#dnf books

[livinginsideabookshelf]

February Wrap Up

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks.

3.5/5

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life.

5/5

Little Birds by Anais Nin

Evocative and superbly erotic, Little Birds is a powerful journey into the mysterious world of sex and sensuality. From the beach towns of Normandy to the streets of New Orleans, these thirteen vignettes introduce us to a covetous French painter, a sleepless wanderer of the night, a guitar-playing gypsy, and a host of others who yearn for and dive into the turbulent depths of romantic experience.

3.75/5 (All stories)

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

A romance ghostwriter who's lost her motivation after a breakup is haunted by the spirit of her newly departed editor in this whimsical paranormal romance. Florence Day doesn't believe in love or happily-ever-afters any longer.

2/5 (DNF)

\/ My Full thoughts and reviews (SPOILERS) \/

Cleopatra and Frankenstein

I flip flop back and forth between whether or not I actually liked this book. A lot of people are saying that it's shallow, and I agree its very shallow, however, I quite like shallow characters. But it's hard to tell with this novel if the characters are shallow or if the narrative is.

I liked Cleo and Frank as main characters but both are hard to root for. Even towards the end when they get their 'happy ever after' I feel like neither really learnt anything. Which would be fine if the author wasn't trying so hard to make us believe they did.

The side characters - particularly Eleanor and Jesus (rip) - are the stars for me. Eleanor's chapters were funny and more poignant than the rest of the novel. It's also nice to see a POV that wasn't a tortured artist or the workaholic money bags. Zoe and Quentin are okay but they bring up topics and then drop them. Quentin, for example, is shown to struggle with body dysmorphia and it's suggested heavily that their trans. However, this is never brought up again and instead Quentin becomes about drug abuse. The characters often are 'topic characters' in that they are nothing but the topic the author wants to discuss.

Having said all this, am I going to keep reading Coco Mellors? Yes. I enjoyed this book regardless of the problems i have with it.

Convenience Store Woman

I read this in a day because I loved it so much.

This book will not be for everyone. The humour and characterisation are very odd - at least to a Western reader - and the concept is strange. However, I loved it.

I related so much to Keiko. I loved the atmosphere, the conflict was interesting, as Keiko doesn't really fight it intentionally but I just loved it. I am now reading everything that this author brings out, I'm currently reading her short story collection and so far it's a 5/5.

Little Birds

[Warning for i*cest, p*dophelia and SA]

Anais Nin is a conflicting figure. Little Birds has some really good stories in them. I particularly like, A Model and The Woman on the Dune. They're really good stories which look at women finding their sexuality and enjoying it, which often they are not depicted as such. It's wroth noting that this is erotica but written like a classic so the language is quite flowery.

However, there are some stories which are just outright gross. Little Birds is about a man and his fascination with young girls and ultimately flashes at them. Two Sisters starts with SA by the sisters father and then they do it with their brothers. It's weird, strange and very gross. At first, I would take this as ironic however Anais Nin odd and even herself had an affair with her own father, so it's begs with question whether or not she condones this or not.

Again, this is not for the faint of heart. I am going to read more of her work to try to understand her, as an author but so far she has an interesting way of writing but she is also very strange.

The Dead Romanctics

I DNF this at 29%, which is very early but instantly, I could feel this was going to put me in a reading slump.

The main character is annoying and the ghosts are secondary to everything, which is the only part I was actually excited for. The romance - for me - was not good. I think as a genre, I am just going to give up on booktok romance, it's just not my thing.

#bookblr #books #book community #book lover #reading #book tracker #bookworm #currently reading #book review #cleopatra and frankenstein #convenience store woman #sayaka murata #review #good reads #booktok #dnf books #february wrap up

[ben-barnes-is-my-husband]

#booklr #books #polls #reading #readers #book #dnf books

[princessofbookaholics]

i always feel so validated whenever I read rant reviews of books i've dnf'd 😌

#books #booklr #book #reading #read #bookworm #reads #bookaholic #bookaddict #book rant #dnf books #book reviews

[sailor-toni]

New youtube video! Here is all the books I DNF (Did not finish) in 2022! Let me know if you read any of these!

#dnf #dnf books #video #youtube #youtube video #manhwa #dark academia #author of her own destiny #death to lady white ferret #gods behaving badly #dorian gray #did not finish books #book review #booktok #booktube #books #comics #Youtube

[lookingforamandaa]

recent dnf’s

#bookblr #booklr #fantasy books #iphone photography #book review #reading update #currently reading #new release #dnf #did not finish #dnf books #book stack #gleanings #sister stardust #the wild robot #the walled garden #be dazzled #the high house

[benevolentlibraryghost]

i have a lot of trouble DNF'ing books but seeing someone else ranting about it in their review makes me feel so much better

it's not me, its you, book >:(

#dnf books #books #reading #dnf #did not finish

[canyourelatetometoo]

Why it is so hard to like something, but the thing is nothing like you imagined so, you're there torturing yourself to like it ,even when you know it won't happen but, you have to push through it because it may get better.

#daily qoute #books #dnf books

[voraciouswriter]

I have had very few properly DNF books. If I rack my head, four spring to mind:

1. The Fellowship of the Ring - I was actually enjoying it quite a bit but then life around me sped up so the book seemed like a mismatch hence dropped it back then. Will definitely pick it up once again

2. The Afghan and The Odessa File - the opposite of Fellowship in terms of pacing, I feel Forsyth books are those which beg to be read in as few seatings as possible with minimal intervals. Sadly, my attempts to read both were interrupted by one of life’s many distractions hence could not complete them

3. The Time Traveller’s Wife - didn’t connect with the book. The only book I have tried twice and failed twice. The book had so much potential due to its ingenious premise, however I personally felt that the plot did the premise a grave disservice.

#DNF books #readers block #reading #books #bibliophile #LOTR #Tolkien #Forsyth #Time Travel

[ysvln]

okay yesterday (?) or the day before it ? i dont remember 🤡 i bought holding up the universe and when i arrived home, i searched some review about that book and most of them dnf the book drop the book rate it low AND NOW IM SCAREDDDDF LIKEEEEEEEE IM SCARED TO READ IT 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️ is it really that bad ???

#holding up the universe #novels #dnf books

[angedemystere]

Should I finish reading these?

I’m a reader who struggles to get through the beginnings of a lot of books. I have to push myself through sometimes, and even then it doesn’t necessarily work out. But I think I can tell the difference between “this book is genuinely interesting but for other reasons I’ve put it down and can’t get myself to pick it back up right now” and “I’m struggling to invest in the characters, world and/or plot.” But if a book is making me feel #2 and I’ve heard otherwise positive reviews of it, maybe I should give it another go. So here’s a list of DNFs that I wasn’t enjoying but I would like to know if they’re worth finishing:

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

#booklr #reading #dnf #dnf books #dnfblr

[noelab11]

#booklover #books #read more #booknerd #reading #dnf books #not good

[dior-dove]

#DNF #DNF books #rage quit #likewise #me

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE YOUR SQQ HE LOOKS SO FUCKINH DONE WITH LIFE

The recipe for SQQ is: calm on the outside, screaming on the inside.

#poorly drawn svsss #svsss #shen qingqiu #ask #No joke I'm pretty sure he is my favourite 'guy gets transporte'd to another world' character #I recently rewatched the (sadly never to be continued) animated version of SVSSS and I cant get over how perfect he is for the role #He is *so* done with everything going on around him. Forced to be calm and mean. Born to scream and be kind. #The gap between the internal and external dialogue is one of my fav character/writing quirks. #The personification of the 'he lied' dialogue tag. #Love how deep the SVSSS meta and literary analysis community gets with him. Piosplayhouse has opened my eyes to trans SQQ #what is the system is *not* a metaphor for pressure to adhere to societal norms of gender and sexuality? #I really need to finish the books...that is probably my biggest burning hole in my 'DNF' pile. I liked it! I just got busy.

[books-tea-and-tangents]

Book Unhaul 2022 edition 

I know it’s probably weird to start off what’s mainly gonna be a book review blog with a book unhaul but I thought it would be a good way to introduce myself with a glimpse of what I like and don’t like in literature in a way.

so here’s my book unhaul

How I purge/unhaul books

If I tried to read a book but end up DNFing it multiple times

has troupes/characters I don’t really like

Read it before and liked it but better off without it

Don’t have the same tastes that I had when I brought the book/out grew the genre/not in the demographic

doesn’t have reread ability

never got the completed series

doesn't have sentimental value

Why I purged each book on the list

(from top to bottom)

The Hunt For Red October- Tom Clancy

Brought it after watching the Amazon Prime adaption of the character (only managed to watch season 1 tho)

tried to read it twice DNFed it both times

I know the military jargon is needed but I realized to late how much I more or less zoned out during the jargon and I kept trying to skip to the action and Jack Ryan’s POV in my second reading

pace was way too slow for me

The Extraordinaries Series (book 1 The Extraordinaries & 2 Flash Fire)- TJ Klune

DNFed by the 50th page

I didn’t like the MC was more cringy and annoying

I liked the side characters more

Cool premise but MC killed it tho

I still read YA but this wasn’t for me but I can imagine 15-16 yr old me would have liked it

I regret not reading a few pages before I brought the first book along with the second at the same time

Crazy Rich Asians series (book 1 Crazy Rich Asians & 2 China Rich Girlfriend)-Kevin Kwan

Brought them a few years ago around the time the first book’s movie adaptation came out

reread the first book a bit ago and DNFed it because I realized I don’t really like the problematic characters and drama anymore

overall out grew the two

The Infernal Devices: ClockWork Angel- Cassandra Clare

Finished reading the series a few years ago by reading the books available in the school library

I know I won’t buy the rest of that edition anymore and don’t find myself wanting to reread the book and series unless I manage to find the books in a library

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident- Eoin Colfer

read part of the series back in middle school

Got this copy years ago from the stack of books my High school librarian had purged from the library’s collection

definitely won’t read it and doesn’t hold value for me

but I remember the series being a fun series to read

Harry Potter & The Cursed Child-  J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany

Doesn't hold value anymore for me

I love Harry Potter but Cursed child is meh

But JK can choke for obvious reasons

The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight- Cassandra Clare

DNFed it a couple of times but managed to read it completely a few years ago

Felt like the MCs were copy and pastes of Clary and Jace but tweaked a bit and made them childhood friends

side characters were more interesting than the MCs

least favorite troupe used was miscommunication/not communicating at all (don't get me wrong I can read a book with the troupe but it needs to get resolved eventually)

I’m pretty sure I zoned out while reading most of it so I lost the plot a couple of times

The 5th Wave series (book 1 The 5th Wave & 2 The Infinite Sea)- Rick Yancey

Dont remember it wtf was going on

Read it once and meh

do remember there’s a love triangle for some reason

The Darkest Minds- Alexandra Bracken

Had the book for a while but DNFed it once and never tried to picked it back up again

Interesting plot but slow pace killed it tho

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-so-popular Party Girl- Rachel Renée Russell

Had this for years since I was in middle school I think

I literally outgrew the demographic for it and just kept it around and its been collecting dust

still remember it being a fun read when I was a kid

A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale- Elizabeth J. Braswell

Had it for years but Never read it but picked it up when I brought Reflection: A twisted Tale which was a take on Mulan

probably never read it because I don’t really have a emotional attachment and relate to Aladdin and Jasmine like I do with Mulan

Its been sitting there and collecting dust

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Titan’s Curse & The Battle of the Labyrinth- Rick Riordan

I love this series but I read copies of the books from the library growing so my personal collection of PJO isn’t complete (planning to get a whole edition of the series eventually)

I still have the rest of the Riordanverse books

Before I Wake- Dee Henderson

Also Got this years ago from the stack of books my old High school librarian had purged from the library’s collection

was planning on reading it but never have and never picture myself reading it

What If It’s Us-Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

DNFed it

brought it years ago because I read Simon Vs the Homo sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat

Plot was cute until Miscommunication (from what I remember)

Overall these are just my opinions and reviews so take them with a grain of salt, Bye!!

#book unhaul #book review #book blog #did not finish #dnf books

[magically-bookish]

Book: The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth

Final thoughts: DNF. I haven't gotten very far and some might say I'm not giving it enough of a chance, but I find myself dreading picking it up and reading another word. The characters are great and I especially love Ruby, but, as brutal as this may sound, I couldn't care less about Saoirse's relationship with her dad, which is taking up more of the book than I'd like. I picked it up for a light, fun romance, and I might pick it back up at a different time, but I'm not getting what I want from it right now. That being said, it's by no means a bad book, just not what I'm looking for at the moment.

#magically bookish #book review #bookblr #booklr #books #books and libraries #ciara smyth #the falling in love montage #dnf books

[crazycatsiren]

It's ok to not finish books.

It's ok to be a quarter way, half way, most way through a book and go "you know what, this is not working".

DNFs are nothing to be ashamed of.

I'd had to suffer through to the end a few too many pieces of literature that I abhorred with every ounce of my being during my school years, I'm not one to judge anyone for not wanting to do that.

#bookblr #bookworm #bibliophile #reader #books #tbr #dnf