Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Tying Up Loose Ends: DNF

It is rare that I do not finish a book.  Although, I have been less patient with books that do not grab me right away this past year.  As a result, I have set quite a few aside to pick up and read again later.  I came across a handful that I know I will not be coming back to, sad to say.  They caught my fancy initially, but failed to win me over enough to want to finish them.


Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers has all the earmarks of being a great novel.  Interesting historical characters, scary vampires, and good writing.  Still, I was unable to get beyond the half way mark, my attention always escaping elsewhere until I finally decided to call it quits.  I really wanted to like the book, but it just wasn't for me.





After hearing so much about David Sedaris and how wonderfully funny he is, I thought listening to his collection of essays, Me Talk Pretty One Day, would be a great way to go.  I appreciated his sentimentality and found a couple of his essays somewhat funny, but I just couldn't drum up enough interest to continue listening to the audiobook.





Diane J. Reed's Twixt was another one I just couldn't complete.  I follow Diane on Twitter and she's one of the nicest people there.  I just wasn't taken with her writing style and felt it was better not to go on.  It's a shame really because I like the concept of her book.  It's a paranormal romance involving fairies, a curse, and, of course, love.




I've already posted about my attempt to read American Psycho and what an utter failure that was.

Only four books added to my DNF list for 2012.  That isn't so bad in the scheme of things, I suppose.

What books made your DNF list this year?


© 2012, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

8 comments:

  1. I agree about Sedaris. Everyone raved to me about him, but I tried Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and was very underwhelmed.

    My only DNFs this year were Middlemarch by George Eliot, and 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. And I REALLY tried to finish them.

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    1. Kelly - I am glad I am not the only one who wasn't impressed with Sedaris.

      That's too bad about Middlemarch and 1Q84. I'm curious about both books, but can't say they are high on my to read list at the moment. I guess that's a good thing!

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  2. I tried When You are Engulfed in Flames by Sedaris and wasn't impressed either :( It came highly recommended and I even tried to make myself like it...but I didn't...and stopped listening about 1/2 way in.

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    1. Peppermint - You too? I was afraid it was just me. Like you, I wanted to like Sedaris, but, try as I might, it didn't happen.

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  3. My biggest disappointment this year was Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman. No thanks ;)

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    1. Jennifer - It's bound to happen, isn't it? We can't like everything we attempt to read.

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  4. Life is too short to keep reading a book that isn't making you want to keep reading it! Glad you marked these as DNF. There are too may other books to read!

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    1. Kathleen - Exactly! I always feel a weight lift off my shoulders when I decide to not finish a book after trying hard to get into it. I guess that's a good sign it's time to move on! As you said though, there are too many other books out there to read. No point wasting time on something I'm not enjoying.

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