Reader Mailbag: Last Book You DNF’d
In the September 2025 newsletter we asked readers what the last book was that they didn’t finish.
Here were the responses:
B: In my whole lifetime the number of books I didn’t finish is in single digits. The last book was “Butter” by Asako Yuzuki. It was a big hit in Japan and I really enjoy many Japanese authors, so I thought I’d give it a try. Unfortunately, I just got so tired of the detailed repeated homages to butter – while the plot just seemed to be going nowhere fast – that I surrendered about a third of the way through. I suspect the book gets much later on or it wouldn’t be so popular, but for now, I am not willing to force myself to trudge through it.
Mark: Easy question. I never don’t finish a book. Even terrible ones (The Nightland by William Hope Hodgson; The Bees by Laline Paull; Carnival by Elizabeth Bear; Slan by A. E. Van Vogt; the Koran) get finished, rated, added to my database, and serve as great examples of what to avoid.
Chris: I rarely stop reading a book before I’ve finished it. Most of the time, I plow through if it drags a bit but then I’m usually glad I got to the end. But “The storyteller’s death” by Ann Cardinal was one that wore me out. It was mainly set in Puerto Rico and the descriptions of the area were very well done, but that wasn’t enough to keep me reading. One day in the character’s life felt like a year, the interactions she had with her family and friends didn’t feel authentic and there didn’t seem to be any resolution to them. Also, every time the main character turned around, she was seeing a vision from the past. It was hard to get through them, they seemed so random and without a point. It could be that the book’s end tied everything up in a bow but I just couldn’t get there. Maybe I didn’t understand the culture or maybe I wasn’t patient enough, but it just all felt too difficult and exhausting to get to the end. I may pick it up again sometime, but because there are so many new books to read, I doubt it.
Christine: Wow, I have a hard time not saying something good about a book. However, to answer this month’s question, occasionally I get a Bonus Borrow through my library online program which doesn’t count against the amount allowed each month, and the first book of a cozy mystery series (which I really enjoy cozy mysteries) by CJ Archer was offered, so I tried it, and it was okay and that one I did finish. Normally the books in a series keep getting better, so I did try Book 2, Murder at the Piccadilly Playhouse by CJ Archer and I just couldn’t finish it. Although I liked the lead sleuth the story line just didn’t hold my attention enough to even skip to the end to see “Who Dunnit.” Now I am actually curious what other books out there people were just not interested enough to finish.
Vicki: The Names by Florence Knapp
Normally I like alternate realities books (think Sliding Doors). This one wasn’t working for me. The premise is interesting. In each reality a baby is given a different name. One is the cute name the older sister chose. One is the name the mother chose even though she knows her controlling husband will object. The third is the name the abusive husband chooses. They jump a few years at a time. Each one plays out differently due to the father’s reactions to the selected son’s names.
Yet I couldn’t appreciate it. I tried listening to the audiobook and reading the hardcopy. When I put it down about half way through, I didn’t care what would happen to the characters. The writing was good enough, I suppose. It was one of “Read With Jenna” Picks. It didn’t hold my attention.
Linda: I rarely pick out a book that I don’t finish reading. There have been a few but I really cannot remember their names. I am very picky about picking out a book, so I rarely get duds. I stick to all of my favorite authors, who never steer me wrong. I will say that the last book in the Outlander series was not very good but I did finish it. Also the last Gamache book was a dud as far as I was concerned, but I finished it just because I want to finish all in the series. I usually pick my books by reviews of people I trust or sometimes, I just read the book jacket and skim a few pages of the book then choose it. I am rarely disappointed. Right now I am finishing up the Robie series and the King and Maxwell series by Baldacci. They have sat on my shelf long enough. They are both excellent. I recently moved into a senior housing apartment building so I had to downsize a lot of my books, which brought a tear to my eyes. But now I am finishing up the 3 bookcases that I brought with me. Then this building has a huge library with so many books, it is hard to choose .
Tom: Hi Graeme…the last DNF was “Savage Son” by Jack Carr. Too many things going on, too many characters with names I can’t pronounce, too much military jargon, too much Middle East stuff, and after about 70 pages I knew I couldn’t get through the next 300. The author probably spent a lot of time on this and I am sure others might have loved it. It’s easier to do this with a TV series…usually after the first 15-20 minutes, or at least the first episode I’ll know whether or not it is worthy of my time.
Sam: The last book I didn’t finish was relatively recent, so that’s an easy one for me. It was Year Zero. One of my coworkers thought I’d like it because it had a lot of 80s pop culture references. I got a little way into it and found it too cheesy…
Phoenix: I’m not even sure this counts, because I wanted to finish the books I was reading! I took them both back to the library, and when my life gets back to “normal,” I’m hoping to get them again. One was called The Frozen River, about a midwife/detective during the Revolutionary War period. I was really enjoying that one. The other was called Hester, and is a take-off on the story of Hester Pryne of the scarlet letter. I was really enjoying that one, too. But alas, I began doing research on the Quakers and couldn’t justify keeping the books any longer. But at least I’ve written down the titles, so when I’m ready, I’ll know what to ask for again.
Phil: Hi Graeme and Crew. – I only remember not finishing one book in my life. And that was Pirate Alley by Stephen Coonts. I didn’t finish it because someone stole it at the main train station in New Orleans, Louisiana. I had a two hour wait to catch the next train to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and I dozed off. The book was right next to me, maybe half a foot from my right thigh while I sat there and snoozed. When I woke up from my nap it was gone. I’m glad I kept my travel bag in my arms or that probably would have been stolen too. I hope whoever stole the book took the time to read it. I doubt it though, they probably tried to sell it to a used book store. It’s ironic that a book called Pirate Alley was pirated away from me at a train station. LOL
Carol: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins should have worked for me. It was in a favorite genre and was well written. It garnered the major genre awards. The problem was that every page in this book turned me off. There was terrible alcoholism followed by constant vomiting and all around terrible behavior. I have been reading the mystery genre, including noirs, for decades. This is usually not a problem for me. I also love noir movies, and even noir foreign language ones. Nevertheless, every page in this book was a major turnoff. I got no further than 25-30% into it and just gave up. I had been promised there was going to be a huge twist on all of this repulsive behavior but I no longer cared. No twist could make up for this gut churning scenario.
Years before this I had a similar reaction to American Psycho. The level of constant violence in that one is what stopped my reading. I only made it about 15% in and couldn’t take anymore.
I did not try the movie on either of these. If I can’t handle the book due to repulsive matter, I will do even worse on the film.
There are even more books which I stopped reading because they never grabbed my interest despite being praised to the high heavens. Most embarrassing is giving up on Lord of the Rings. For years I thought I must have made a terrible mistake. Then I went to see the movie and liked the movie as little as the novel.
I also like the romance genre. I liked the original Bridget Jones novel but then sequels were written. The second book was Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason. I made it fairly far into this one but it was for one reason only: I could not believe that the author had written a follow up this bad. And it kept getting worse! This book was the one I can honestly say that I quit because it was one of the worst books ever written.
I quit reading The Historian after a few chapters. The reason was that I could not take anymore vampire, werewolf, zombie, etc., novels. Unless someone could come up with a completely fresh twist on this kind of book, I was done. Then Max Brooks wrote World War Z which I first read and then listened to on audio. He managed that fresh twist.
Mark: My latest DNF book was Going Home in the Dark by Dean Koontz. I got into his work with his earlier novels many of which I thoroughly enjoyed. I do find the latest ones are hit and miss. This last one was unreadable in my view. Constant interjections by the author about writing style and chapter lengths, non believable story line, many words when a few would do – don’t waste your time.
Louise: The last book I did not finish was “The Unraveling of Julia” by Lisa Scottoline. I have been reading this author for over 10 years and always enjoyed her books. This book was totally different from anything she ever wrote. I just could not get into it. Very disappointing.
Gary: End of Story by A. J. Finn. Just couldn’t flow for me. I like A. J. But this book….well it truly was End of Story.
Donna: I like Jo Nesbo. I couldn’t finish Macbeth. I tried twice to get into it. It felt confusing and to trite. I’m not a big Shakespeare fan so that might have something to do with it. As I told my girls, growing up, life is too short if you can’t get into a book then stop and go on to another. If it’s by your favorite author wait a month or two then try again, your brain might be tired.
Hello,
I enjoy reading the OrderOfBooks Newsletter. I’m an avid reader and am now reading Book #84 for 2025. I’m 83 years old and no longer have the endurance I once had.
Can you share your tips, suggestions, and resources with your followers on how to read and comprehend more effectively? You mention reading a 290-page book in one sitting, as well as reading a dozen or more books a month. Is this by speed reading? How long is One Sitting? I have to work hard to read two books a week, but some are 600 to 900 pages long. For many of the books I’ve read recently, I’ve read on Kindle and followed along on Audible.com, with the speed increased to 1.3X to 1.5X.
Hi Robert,
I’m a fast reader so that certainly helps. It’s not quite speed reading, but I do read faster than average.
For me, a big part of it is focus and having no distractions. When I have a TV near me, my phone etc I find it harder to focus. It’s why most people have a reading nook etc – an area where they go exclusively to read.
For me – it’s my hot tub. I’m in there, there’s no TV or anything. My hands are generally a tad wet – easy enough to operate the Kindle but not my phone. I just zone out with no distractions and read.
With audiobooks I still only listen at 1x. I’ve tried 1.3x etc but I feel it loses the nuances from the narrator.
Your recent comment about authors wearing their political views on their sleeve:
I next read The Institute by Stephen King. My wife had been wanting to watch the adaptation and had read it a couple of months earlier. I really enjoyed this one, although it would be great if King could stop shoehorning his political opinions into his work. I see so many authors doing that these days, and it’s usually detrimental to the story.
You are “spot on” with your observation. Sometimes it is enough to make me want to put the book down. Why do they think they have to lecture us?
When I was a child by dad always used to tell us kids,
‘don’t wear your religion or politics on your sleeve.”
Jim Durrett
Thanks Jim – really appreciate the feedback. And that is wonderful advice that I wish many would take 🙂