Did Not Finish Titles [DNF] - And Why - Page 4

Aleron Ives · 11-20-2022, 12:27 AM

I just read The Road, and his tenuous grasp on punctuation is obnoxious, indeed.

Catlady · 11-20-2022, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John F

I very seldom don't finish an ebook, but I had one today: The Passengef by cormac mccarthy.* I'm not sure what is going on after reading 1/4 of the book and the lack of quotation marks is a little annoying.

* If cormac doesn't need to use quotation marks, I don't need to use capitals for his name.

<begin rant> I hate when authors (excluding poets) refuse to use standard capitalization and punctuation. Isn't communication with the audience the whole point of publishing a book? Why make it more difficult to understand by being idiosyncratic? (I do acknowledge that there are some exceptions--e.g., stream-of-consciousness narrative--but otherwise, the author's rule-breaking seems to be done simply to draw attention to itself.) <end rant>

HLS · 05-03-2023, 10:55 AM

If a book is really bad I will skim the rest of the book or skip chapters/pages that are not relevant

Renate · 06-07-2023, 04:43 PM

DNF: "White Noise", Don DeLillo.
Nice writing, good characters, but when the narrative went into outer space he lost me (about page 200).

astrangerhere · 06-09-2023, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renate

DNF: "White Noise", Don DeLillo.
Nice writing, good characters, but when the narrative went into outer space he lost me (about page 200).

Outer space, you say? I am suddenly more interested...

Renate · 06-09-2023, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Outer space, you say? I am suddenly more interested...

Well, outer space would have been good. There's some reality in that.
I just sensed that I was losing grasp/interest in whatever was happening.

Edit: I just finished "Arrowsmith", Sinclair Lewis so I went to my library's OverDrive and "Dune", Frank Herbert was on "Lucky Day". I've never read it. I got about three pages before it became a DNF. I don't dig hierarchical, religious or mystical future societies. "Lem scoffed at the wretched creature scraping dog poo off the Gildeatron. He could tell that he was only a Grade 23 sanitizer by the insignia on his cap. It had been years since Lem was a Grade 23."

Lukusaukko · 08-26-2023, 02:17 PM

Sometimes I just get bored by a book and do not bother to finish them, and I rarely remember them afterwards. There are however some books which I loathe enough to remember the reason why I did not finish them for years afterwards:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy: started reading it because I usually like post-apocalyptic stories, chucked it at a wall at about the 20th time someone said "i am cold and this story is not getting anywhere yes no i said" or something to that effect, which was around page 20 (slight exaggeration, but not by much). Obnoxious, pretentious, and unbelievably boring.

Jerusalem Commands by Michael Moorcock: I like Moorcock, a lot, but after struggling through the previous two novels in the trilogy despite their rather unpleasant protagonist, I just couldn't anymore.

Priest-Kings of Gor by John Norman: this is entirely my fault, as I already knew that the Gor books had a reputation for misogny, non-consensual S&M and plenty of exposition for no particlarly good reason, but I wanted to see if it was really that bad myself... Well, yes it was bad, and I've heard it only gets worse as the series progresses. Reading it was like picking a scab, except not quite as rewarding.

HLS · 10-04-2023, 11:02 AM

This year I chose one too many books I gave up on or skipped chapters because I was bored and could not keep an active interest. So next year my reading goal is going to be pages read not number of books read. That way I will not feel as guilty.

AgedAngel · 11-30-2023, 05:49 AM

I'm halfway through Stephen King's Holly, and am debating whether to put in the time to finish it. King seems be plowing the same field that he did in another Holly Gibney book I read not too long ago, the characters don't resonate with me, and I'm afraid the remainder of the book is going to wind up being a fairly standard chess game, or a predictable puppet show.

I like King's work (he's always an entertaining storyteller), but I can't shake the feeling I'm reading a rehash.

Pity: I'd looked forward to this release.

AA

HLS · 12-06-2023, 11:29 AM

If I abandon a book I usually skim over the remainder of the book instead of all out abandoning it. Had a few this year such as Beautiful. If I knew it was a sports book I would of never bought it. i don't want to read about basketball or whatever

HLS · 12-06-2023, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgedAngel

I'm halfway through Stephen King's Holly, and am debating whether to put in the time to finish it. King seems be plowing the same field that he did in another Holly Gibney book I read not too long ago, the characters don't resonate with me, and I'm afraid the remainder of the book is going to wind up being a fairly standard chess game, or a predictable puppet show.

I like King's work (he's always an entertaining storyteller), but I can't shake the feeling I'm reading a rehash.

Pity: I'd looked forward to this release.

AA

I hated Holly. I DMF'ed it. It was predictable and boring to me

Dr. Drib · 12-08-2023, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukusaukko

Sometimes I just get bored by a book and do not bother to finish them, and I rarely remember them afterwards. There are however some books which I loathe enough to remember the reason why I did not finish them for years afterwards:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy: started reading it because I usually like post-apocalyptic stories, chucked it at a wall at about the 20th time someone said "i am cold and this story is not getting anywhere yes no i said" or something to that effect, which was around page 20 (slight exaggeration, but not by much). Obnoxious, pretentious, and unbelievably boring.

Jerusalem Commands by Michael Moorcock: I like Moorcock, a lot, but after struggling through the previous two novels in the trilogy despite their rather unpleasant protagonist, I just couldn't anymore.

Priest-Kings of Gor by John Norman: this is entirely my fault, as I already knew that the Gor books had a reputation for misogny, non-consensual S&M and plenty of exposition for no particlarly good reason, but I wanted to see if it was really that bad myself... Well, yes it was bad, and I've heard it only gets worse as the series progresses. Reading it was like picking a scab, except not quite as rewarding.

Oh, my friend. My friend!

If you want to try a Gor book that will make Priest-Kings of Gor read like the King James Version of the Bible, might I suggest ANYTHING beyond book 5 or 6?

The torture - for the reader - is exquisite.

issybird · 12-09-2023, 08:02 PM

I abandoned Perfume by Patrick Süskind. I'd not got around to it, but I thought it a slam dunk for me. I love perfume and I love that era. But it was... gross. I'm not someone who needs to like protagonists, far from it, but after quite some time invested in it, I didn't see the point of continuing. It was just a lot of nastiness. I suspect that the huge failure for me was that I didn't buy the concept of such a very sensitive nose.

Renate · 12-09-2023, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I abandoned Perfume by Patrick Süskind.

I tried it in German. The language was not a problem but it was a DNF with only a few pages read, if I remember correctly.

issybird · 01-18-2024, 08:28 PM

I've ditched my first book of the year. It wasn't absolutely awful -- a short story collection and I enjoyed reading at least a couple -- but it would have taken up too much precious reading time to finish. Sigh. It's not the terrible books that are the issue, because those are easy to jettison in full self-righteousness, but those that have redeeming qualities. And you keep reading, and then you start to think you might as well finish....

For 2024, I'm going to try to hold the thought that "it's not worth precious reading time". And, "no point in throwing quality time after bad".

12-06-2023, 11:29 AM	#55
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,089 Karma: 15107670 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	If I abandon a book I usually skim over the remainder of the book instead of all out abandoning it. Had a few this year such as Beautiful. If I knew it was a sports book I would of never bought it. i don't want to read about basketball or whatever Last edited by HLS; 12-06-2023 at 11:31 AM.

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11-20-2022, 12:27 AM	#46
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,482 Karma: 16300090 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	I just read The Road, and his tenuous grasp on punctuation is obnoxious, indeed.

05-03-2023, 10:55 AM	#48
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,089 Karma: 15107670 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	If a book is really bad I will skim the rest of the book or skip chapters/pages that are not relevant

06-07-2023, 04:43 PM	#49
Renate Onyx-maniac Posts: 3,305 Karma: 13470629 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5, Go6	DNF: "White Noise", Don DeLillo. Nice writing, good characters, but when the narrative went into outer space he lost me (about page 200).

08-26-2023, 02:17 PM	#52
Lukusaukko Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 392326 Join Date: Feb 2023 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Sometimes I just get bored by a book and do not bother to finish them, and I rarely remember them afterwards. There are however some books which I loathe enough to remember the reason why I did not finish them for years afterwards: The Road by Cormac McCarthy: started reading it because I usually like post-apocalyptic stories, chucked it at a wall at about the 20th time someone said "i am cold and this story is not getting anywhere yes no i said" or something to that effect, which was around page 20 (slight exaggeration, but not by much). Obnoxious, pretentious, and unbelievably boring. Jerusalem Commands by Michael Moorcock: I like Moorcock, a lot, but after struggling through the previous two novels in the trilogy despite their rather unpleasant protagonist, I just couldn't anymore. Priest-Kings of Gor by John Norman: this is entirely my fault, as I already knew that the Gor books had a reputation for misogny, non-consensual S&M and plenty of exposition for no particlarly good reason, but I wanted to see if it was really that bad myself... Well, yes it was bad, and I've heard it only gets worse as the series progresses. Reading it was like picking a scab, except not quite as rewarding.

10-04-2023, 11:02 AM	#53
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,089 Karma: 15107670 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	This year I chose one too many books I gave up on or skipped chapters because I was bored and could not keep an active interest. So next year my reading goal is going to be pages read not number of books read. That way I will not feel as guilty.

11-30-2023, 05:49 AM	#54
AgedAngel Clueless Posts: 7 Karma: 564 Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: USA Device: Old Kindle paperwhites and Kindle Fire HDX with ReadEra app	I'm halfway through Stephen King's *Holly*, and am debating whether to put in the time to finish it. King seems be plowing the same field that he did in another Holly Gibney book I read not too long ago, the characters don't resonate with me, and I'm afraid the remainder of the book is going to wind up being a fairly standard chess game, or a predictable puppet show. I like King's work (he's always an entertaining storyteller), but I can't shake the feeling I'm reading a rehash. Pity: I'd looked forward to this release. AA

12-09-2023, 08:02 PM	#58
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,822 Karma: 227654321 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	I abandoned *Perfume* by Patrick Süskind. I'd not got around to it, but I thought it a slam dunk for me. I love perfume and I love that era. But it was... gross. I'm not someone who needs to like protagonists, far from it, but after quite some time invested in it, I didn't see the point of continuing. It was just a lot of nastiness. I suspect that the huge failure for me was that I didn't buy the concept of such a very sensitive nose.

01-18-2024, 08:28 PM	#60
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,822 Karma: 227654321 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	I've ditched my first book of the year. It wasn't absolutely awful -- a short story collection and I enjoyed reading at least a couple -- but it would have taken up too much precious reading time to finish. Sigh. It's not the terrible books that are the issue, because those are easy to jettison in full self-righteousness, but those that have redeeming qualities. And you keep reading, and then you start to think you might as well finish.... For 2024, I'm going to try to hold the thought that "it's not worth precious reading time". And, "no point in throwing quality time after bad".

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