Librarians are often, but not always, BIG readers. Many of us read a lot. I personally read so much that I actually do read many of the books I end up talking about. I just did the math on myself and in 2024, per my Goodreads account, I read 228 books. I also started reading 95 books, which I did not complete. So by that count, I actually do not finish about 30% of the books I start. I’m guessing that’s a high number by any standard…and I always have a reason.
Nancy Pearl is probably the best place to start when it comes to conversations about DNFing. She came up with her “rule of 50” over her years talking about books on the radio. The idea is that you read 50 pages of the book and then decide if you want to finish it. Once you’re over 50 years old, the formula changes and you subtract your age from 100 to get to the number of pages you need to finish before deciding. Of course, this leaves our centenarian friends out in the cold.
Structural issues with the logic of the rule aside, it is a worthy thing to consider when spending time reading. There are a LOT of books out there. Reading a book takes time. Recognizing that life is short and not finishing a book is an option can be incredibly empowering. Personally I have so many books in my TBR (that’s “to be read”) that identifying books that just aren’t my thing is really helpful. I will never finish all the books I currently want to read in my lifetime and new books are coming out every day!
So, what sorts of things might go on in those first fifty (or fewer) pages that might make us not want to finish? Here are a few reasons that I or my colleagues use:
- Not caring what happens to the characters. I don’t have to LIKE the character, but I do have to care about them.
- Something happens in the plot that makes the reader recognize that the book is not one they want to read at this time (or ever). Some books have content warnings, and this can help readers avoid these topics altogether. Plots that include children suffering or dying can fall into this category for many people I know.
- Language use does matter to me, and too many words used incorrectly – or uncommon words used too frequently – will make me DNF. Ask me about the book that used the word “mutinously” so frequently I started keeping count. It was weird.
- Getting a really random historical detail wrong. The most recent one I can remember is a novel set in the Regency period describing a person as being in “half mourning.” Nope, that started with Queen Victoria. Next!
- Conversely, sharing too much accurate historical detail can also get me to DNF if it’s not worked into the story organically. I’m looking at you, entirely too long description of the Paris sewer system in the unabridged Les Miserables. Never again. That is how I learned that sometimes there is a value in abridgements. I did read the whole thing though!
- Some books are difficult to read BECAUSE the author wants them to be difficult to read. Not one of us is making these decisions because we “only read for pleasure” or “don’t want to be challenged.” We pick up hard and challenging books all the time. Sometimes I recognize a book isn’t for me at this exact time and I make sure I keep track of those books and do often return to them at a later date.
The point being that there are all sorts of books that give us reason to not love them AND there are so many books with the potential to be loved. My choice is to read the ones I love and to use the short time I spend with the ones I DNF so that I know who I might recommend them to. After all, the 3rd Law of Library Science (yes, we have laws, read more about them here) is “every books its reader.”