Although I like to say that I am okay with not finishing a book and just putting it aside, I'm not. In theory I want to be okay with a DNF (did not finish) because I don't want to waste my time; however when it comes down to it, I feel as if I gave up.
It's like a flashback to high school when I had to read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I HATED it. (Sorry Mr. Sinclair.) I didn't finish it. I read enough to get by in the class, but to this day I feel guilty for not reading it. Partly because it was required reading and I did not read it. Also because it's been instilled in me that if you start something, you finish it. No matter what, you give it your all until it's over and then you may move on.
As an adult I have promised to not take this outlook with books. If I don't like it, I'm going to stop reading it. It's okay. (It's okay. It's okay. It's okay--just keep repeating.) I don't owe anyone anything. Plus I have other books to read--that hopefully I'll enjoy. I have other things to do. I have posts to write and papers to grade and a baby girl to play with. I will not spend time reading something I really don't like at all.
So I'm proud to say that I've already DNF'd two books this year. Usually it's not so many--at least not because I really don't like them. These are true DNF's because I will not be going back to these at anytime in the future. Doesn't make them bad or terrible--just not for me.
How do you feel about DNF's? Do you embrace it? Are you wary? Do you avoid it at all cost?
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