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@diazona@techhub.social avatar

diazona

@[email protected]

Software engineer, former particle physicist, occasional blogger. I support the principle of cake.

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skaeth , to bookstodon
@skaeth@writing.exchange avatar

What are your thoughts on DNF (Did Not Finish)-ing books? Do you feel guilty about it? Do you worry you missed out on something? Or are you confident in dropping a book and reaching for the next one?

At what point are you most likely to DNF, if ever? What sorts of things cause you to DNF?

My friend, book blogger Kriti, was musing on these questions a while back, and it sparked this new post: https://armedwithabook.com/dealing-with-dnf-the-practice-of-did-not-finish/

@bookstodon

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@skaeth @bluGill @bookstodon Ooh that's an interesting take. A bit surprising to me, actually. My understanding of DNF has always been to stop reading with no intention of ever coming back to it.

There have been many times I stopped reading a book temporarily because it's not what I was in the mood for at that moment or because I got too busy with other things in my life or so on - sometimes even because the book is good enough that I want to save it for a time when I can properly appreciate it - but I planned to come back and finish (or reread it from the beginning) later. It just doesn't feel right to tag those books with the stigma of a DNF label.

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@skaeth @bluGill @bookstodon Ah I see. I dunno, I just feel like there's a huge difference between DNF and DNF-for-now in terms of what it says about the book.

FWIW I've never been one of those people who had any trouble setting aside a book temporarily. Reading a book cover-to-cover all in one sitting is just not done, in my world. (Unless it's a super-short book I guess.) At a minimum I have to stop at some point to, like, get food or something. And I can't bring myself to find much of a meaning in the distinction between taking a half-hour break to eat, or taking a 10-hour break to go to work, or taking a 3-week break because of various other things I have going on in my life, or so on.

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@skaeth @simon @bookstodon Other people's opinions are extremely overrated 😛

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@skaeth @bluGill @bookstodon Usually only one at a time for me, although sometimes I'll have two going at once if they're different genres. At least, only one (maybe two) at a time actively. It does happen that I'll put aside a book temporarily and read another book in the interim, especially if the one I put aside is one I expect to be really good and the other one I pick up is less good.

BTW this is a very interesting discussion, thanks for starting it 🙂

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@skaeth @bluGill @bookstodon Good question - yes, I usually do follow through with finishing books later. I'll typically get far enough into the book before putting it down that I'm invested in finding out how the story concludes. But I don't necessarily know, at the time of putting the book down, when I'm going to come back to it. (in rare cases it takes years)

I'd say I use a mix of borrowing and buying to get my books, although a lot of them I actually get as free ebooks from promotions by Barnes and Noble, so I don't know if that really counts as either! What I can say is it's quite rare I'll spend money to buy a book unless I know I really like it, or I have a very strong expectation of liking it based on other work by the same author in the same genre.

diazona , to bookstodon
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

Now that I've finished and gone back to reading "regular" books, I have a whole new appreciation for Robert Jordan's ability to create interesting characters and weave (🧐) them into a compelling story. I'll never complain about women who fold their arms under their breasts 47 times per chapter again.

...well okay I will because it's silly, but point is, the man could write, in a way that a lot of run-of-the-mill published authors cannot.

@bookstodon

diazona OP ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@ametonym @bookstodon I think I don't agree with that. I mean, sure there were a few typos that should have been fixed by better copy editing, and the story was certainly more complex than it needed to be in a few places, but neither of those detracted very much from my experience.

Or, I guess I should say, I don't think more aggressive editing would have made the books substantially better for me. I'd believe it could have done so for many other readers.

CindySue , to bookstodon
@CindySue@bookstodon.com avatar

I finished a book that wasn't for work! First one in like 3 months. I decided last night to try a romance which is a genre I haven't read much of in the last couple of years. I started the book last night and finished today.

My headphones are dead so I can't finish what I was doing for work. I complained to the husband and he said to read a book. So that is exactly what I intend to do.

@bookstodon

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@CindySue @bookstodon nice! Having the option of that outlet to disconnect from work is pretty great

Jennifer , to bookstodon

I saw this book at the bookstore last month. The title made me laugh so I had to get it. Started it this week and so far love it. @bookstodon

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@Jennifer @Nonya_Bidniss @bookstodon hahaha nice to see someone at B&N leaning into it. I am intrigued, I'll have to check this out.

Likewise , to bookstodon
@Likewise@beige.party avatar

Cozy mysteries?

I’ve read & enjoyed Still Life by Louise Penny, does that count? I recently found this book, The Thursday Murder Club & it was called a ‘cozy mystery.’ Do you all have any recommendations, do you like this genre or am I’m just 100 years old?
@bookstodon

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@MardraS @Likewise @bookstodon Ooh sounds great! I'm adding that to my list.

DejahEntendu , to bookstodon
@DejahEntendu@dice.camp avatar

The Humans, by Matt Haig.

The narrator leads us through a look at Earth and posh English culture from the eyes of an alien. Humorous without stepping too far, it leads into a serious story as the narrator grows. By the end, it's poignant and we're left with the warm fuzzies. Truly a lovely arc of a story.

@bookstodon

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@DejahEntendu @bookstodon Sounds interesting!

ninsiana0 , to bookstodon
@ninsiana0@mastodon.social avatar

What books are you ending your year on?

I'm currently reading NIGHT SIDE OF THE RIVER by Jeanette Winterson.

@bookstodon

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@ninsiana0 @bookstodon For me it's the last book of the Wheel of Time series - I've been working on the series since January and it was my goal all along to get to the end this year

hollie , to bookstodon
@hollie@social.coop avatar

I love when you emphatically express to your family that books are a most welcome gift, and THEY BELIEVE YOU! :)

@bookstodon

The same stack of books but from behind, showing how the Lord of the Rings volume has the edge of the pages in red with Tengwar (Elvish script) in white. Translated it reads, "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them"

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@hollie @bookstodon oooooooo 😍

I mean, I shouldn't complain since I recently got a haul of books myself, but that stack looks beautiful and I definitely have a bit of book envy!

ninsiana0 , to bookstodon
@ninsiana0@mastodon.social avatar

Hey. It's ok if you're behind on your yearly reading goal. That number was arbitrarily chosen in a January fog of optimism & champagne anyway, and you don't need to turn something you love & brings you comfort into a stressor. Read good books. Enjoy them. Be gentle with yourself.

@bookstodon

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@ronsboy67 @ninsiana0 @bookstodon Well... again, way to go on achieving goals, but I gotta admit I don't understand the appeal of that one 🤷

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@ronsboy67 @ninsiana0 @bookstodon That makes sense, but personally I would think the thing to brag about is all the other stuff you got to do in the time you saved, rather than than how much less reading you did.

diazona ,
@diazona@techhub.social avatar

@hybridhavoc @ninsiana0 @bookstodon 😁 thanks for the encouragement!

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