Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
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Petty Reasons You’ve DNF’d a Book
(Or reduced its rating. You don’t even have to say what the book was if you don’t want to!)
We’ve all had books that we don’t finish and while I strive to really commit myself to everything I set out to read, the situation happens where something makes me DNF (Did Not Finish) a book. Some of those reasons are totally valid and others are kind of petty.
This is a topic I don’t talk about much, but honestly, it does happen. I haven’t DNF’d a book in a really long time though as I’ve made commitments to read things I know I’m going to love and that really suit my reading style.
Without further ado, here are some of the “petty” reasons I’ve DNF’d books in the past:
1. Too long
I’ve started a book and then quickly realized that it was WAY too long and I just wasn’t that interested in it from the beginning so I’ll set it aside.
2. Lost interest
When I grabbed it I had every intention of loving it and then a few chapters into it, I’m not feeling it at all and set it down; never to return.
3. Surprise Tropes
This is not about triggers, as I’m not an easily triggered reader, but sometimes there are sneak-a-tropes inside a story that were never mentioned anywhere and when I get to something that just doesn’t vibe for me, I’m setting that one down and moving on.
4. Over complicated writing
Stories don’t always need to sound like The Iliad or The Odyssey and be heavy with prose or overused language. If a book is overly written in this way, I tend to stop reading it. If it’s not a historical novel that calls for that kind of complication, then it’s really not needed.
5. Didn’t like the author
We all have a list of authors that we just don’t like. I will never verbalize this and will always keep it to myself. This is a big DNF for me.
6. Bad reputation
There are a lot of authors around the industry starting to earn some bad reputations for their behaviors or beliefs. Everyone is entitled to theirs and if I’m reading something by someone that comes up on my radar as being someone I can’t agree with personally, I’m putting that book away – and maybe even donating it.
7. Bad characters
I’ve read plenty of books where the story is just fine, but characters behave unconventionally or don’t even make sense. This easily makes me set down a book and DNF it.
8. Ran out of time
Probably the worst reason I’ve DNF’d a book in the past is that I had a commitment to read it, but then ran out of time before my review was due and out of complete frustration did a complete DNF.
9. Forgot about it
Other books I just forget about. I start reading something and then have to put it away for a while and completely forget I was even reading it.
10. Mood related
This is probably my most common DNF reason. I’m reading and enjoying a book, but then something happens in my life and I’ve lost the interest in reading it because my mood no longer aligns with whatever the feel of the book was.
Looking for book recs…
Adventures in Literature 
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