What were your last few DNFs? And why?

[IceIceBabyBump]

> The Witches of Vardo by Anna Bergman. I got to a point in the book where the characters were just walking between building every day. I could also feel heroics brewing which I hate in books.

> Atonement by Ian McEwan. I got 60-pages in and nothing had happened yet. Dense description of bugger all. Boring.

Haven’t had a DNF for a while but then fell for a review of Piglet by Lottie Hazell. Absolutely dire.

Having read some more reviews after I decided to give up on it I’m glad I did as apparently it doesn’t get any better.

A couple should have been DNFs, like Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow but I was reading then for our Book Group.

The department of sensitive crimes by Alexander McCall smith. I found the characters unlikeable and didn’t care what happened to them or if the murder was solved. Felt a bit too ‘try hard’.

I abandon loads of books, usually because of poor grammar and general lack of proper editing. It's actually rare to find a book that HAS been well proofread and edited. Sad really, and while they are 99% library books or review copies, I would be really annoyed if I'd paid for one and would demand a refund.

I enjoyed Still Life! Also liked We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves.

I think my last DNFs were Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey and Regeneration, by Pat Barker. I didn't dislike either, but just sort of had no impetus to keep going with them, which I guess is basically the same thing 😁

I did quite enjoy a book I can't remember the name of by Michelle Zauner (the singer from Japanese Breakfast) and also the prequel to We Were Liars - also can't remember what that was called. God it's no wonder I struggle to get through a book!!

The worst book I've ever read was Shantaram by Gregory David (Michael?) someone, and that was SO awful that I finished it out of fury alone.

I trie to read Shantaram years ago. I didn't have a bloody clue what was happening, so much drivel. I gave up on that about 100 pages in. It's absolutely gigantic too!

My last two DNF were both books in Italian that I was reading because I wanted to go to my library's book club. I dragged my heels on both and only got 1/4 of the way through so didn't go. They didn't grab me enough to finish though! Next year I am determined to read more in Italian and actually make it to the book club!

I think it's worse when a series you enjoy takes a nosedive.

Two full price hardback books I regretted are The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovich and Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths. I enjoyed the Rivers of London series and I think The Hanging Tree was about no 6. It was just awful, I couldn't believe it was by the same author. Maybe the later books improved but I'd had enough after DNF this one.
Elly Griffiths books have been a must-buy for me for ages, and the first couple in this series were quite engaging. I think the problem was the female protagonist who couldn't really carry a book focused on her alone, plus an intensely cliched plot with an indistinguishable lot of cardboard characters. Not on a par with the Ruth Galloway books.

What was it that didn't keep you reading with Regeneration? I've just taken it off my shelf for a reread, having loved the trilogy when it came out.

I absolutely hated Shantaram too - biggest hippy traveller cliche ever.

Agree with Butter too, so over hyped and far too long. Also weird bit where it goes to a different Pov for just one chapter.

Also DNF Money and The Famished Road, both of which were snooze fests. And Irvine Welsh Filth which made me feel physically sick.

I did however really like The Safe Keep and Still Life. Depending on how far you got with The Safe Keep, it is basically in 3 parts, and I'd say the first part is the weakest.

Every single used bookshop I have ever been in India has had a copy of Shantaram. I'm not sure if it's the subject matter or just that a really long novel might have been a useful thing to have around on long train journeys.

I don't normally really shy away from sad stuff but I think I was at a stage in my life where I needed a bit more in the way of escapism, tbh 😳 maybe I should go back and try again? Funnily enough I saw the third in the trilogy in a NT second-hand bookshop yesterday and it did make me think of it.

have today cast The Safekeep aside with great force (not really, it's on my Kindle)

Tedious. Tortured writing. Guessed the plot within about the first 15 pages or so.

ETA: i forgot to do my usual thing of checking reviews on Goodreads before buying, so that's on me.
I usually read about 20 reviews, 10 of the 5 star and 10 of the one star.

Also i did wonder if i hated it because it was an awful translation, but no, it was written in English.

I've now left Shantaram at two thirds read for so long I think I can call it a DNF now, though I did intend to go back to it. I think the most annoying thing about it is that he makes himself such a hero all the time, albeit in what he thinks is a self-deprecating way. It's supposed to be a true story, but very difficult to believe that.

Couldn't agree more on all points @thisoldcity

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi. I got so far in and realised that although there are characters and dialogue and other things that novels usually have, it isn't a novel; it's just writing with very little holding it together. I think it's the kind of book you just have to be in the moment with, but you can only do that if you're actually getting some enjoyment out of the words as you read them.

I’ve just given up on Villette by Charlotte Brontë after reading about a fifth of it. I adored Jane Eyre, but I don’t speak any French and such a large portion of the dialogue being in French is the reason I’ve given up.

It's my favourite novel (and, IMO, far superior to JE)-- but as I speak fairly fluent French, I'm not even sure I registered that enough of it was in French to put off a non-speaker!!

Reconstruction by mick herron.
I love the other Slough house books but I just couldn't get into this one.
I also dnf mort by terry Pratchett - this is thd 3rd book of his I've tried to read (sorry, I know he has many fans!) but I just don't find them funny.

I very rarely give up on a book, but I hated A Prayer for Owen Meany I simply had to stop about 1/3 of the way through. I keep reading that the end is worth it, but it just couldn’t be! The descriptions of his voice, the focus on the mother’s breasts …. Just awful

I ordered this from the library and then forgot to pick it up. I don't think I'll bother now haha!

@Hellohah it’s very popular so maybe you’ll like it, I was having to force myself to read it, I always look forward to going to bed and reading but found myself phone scrolling because I didn’t want to read it, that’s when I decided to just quit it!

@alloutofcareunits I think I'll pass on the focus on a mother's breasts haha!

My personal book of 2024 - absolutely loved it. The OP may too as it meets her criteria.

I DNF that absolute pile of drivel, Hamnet.

The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw. So much chopping about between time lines made it very hard to follow the plot or relate to the characters. For something which was really gory it was really dull.