Let’s Talk Bookish – Is it bad if you don’t finish reading a book?

Published on by Rukky @ Eternity Books

Hi guys and welcome to Let’s Talk Bookish! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, created and hosted by me, where we discuss chosen topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.

Today’s topic is: Is it bad if you don’t finish reading a book? (suggested by Jane @ Blogger Books)

Thank you so much Jane for suggesting a topic!!

*You can find all the LTB topics here!

To be honest, I don’t think it’s bad if you don’t finish reading a book, but I get why some might shy away from doing so. Sometimes, I try to push myself because “the book might get better”, or because “I want to give the author a chance”. Many times it just results in me being disappointed and angry, and sometimes the book redeems itself a little by the end.

If I don’t like a book at all, and I have better things to do, I will probably DNF, and I think it’s fine for anyone to do so.

What I won’t do, is rate a book that I haven’t completely read. I don’t think that’s fair for the author, because a star rating is for the whole book, not just the part that you managed to finish. You can review it, post your opinion on the part that you’ve read, but I don’t think it’s fair to give it stars, because that removes from the book’s overall rating.

This Week’s Participants:

Jane @ Blogger Books | Heran @ Be Frisky | Zoe @ Zoe’s Library

Ruqs @ Many Things Bookish | Evelyn @ Evelyn Reads

I’m sorry for the short post, but I don’t have time. I’m really hoping that I can get back on track this weekend and start blogging regularly again, so fingers crossed that I’ll make it!

Thank you again Jane for the topic suggestion! What do you guys think about DNFing books? Do you give books you didn’t finish a star rating anyway? Do you think that’s fair? Am I the only one who sometimes pushes herself to finish a book anyway? Chat with me in the comments below!

26 thoughts on “Let’s Talk Bookish – Is it bad if you don’t finish reading a book?”

  1. Pingback: Monthly Wrap-Up: September 2019 – Eternity Books

  2. Hallo, Hallo – came into this post via Twitter

    I have some thoughts to share about this topic which is why I’ll be composing my thoughts to add to the discussion this afternoon. I have been wanting to get into Discussion posts on my blog for a long, long time – maybe this is part of the nudge I need to do in order to make that happen! I’ll be back round to read everyone’s thoughts and also to share the link to my response. Happy for discovering a new meme I will enjoy participating inside! Top cheers.

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  3. Ohh, i love thoses « discussion chains » things !! I might join, one of thoses days.

    It depends on the book, really. Sometimes, specially if it’s for a blog tour or something i’d push through anyway.. sometimes if it’s from my personal library I might shove it back on my shelf for later and pick something else if I find that’s not what I feel like reading. If for some reason something ticked me off and I really don’t wanna read it at all, And can’t push threw im shoving it on the fuck it bucket 😂

    As for thoses ? Unless it’s something truly awful and MAJORLY problematic, the rating is « jammed » at 3stars. I like to keep it on the mid-section because yeah, I haven’t read all of it and so you might think different if you like X, Y or Z.

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    1. I’m glad you do and I hope you enjoy taking part!!

      I probably would also push myself to finish ARCs or books for review, since I said that I would read it. Haha, that’s probably a pretty good idea lol

      That makes a lot of sense and sounds like a good compromise! But I still think that if you don’t finish, you still shouldn’t rate it, but giving it a fixed 3 stars, is still a great idea and I’m glad that you’ve found something that works for you 💚

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  4. Great post!! ❤ I honestly don't think there's anything wrong with leaving a book unfinished. We all have such busy lives, and if a book doesn't spark joy, there are probably other ones out there that are sure to do the job. I personally don't tend to DNF many books, but the few I have, I abandoned in the early stages of the book. With that being said, I didn't give them a rating because I felt as though I didn't experience enough of the story to have a solid opinion of it. Granted, if I had read more than 50% of the story, I would've given a star ratings to it, since my opinion of the story likely wouldn't had changed in the remaining portion of the novel.

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    1. Thank you, Kelly 💚 We all definitely do, and we don’t need any more stress by reading books that we don’t like. Yeah, without finishing a good percentage of the book, you can’t really give a fair opinion/rating. I’d probably still not rate it, because you never know, the ending might save everything and make it a 3 instead of a 2. But I think you giving it a rating after more than 50% would be a whole lot better and much fairer than doing so after reading a few pages.

      Thank you so much for reading and stopping by hun 💚

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  5. this is such a great topic!! i feel the same way about not finishing a book. i REALLY try my best to push through, even if im not LOVING it in hopes that it will get better but sometimes, it really can’t be helped and i think life’s too short to waste time on books that you aren’t enjoying.

    i try to give books a fair chance so i won’t dnf anything until i passed 50% through and then i usually skim to the end or just put it down entirely.

    i hope you’re able to get back on track with blogging again and life treats you kinder. great post though!!

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    1. I’m so glad you liked it!! It’s really sad when books disappoint, especially when I continue reading, still hoping and praying that it’ll get better.

      I also try to read past 50% (most of the time lol, sometimes I don’t make it) as well, because usually, that’s when books get better.

      Aww thank you so much hun 💚💚 I hope you have a great week!!!

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  7. I have a hard time not finishing a book…now, if I come across a book I just don’t like I will probably read 10 books before I finish it, but I’ll always finish it. Haha. There have been a few books where I wanted to give up on them and then suddenly the book picked up and I loved it. I always give the book a chance. I just may take forever to finish it!

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    1. Yeah sometimes I have that feeling too! And sometimes it does pay off 🙂 Honestly, it’d probably take me a long time as well, but usually I just get angry and force my way through it one time and get it done and over with…most of the times I end up disappointed lol

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  8. Pingback: Let’s Talk Bookish – Is it bad to not finish a book? – Zoe's Library

  9. I like the way you think.

    I gave a low rating to one book I DNF because the blurb seemed to purposefully leave out a massively triggering plot twist. I was expecting something fairly cheerful, but I got smacked in the face with a violent, disturbing “surprise” instead. My review was not a complementary one, and I did talk about what happened in that scene in it so that no one else would have the same unpleasant experience with it that I did.

    In general, though, I completely agree with avoiding ratings for DNF books. That’s only fair for the vast majority of storytellers and publishers who follow the rules.

    How often do you review DNF books?

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    1. Thank you!

      Hmm, I do understand that, and I think, under some instances, maybe then it is fine to give a rating even if you haven’t finished a book, and that would be probably one, if not the only reason, why I’d consider doing it. I’m sorry you had to go through that though 🙂

      Exactly! Authors need a fair chance, and we readers have a responsibility to be fair with our reviews and ratings as well.

      I actually don’t really review them. I don’t think I have published a review for a DNFed book, but I sometimes post my thoughts on Goodreads and maybe mention why I stopped reading the book during my WWW Wednesday posts, or in a monthly wrap up. So, it’s usually just a quick summary of my feelings about the book, and why I stopped, not really a “review” lol

      How about you? Do you review books that you didn’t finish?

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  10. Great points! Sometimes I also force myself to give the book a longer chance, but the most generous chance for a book I’m not enjoying is 100 pages – then I just don’t consider it worth my time and concentration. I don’t have too much free time after school because of sports and friends, and so I’m always trying to read THE best of books and that can be challenging. But what I’m trying to say is: I read because I can value a good story and if the book isn’t offering me that, I’ll stop!
    Thanks for mentioning me and happy reading!

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    1. Thank you! I completely agree! Reading is for personal entertainment, and it shouldn’t become a chore, or something you feel forced to do. Yeah, I really understand the lack of time issue, so I won’t waste my time reading something when I could be doing better things.
      Aww, you’re welcome and thanks for suggesting! Happy reading to you too!!

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  11. For me, it totally depends on the book. If it’s a book I’ve been wanting to read for years or I bought it, I’ll force myself to finish it. But if it’s a book I picked up at random at the library because I was in the mood, I don’t mind DNFing it if I didn’t enjoy it.

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    1. That makes sense and a lot of people, I think, do that. I actually did that a few days ago too lol. I randomly picked up a book from the library, didn’t like it, and just DNFed. Sometimes, I think because I pushed myself, it makes me even angrier with the book, and by the end, I will probably really hate it. Anyways, thank you for sharing 💚

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  13. I don’t really rate books, but I do agree that you should only rate a book unless you’ve read the whole thing.
    I also will push myself to finish books, but I don’t usually enjoy them if I don’t like them after the first couple chapters.

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