And if I’m not enjoying it then I just won’t pick it up. But the thing is even if I’m not enjoying a book, I won’t start a new book unless I flat out say I’m dnfing my current book. It drives me crazy to have multiple books started at one time and I don’t know why. Then I will just fall into the habit of not reading at all and it turns into a whole cycle. So, it’s easier for me to say that I will dnf this book for now and try something else.

There are so many other books out there.

There is no reason to suffer through a book when there are so many other books out there. I have a shelf full of unread books at home that I can just grab another book from. And sometimes I’ve found new favorites after dnfing another book. There are too many good books to waste time reading something you don’t enjoy.

I will start buying books to pull myself out of a reading slump.

I’m trying to avoid buying books this year. I started a budget and I’m trying my hardest to stick to it. But if I get in a slump, I will start wishing I had other books and then I will fall down the book buying rabbit hole. Which honestly, I’m in that place right now. I think that the next book I buy will be the one to fix the slump and so I buy a lot of them, haha.

So those are the main reasons I dnf books. It increases my enjoyment and keeps me on track. And since I read strictly for enjoyment there is no reason for me to force myself to read something I don’t like.