Thursday, June 4, 2015

Let's Talk about reviewing DNF Books

Let's talk today about reviewing DNF books, or books you didn't finish reading. To be honest, most of the time I don't DNF a book. I'll keep reading on, even if the book isn't something that personally appeals to me. It's probably a book I enjoy some aspects of, because something about the book drew me to pick it up and start reading, but sometimes as I read on it's just not the right fit for my mood or some other reason. Most of the time in the past I didn't know what to do about this.

However, lately I've had several books that I ended up not finishing. I didn't know what to do about it. They were books my friends had recommended to me, that I had been really looking forward to reading. I didn't want to push through them because I definitely enjoyed them, but as the book went on it just wasn't the right read for me. Does that make sense? I don't DNF a book because I think it's a terrible book, but because it wasn't the right book for my mood or what I enjoy in a book or for whatever reason.

Reviewing a book that I didn't finish sounds like something I'd really hesitate to do. I don't ever want to seem like I'm hating a book or going on about negative things about a book. Also, since I didn't finish the book, I didn't want to call it a review because I hadn't yet read the entire book.

This led to my idea of coming up with a way to share my thoughts on the books I DNF without calling it a review. I'm tentatively calling it "Thoughts" for lack of a better name. Here's the description of the series that I've written: "'Thoughts' is an opportunity for me to write down my thoughts on a couple novels that I DNF recently. I didn't want to write whole reviews because I hadn't gotten the full perspective of the novel if that makes sense- although I read most of the novel, sometimes it just doesn't appeal to me personally. However, I still want to briefly share my thoughts, and share why I think this book might appeal more to others and why it personally didn't work for me. This is not a reflection of the books themselves, as oftentimes I definitely enjoyed and loved some aspects of the novel, but wanted to share my thoughts."

So, what are your thoughts? I'm definitely curious to know what others think about sharing your thoughts on DNF reviews. If you all are interested in hearing my first "Thoughts" post, let me know!

From the paper world,
V

1 comment:

  1. I think that's a great idea for DNF books. I think it's not really fair to write a full review for a book that you didn't finish, but giving a nice little overview of what you didn't finish it and what you did and didn't like is a fantastic way to still share your thoughts. I don't DNF many books. I just force my way through most of the time, especially if it's a book given to me by someone or that I spent money on. So far I haven't written anything about the few books I did DNF but I might go with your idea in the future. I like it a lot!

    Cayt @ Vicarious Caytastrophe

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