Hi Michael. DNF-ing is essential for me to keep my sanity. I'm retired and have a massive library. I want to get to all the good stuff before I go. Some of the books no longer reflect my reading taste or interests and some just won't work for me. I can't read everything and I'm OK with that fact. The only reason I DNF'd War & Peace was because my mother became ill for an extended period of time, and I had to direct my energies to her care. I read about a quarter of the book and enjoyed it. I'll pick it up again and start from the beginning. Happy reading.
Having 5000 books I can relate. In 1200 books read I've dnf like 60 books. but I now I've categorize the critical to read and the less important lol.. dnf is important.. too many books read that should dnf but you stick to them you may get bored of reading .classics is not for everyone. I enjoy Jules Verne per example..but some other classics I can't read them.
I used to be someone who finished books no matter what. But as I have grown older, that has changed. I have a rapidly diminishing number of years left and too many books I want to read before I die. I am now more choosy about the books I pick, but occasionally start one that I reluctantly DNF. I always give it to the halfway point before putting a book aside and may even skip ahead to see if my interest can be revived. But time is too short, and my eye wanders to the pile of books tempting me with more interesting fare. And you Michael (and your fellow book tubers) are in part to blame for that growing pile! I have a substantial number of books my TBR list because you have whetted my appetite! When it comes to reading in general, I fear for large sections of our younger generations whose attention span is so shortened by social media and sound bites that they will never even attempt to read something with more pages than a pizza menu. They will lose out on so much joy. My father used to say that luxury was a good book, a fine glass of whiskey and a couple of hours to enjoy both in equal measure.
This person captured my thought exactly. At 72 years of age, tick tock. I'm inclined not to be a DNFer, but under the circumstances it sometimes doesn't make sense.
Age has definitely affected my outlook as well. I try to be more selective. And I keep a log to prevent accidental re-buys. Age has also had a big impact on whether or not I continue with a series. If book 1 blows me away and I'm dying to read book 2, great. If book 1 is only meh ... I will drop a series immediately. Life is too short for mediocre books/series.
Great discussion! I am constantly in the middle of 25+ books at any one time. I read one chapter, then switch to the next book in the rotation and read a chapter, then switch to the next book in the rotation and read a chapter, and continue to repeat. If you grew up in the days of three network television, you only got to see one episode of a show at a time, then saw a hundred other episodes of other shows before you rotated back to the show you started with because that is they way weekly programming worked. This replicates the same experience, but with books instead of TV shows. I find this allows me to read much faster and increases my retention of each book because I never get bogged down in a difficult or boring book because I move on to a different book at the end of a discrete and easily read unit. Plus, I never give into an impulse to quit on a book because I know I only have to "suffer" for a chapter at a time. I like to mix in a lot of genres and time periods and authors within the 25+ book rotation. I specifically mix in a couple which I would never choose to read from start to finish, like extremely thick histories and biographies. I use a mix of physical books and electronic books, specifically I love Alreader on Android and I love to get books at Gutenberg Org. With physical books, the most important rule is Use A Bookmark. Most Ebook solutions remember which page you were on. I like to keep physical books at different locations in the house so that when I sit in that location, a few books in the rotation are there and I can knock off a couple or three chapters. I always allow myself the freedom to enjoy multiple chapters in a row of a book which has me enthralled and rarely allow myself to end mid-chapter, especially in a difficult book, while at the same time, never chastising myself if I do end mid-chapter. When my rotation books are not available, my most important rule is to Read What Is Available which could also be stated Never Be Afraid To Start A New Book.
Hi Michael! I had a professor back in grad school who said something very similar in that he and his wife have made it a habit to set aside at least 1 hour a day to reading. And that has stuck with me and I try my best to implement that. With my 4 year old, it's a little hard to get an hour in, but 5 or 10 minutes every once in a while definitely helps! Great video as always!
I just wanted to say, I've come back to this video over and over again recently. It's become a real comfort video for me. I listen to it when I'm feeling down about reading, or at night to help ease anxiety and drift off. I just love how positive you are about the act of reading, how much love you have for it, how you don't impose strictures or trash one type of book for another. I love the beautiful simplicity of "You should read." There's so much tribalism in the world (and on social media particularly) that it can make any kind of fan interaction exhausting. Everyone wants to argue, even about the pettiest things, like taste in books. So your championing reading and being encouraging rather than hostile has done more for my excitement about reading than anything in recent years. It's one of the things I love about your channel in general. Sorry if this is too real or sentimental, but I'm up late at night, listening to this video once again, and I just felt the need to comment. Keep doing what you do, Michael. Despite all your self-deprecating humor, it's worth more than you think. 😊
I'm with you on DNFing. I thinks sometimes people get into a cycle of DNF's. I have read so many books that that have only come together in the last 100 pages but would have been easy to give up on. I've noticed that a lot of the big Booktubers seem to DNF almost every other book which makes me think that people are just expecting too much too soon.
I've read Les Misérables (unabridged) twice. Two different translations. One I loved and very highly recommend (Christine Donougher) and one I didn't care for at all (Julie Rose). So, as a rule, I would say good translations matter. Read through different passages of various translations, if you have the opportunity, and choose the one that works best for you. Also, check various sources to see what others consider good. It can make a huge difference.
Strangely I remember reading the first ST:TNG Ghost Ship book many years ago -- and I remember *loving* it 😂 I felt it added depth to the characters and this was in the pre-streaming pre-easily available video age so it was so nice to spend extra time with them. (I'm really looking forward to watching your James Blush video next because it's how I first engaged with ST.) PS would love to hear your take on one of my all-time favourite authors: Robert Sheckley.
Ah, the Sound and the Fury! That was a rough book for me as well. I also walked into it cold. I wish I had used the cliff notes with me when I read it. It's a book that really benefits from having commentary or explanation as you read.
I love this channel. Even when Michael is scolding me about not finishing my reading. 😀 Truth is that I have DNF more books in the last couple of years than I had in my 40+ years of reading combined. My early reading was the 70's and 80's of science fiction and fantasy and I feel that today's work is just as good or not to my liking in structure/story. I've switched up and have read more mystery/intrigue and historical works. But still I've found books I've put down weeks ago still laying undisturbed and with a bit of dust on them. I do agree that once you start a book you really should complete it. At least if you get past the first several chapters and have determined if it is something you have any interest in. Life is too short to waste time reading what you don't enjoy as long as you've given it a chance.
Michael, your videos are consistently interesting and entertaining! My habits: - I try hard NOT to DNF, but I will if a book turns into an unenjoyable slog. - I more frequently DNS books ... Do Not Start. If the prose is awkward and/or amateurish, I'll drop it after only a few pages. Doing otherwise would drive my inner editor insane. I am, however, making an effort to figure that out BEFORE I buy a book, but sometimes great covers and blurbs yank me straight to the checkout line. - I do try to read across a wide range of genres and styles, ranging in quality from schlock to superb. As long as the writing is minimally competent and the premise looks fun or interesting, I'll buy a ticket to the ride. - I keep a log of all my readings and DNFs/DNSs. My memory is just lousy and I am not a fan of buying a book 2-3 times. Ooops. - Speaking of memory, I am constantly amazed at Michael's ability recall a book's plot, characters, and themes, sometimes decades after reading it. Crazy.
If I am so bored I don't want to read them I am DNFing. I don't DNF as much as I probably should lol. So hats off to you for not DNFing! Forcing myself to read something I am not enjoying puts me in a slump. 😒 I don't really have any reading rules except read what I like and DNFing if I want too. 🙂
Here's a rule: CRA (change rules anytime). But hold on: What is a rule? You know the expression "as a rule" ? Let's try that. As a rule, I don't absolutely choose WNF (will not finish). So I may set a book aside. That's HNF (have not finished), but ITF (intend to finish). This summer I started one book after another which I thought I'd want to read, only to find a third or halfway into it that it was a drag and not getting any better, until I finally set each aside in its turn. I've long had that CTF (compulsion to finish) every book I start, because my experience has told me that even draggy books commonly redeem themselves (at least in some way) by the end. However, this crisis was ruining my summer reading experience, so it eventually transitioned from PTF (plan to finish) all the way to MNF (may never finish). Why must I always stubbornly hang on to my MRCs (misguided reading choices)? Look, my already impossible longstanding WTR (want to read) list has for ages been growing much faster than I can read, and I'm not young! So STB (screw this book) is starting to have a certain ring to it.
I like your never DNFing approach to reading. I have no problem DNFing books, however I always force myself to finish a movie/TV Show, or video game I’m not enjoying. I’m thinking it’s because getting through a challenging book is more mentally draining to me. You’ve now convinced to me to give it a try.
I try to read everyday. Sometimes not able to get to what I am actually reading but I always have an Archie digest on my nightstand so can get a quick one to six page story in before I go to bed. I always hope something considered 'wholesome' will help keep the weirder dreams away. I haven't DNFed a book, I think, since the mid 2000's. 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' was all the rage. I believe it was Stephen King who hyped it up in one of his Entertainment Weekly articles that got me to try it. I was not finding it my thing at all and it was this hulk of a book. I decided to give it until page 300 and it was around that point it did finally grab my attention. That made me realized I probably DNFed a bunch of books I shouldn't have. Since then the only book I felt I should have DNFed after I finished it was 'Battlefield Earth' by L. Ron Hubbard. That took me months to read because it became something could only get through five to ten pages a day when I wouldn't skip days. Such a big book I was sure it could get interesting again like it started but it didn't for me.
Worse is going into someone's house, and finding out almost all the books You see...nobody in the house has read any of them, and they are like just decorations. This has happened to Me many times.
Thankyou very much sir for giving me some valid points to justify my habit of never DNFing a book i recently found out your channel and since have been binging your videos im really enjoying them thankyou and keep them videos coming sir
Very interesting, I myself also hardly ever 'DNF', but try to choose wisely what I read and also have very informed friends for various fields of interest, whose judgment I trust. One habit of me is to try to read at least 30p.s every day, this can be fulfilled easier or not depending on the book, of course (and I don't (need to) do it when going drinking or on a journey, but am somehow 'proud' of myself if I over-fulfilled that 'set-task' (at times twice or trice+, naturally), also things like news/internet blogs etc don't count.
I believe that if a book isn't speaking to you any level there is no problem with dnfing it. The older I get the more readily I dnf. I don't mind a challenging book. I do mind a boring book.
I DNF if a book bores me and it gives me anxious feels if I know a book is hanging over my head. I have so many books from my own collection that I need to read, including War & Peace that I need to set books I aside. I read The Count of Monte Cristo, but it took years.
Hi Michael, in general I agree with you. Reading is the most important thing, what you read is up to you, and what you decide not to finish (DNF) is again up to you. In general, once I begin a book, I intend to finish it. But like any rule or policy, there may be exceptions. The more intent you are not to DNF means you have to be more careful and fussy about what you decide to read. Once you start to write, as well as read, you will discover you have less time to read than you did before, even if your appetite for reading increases, time to do so usually does not. I also discovered about myself that with regard to fiction I am not much interested in novels or stories with no dialogue. And that is why I stay away from some highly rated books and writers like Thomas Mann. I read a short book of his about Goethe and his lover but avoided The Magic Mountain and Buddenbrooks. And then there are books that simply take too long to get to the point (whatever that point may be). Ulysses is a case in point. I got to page 299 and ran out of patience three (count them, three) times ! In point of fact someone actually dramatized Ulysses. I had the book, it was titled Ulysses in Nighttown. I don't recall the author's name. In those days I would read the book first, and, if it had been dramatized read the dramatization after reading the novel. Now, I read the dramatization first. That saves time. Given the fact that more fiction is written every year than most of us will ever live to read in a lifetime, I am complaisant about not finishing books that I might like if I had stuck it out. BTW both Les Miserables and War and Peace have been dramatized. Paul Meurice and Charles V. Hugo (V. Hugo's son) dramatized LesMiz. They did an excellent job, too. (Yeah, I translated the adaptation. Ditto War and Peace by a Russian emigre to France who was the first to dramatize W&P. in the 1920's. This dramatization was good, but because W&P has more story lines than LesMiz, it is a much harder job to accomplish successfully. The writer translated W&P the novel first then went to work on a stage version. On the other hand, I do believe that you may want to delay finishing a book if you find it not interesting at the moment. I've done that a number of times, but I do go back-- maybe years later and finish what I've started. That applies to both works I am writing or translating as well as reading. There are only a couple of books I started to translate that I absolutely will not finish. The one I have in mind was about a husband and wife talking about things that had happened to them during their married life. I got about halfway through it and decided that no one could possibly sit through this if it were performed, and the theatre would probably be empty except for those who had already fallen into an extremely deep sleep. So there's no use torturing yourself when you are treading for enjoyment. So DNF without guilt, but, try to avoid books you know you will not like, so that DNFing doesn't occur too often.
The only really long novel I ever read, about 1000 pages in paperback, was "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell" by Susanna Clarke. When you can easily read 1000 pages without letdown or slowdown at any point, you know you are dealing with superb literature. Mostly, I subscribe to the view that many novels would be twice as good if half as long (Stephen King comes to mind IMO) , but every word of Clarke's novel is wonderful.
I never used to DNF books. Like Michael, I plowed on hoping the book would get better or I'd fine the value of what I was reading. I am in my 70s now and I have become less inclined to keep reading if I'm not enjoying the experience. Less time ahead of me and so many books I still want to read before I die. Age does change reading habits.
I recently read Madame Bovary, at times it wasn't enjoyable, but the last 50 pages were stunning and rewarding. I even would consider rereading it at some point. On the whole, I agree to you when it is about dnf-ing. I hardly ever do it. Thank you for your video! I really appreciate your attitude towards dnf-ing!
For me Madame Bovary at the start seemed a bit dry, but I sort of slowed down myself and adjusted to the pace and started to enjoy the structure and prose. Its sort of a dance with books and the reader. People who DNF easily just wait passively and expect books to blow them away without them actually putting any effort to engage with them.
Great discussion Michael. Thinking about it, I rarely DNF books that I've properly started, though I often dip into my pile and read a few pages - and some of those books will never be read- but I don't count that as DNFing as there's the possibility of continuing in the future.
I had joined the bookstagram Better reading challenge a few years ago to break out of a slump and it worked. Read every day, no matter how much. I follow that faithfully now, sometimes I’ll miss a day but usually I do now read every day from a book. I don’t count magazines or newspapers or cereal boxes, which I’m prone to do every day also 😊 I also do not dnf, at least not easily. I have over the course of my reading life dnf’d maybe 2 or 3. I usually finish and can find some redeeming parts, some I’ve been so happy I stuck with the book because I wound up really liking it. Right now I’m rereading Of Mice and Men, and it’s taking me awhile because I can’t read too much of it at one time. Steinbeck breaks my heart but I’m drawn to him.
That's a very interesting topic. There is, once you leave school, total freedom in reading. Everyone has ideas and suggestions, but if rules exist, they only stretch as far as one's own reading, and that's part of what makes it great. DNFing books is a good example. For me, I will DNF a book for any number of reasons, without qualm or looking back. I approach it a bit differently, having limited reading time and no interest in pushing my way through something I no longer want to read. But if people want to get through to the end of every book they open, that works just fine too.
Hi Michael. I've really been enjoying your videos. I got back into my books recently and I'm thinking, 'God.. I missed all this..' I was only wondering, How long would you read for in one session? It certainly takes patience in this day and age with so many distractions. I aim for about 30 pages in an evening. That feels comfortable for me with a heavier book. I remember those teenage years where I could almost read half a book in an evening. I just can't seem to focus for that long anymore. I'm 53 now. Anyhows, thanks for your videos. Btw, I'm a massive Conan fan and he brought me to your channel!
For me it’s more about time than page count. I have very limited time for reading during the work week. But if I’m not working I can read about 300 pages in a day.
I started reading for pleasure starting with martial arts. Then I moved into metaphysical, religious, and philosophy. Now I read history,short stories(like REH) and classics. Anyway I read what strikes my imagination or interests me.
The Sound and the Fury is definitely challenging. However when I read it years ago it was when Oprah was doing her “Summer of Faulkner.” When you bought the book you got access to lectures accompanying each chapter. For me, this really made the book come to life and I loved the experience. Reading it all on my own probably wouldn’t have gone well. That said, the other two books in the summer series were far more enjoyable; As I Lay Dying and Light in August.
Again, this brings up the issue: what is a book? Is a series of books with one unified arc a single book, or several discreet books? I will likely never read another GRR Martin book. If he ever releases Winds of Winter, does that mean I will DNF A Song of Ice and Fire? What about collections? Is it DNFing to only read some of the stories in, say, Dubliners? Different result for, say, The Complete Annotated Works of Shakespeare? Having said that, there are a number of books I thought I DNF’d, only to return to them years later and read the whole thing? Is that a DNF and read, or is it simply a read with a partial re-read. As for DNFs to which I will likely never return, I can probably count those on one hand.
I stumbled upon your channel a few weeks ago and I love the content and your humor... A life-long reader recently retired , I read all but two of the classics you must read , some more than once. By the way, my favorite Dickens is David Copperfield.....About rules... Finnegan's wake and Wollfs To the Light house are the only two books out of hundreds I did not finish. My rules : I set a timer when I read, either in half hour or one hour intervals . I try for at least 1.5 hours of reading per day. Two years ago I added audiobooks but prefer reading. I ditched my Kindle quite some time ago. I have a habit of only reading books from the American and English literature canon, but I might now and then take in a mystery , Graham Green being my favorite. A few years ago I read a large antholgy of classic detective stories from the thirties, forties, fifties etc,. as well as some gothic mystery. Overall , I'm a bit locked in to the canon of dead, white men and the occasional dead white women. Moby Dick is my favorite novel , but I must admit that on my third read I skipped the balene chapters. Thanks again for your very enjoyable channel. Oh, Thomas Wolf is my favorite author ...William Faulkner called him the unsung hero of American literature. By the way, I liked The Sound and the Fury, it was The Wild Palms that vexed me!
We’re in total agreement. The only thing is that I recently DNFed a book that was like poorly written fan fiction that I just couldn’t justify finishing. But I agree I have to say that I have not read the book in full.
This was a great discussion Michael! Read every day is a great rule, and I definitely try to live that one. I do DNF, but it’s very rare. I try to finish books when at all possible. I have a rule that I have to at least read 50%, and I’ve only broken that rule once with Cloud Atlas. That book was just nonsensical to me. 🤣 That being said, I never count books as “read” if I dnf them.
I don't like not finishing a book, but I do sometimes have to do it. It is pretty much always because it is super boring. Not necessarily because it is a challenging read, other than the challenge of not falling asleep. It really is a matter of the book feeling like a waste of time. Reading should not feel like a waste of time. One example is The Ruins by Scott Smith. I kept going on that book and going, but it seemed like I was always spinning my wheels rather than progressing through the book. I just gave up on that one, as it was not engaging and the characters I just wanted to see dead about 100 pages in. Much of the time if I stop a book, I will come back to it later and start over, sometimes having a much different experience with the book than the first attempt. Or there are ones that I just put down for a long time, then pick it up again later, from where I stopped, and slog through the rest. The Tommyknockers comes to mind for this type. Oh boy, that was not one of King's finer moments as a writer. Also, I am not a super-fast reader, so it can take a bit for me to finish a book. I wouldn't say I am a slow reader, but I am definitely not fast at all. I have zero speed-reading skills, although I am not entirely convinced that speed-reading is really a legitimate thing.
My nephew was having problems with reading when he was 7 or 8 years old and his teacher took my sister-in-law aside and told her to find something that interested him, even comic books. My sis tried him on Star Trek books, her love, but no, then she tried Star Wars books and he absolutely loved them and that really helped him to improve his reading quickly. (Do you know what is wrong with Steve Donoghue? He seemed under the weather on his latest video. Not feeling well.)
I 'DNF' the moment a book releases its grip on me. Often times I don't get past the first sentence or first paragraph, or page, or chapter. I admit to being incredibly picky, but I assuage whatever guilt I might feel by remembering there are infintely more books in the world than I could ever hope to sample in this lifetime. Also, I agree with you on what constitutes having 'read' a book. The only books I register on my Goodreads are books I've read in full and have also given 5 stars. To be honest, if I finish any book it's likely because it's gripped me to the end, meaning it's likely to receive 5 stars anyway.
I will say to a certain extent I agree with Jordan S. My system, in the bookstore, is to flip around through it, reading a half page here and another page or five there. If after a few of those forays I'm somewhat satisfied, I'll start at the beginning and see how far I get. Here are some examples: got about 190 or 200 pages into "Infinite Jest." Stopped right there. Read the first 700 or so pages of "The Recognitions." Just couldn't see why I needed to go further. Read ~700 pages of "Juliette" by de Sade, paused for six months. Then picked it back up and finished all of its 1100 and ninety some odd pages. Wow. Yessssssssssss to reading those last five hundred pages. They were certainly worth it. Can I explain why? Nope. They just were. They were enough different than the first 700 and so it was worth finishing that one. To me it is not embarrassing to do the ol' DNF thing. Not only am I not ashamed when I don't finish, I wear it like a badge of honor. Oh, and BTW, I got about one or five pages into that DeLillo book called "The Underworld." Just not my style in the least. Quit that one wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy early. Read the first ~20 pages of "The Tropic of Cancer." Started to say bye bye to it because of excessive use of the C word (rhymes with bunt). But then I thought about it for a week. Picked it back up, skipping ahead to page 60. Read about ten pages. Was aghast. Overwhelmed. In a good way. Started it again and read the whole thing in about two days or less. Wow. Great stuff. More greatness is "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare." "Nexus" was a bit much for me, and "Tropic of Capricorn" was just a watered-down version of "Cancer" so I DNF "Capricorn."
@@Mement0o Ridiculous is the number of books in the world you could be reading instead of something whose author couldn't even manage to grip you from the very beginning. The beginning of a book is perhaps the most pored over section by any given writer, and if they can't get that right? Meanwhile, there are tens of millions of books in the world requiring even more millions of hours of time investment to read, yet we have mere thousands of hours to live. The math doesn't add up.
@@kenward1310 still...LESS THAN ONE PAGE.. my favorite book of all time I was too young for at the time of my first read. Only around the half of it my brain started to understand and appreciate it. It has been my favorite for 5 years now and I have read it many times. Crime and punishment I was ready to give up on until page 50. It is now one of my top 10 of all time. Because of it I read every Dostoevsky novel and he is now my favorite author. Wuthering heights I didnt much care for on first read. I loved every page on the second. And what is this obsession with trying to read as much quantity as possible. Knowing that you cant even scratch the surface anyway. I always remember a Thomas Hardy character who read only one or two books but he read them with such care and attention that he got out of them more than people have got out of whole libraries. I cant even imagine the egomania required to dnf a book after 1 page and to be proud of that.
Your videos started coming up in my recommendations a few weeks ago, and I’ve really been enjoying them. I also hate to DNF a book, but I’ve done it with a few. I hate to admit it, but James Joyce’s “Ulysses” has defeated me multiple times. One day, maybe I’ll make it all the way through. A little over 3 years ago I decided to seriously study Italian, so I’ve read almost exclusively in Italian since then. Another author, similar to Joyce (some people call him the Italian James Joyce) is Carlo Emilio Gadda. I’ve DNF’d his “Quer pasticciaccio brutto de Via Merulana” a couple of times now and started over from the beginning after downloading and reading articles and papers written about it. I recently bought a “guide book” for it. I think I’ll make it through this time. Maybe this same approach would work for Ulysses … You could legitimately ask, “Why bother?” In the case of Gadda, the level of insight into Italian society during fascism, into human nature and psychology, the way that he places the fascist episode into the context of Italian and European history, make it worth the trouble. Sure, there are other authors and other books that treat the same issues without being so challenging, but Gadda’s vision is absolutely unique. I suspect there’s a lot to learn in Ulysses as well. But I think a legitimate reason to NOT have a “never DNF” policy is that you might be tempted to avoid attempting really challenging books. Sometimes doing something really hard is worth it, and if you DO make it through, you’ll be a better person for it.
While I do DNF fairly regularly, I do 100% agree that you can't fully judge or review a book based on that. I use Goodreads and never give any reviews if I stop reading certain books. Also you are spot on about troubling and complex books usually being worth it or at the very least important enough to finish. Most of the time I am DNFing trashy older paperbacks hahaha.
The Sound and the Fury. Tried it, and then I TEMPORARILY did not finish. Talked to my fav teacher about situation, and he said read the last three quarters of that novel first, at which point you will be done and done. Unless you want to go back and read the first quarter, which was written from the point of view of a mentally challenged person. So I did as was suggested, and loved it. Great book. A great intro to America's best author. The above is another example of the value of continuing on beyond high school. (However, and as noted in my other comment, there is this caveat: reading Faulkner's "Absolom, Absolom!!" and/or "As I Lay Dying" will not--repeat, WILL NOT--help you assemble furniture at all, let alone faster.)
I also do not DNF a book, but I think for different reasons than you. For me it's part of the unspoken contract I have with the author. I can choose to pick up anything I like. I take responsibility for each decision I take to start a new book. Once I start something I read it through to the end. In doing so I try to honour my original decision AND honour the effort the author made to bring their vision to print. I'm lucky enough to read fast enough that even if I get stuck in something I'm not enjoying, it'll be over in a day or two and something else will come along to entertain and excite me. Cheers!
I have given up on several books of all kinds, comics, novels, non fiction, I never want to do it, I don’t enjoy dropping books, but I will only do it after reading about half, and only after concluding that I am not engaged in it or enjoying any part of it in any conceivable way.
One of my rules is to 'take a flyer' from time to time, choose a book almost at random that looks interesting. The other to balance fiction and non-fiction. I have DNF'd a few books, including Crime and Punishment because halfway through I could see it coming, that dirtbag was going to get some kind of redemption at the end and maybe I was dead wrong about that, but there you go. Enjoy your videos very much.
I don’t dnf often but I do lose books all the time and then finish them later. I remember one book I dnf had the whole story plot twist and everything revealed in the first paragraph and I just couldn’t do it lol
In my controversial opinion, DNFing is essential. In fact, I'd worry if I didn't DNF. It would mean I'm not being judgmental enough, not going after or finding what I'm really after. For me, reading isn't really so much about finishing books. It's more about finding something valuable, like a treasure hunt. Granted, this is more applicable to non-fiction than novels. But I think it does still apply even to novels. Even though I DNF a lot, every once in a while I blaze through a book with great interest. Those are the times I'm reminded of what I'm really after. It's true however that the process of deciding is not simple, and loaded with ambiguity. Voltaire would read books by flipping to random pages and marking in the margins. Samuel Johnson found the whole idea of finishing a book odd. Pascal said we do ourselves a disservice when we read either too quickly or too slowly. Many great readers had unorthodox techniques. When it comes to journal articles, philosophy, notebooks, letters, and non-fiction in general I've found myself embracing some of these techniques: reading backwards in sections, reading sections in random order, reading according to whim using an index. Even with fiction, it's only really necessary to finish if what you're primarily interested in is plot and literal narrative. But that's actually one of the least important reasons I read books. It's primarily for ideas, mood, ethical brainstorming, jolting me out of my habits, exposure to new ways of life--these are why I read.
Great video! I was reading Native American Testimony by Peter Nabokov and I had to pause at about 2/3 of the way in because it was so unsettling. Not DNFing it but needed to take a breather! It will get finished!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Hey, Michael! I finally got a copy of City by Simak! Kobo had the ebook on sale for $1.99 and I snapped it up! I’ve got all of the collected short stories but City at a reduced price eluded me until now.
Mike I would kill for a top 10 books I almost DNF’d 🙏. Also the gentleman that read his local paper everyday touched me, I think I saw this man as a fatherly figure.
Off-topic...have you ever checked out the "Supermarionation" Thunderbirds films? These might be up your alley, or maybe up the "Garbaugust" alley. Turner Classic is showing a couple this evening. (Lady Penelope is hot!) There were all kinds of merchandise surrounding the Thunderbirds in the 1960s.
1. Consistency is King 2. Variety is Queen 3. One book at a time 4. Listening to a book is not reading a book 5. Enter completed books on the list ASAP 6. Read books people recommend 7. Research a book prior to reading (so as not to DNF) 8. Find supplemental info for difficult books 9. Tie different genres to a time period (fiction set in the 1800s and a historical book in the same time period) 10. Read a book with the same setting you are in currently (ex. read Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil while in Savannah or Old Man and the Sea while at the beach) 11. Reading should be fun 12. Reading should be work 13. Read
I strongly disagree with your point #4. By your criteria, anyone who is sight impaired or blind and who cannot touch-read braile has never read a book! Just because someone cannot see a book does not mean they have not read it via the medium of speech. And then, what about the severely dyslexic? Are they doomed to never having read a book because their access point is speech?
Reading means reading a book with your eyes. So yes those people don’t actually read books. HOWEVER, audio or brail books are NOT lesser ways of experiencing a book by any means. They are just not the same as reading physiologically with your eyes. Audio and touch are different senses than eyes as a fact, but that’s not to say that they are lesser or illegitimate.
All people should read. I can't remember the last time I haven't read at least once in a day. Still rereading REH Conan right now. I have never DNFed a book. Great Video 👍😁👍
I've read a lot of self-help books years ago because people recommended when i was creating a bussiness, so i DNF a loooot of books until i just ignore the recomendations. Novels i've only DNF one single book: Gulliver's travels. Not because is bad, not at all, but because my copy (by Penguin) was so baddly formated that i just coundn't read properly and DNF at 30% of the book. I still didn't buy another copy but maybe one day.
I agree with you on DNF. I f it was in me I would put down Middlemarch by Eliot which I am reading now. 150 pages in and I cannot see why it is so highly praised.
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. -Mark Twain, 1895 I DNF because I'm down to one eye and on short time, as are we all these days. If a book is failing me after, say, 50 - 100pp, over my shoulder it goes. There are a few writers whose work I cannot read at all, such as James Fennimore Cooper. Good writing goes a long way for me. Great discussion. If you can read, read every day, and keep reading. Yes.
Like you, I rarely DNF, probably because I usually know quite a bit about a book before I start reading it, and there is a particular reason I have for reading it. If I get beyond the first 25 pages or so, the book has probably captured my interest. If I am already hating it by then, I have no problem DNFing. It rarely happens, though. I can only think of two or three books I disliked enough at the outset to actively decide not to finish. BTW, I don't consider a preview of the first couple of pages to be actually beginning a book. I usually do that before even acquiring one. The first sentence, the writer's style, these are good indicators of what is to come.
When you said "..and if you're thinking of skipping it - DONT". Damn you caught me! Thats what I do instead of DNF'ing, I just skip paragraphs, then pages, then (rarely but sometimes) chapters. As to your key rule: if you can read - read, and read everyday, totally agree. But sorry to say, I will never read Les Miz. I might attempt War and Peace if someone was to organise a read-along 😉
I read to get things like this; Anne Williams, et al, excerpt: "...Finally, the Spaniards had written language while the Inca empire did not. The Spaniards were able to learn beforehand everything that was known about the New World. Having read detailed written accounts, they could model their attack on previous successful approaches. Atahuallpa and his men could learn about the Spaniards only through word of mouth, so they new nothing of Spain's previous conquest in Central America." If you can read, 2 + 2 will never equal 3. Do you want to pay for 4 oranges and only get 3?
I don’t DNF, I take extended breaks from certain books though if I’m not feeling them. Is there an acronym for that? How about HFY (haven’t finished yet)?
I set myself some challenges at the beginning of the year. This year it was 1) read 4 books which are more 800 pages long. 2) read at least 12 books in translation from at least 10 different countries 3) read one Australian book a month I guess those are rules for me I do DNF because there are too many books I want to read to spend time reading a book I am hating. My dad rarely read books but he would spend an hour or two a day reading newspapers. He was very knowledgable on current events or more truthfully many events that occurred from the 1940s onwards.
I DNF'ed War and Peace and Gravity's Rainbow and I did it after frustrating attempts and with great shame. Since then, I've lived with a perpetual feeling of guilt, but the excuse I made up for myself is that there are thousands of worthy books out there to read and I shouldn't waste my finite time by slogging through those that don't engage me. As an act of expiation, I've read Gatsby five times and Look Homeward, Angel twice. Since I enjoy them both immensely, can I really rest in the knowledge that I've made an attempt to atone for my sins or should I read something dense like Ulysses while wearing a hair shirt to ease this gnawing feeling that I've, in some way, angered the Muses? Can I ever wear the mantle of Book Lover again?
Michael, you mention the tough slog through "The Sound and The Fury". I'm curious, did you make it through and understand "infinite Jest" by #DavidFosterWallace? I didn't, and couldn't. lol. Thank you.
Hi Mike! Very nice video! Just a bit off topic: I've just read the sad news that Peter Straub passed away on September 4. What about doing the long awaited "Ghost Story" review to pay this significant author a deserved tribute?
Re: your stern ruling on abridgments I submit "the Princess Bride", a classic to many many people, but seemingly NO-ONE of them has read the unabridged original, besides William Golding (RIP). From the sounds of it, you would have been treated to an in depth satire on Florenese culture and monarchy, and is that really relevant anymore? Maybe some dusty professor wants to find a copy - I can't point to where Floren used to be on a map - but we can all use a timeless story about True Love, Miracles and Revenge. So maybe abridgements, if done well have a value of their own, and can even eclipse the original. Actually the adaptation has eclipsed the abridgment to be even more beloved, but let's focus on the literature - as you say, reading is important! In general I do agree, I got upset when I thought I had read all of Frankenstein, but found out it was tampered with, who knows how much, so now I always try to find the complete original. I just don't know if I'll ever get through Moby Dick, with all the whaling digressions, but it might be worth the time to hear a version with just the adventure and revenge, which I hear is pretty good - so long as one's clear that that's what they read.
I regularly DNF. There are too many good books out there to waste time on rubbish you don't like. Some books I don't DNF if there is a reason I need to finish them. An example is "Myth of the Twentieth Century" which I am struggling with at the moment. It is a bore-fest, but a very important book for me to read as a serious student of History. Rosenberg was almost the leader of the NSDAP. The eventual leader, Hitler, wrote a cracking book, "Mein Kampf" (possibly jointly written with Rudolph Hess), and that one was un-put-down-able, a real page-turner. His chapter on propaganda is amazing. An example of fiction which I DNF'd was "Turn of the Screw", there was just too much "author intrusion" for me to get into it.
I have some rules to read: 1 - Read what I really want. 2 - I read when I feel the need to read. 3 - I try to connect myself, and my feelings with the "objective" of the book. Actually, I have a lot of DNF books, but, I don't think that is "bad", because, manytimes I stoped a book I feel that I'm full. This happens when the book is too good to kill my "hunger" for reading.
I did not DNF-d 'Nightland' and i think I can handle 'War and Peace' 😅 Probably should read that next! The only story that I EVER DNF-d was by one of my nr1 favourite authors HPL ...'The Electric Executioner' That was just horrible story...maybe one day I'll finish it...when the stars are right that is...
The Rules* for Reading: 1. Start at the top of the page/text and work your way down. 2. Read each line from left to right. *These rules are nonnegotiable
Not dnf may lead you to reading slump if it happens a lot.. I was reading in my early 20 books (classics) and I bored and stop reading .then I discver Dragonlance and 20 years later Ive reading daily and now I've read 1060 novels
I try not to DNF books. Sometimes it bites me by the end of it but, in my experience, more often than not I am glad I stuck around. The only times I will is when it the content gets too profane or sexually explicit for my preference. I suppose there are times where I just don't enjoy it or have gotten confused with the plot, but I try to limit that to only a couple times a year if I can.
I think maybe I'm you but with hair and not as well dressed. I agree everyone should read. I try to read as much as I can. I agree people should change it up and read outside their comfort zone every so often to experience new things and find new enjoyments. I finish everything I start and even if I dont enjoy it over all, I often manage to get something out of every story I read, and I also feel I cant fully judge a book or story unless I finish it.
In collage.............. hehe................. lol.................... Lemme start over. Perhaps the reader of this comment went to better schools than I did before attending university, but it was during my first year first term at Oregon that I first learned how to read literature. An oversimplification is that it's all about reading in between the lines. Warning: remember that this style of reading will not help when reviewing the instructions before assembling some Ikea furniture. Totally different kind of reading. In response, many now will say "Well, then what good is it?" (What follows is the "audience participation" part of this thread.)
I have just DNFed "The Black Book" by Orhan Pamuk, I reached page 96 of 446, I think DNFing is healthy, there are so many books out there and they won't all please us. Some people have been brought up feeling they have to finish a book if they start it, and may get bogged down in a book that doesn't work for them and they eventually stop and don't pick up another book, which is sad. DNF could be Do Not Faulkner! If I DNF a book I don't judge it, I don't review it, I just move on to the next book.
My rule on choice of reading material is to be _eclectic._ (love that word) I was tempted to DNF Faulkner's _As I Lay Dying,_ because I thought the characters were not up to par in their mental capacities. I stuck it out, but I'm not sure that I'm glad I did. But I did read the whole thing. Right about _War and Peace._ You don't start W&P with a weak resolution, you need unbending intent. If you DNF W&P, _shame on YOU!_ DNFing is legitimate for one reason I can think of...if you feel the time to finish your proposed DNF is better spent reading another book. You only have so much time in your life to read, you need to parcel it out wisely. (How can you patiently sit there and read a book _you know_ is crap?) I have DNFed one book, _Esther Waters_ by Irish writer George Moore. A friend of my mother's was a George Moore scholar, so I thought I'd give a Moore book a try. I got through 10% of it. Sorry, mom's friend, but I just didn't like the way the book started out or the way it was going. Too much about detail about horses and the horse racing game, Esther was going to become an unwed mother and the angst was going to be a trite story line (sorry for the spoilers...). I had better uses for my reading time. This is the only book I've DNFed in my memory.
The last book I DNF was The History of the Pelonponessian War by Thucydides. I won't call it a bad book, it is certainly an important book and I see why. I just sort of lost interested in it. I'm not certain why. The reason Victor Hugo and other 19th century French writers wrote long books was because they were published in newspapers and the writers were paid by the word. They were hacks in the sense they wrote for money. I don't think that's bad since they still wrote great things. Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment as much to pay his gambling debts as anything. It is still one of the greatest works of world literature. REH wrote Conan stories to put food on the table. Most of them are still great fun, and the ones he really cared about like Red Nails transcend "pulp."
This was excellent. Apart from the part about DNFing which was just plain wrong 😂 I do think though that one should go into a book with the right frame of mind to minimise the chance of DNFing
I've only recently learned to overcome my OCDness and DNF a book - lol. It was not because the book was difficult to read, but because it just did not interest me. There are so very many books out there that I would enjoy! And I'll never have time to read them all. Why use up my alloted time on something yucky?
Hi Michael. DNF-ing is essential for me to keep my sanity. I'm retired and have a massive library. I want to get to all the good stuff before I go. Some of the books no longer reflect my reading taste or interests and some just won't work for me. I can't read everything and I'm OK with that fact. The only reason I DNF'd War & Peace was because my mother became ill for an extended period of time, and I had to direct my energies to her care. I read about a quarter of the book and enjoyed it. I'll pick it up again and start from the beginning. Happy reading.
Having 5000 books I can relate. In 1200 books read I've dnf like 60 books. but I now I've categorize the critical to read and the less important lol.. dnf is important.. too many books read that should dnf but you stick to them you may get bored of reading
.classics is not for everyone. I enjoy Jules Verne per example..but some other classics I can't read them.
I used to be someone who finished books no matter what. But as I have grown older, that has changed. I have a rapidly diminishing number of years left and too many books I want to read before I die. I am now more choosy about the books I pick, but occasionally start one that I reluctantly DNF. I always give it to the halfway point before putting a book aside and may even skip ahead to see if my interest can be revived. But time is too short, and my eye wanders to the pile of books tempting me with more interesting fare. And you Michael (and your fellow book tubers) are in part to blame for that growing pile! I have a substantial number of books my TBR list because you have whetted my appetite!
When it comes to reading in general, I fear for large sections of our younger generations whose attention span is so shortened by social media and sound bites that they will never even attempt to read something with more pages than a pizza menu. They will lose out on so much joy. My father used to say that luxury was a good book, a fine glass of whiskey and a couple of hours to enjoy both in equal measure.
This person captured my thought exactly. At 72 years of age, tick tock. I'm inclined not to be a DNFer, but under the circumstances it sometimes doesn't make sense.
Age has definitely affected my outlook as well. I try to be more selective. And I keep a log to prevent accidental re-buys. Age has also had a big impact on whether or not I continue with a series. If book 1 blows me away and I'm dying to read book 2, great. If book 1 is only meh ... I will drop a series immediately. Life is too short for mediocre books/series.
Great discussion! I am constantly in the middle of 25+ books at any one time. I read one chapter, then switch to the next book in the rotation and read a chapter, then switch to the next book in the rotation and read a chapter, and continue to repeat. If you grew up in the days of three network television, you only got to see one episode of a show at a time, then saw a hundred other episodes of other shows before you rotated back to the show you started with because that is they way weekly programming worked. This replicates the same experience, but with books instead of TV shows. I find this allows me to read much faster and increases my retention of each book because I never get bogged down in a difficult or boring book because I move on to a different book at the end of a discrete and easily read unit. Plus, I never give into an impulse to quit on a book because I know I only have to "suffer" for a chapter at a time. I like to mix in a lot of genres and time periods and authors within the 25+ book rotation. I specifically mix in a couple which I would never choose to read from start to finish, like extremely thick histories and biographies. I use a mix of physical books and electronic books, specifically I love Alreader on Android and I love to get books at Gutenberg Org. With physical books, the most important rule is Use A Bookmark. Most Ebook solutions remember which page you were on. I like to keep physical books at different locations in the house so that when I sit in that location, a few books in the rotation are there and I can knock off a couple or three chapters. I always allow myself the freedom to enjoy multiple chapters in a row of a book which has me enthralled and rarely allow myself to end mid-chapter, especially in a difficult book, while at the same time, never chastising myself if I do end mid-chapter. When my rotation books are not available, my most important rule is to Read What Is Available which could also be stated Never Be Afraid To Start A New Book.
Hi Michael! I had a professor back in grad school who said something very similar in that he and his wife have made it a habit to set aside at least 1 hour a day to reading. And that has stuck with me and I try my best to implement that. With my 4 year old, it's a little hard to get an hour in, but 5 or 10 minutes every once in a while definitely helps! Great video as always!
I just wanted to say, I've come back to this video over and over again recently. It's become a real comfort video for me. I listen to it when I'm feeling down about reading, or at night to help ease anxiety and drift off. I just love how positive you are about the act of reading, how much love you have for it, how you don't impose strictures or trash one type of book for another. I love the beautiful simplicity of "You should read." There's so much tribalism in the world (and on social media particularly) that it can make any kind of fan interaction exhausting. Everyone wants to argue, even about the pettiest things, like taste in books. So your championing reading and being encouraging rather than hostile has done more for my excitement about reading than anything in recent years. It's one of the things I love about your channel in general. Sorry if this is too real or sentimental, but I'm up late at night, listening to this video once again, and I just felt the need to comment. Keep doing what you do, Michael. Despite all your self-deprecating humor, it's worth more than you think. 😊
I'm with you on DNFing. I thinks sometimes people get into a cycle of DNF's. I have read so many books that that have only come together in the last 100 pages but would have been easy to give up on. I've noticed that a lot of the big Booktubers seem to DNF almost every other book which makes me think that people are just expecting too much too soon.
I've read Les Misérables (unabridged) twice. Two different translations. One I loved and very highly recommend (Christine Donougher) and one I didn't care for at all (Julie Rose). So, as a rule, I would say good translations matter. Read through different passages of various translations, if you have the opportunity, and choose the one that works best for you. Also, check various sources to see what others consider good. It can make a huge difference.
Strangely I remember reading the first ST:TNG Ghost Ship book many years ago -- and I remember *loving* it 😂 I felt it added depth to the characters and this was in the pre-streaming pre-easily available video age so it was so nice to spend extra time with them. (I'm really looking forward to watching your James Blush video next because it's how I first engaged with ST.) PS would love to hear your take on one of my all-time favourite authors: Robert Sheckley.
One of your best videos so far. So enjoyable!
Ah, the Sound and the Fury! That was a rough book for me as well. I also walked into it cold. I wish I had used the cliff notes with me when I read it. It's a book that really benefits from having commentary or explanation as you read.
I love this channel. Even when Michael is scolding me about not finishing my reading. 😀
Truth is that I have DNF more books in the last couple of years than I had in my 40+ years of reading combined. My early reading was the 70's and 80's of science fiction and fantasy and I feel that today's work is just as good or not to my liking in structure/story. I've switched up and have read more mystery/intrigue and historical works. But still I've found books I've put down weeks ago still laying undisturbed and with a bit of dust on them.
I do agree that once you start a book you really should complete it. At least if you get past the first several chapters and have determined if it is something you have any interest in. Life is too short to waste time reading what you don't enjoy as long as you've given it a chance.
Michael, your videos are consistently interesting and entertaining!
My habits:
- I try hard NOT to DNF, but I will if a book turns into an unenjoyable slog.
- I more frequently DNS books ... Do Not Start. If the prose is awkward and/or amateurish, I'll drop it after only a few pages. Doing otherwise would drive my inner editor insane. I am, however, making an effort to figure that out BEFORE I buy a book, but sometimes great covers and blurbs yank me straight to the checkout line.
- I do try to read across a wide range of genres and styles, ranging in quality from schlock to superb. As long as the writing is minimally competent and the premise looks fun or interesting, I'll buy a ticket to the ride.
- I keep a log of all my readings and DNFs/DNSs. My memory is just lousy and I am not a fan of buying a book 2-3 times. Ooops.
- Speaking of memory, I am constantly amazed at Michael's ability recall a book's plot, characters, and themes, sometimes decades after reading it. Crazy.
Unlike real life, where I can’t remember anything that happened ever.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I'm just glad I can experience a great book for the first time ... several times.
This is the best advice I have seen so far on Book Tube/You Tube. Thank you, Michael.
Love your videos Mike. You've gotten me back into reading a variety of different genres.
If I am so bored I don't want to read them I am DNFing. I don't DNF as much as I probably should lol. So hats off to you for not DNFing! Forcing myself to read something I am not enjoying puts me in a slump. 😒
I don't really have any reading rules except read what I like and DNFing if I want too. 🙂
Here's a rule:
CRA (change rules anytime).
But hold on: What is a rule? You know the expression "as a rule" ? Let's try that. As a rule, I don't absolutely choose WNF (will not finish). So I may set a book aside. That's HNF (have not finished), but ITF (intend to finish).
This summer I started one book after another which I thought I'd want to read, only to find a third or halfway into it that it was a drag and not getting any better, until I finally set each aside in its turn.
I've long had that CTF (compulsion to finish) every book I start, because my experience has told me that even draggy books commonly redeem themselves (at least in some way) by the end. However, this crisis was ruining my summer reading experience, so it eventually transitioned from PTF (plan to finish) all the way to MNF (may never finish). Why must I always stubbornly hang on to my MRCs (misguided reading choices)?
Look, my already impossible longstanding WTR (want to read) list has for ages been growing much faster than I can read, and I'm not young! So STB (screw this book) is starting to have a certain ring to it.
I like your never DNFing approach to reading. I have no problem DNFing books, however I always force myself to finish a movie/TV Show, or video game I’m not enjoying. I’m thinking it’s because getting through a challenging book is more mentally draining to me. You’ve now convinced to me to give it a try.
I try to read everyday. Sometimes not able to get to what I am actually reading but I always have an Archie digest on my nightstand so can get a quick one to six page story in before I go to bed. I always hope something considered 'wholesome' will help keep the weirder dreams away.
I haven't DNFed a book, I think, since the mid 2000's. 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' was all the rage. I believe it was Stephen King who hyped it up in one of his Entertainment Weekly articles that got me to try it. I was not finding it my thing at all and it was this hulk of a book. I decided to give it until page 300 and it was around that point it did finally grab my attention. That made me realized I probably DNFed a bunch of books I shouldn't have.
Since then the only book I felt I should have DNFed after I finished it was 'Battlefield Earth' by L. Ron Hubbard. That took me months to read because it became something could only get through five to ten pages a day when I wouldn't skip days. Such a big book I was sure it could get interesting again like it started but it didn't for me.
As far as "keeping the weirder dreams away" good luck on that one. I am laughing at you EVEN TRYING to stop those dreams from happening.
Battlefield Earth! Oh man, that book was created for DNFing. But I couldn’t do it!
I can think of 2 books I DNF'd. You make me want to go back and finish them.
Interesting discussion for sure, thanks for the input.
My first DNF was A Song of Ice and Fire. Sacrilege to most people, but it bored me to tears.
If I go into someone’s house and there are no books, I consider that a danger sign. How can there be no books?
Worse is going into someone's house, and finding out almost all the books You see...nobody in the house has read any of them, and they are like just decorations. This has happened to Me many times.
I also can’t DNF (although I do it accidentally sometimes). For me, I think I just don’t want to throw away the time I’ve invested so far 🤷♂️
A good enough reason.
Thankyou very much sir for giving me some valid points to justify my habit of never DNFing a book
i recently found out your channel and since have been binging your videos
im really enjoying them
thankyou and keep them videos coming sir
Thanks so much Sukhmeet! I’m so glad you found my channel.
Very interesting, I myself also hardly ever 'DNF', but try to choose wisely what I read and also have very informed friends for various fields of interest, whose judgment I trust.
One habit of me is to try to read at least 30p.s every day, this can be fulfilled easier or not depending on the book, of course (and I don't (need to) do it when going drinking or on a journey, but am somehow 'proud' of myself if I over-fulfilled that 'set-task' (at times twice or trice+, naturally), also things like news/internet blogs etc don't count.
I believe that if a book isn't speaking to you any level there is no problem with dnfing it. The older I get the more readily I dnf. I don't mind a challenging book. I do mind a boring book.
I DNF if a book bores me and it gives me anxious feels if I know a book is hanging over my head. I have so many books from my own collection that I need to read, including War & Peace that I need to set books I aside. I read The Count of Monte Cristo, but it took years.
Hi Michael, in general I agree with you. Reading is the most important thing, what you read is up to you, and what you decide not to finish (DNF) is again up to you. In general, once I begin a book, I intend to finish it. But like any rule or policy, there may be exceptions. The more intent you are not to DNF means you have to be more careful and fussy about what you decide to read. Once you start to write, as well as read, you will discover you have less time to read than you did before, even if your appetite for reading increases, time to do so usually does not. I also discovered about myself that with regard to fiction I am not much interested in novels or stories with no dialogue. And that is why I stay away from some highly rated books and writers like Thomas Mann. I read a short book of his about Goethe and his lover but avoided The Magic Mountain and Buddenbrooks. And then there are books that simply take too long to get to the point (whatever that point may be). Ulysses is a case in point. I got to page 299 and ran out of patience three (count them, three) times !
In point of fact someone actually dramatized Ulysses. I had the book, it was titled Ulysses in Nighttown. I don't recall the author's name. In those days I would read the book first, and, if it had been dramatized read the dramatization after reading the novel. Now, I read the dramatization first. That saves time. Given the fact that more fiction is written every year than most of us will ever live to read in a lifetime, I am complaisant about not finishing books that I might like if I had stuck it out. BTW both Les Miserables and War and Peace have been dramatized. Paul Meurice and Charles V. Hugo (V. Hugo's son) dramatized LesMiz. They did an excellent job, too. (Yeah, I translated the adaptation. Ditto War and Peace by a Russian emigre to France
who was the first to dramatize W&P. in the 1920's. This dramatization was good, but because W&P has more story lines than LesMiz, it is a much harder job to accomplish successfully. The writer translated W&P the novel first then went to work on a stage version.
On the other hand, I do believe that you may want to delay finishing a book if you find it not interesting at the moment. I've done that a number of times, but I do go back-- maybe years later and finish what I've started. That applies to both works I am writing or translating as well as reading. There are only a couple of books I started to translate that I absolutely will not finish. The one I have in mind was about a husband and wife talking about things that had happened to them during their married life. I got about halfway through it and decided that no one could possibly sit through this if it were performed, and the theatre would probably be empty except for those who had already fallen into an extremely deep sleep.
So there's no use torturing yourself when you are treading for enjoyment. So DNF without guilt, but, try to avoid books you know you will not like, so that DNFing doesn't occur too often.
The only really long novel I ever read, about 1000 pages in paperback, was "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell" by Susanna Clarke. When you can easily read 1000 pages without letdown or slowdown at any point, you know you are dealing with superb literature. Mostly, I subscribe to the view that many novels would be twice as good if half as long (Stephen King comes to mind IMO) , but every word of Clarke's novel is wonderful.
I never used to DNF books. Like Michael, I plowed on hoping the book would get better or I'd fine the value of what I was reading. I am in my 70s now and I have become less inclined to keep reading if I'm not enjoying the experience. Less time ahead of me and so many books I still want to read before I die. Age does change reading habits.
I recently read Madame Bovary, at times it wasn't enjoyable, but the last 50 pages were stunning and rewarding. I even would consider rereading it at some point. On the whole, I agree to you when it is about dnf-ing. I hardly ever do it. Thank you for your video! I really appreciate your attitude towards dnf-ing!
For me Madame Bovary at the start seemed a bit dry, but I sort of slowed down myself and adjusted to the pace and started to enjoy the structure and prose. Its sort of a dance with books and the reader. People who DNF easily just wait passively and expect books to blow them away without them actually putting any effort to engage with them.
Great discussion Michael. Thinking about it, I rarely DNF books that I've properly started, though I often dip into my pile and read a few pages - and some of those books will never be read- but I don't count that as DNFing as there's the possibility of continuing in the future.
I had joined the bookstagram Better reading challenge a few years ago to break out of a slump and it worked. Read every day, no matter how much. I follow that faithfully now, sometimes I’ll miss a day but usually I do now read every day from a book. I don’t count magazines or newspapers or cereal boxes, which I’m prone to do every day also 😊 I also do not dnf, at least not easily. I have over the course of my reading life dnf’d maybe 2 or 3. I usually finish and can find some redeeming parts, some I’ve been so happy I stuck with the book because I wound up really liking it. Right now I’m rereading Of Mice and Men, and it’s taking me awhile because I can’t read too much of it at one time. Steinbeck breaks my heart but I’m drawn to him.
That's a very interesting topic. There is, once you leave school, total freedom in reading. Everyone has ideas and suggestions, but if rules exist, they only stretch as far as one's own reading, and that's part of what makes it great. DNFing books is a good example. For me, I will DNF a book for any number of reasons, without qualm or looking back. I approach it a bit differently, having limited reading time and no interest in pushing my way through something I no longer want to read. But if people want to get through to the end of every book they open, that works just fine too.
Hi Michael. I've really been enjoying your videos. I got back into my books recently and I'm thinking, 'God.. I missed all this..' I was only wondering, How long would you read for in one session? It certainly takes patience in this day and age with so many distractions. I aim for about 30 pages in an evening. That feels comfortable for me with a heavier book. I remember those teenage years where I could almost read half a book in an evening. I just can't seem to focus for that long anymore. I'm 53 now. Anyhows, thanks for your videos. Btw, I'm a massive Conan fan and he brought me to your channel!
For me it’s more about time than page count. I have very limited time for reading during the work week. But if I’m not working I can read about 300 pages in a day.
I started reading for pleasure starting with martial arts. Then I moved into metaphysical, religious, and philosophy. Now I read history,short stories(like REH) and classics.
Anyway I read what strikes my imagination or interests me.
The Sound and the Fury is definitely challenging. However when I read it years ago it was when Oprah was doing her “Summer of Faulkner.” When you bought the book you got access to lectures accompanying each chapter. For me, this really made the book come to life and I loved the experience. Reading it all on my own probably wouldn’t have gone well. That said, the other two books in the summer series were far more enjoyable; As I Lay Dying and Light in August.
Again, this brings up the issue: what is a book? Is a series of books with one unified arc a single book, or several discreet books? I will likely never read another GRR Martin book. If he ever releases Winds of Winter, does that mean I will DNF A Song of Ice and Fire? What about collections? Is it DNFing to only read some of the stories in, say, Dubliners? Different result for, say, The Complete Annotated Works of Shakespeare?
Having said that, there are a number of books I thought I DNF’d, only to return to them years later and read the whole thing? Is that a DNF and read, or is it simply a read with a partial re-read. As for DNFs to which I will likely never return, I can probably count those on one hand.
I stumbled upon your channel a few weeks ago and I love the content and your humor... A life-long reader recently retired , I read all but two of the classics you must read , some more than once. By the way, my favorite Dickens is David Copperfield.....About rules... Finnegan's wake and Wollfs To the Light house are the only two books out of hundreds I did not finish. My rules : I set a timer when I read, either in half hour or one hour intervals . I try for at least 1.5 hours of reading per day. Two years ago I added audiobooks but prefer reading. I ditched my Kindle quite some time ago. I have a habit of only reading books from the American and English literature canon, but I might now and then take in a mystery , Graham Green being my favorite. A few years ago I read a large antholgy of classic detective stories from the thirties, forties, fifties etc,. as well as some gothic mystery. Overall , I'm a bit locked in to the canon of dead, white men and the occasional dead white women. Moby Dick is my favorite novel , but I must admit that on my third read I skipped the balene chapters. Thanks again for your very enjoyable channel. Oh, Thomas Wolf is my favorite author ...William Faulkner called him the unsung hero of American literature. By the way, I liked The Sound and the Fury, it was The Wild Palms that vexed me!
Thanks Glen! I appreciate the comment. The next time I read Faulkner I’ll have you explain it to me!
A great video. I have to admit I put aside 11.22.63 ten years ago BUT surely I'm coming back to IT someday.
We’re in total agreement. The only thing is that I recently DNFed a book that was like poorly written fan fiction that I just couldn’t justify finishing. But I agree I have to say that I have not read the book in full.
This was a great discussion Michael! Read every day is a great rule, and I definitely try to live that one. I do DNF, but it’s very rare. I try to finish books when at all possible. I have a rule that I have to at least read 50%, and I’ve only broken that rule once with Cloud Atlas. That book was just nonsensical to me. 🤣 That being said, I never count books as “read” if I dnf them.
I don't like not finishing a book, but I do sometimes have to do it. It is pretty much always because it is super boring. Not necessarily because it is a challenging read, other than the challenge of not falling asleep. It really is a matter of the book feeling like a waste of time. Reading should not feel like a waste of time. One example is The Ruins by Scott Smith. I kept going on that book and going, but it seemed like I was always spinning my wheels rather than progressing through the book. I just gave up on that one, as it was not engaging and the characters I just wanted to see dead about 100 pages in.
Much of the time if I stop a book, I will come back to it later and start over, sometimes having a much different experience with the book than the first attempt. Or there are ones that I just put down for a long time, then pick it up again later, from where I stopped, and slog through the rest. The Tommyknockers comes to mind for this type. Oh boy, that was not one of King's finer moments as a writer.
Also, I am not a super-fast reader, so it can take a bit for me to finish a book. I wouldn't say I am a slow reader, but I am definitely not fast at all. I have zero speed-reading skills, although I am not entirely convinced that speed-reading is really a legitimate thing.
Great video, Michael. You keep reminding me that I need to read War and Peace. Lol! I need the reminder btw.
I just really want to see your War and Peace video.
This was amazing. I'm watching this like PICK THIS UP ALGORITHM!! And I also cannot DNF. I just.....can't. I think I would die if I tried haha.
I’m glad I’m not alone in my Impossible To DNF madness.
My nephew was having problems with reading when he was 7 or 8 years old and his teacher took my sister-in-law aside and told her to find something that interested him, even comic books. My sis tried him on Star Trek books, her love, but no, then she tried Star Wars books and he absolutely loved them and that really helped him to improve his reading quickly.
(Do you know what is wrong with Steve Donoghue? He seemed under the weather on his latest video. Not feeling well.)
I 'DNF' the moment a book releases its grip on me. Often times I don't get past the first sentence or first paragraph, or page, or chapter. I admit to being incredibly picky, but I assuage whatever guilt I might feel by remembering there are infintely more books in the world than I could ever hope to sample in this lifetime. Also, I agree with you on what constitutes having 'read' a book. The only books I register on my Goodreads are books I've read in full and have also given 5 stars. To be honest, if I finish any book it's likely because it's gripped me to the end, meaning it's likely to receive 5 stars anyway.
I understand DNFing but DNFing before getting past the first page seems just ridiculous.
I will say to a certain extent I agree with Jordan S. My system, in the bookstore, is to flip around through it, reading a half page here and another page or five there. If after a few of those forays I'm somewhat satisfied, I'll start at the beginning and see how far I get. Here are some examples: got about 190 or 200 pages into "Infinite Jest." Stopped right there. Read the first 700 or so pages of "The Recognitions." Just couldn't see why I needed to go further. Read ~700 pages of "Juliette" by de Sade, paused for six months. Then picked it back up and finished all of its 1100 and ninety some odd pages. Wow. Yessssssssssss to reading those last five hundred pages. They were certainly worth it. Can I explain why? Nope. They just were. They were enough different than the first 700 and so it was worth finishing that one.
To me it is not embarrassing to do the ol' DNF thing. Not only am I not ashamed when I don't finish, I wear it like a badge of honor. Oh, and BTW, I got about one or five pages into that DeLillo book called "The Underworld." Just not my style in the least. Quit that one wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy early.
Read the first ~20 pages of "The Tropic of Cancer." Started to say bye bye to it because of excessive use of the C word (rhymes with bunt). But then I thought about it for a week. Picked it back up, skipping ahead to page 60. Read about ten pages. Was aghast. Overwhelmed. In a good way. Started it again and read the whole thing in about two days or less. Wow. Great stuff. More greatness is "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare." "Nexus" was a bit much for me, and "Tropic of Capricorn" was just a watered-down version of "Cancer" so I DNF "Capricorn."
I wouldn’t consider quitting a book after the first page as a DNF.
@@Mement0o Ridiculous is the number of books in the world you could be reading instead of something whose author couldn't even manage to grip you from the very beginning. The beginning of a book is perhaps the most pored over section by any given writer, and if they can't get that right? Meanwhile, there are tens of millions of books in the world requiring even more millions of hours of time investment to read, yet we have mere thousands of hours to live. The math doesn't add up.
@@kenward1310 still...LESS THAN ONE PAGE.. my favorite book of all time I was too young for at the time of my first read. Only around the half of it my brain started to understand and appreciate it. It has been my favorite for 5 years now and I have read it many times. Crime and punishment I was ready to give up on until page 50. It is now one of my top 10 of all time. Because of it I read every Dostoevsky novel and he is now my favorite author. Wuthering heights I didnt much care for on first read. I loved every page on the second. And what is this obsession with trying to read as much quantity as possible. Knowing that you cant even scratch the surface anyway. I always remember a Thomas Hardy character who read only one or two books but he read them with such care and attention that he got out of them more than people have got out of whole libraries. I cant even imagine the egomania required to dnf a book after 1 page and to be proud of that.
Your videos started coming up in my recommendations a few weeks ago, and I’ve really been enjoying them. I also hate to DNF a book, but I’ve done it with a few. I hate to admit it, but James Joyce’s “Ulysses” has defeated me multiple times. One day, maybe I’ll make it all the way through. A little over 3 years ago I decided to seriously study Italian, so I’ve read almost exclusively in Italian since then. Another author, similar to Joyce (some people call him the Italian James Joyce) is Carlo Emilio Gadda. I’ve DNF’d his “Quer pasticciaccio brutto de Via Merulana” a couple of times now and started over from the beginning after downloading and reading articles and papers written about it. I recently bought a “guide book” for it. I think I’ll make it through this time. Maybe this same approach would work for Ulysses …
You could legitimately ask, “Why bother?” In the case of Gadda, the level of insight into Italian society during fascism, into human nature and psychology, the way that he places the fascist episode into the context of Italian and European history, make it worth the trouble. Sure, there are other authors and other books that treat the same issues without being so challenging, but Gadda’s vision is absolutely unique. I suspect there’s a lot to learn in Ulysses as well.
But I think a legitimate reason to NOT have a “never DNF” policy is that you might be tempted to avoid attempting really challenging books. Sometimes doing something really hard is worth it, and if you DO make it through, you’ll be a better person for it.
While I do DNF fairly regularly, I do 100% agree that you can't fully judge or review a book based on that. I use Goodreads and never give any reviews if I stop reading certain books. Also you are spot on about troubling and complex books usually being worth it or at the very least important enough to finish.
Most of the time I am DNFing trashy older paperbacks hahaha.
The Sound and the Fury. Tried it, and then I TEMPORARILY did not finish. Talked to my fav teacher about situation, and he said read the last three quarters of that novel first, at which point you will be done and done. Unless you want to go back and read the first quarter, which was written from the point of view of a mentally challenged person. So I did as was suggested, and loved it. Great book. A great intro to America's best author.
The above is another example of the value of continuing on beyond high school. (However, and as noted in my other comment, there is this caveat: reading Faulkner's "Absolom, Absolom!!" and/or "As I Lay Dying" will not--repeat, WILL NOT--help you assemble furniture at all, let alone faster.)
I love your rules! You’re the best, Michael!
Thanks Johanna!
I also do not DNF a book, but I think for different reasons than you. For me it's part of the unspoken contract I have with the author. I can choose to pick up anything I like. I take responsibility for each decision I take to start a new book. Once I start something I read it through to the end. In doing so I try to honour my original decision AND honour the effort the author made to bring their vision to print.
I'm lucky enough to read fast enough that even if I get stuck in something I'm not enjoying, it'll be over in a day or two and something else will come along to entertain and excite me. Cheers!
I agree with your one rule. I mean, it’s subjective, but I still agree.
I have given up on several books of all kinds, comics, novels, non fiction, I never want to do it, I don’t enjoy dropping books, but I will only do it after reading about half, and only after concluding that I am not engaged in it or enjoying any part of it in any conceivable way.
One of my rules is to 'take a flyer' from time to time, choose a book almost at random that looks interesting. The other to balance fiction and non-fiction. I have DNF'd a few books, including Crime and Punishment because halfway through I could see it coming, that dirtbag was going to get some kind of redemption at the end and maybe I was dead wrong about that, but there you go. Enjoy your videos very much.
Thank you for this beneficial video. I'm still sad for Peter Straub's recent departure.
Yes, that is really sad. I’m still thinking about what kind of video I want to make about it.
I don’t dnf often but I do lose books all the time and then finish them later. I remember one book I dnf had the whole story plot twist and everything revealed in the first paragraph and I just couldn’t do it lol
In my controversial opinion, DNFing is essential. In fact, I'd worry if I didn't DNF. It would mean I'm not being judgmental enough, not going after or finding what I'm really after. For me, reading isn't really so much about finishing books. It's more about finding something valuable, like a treasure hunt. Granted, this is more applicable to non-fiction than novels. But I think it does still apply even to novels.
Even though I DNF a lot, every once in a while I blaze through a book with great interest. Those are the times I'm reminded of what I'm really after. It's true however that the process of deciding is not simple, and loaded with ambiguity.
Voltaire would read books by flipping to random pages and marking in the margins. Samuel Johnson found the whole idea of finishing a book odd. Pascal said we do ourselves a disservice when we read either too quickly or too slowly. Many great readers had unorthodox techniques.
When it comes to journal articles, philosophy, notebooks, letters, and non-fiction in general I've found myself embracing some of these techniques: reading backwards in sections, reading sections in random order, reading according to whim using an index.
Even with fiction, it's only really necessary to finish if what you're primarily interested in is plot and literal narrative. But that's actually one of the least important reasons I read books. It's primarily for ideas, mood, ethical brainstorming, jolting me out of my habits, exposure to new ways of life--these are why I read.
Great video! I was reading Native American Testimony by Peter Nabokov and I had to pause at about 2/3 of the way in because it was so unsettling. Not DNFing it but needed to take a breather! It will get finished!
Taking a breather is certainly not DNFing.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Hey, Michael! I finally got a copy of City by Simak! Kobo had the ebook on sale for $1.99 and I snapped it up! I’ve got all of the collected short stories but City at a reduced price eluded me until now.
Mike I would kill for a top 10 books I almost DNF’d 🙏.
Also the gentleman that read his local paper everyday touched me, I think I saw this man as a fatherly figure.
Off-topic...have you ever checked out the "Supermarionation" Thunderbirds films? These might be up your alley, or maybe up the "Garbaugust" alley. Turner Classic is showing a couple this evening. (Lady Penelope is hot!) There were all kinds of merchandise surrounding the Thunderbirds in the 1960s.
1. Consistency is King
2. Variety is Queen
3. One book at a time
4. Listening to a book is not reading a book
5. Enter completed books on the list ASAP
6. Read books people recommend
7. Research a book prior to reading (so as not to DNF)
8. Find supplemental info for difficult books
9. Tie different genres to a time period (fiction set in the 1800s and a historical book in the same time period)
10. Read a book with the same setting you are in currently (ex. read Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil while in Savannah or Old Man and the Sea while at the beach)
11. Reading should be fun
12. Reading should be work
13. Read
I strongly disagree with your point #4. By your criteria, anyone who is sight impaired or blind and who cannot touch-read braile has never read a book! Just because someone cannot see a book does not mean they have not read it via the medium of speech. And then, what about the severely dyslexic? Are they doomed to never having read a book because their access point is speech?
Reading means reading a book with your eyes. So yes those people don’t actually read books. HOWEVER, audio or brail books are NOT lesser ways of experiencing a book by any means. They are just not the same as reading physiologically with your eyes. Audio and touch are different senses than eyes as a fact, but that’s not to say that they are lesser or illegitimate.
@@snowysnowyriver These are my rules. I do not make rules for others
All people should read. I can't remember the last time I haven't read at least once in a day. Still rereading REH Conan right now. I have never DNFed a book.
Great Video 👍😁👍
You are a very sensible man, James!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 LoL 😆😂🤣👍
I've read a lot of self-help books years ago because people recommended when i was creating a bussiness, so i DNF a loooot of books until i just ignore the recomendations.
Novels i've only DNF one single book: Gulliver's travels. Not because is bad, not at all, but because my copy (by Penguin) was so baddly formated that i just coundn't read properly and DNF at 30% of the book. I still didn't buy another copy but maybe one day.
I agree with you on DNF. I f it was in me I would put down Middlemarch by Eliot which I am reading now. 150 pages in and I cannot see why it is so highly praised.
Everyone should read, agreed! Best rule ever. And I'm all about variety reading too!
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. -Mark Twain, 1895
I DNF because I'm down to one eye and on short time, as are we all these days. If a book is failing me after, say, 50 - 100pp, over my shoulder it goes. There are a few writers whose work I cannot read at all, such as James Fennimore Cooper. Good writing goes a long way for me.
Great discussion. If you can read, read every day, and keep reading. Yes.
Like you, I rarely DNF, probably because I usually know quite a bit about a book before I start reading it, and there is a particular reason I have for reading it. If I get beyond the first 25 pages or so, the book has probably captured my interest. If I am already hating it by then, I have no problem DNFing. It rarely happens, though. I can only think of two or three books I disliked enough at the outset to actively decide not to finish. BTW, I don't consider a preview of the first couple of pages to be actually beginning a book. I usually do that before even acquiring one. The first sentence, the writer's style, these are good indicators of what is to come.
When you said "..and if you're thinking of skipping it - DONT". Damn you caught me! Thats what I do instead of DNF'ing, I just skip paragraphs, then pages, then (rarely but sometimes) chapters. As to your key rule: if you can read - read, and read everyday, totally agree. But sorry to say, I will never read Les Miz. I might attempt War and Peace if someone was to organise a read-along 😉
I know a lot of people like to skip, but I don't. With me it's all or nothing.
I rarely DNF a book but there are times when I suspend reading operations with the intent of coming back to a book later.
I read to get things like this; Anne Williams, et al, excerpt: "...Finally, the Spaniards had written language while the Inca empire did not. The Spaniards were able to learn beforehand everything that was known about the New World. Having read detailed written accounts, they could model their attack on previous successful approaches. Atahuallpa and his men could learn about the Spaniards only through word of mouth, so they new nothing of Spain's previous conquest in Central America." If you can read, 2 + 2 will never equal 3. Do you want to pay for 4 oranges and only get 3?
I don’t DNF, I take extended breaks from certain books though if I’m not feeling them. Is there an acronym for that? How about HFY (haven’t finished yet)?
I set myself some challenges at the beginning of the year. This year it was
1) read 4 books which are more 800 pages long.
2) read at least 12 books in translation from at least 10 different countries
3) read one Australian book a month
I guess those are rules for me
I do DNF because there are too many books I want to read to spend time reading a book I am hating.
My dad rarely read books but he would spend an hour or two a day reading newspapers. He was very knowledgable on current events or more truthfully many events that occurred from the 1940s onwards.
Fantastic discussion. 👏🏻👏🏻 This is worthy of being weaponized into a TAG and I’m creating it now. ☺️
I DNF'ed War and Peace and Gravity's Rainbow and I did it after frustrating attempts and with great shame. Since then, I've lived with a perpetual feeling of guilt, but the excuse I made up for myself is that there are thousands of worthy books out there to read and I shouldn't waste my finite time by slogging through those that don't engage me. As an act of expiation, I've read Gatsby five times and Look Homeward, Angel twice. Since I enjoy them both immensely, can I really rest in the knowledge that I've made an attempt to atone for my sins or should I read something dense like Ulysses while wearing a hair shirt to ease this gnawing feeling that I've, in some way, angered the Muses? Can I ever wear the mantle of Book Lover again?
No guilt!
Michael, you mention the tough slog through "The Sound and The Fury". I'm curious, did you make it through and understand "infinite Jest" by #DavidFosterWallace? I didn't, and couldn't. lol. Thank you.
Hi Mike! Very nice video! Just a bit off topic: I've just read the sad news that Peter Straub passed away on September 4. What about doing the long awaited "Ghost Story" review to pay this significant author a deserved tribute?
I should do that.
I DNF constantly. Have DNF'd as many as I have completed. My tastes are so picky and if book does not grab me, chunk.
Nice one Michael I think you have inspired a response ;)
An excellent one!
Re: your stern ruling on abridgments I submit "the Princess Bride", a classic to many many people, but seemingly NO-ONE of them has read the unabridged original, besides William Golding (RIP). From the sounds of it, you would have been treated to an in depth satire on Florenese culture and monarchy, and is that really relevant anymore? Maybe some dusty professor wants to find a copy - I can't point to where Floren used to be on a map - but we can all use a timeless story about True Love, Miracles and Revenge. So maybe abridgements, if done well have a value of their own, and can even eclipse the original.
Actually the adaptation has eclipsed the abridgment to be even more beloved, but let's focus on the literature - as you say, reading is important!
In general I do agree, I got upset when I thought I had read all of Frankenstein, but found out it was tampered with, who knows how much, so now I always try to find the complete original. I just don't know if I'll ever get through Moby Dick, with all the whaling digressions, but it might be worth the time to hear a version with just the adventure and revenge, which I hear is pretty good - so long as one's clear that that's what they read.
I regularly DNF. There are too many good books out there to waste time on rubbish you don't like.
Some books I don't DNF if there is a reason I need to finish them. An example is "Myth of the Twentieth Century" which I am struggling with at the moment. It is a bore-fest, but a very important book for me to read as a serious student of History. Rosenberg was almost the leader of the NSDAP. The eventual leader, Hitler, wrote a cracking book, "Mein Kampf" (possibly jointly written with Rudolph Hess), and that one was un-put-down-able, a real page-turner. His chapter on propaganda is amazing.
An example of fiction which I DNF'd was "Turn of the Screw", there was just too much "author intrusion" for me to get into it.
I have some rules to read:
1 - Read what I really want.
2 - I read when I feel the need to read.
3 - I try to connect myself, and my feelings with the "objective" of the book.
Actually, I have a lot of DNF books, but, I don't think that is "bad", because, manytimes I stoped a book I feel that I'm full. This happens when the book is too good to kill my "hunger" for reading.
It's hard not to DNF Finnegan's Wake (by James Joyce) after page 6. I've tried many times.
I did not DNF-d 'Nightland' and i think I can handle 'War and Peace' 😅 Probably should read that next! The only story that I EVER DNF-d was by one of my nr1 favourite authors HPL ...'The Electric Executioner' That was just horrible story...maybe one day I'll finish it...when the stars are right that is...
The Rules* for Reading:
1. Start at the top of the page/text and work your way down.
2. Read each line from left to right.
*These rules are nonnegotiable
Not dnf may lead you to reading slump if it happens a lot.. I was reading in my early 20 books (classics) and I bored and stop reading
.then I discver Dragonlance and 20 years later Ive reading daily and now I've read 1060 novels
Like. I want to thank you for the recommendation to read "Women of Wonder".
I try not to DNF books. Sometimes it bites me by the end of it but, in my experience, more often than not I am glad I stuck around.
The only times I will is when it the content gets too profane or sexually explicit for my preference. I suppose there are times where I just don't enjoy it or have gotten confused with the plot, but I try to limit that to only a couple times a year if I can.
Can you read Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon without DNF it?
Yes.
@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I started Gravity's Rainbow, but I set it aside to read something else and never got back to it.
Yes. I agree. And I am one of those who finds the DNF position impossible.
I dropped les mis on my foot before. Ouch
I think maybe I'm you but with hair and not as well dressed. I agree everyone should read. I try to read as much as I can. I agree people should change it up and read outside their comfort zone every so often to experience new things and find new enjoyments. I finish everything I start and even if I dont enjoy it over all, I often manage to get something out of every story I read, and I also feel I cant fully judge a book or story unless I finish it.
It’s probably better to have hair than a tie so you win!
In collage.............. hehe................. lol.................... Lemme start over. Perhaps the reader of this comment went to better schools than I did before attending university, but it was during my first year first term at Oregon that I first learned how to read literature. An oversimplification is that it's all about reading in between the lines. Warning: remember that this style of reading will not help when reviewing the instructions before assembling some Ikea furniture. Totally different kind of reading. In response, many now will say "Well, then what good is it?" (What follows is the "audience participation" part of this thread.)
I have just DNFed "The Black Book" by Orhan Pamuk, I reached page 96 of 446, I think DNFing is healthy, there are so many books out there and they won't all please us. Some people have been brought up feeling they have to finish a book if they start it, and may get bogged down in a book that doesn't work for them and they eventually stop and don't pick up another book, which is sad. DNF could be Do Not Faulkner! If I DNF a book I don't judge it, I don't review it, I just move on to the next book.
My rule on choice of reading material is to be _eclectic._ (love that word)
I was tempted to DNF Faulkner's _As I Lay Dying,_ because I thought the characters were not up to par in their mental capacities. I stuck it out, but I'm not sure that I'm glad I did. But I did read the whole thing.
Right about _War and Peace._ You don't start W&P with a weak resolution, you need unbending intent. If you DNF W&P, _shame on YOU!_
DNFing is legitimate for one reason I can think of...if you feel the time to finish your proposed DNF is better spent reading another book. You only have so much time in your life to read, you need to parcel it out wisely. (How can you patiently sit there and read a book _you know_ is crap?)
I have DNFed one book, _Esther Waters_ by Irish writer George Moore. A friend of my mother's was a George Moore scholar, so I thought I'd give a Moore book a try. I got through 10% of it. Sorry, mom's friend, but I just didn't like the way the book started out or the way it was going. Too much about detail about horses and the horse racing game, Esther was going to become an unwed mother and the angst was going to be a trite story line (sorry for the spoilers...). I had better uses for my reading time. This is the only book I've DNFed in my memory.
The last book I DNF was The History of the Pelonponessian War by Thucydides. I won't call it a bad book, it is certainly an important book and I see why. I just sort of lost interested in it. I'm not certain why.
The reason Victor Hugo and other 19th century French writers wrote long books was because they were published in newspapers and the writers were paid by the word. They were hacks in the sense they wrote for money. I don't think that's bad since they still wrote great things. Dostoevsky wrote Crime and Punishment as much to pay his gambling debts as anything. It is still one of the greatest works of world literature. REH wrote Conan stories to put food on the table. Most of them are still great fun, and the ones he really cared about like Red Nails transcend "pulp."
Red Nails was fantastic.
I am a senior retired citizen. I no longer read boring or "challenging" books. At my age, a reader must be selective.
My only rule is "YOU SHALL NOT ASK ME TO BORROW YOU BOOK CAUSE THE COVER LOOKS COOL"
I know it's freakin' cool,that's why is miiiiine
This was excellent. Apart from the part about DNFing which was just plain wrong 😂
I do think though that one should go into a book with the right frame of mind to minimise the chance of DNFing
What? I didn’t convert you to my Never DNF madness?!
@@michaelk.vaughan8617😂
I've only recently learned to overcome my OCDness and DNF a book - lol. It was not because the book was difficult to read, but because it just did not interest me. There are so very many books out there that I would enjoy! And I'll never have time to read them all. Why use up my alloted time on something yucky?