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DNF = Did Not Finish
I used to think I had to finish every book I ever started. If I DNF’d a book, I felt like I was quitting.
After college, I wanted to rebuild my reading habit. One strategy I tried was alternating between fiction and nonfiction. I flew through the fiction books but often slogged through the nonfiction titles. Reading started to feel more like homework than a hobby.
Then I became a mom, and free time became scarce. During those precious quiet moments, I didn’t want to spend my time reading books I wasn’t enjoying simply because of a self-imposed rule.
So, I gave myself permission to stop reading books that weren’t working for me.
It felt liberating.
(You can read more about how my reading habits have changed over the years here.)
DNF Statistics: How Many Readers Quit Books?
If you’ve ever DNF’d a book, you’re far from alone. In a Goodreads poll of more than 21,000 readers, nearly 62% said they had abandoned a book before finishing it.
Readers quit at different points in the story. Nearly 28% said they stopped reading between pages 50 and 100, while about 16% gave up within the first 50 pages.
DNFing has become so common that Goodreads recently added a dedicated “DNF shelf,” and Storygraph now tracks DNF percentages for individual books.
Common Reasons Readers Quit Books
There are so many reasons someone might DNF a book. Below are several:
- The story moves too slowly.
- The writing style doesn’t click with the reader.
- The book contains triggering or disturbing content.
- Long descriptions make the story feel bogged down.
- The book isn’t what the reader expected based on the summary.
- Too many characters, timelines, or locations make it hard to follow.
- The book doesn’t fit the reader’s current mood.
What’s Your DNF Rule?
Every reader has a different threshold for quitting a book.
Some readers give a book 50 pages. Others commit to three chapters or 10% of the audiobook. Some never DNF at all.
There’s no right or wrong approach. The important thing is finding a reading style that helps you enjoy books rather than treating them like an obligation.
Do DNF Books Count Toward Your Reading Goal?
Ultimately, your reading goals are personal, so you get to make the rules.
Personally, I don’t count DNF books toward my yearly reading goals because I didn’t finish the entire book. However, I still track them so I can remember what I tried and why I stopped.
Goodreads now allows users to place books on a DNF shelf, making it easy to record them without including them in annual reading statistics.
How to Reduce Future DNFs
No one starts a book expecting to abandon it. If you’d like to reduce the number of books you DNF, try these strategies:
- Choose authors or genres you’ve enjoyed before
- Check ratings on Goodreads, Amazon or other trusted book review sites ahead of time
- Use resources like Rated Reads to screen for content concerns
- Set a benchmark before quitting, such as 50 pages or five chapters, before deciding whether to continue or not.
DNF or NRN (Not Right Now)
Sometimes a book isn’t bad – it’s just not the right fit at the moment.
Instead of viewing every unfinished book as a DNF, consider labeling some of them as NRN: Not Right Now.
Maybe you’re in the wrong season of life for that particular story. Maybe you’re craving a different genre. Maybe the book will resonate more a year from now than it does today.
Giving yourself permission to set a book aside doesn’t mean you’ll never return to it.
Final Thoughts
For years, I believed finishing every book was part of being a “good reader.” Eventually I realized that reading is supposed to be enjoyable, not an endurance test.
Since giving myself permission to DNF books that aren’t working for me, I’ve spent more time reading books I genuinely love.
Life is too short, and most readers already have more books on their TBR than they’ll ever finish. Sometimes the best reading decision is turning the page. Other times, it’s closing the book.
What about you? Do you finish every book you start, or are you comfortable DNF’ing a book that isn’t working for you?
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Other posts you may be interested in:
- My Approach to Reading: How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time
- Best Methods for Tracking Books: Apps, Tools and Simple Systems That Work
- An Interview with Cathy Lim of Rated Reads: How to Check Book Content Before You Read
- To Set Reading Goals, or Not to Set Reading Goals – That is the Question
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