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What does DNF mean?

DNF is a common term used in the book community, meaning a reader “Did not finish” a book. This can be because they didn’t like the book, forgot about the book, lost the book, etc. More times than not, it’s because the reader disliked the book enough to put it down.

Has that turned into a sin? DNFing books has become such a hot topic because of an overbearing need to understand a book to the core. If we didn’t like a book, it is because we missed a message right? We missed out on something that other people gathered?

Perhaps it’s just because we don’t want to spend the time on something we don’t enjoy.

When is it “okay” to DNF?

Honestly, whenever you want to. I heard a long time ago that went:

“If my one star read was your five star read, congratulations! You got something out of the book that I didn’t and that book still served it’s purpose.”

This has stuck with me for so long because it’s so true. I believe if someone found a book to be a five star, and I didn’t, then I didn’t get something out of the book that someone else did and that’s okay. The same rules apply to not finishing a book because you don’t want to continue it. If you don’t feel value in your read, you are not obligated to finish it,

What do I do on Goodreads if I don’t finish a book?

This is also up to you. In another post, I have put my standards for a one to five star rating, I will rate a book I DNF if I complete 80% of the book. That is because I gave it a B level effort for it to strike me and it didn’t. Under 80%, I don’t have a rating for it because I personally don’t feel like I made it far enough.

It is not fair to an author to rate their book if you DNF’d a book on the first few chapters. Be mindful of your authors. Don’t be a bully, but you can leave an honest review without fear of repercussions if you did not like or could not finish a book.

It feels wrong to DNF a book

My husband actually feels the same way. I DNF’d a book in a trilogy a year ago (a very, very popular and loved book on top of that) and told him. He still got the trilogy audiobook set and listened to all 65 hours of the audiobooks because he felt like he couldn’t leave it unfinished. I had weekly rants on the book, and continued frustrated commentary of a book I didn’t like either for a long time.

If you don’t feel satisfied not finishing a book, that is fine. However, why is that? Are you feeling peer pressured to finish the book? Is this a book that is highly rated in the book community and for some reason you hate it? Is the vocabulary and writing not hooking you? Are you offended by the content in the book but others got a different message?

Your voice as a reader matters. If you want to DNF a book but don’t get the satisfaction unless you finish it, then finish the book. If you are feeling pressured or confused, maybe take the route in the middle and “soft DNF”.

What is a “soft DNF”

I soft DNF books all the time. I will put down a book if I am feeling frustrated, stuck, bored, or confused. I will then pick up another book that I want to read, and keep doing that, until I feel ready to return to that DNF’d book.

Soft DNF is like a “pause” button. Take a breather. Go to something else and then come back.

I do this with epic fantasies. I do this a lot with Brandon Sanderson books. I have been doing this to Valor by John Gwynne since 2024, but I was in nursing school and had other priorities than reading.

My husband has soft DNF’d his current read because he needed something different to keep him entertained in the building of a series.

Take a break! You do not have to “cover to cover” a book every single time you read. This is so beneficial to change up your reading to keep your mind busy but also entertained. This prevents reading slumps!