Book bloggers are all too familiar with the acronym "DNF". Outside the world of book bloggers I am sure there are a variety of hypothesis for the acronym.. "Do Not Fuck" being an example. However, for us it means that we DID NOT FINISH your book. As an avid book reader, I have come to know what I like in a book and what ultimately forces me to toss it against the wall with a growl. Here are some of the reasons I have DNF a book.
1. Its bloody boring..
The point of telling a story, whether that be fictional or non fiction is to bring it to life using words. If I am a couple chapters in and I am not hooked, I will not finish it. There has to be something in those first couple chapters that causes me to want to read on. Authors are story tellers and we want to be engaged and picturing the scene as it unfolds in our minds. But, if you bore the shit out of me and I start to fall asleep, you end up in the DNF pile.
2. When common sense becomes not all that common..
I have read a couple books where the plot just doesn't make logical sense. For example, if the female character is attacked in a dark alley and saved by some mysterious man, who doesn't provide a last name or who he is, one would suspect that the female will have her guard up in regards to this person. But I have gotten half way through a book, whereby the female has still not asked important questions about the male character that any logical person would know to ask. When they ultimately have sex and I still don't know his last name.. I lost it. It very well could be personal opinion, but I can't relate to someone who doesn't at least know some essential things about a person before they let them take a look at their lucky charms.
3. Grammer & speling R super impotent (yes that was done intentionally)
I have a bit more flexibility when it comes to reviewing ARCs or pre released books as they have not gone through the finial editing and publishing routine. But, if you're book has been published and I purchased the book and you have more than 10 spelling and/or grammatical errors.. well, you know what happens. Grammar and spelling are so important when writing because if you spell a word incorrectly or fail to reflect the purpose of the narrative, then the book kind of loses its appeal. Reading a book should not feel like grading a paper. By the time it hits your readers, your publisher and editor should be able to recite from the book because they have reviewed it that often.
4. The plot would confuse Albert Einstein..
I believe it takes a very skilled and talented writer to enchant the audience with multiple perspectives. Most times I have read books with two, perhaps three perspectives throughout the course of the book. These are some of my favourite books as when we only see the plot from the perspective of the essential main character there are usually some gaps until the end of the book. I have found that having more than three perspectives is a challenge to read. If I have to do a bubble chart in order to keep characters and their storylines straight, then it defeats the purpose. Adding other characters is great when building a series, but don't try to cram ten characters into 400 pages.
Some of my favourite authors in the Romance Genre do this exceptionally well, and I will refer to Avery Flynn, Lauren Layne, April Hunt and Laura Griffin. These ladies have proven that they have the skill to engage an audience with multiple perspectives and they do it so well that it keeps me coming back for more.
5. Personal Ideology..
My friends in the USA have the first amendment of their constitution which offers freedom of speech to its citizens. In Canada, we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which allows us the ability to express our opinions freely. I respect the right of all to speak to their perspectives; however, I will not read material that spurts hate, racism, discrimination or violence. If your book references a social ideology that is not consistent with my own, I will explore whether I would be open to continue reading or DNF.
For example, I recently DNF a book because in the opening chapters the male character faked being an Uber driver to transport three women. One woman who was distraught about a break up. When he dropped the women off, he looked to one of the women to ask for the phone number of the distraught woman. I had two issues with this concept. The first being that the asshat faked being an Uber driver. Considering all the recent media and increased incidents of crime with individuals doing this, I felt a little sick reading it. The second being that I felt that the male character was targeting an already vulnerable female to increase his chances of getting laid. Both left me unsettled and I could not move past it.. so the DNF pile got another visitor.
Although I am sure that some other bloggers would disagree with some of my reasons, these are the five that I most commonly use. Happy writing authors and heres to hoping your masterpiece does not end up in my shit pile of DNF.
