On The Idea of Reviewing a DNF'D Book [2020 Discussion Challenge - #10]

On The Idea of Reviewing a DNF'D Book

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Key Definition
Do Not Finish (DNF): The concept of not finishing a book. This is not the same a skimming or scanning. 
Book Riot Posts Mentioned and My Takeaways

When It's Time To DNF a Book and What To Do Next | Book Riot

Recently I've been finding myself putting down a lot of books I don't finish. In the Book world, we call it "DNF" (did not finish). When it comes to books, we all want to read whatever we want as much as we want.

Key Takeaways

1. Check your mood - are you thinking about this book when not reading? Does it make you depressed when reading or after reading?
2. Be fair in your review
3. Find what didn't work for you - this could be the writing style, or it could be that you jumped the gun **NOTE: If you review for PW, Kirkus, or other paid review outlets, this may not go over well.**

How to DNF a Book Like You Don't Give an F: Fall into Fall Readathon

This post is part of our Fall into Fall Readathon to help you wrap up your summer reading and get cozy for the fall reading season. It's sponsored by Swoon Reads - publishing the latest and greatest in YA fiction recommended by readers like you. See all the readathon posts .

Key Takeaways

1. Identify your escape hatch - 5%, 10%, 50 pages, or 100 pages (as my friend Erica suggested in a comment)
2. Identify why the book isn't for you - sometimes it may not be that book wasn't for you, it could be that whatever message you need to hear was heard and you are now done.



So...What Am I thinking

Why to review a DNF'd book

1. The author should know why I lost interest, especially if I am in their target audience
2. The publisher should know why I lost interest
3. The book community should know why I lost interest, in case we have similar interests


How I am considering reviewing a DNF'D book

1. Notate where I stopped
2. Share my honest feelings professionally (think of a performance review where the employee is not meeting their goals or fulfilling their job description)
3. Mention why I selected the book - another review, the synopsis, or promise from the author
4. Describe the turning point - this ties into #1, but gives more detail


Where I'm stuck
Rating - I could rate what I've read so far, but systems (NetGalley, Goodreads, and Amazon) will think that is the for the entire book
1. For Netgalley: select the option for not reviewing and share the reasons
2. For Goodreads: post review without a rating and at the top of the review write "DNF'D at ##%
3. For the other sites: there will be no review
4. For my blog: This is not a problem, since I don't use ratings (Why? They are arbitrary. For example, my 3-star is good and simply means this was a nice read, but I wouldn't buy the book or ever read it again.)

YOUR TURN: I have some questions!

1. Do you DNF? If so, what is your criteria?
2. Do you review the books that you DNF? If so, how do you review them?
3. If you DNF, how do you review on NetGalley - do you select the "I will not be giving feedback on this title" option, or do you give feedback and provide a rating for the portion you did read?