DNF – Did Not Finish
DNF – The most dreaded classification a book can get by a reviewer?
I do post DNF reviews. And I have gotten some flak about them, via readers though, never from an author. This is my personal policy:
As far as the “Unethical” part of question…
I never like negative responses from authors, but I have to say, it seems to be happening a lot more lately. I believe some authors think that if they try to nudge a review to see “their side of things”, the reviewer in question might remove the negative review, or maybe change their mind. I’m only assuming, because personally I’m not an author and I’ve never had a negative review posted about my work. I do understand their perspective though as far as their work and negative reviews. It is hard to deal with, in a perfect world everyone would love everything, we would all have dogs that crapped in toilets, instead of our rugs and we would be able to maintain a perfectly healthy size six, while we gorged ourselves on mass amounts of cookie dough…but last time I checked, it wasn’t a perfect world and reviewers, like myself, we tend to like a wide range of books and have different tastes (I personally am not a fan of Steinbeck, Thoreau or Emerson — I know, matter of personal taste compared to the majority of classic readers). My advice to authors is to IGNORE negative reviews. My advice to reviewers that are contacted by Authors that don’t like their reviews. Ignore them. One big ignore fest. Yet, like in any trolling environment, some authors can get out of control, like in the case of the Wendy Darling bizarrofest [see details via Cuddlebuggery my source for all things scandalous] and you have to take things into your own hands to stop them. If said author persists, I would email them and ask them kindly to stop harassing you, this is a form of bullying and if they don’t cease and desist you will have to take it to another forum. If they do not end the communications I would block all email accounts (contact your provider or Google search ways of doing this with your mail carrier). I would also blacklist their email address from commenting on your site. This is a handy feature that Disqus and other commenting systems have. Then I would post their emails on your blog. If you do not feel your blog is big enough and will get as great a reaction I would contact bloggers that are known for calling out bad behavior (hmm I think I mentioned one particular blog that does it regularly) and have them intervene. But, you might be surprised, just by posting it on your own blog, what kind of reaction it gets. News spreads quick and at least you know, said author will probably see it on your blog if they are paying attention to what you do. But this is EXTREME cases only. Always remember negativity brings negativity.
But with this particular question, another question arises which afflicts a lot of reviewers and probably divides book reviewers into two camps of Pro DNF Reviews and Anti DNF reviews. How about we discuss it?
DNFs – To Review or Not to Review?
Pro DNF Review Points:
- It is Your Opinion
You are a reviewer. A person who states their opinion. You can form an opinion about anything, even a book that you’ve only read 30%. You can, if you feel so obligated state your opinion on why you stopped reading a particular book. You can not comment on the ending of the book, because you have not read it, but you can state your opinion on the part you DID read. - Review Just What You Read
This was covered in the prior point, but if you review a DNF you should only review the part that you’ve read. - Got the gist of it?
Most DNF reviewers will make sure they reach a certain point in a book before reviewing it. If they give up within 10 – 50 pages, chances are they won’t do a legitimate review of the book. Maybe make a few points on Goodreads.com, but not a drawn out review. Yet, when they reach a particular line in the sand that they just can’t cross (see above chart for mine) they feel they can legitimately review that book, having gotten the basics of the novel. - DNFing is a Strong Statement
If the book was that BAD to warrant a slap close and hide away, there was obviously SOMETHING that wasn’t right with the book, most of the time readers would like to know what that was.
Anti DNF Review Points:
- Your Opinion is Not INFORMED
How can one properly give a competent opinion if they do not know ALL aspects of the book? A person that reviews a DNF is giving their opinion before seeing the whole picture. - Insulting to the Author
DNFing a book and then reviewing is the ultimate insult. First you did not even take the time to finish the review and then to top it off you will review it? How low can you get? - Fairness
You cross a line when you review DNFs. It isn’t fair for the author or your readers.
- Gives the wrong impression
You are misrepresenting your self as knowledgeable on the title and gives the impression that you’ve actually read the book. Let others who have read it review it.
- You don’t know how it ends, so how can you review it?
Again from the camp of you can’t review something you haven’t finished.
Bloggers – I would suggest that if you are a reviewer of DNFs to state this in your review policy. This way if you have a negative response to a DNF you can just point the author in the direction of your reviewing policy and state “Please refer to my review policy, where it states I will DNF a book…you accepted this by sending me your book etc.”
Well, I’ve stated in which camp my loyalty lies and I don’t begrudge the opposing camp, this isn’t something like Obamacare or anything BIG like that, LOL. This of course is a personal preference that we as Bloggers choose for ourselves. To call a person that reviews a book that they didn’t finish “unethical” is crossing the line though. Just like if I returned the favor and stated people that don’t review DNFs to be pandering to authors…I could understand calling out the reviewer if the blogger had written the review not having even opened a page. I’ve seen this done before, where the reviewer draws a conclusion based on not having liked the first book in the series, or the author’s online behavior (it happens) and writes a scathing review and 1 stars the book. This is unethical. But, if the reviewer has read a certain amount of the book where they feel like they can competently discuss what they disliked or liked about that certain part of the book — why is this unethical?
I’ve taken English Lit classes where we go through books chapter by chapter, class to class and form opinions and analyze the book Chapter by Chapter. You can form an opinion about a book just by reading parts of it. Much like you can judge a movie by the first ten minutes of the show. Might it at the end redeem itself. Yes. It can happen. My dog hopefully one day will learn how to use the potty. He doesn’t even have to learn how to flush. I’ll deal.
Questions for my Readers:
Where do you stand? Do you review DNFs? If you do or do not, why?
How would you handle a harassing email from an author about your review?
Happy Thursday. Talk Less. Read More. Blog with Integrity.
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I am mixed. I don’t often do DNF reviews, but when I do I try to have read at least half the book. Sometimes I don’t like the book, or just wasn’t into at the time and may come back. I do try to point out things that I liked about the book if possible. The comedian Craig Ferguson says it best I think. His point was about fighting fairly but I think it works here as well. “Does this need to be said? Does it need to be said now? Does it need to be said by me?” Basically, think carefully before you put your opinions out there for the world to see.
I have done maybe a hand full of DNF reviews within my 1 1/2 years of blogging. I reviewed the part of the book(s) I did read. What I liked and didn’t like. But I always try to keep it neutral and I never bash the author. Not every book is for everyone. I did recently start a book and knew by chapter 2 it was not for me. I didn’t feel like I read enough to review it so I didn’t. I just moved on to the next book. I have it stated in my review request policy that a review is not guaranteed. If I had read more then I would have done a DNF on it. But it was so not my thing that I didn’t bother.
Since my latest DNF review was on a book in a series that I’ve really liked up to this book, I linked to other bloggers’ reviews that did finish the book to give my readers other POVs of the book. And I will mostly likely do this in the future if I have more DNF. I think it’s fair to the author and gives everyone more POV on the book.
I think that is a very good take on it Jenn and a logical way of doing thins. Thank you for sharing.
Yes, I sometimes review DNF books. It depends, though. If I have even the slightest feeling that it was my mood, I just put it on my DNF shelf on GR with no comment, rating, or review. If a book is DNF because it was horrible, unreadable, just plain bad, I will review and/or rate it. Sorry if you’re an author, but I don’t owe you anything. If anyone owes anyone, an author owes ME a good book- especially if I paid money for it. Authors OWE readers a book that is readable, that captures their attention. If they can’t deliver, readers have a right to call them on it. If an author were to send me an email that was nasty or do anything unprofessional, I will post what they have done online. Everywhere. In every GR group I belong to, I will link my post about their behavior, I will post it in all of my GR reviews, etc. Every time I see that book mentioned- on a blog, in a post on GR, etc. I will post a link to my blog’s post about their behavior. If you want to be a professional author, then act like one. Bad reviews are part of being an author, if you can’t handle it, do something else. Grow up or get out.
If anyone does have a bad experience with an author, I think all of us bloggers should stick together. Maybe have a “Hall of Shame” type round table where bloggers agree to support each other- by posting, by sharing links, Tweeting, etc. about authors who go off on fellow bloggers/readers.
I totally do DNF reviews, though I try really hard to finish review books, especially if it’s a print ARC. If I spent my money on it, well, I think that fact alone gives me the right to state my opinion no matter how far I got.
Mine breaks down to a matter of time. I usually don’t review books I purchase, unless I really liked them. Mainly because of time. Blog space that sort of thing. Review books, now that I have such a tight reading schedule and my reading time has gone WAY down because of work and playtime — well if I’m not feeling it, I can’t force myself to finish it. Especially if there is a really hot book waiting in line next. Now if I’ve solicited the book, or if the author contacted directly I will try my hardest. But unsolicited review copies are in another category. I know, I’m all over the place, but certain books have priority LOL.
You know, I think I will create some kind of support system type thing for bloggers. Something that people can sign up for- like agreeing to support/tweet, etc. if a fellow blogger gets into an author behaving badly situation. I think I’ll also do an “Authors Behaving Beautifully” type thing, too.
I’ve done a total of 3 DNFs since I’ve started reviewing books and I’ve reviewed them all but not on my blog. My reviews for the DNFs have been posted on goodreads where they are all on a shelf titled DNF and they are not rated because I think a rating covers the entire book from beginning to end and I don’t feel comfortable rating a book I haven’t completed.
If an author were to send me a harrassing email I would probably point them in the direction of my review policy where it says a review request is only guaranteed a review if I complete the book and then promptly ignore them. If they were to send me a harrasing comment for everyone to see I would leave it there for other visitors to see for themselves how childish the author is behaving.
Good point on not rating the DNF books on Goodreads. I don’t run a review site, I just post book reviews on my blog for fun and to connect with other readers. I don’t post /DNFs on my blog but I will comment on goodreads or amazon/B&N with the caveat that “if you like x you might like this, it just wasn’t for me.”
The Wendy Darling debacle is certainly eye opening; I’ve read a bunch of her reviews in the past and didn’t know the details of what recently happened, so thanks for the links.
Kari and I post our DNFs in one post at the end of the month. Generally they aren’t really negative posts. It’s a quick blurb about why we didn’t finish it. My opinion is that it still gets the name of the book out there and ultimately that’s what authors and publishers want right? Plus, it helps with that pesky NG request to review ratio. It gives me something to write up about the book.
Also, those DNF posts get tons more traffic than any other posts.
Kari and I post our DNFs in one post at the end of the month. Generally they aren’t really negative posts. It’s a quick blurb about why we didn’t finish it. My opinion is that it still gets the name of the book out there and ultimately that’s what authors and publishers want right? Plus, it helps with that pesky NG request to review ratio. It gives me something to write up about the book.
Also, those DNF posts get tons more traffic than any other posts.
In my 1 1/2 years of blogging, I don’t think I’ve ever given a DNF book. If I have DNF a book, I tell an author why I’m DNFing the book. I email the author and say listen I don’t want to give a DNF to you, so I’m not reviewing the book and tell them what didn’t work for me. I also get authors sometimes whenever i give less than a 3, email me nasty things, but I keep it private and don’t air my issues in a public forum
I don’t do many DNFs for one simple reason–I rarely get far enough in a bad book to do a DNF review. To me, less that 60% read is not informed enough to review. If I’m going to hate the book that much, I usually give up long before that point.
Honestly, though, I love reading DNF reviews (if they are from reliable sources). I love knowing what drove that person to give up, and in some cases it makes me really curious to try the book for myself. As long as you make it clear that you did not finish, say very specifically how far you got, and tell us why you gave up–there’s nothing wrong with that.
I agree that DNF reviews can actually make someone else interested in the book. E.g., (a fictitious example) “I didn’t finish because it was told from the view point of a dog and after 80 pages I had enough of it. I couldn’t take any more, I just couldn’t believe in it”. Someone reading this: “Oh, I love that sort of thing! I’m checking the book right now.”
I’ve done a few DNF reviews. But I’ve had something to say about why it was a DNF and not a book I finished. I think it is fair. Especially if I purchased the book with my own money. I have never gotten a negative comment or email about the ones I have done. If it doesn’t contain any author bashing or inappropriate comment on the book, I think authors should take it in stride. You can’t please everyone all the time. It happens.
I have DNF’d a few books and have reviewed the books on Goodreads. I don’t give the book a star rating, I just state that I was unable to finish the book. In the 2 or 3 cases so far, it was just a mood thing, not that the book was badly written. I usually state that maybe it was me and that perhaps other readers may enjoy the book more.
I do have a 100 page threshold that I feel I need to reach in order to give the author and the book a chance and to see if the book will get better.
I think it depends. Most of the time I will list the reasons why I didn’t finish a book. Sometimes it could just be me and my taste level or even my high expectations. However, I usually don’t put that review on Goodreads, just on my blog.
But if the book was just plain ol’ terrible and/or the author was very rude, then I put the review everywhere I can. And if anybody asks about that author or about the book then I refer them to my post about them.
I think I owe it to my followers to tell them the truth about the books I read and that’s that for me.
I’ve never not finished a book I received for review, but I was curious to see this for the future because there have been a couple books I wished I could stop reading but I didn’t know if it was right. I write a couple of sentences explaining DNFs from the library or books I purchased on Goodreads, but to this point I’ve never published one on my blog.
Part of the issue is I very rarely stop reading a book. I think personally, I’m going to try my best to finish every for-review book and if I said I’d write a review, I will write one. However, I’ll also try to write more about the books I didn’t finish because as a blogger, I think it’s super important to be honest.
It’s an interesting balance but I know personally I’m interested to see why some readers didn’t finish a book so I expect some of my readers to feel the same way.
I write posts labeled “unfinished” but I don’t consider these reviews because I’m not reviewing the book, I’m just explaining why I stopped reading it and putting it out there for others who might enjoy it. I’ve never had an author get upset over this but I think that’s because I don’t review ARCs or get asked to write reviews, I just review what I read from the library. As always I do try to remain positive and state that the book in question just wasn’t for me, not that it was a bad book. Like you said, negativity breeds negativity so I try to write DNF posts in as positive a way as possible.
Most of my DNFs are because I can’t get into them, and the only review I post is on Goodreads when I explain why I didn’t finish it. I have so many books I want to read these days, that I just don’t feel like I want to waste time on something I’m not enjoying. But just because I don’t enjoy something doesn’t mean someone else won’t, that is why there are so many books out there!! I totally agree with all your reasonings for both sides. I’m lucky enough to not have had any of these issues, probably because of me trying not to hurt feelings.
I did just post a pretty negative review though, with lots of negative in it. But I tried to keep it all about the book.
I have done a couple DNF on the blog and I try to list why the book didn’t work for me. Sometimes its the book or me . I haven’t done it lately with some of the books that I couldn’t finish. I don’t rate the books if I couldn’t finish them on goodreads because I didn’t finish the book.
Perfect topic for today, I was just asked this question yesterday as regards negative reviews!
I am totally in the camp of bloggers having the right to voice their opinions and do as they choose. If they want to DNF they have every right to. If they don’t, they also have that right. Doesn’t matter if anyone likes it either way. Opinions are opinions and we’re all entitled to them.
I don’t DNF review simply because I usually DNF in the first 10-20 pages and I can’t grasp enough of the book at that point to have enough of an opinion to write an informative review. But even if I read 80% I couldn’t do a DNF review simply because I’d always wonder if something better happened in that last 20%. But I could share my thoughts on the book and why, without it being a review.
I’m just not sure where I stand regarding the rating at least as far as Amazon and GR go. While you can in your review state that you read 40% and DNF’ed because X, Y and Z you can’t limit the rating to just a 40% of the book, at least on sites like Amazon. So if I were to DNF I’d probably not rate the book. Unless it was just on my blog.
I do not think DNF reviews are insulting to the author. There are cases where a book is just not for you. You set it aside. You state why it’s not for you. That doesn’t seem like an insult. If you say the book sucked so hard you wanted to puke, well maybe that’s insulting. But DNF reviews in and of themself aren’t insults.
I’ve DNF’ed so many Victorian Classics. They’re just not for me. But I haven’t reviewed them as it would be a pretty boring DNF review.
I always am curious why people DNF. I find it helpful. I think it’s just the reviews people write tend to be more filled with emotion and therefore cause more of an uproar. If the review were simply that the book was too filled with grammatical errors and poor dialogue that is informative and would probably garner way less drama and upset. But when people passionately hate a book it tends to bleed into a review. And when they DNF it just brings on more drama.
I’ll stop rambling now…
I have not done a lot of DNF reviews, but I think it’s fair to write reviews even for a DNF, and I appreciate DNF reviews from the reviewers I follow. Sometimes, DNF reviews are even more detailed than other reviews, and can therefore be quite helpful.
I usually @ authors if I give a 4 or more stars review, but I don’t if the stars are lower – no need to point out a lower rating review to them.
If an author sent me an angry e-mail about a DNF review I wrote, I would totally ignore it. I would try to not take it personally, just as I think authors should try to not take reviews personally.
However, if the author sent me more than one e-mail, or if there was any name-calling involved, I would probably screen-cap everything and forward to bloggers who write about scandals
– I never said I’m a saint!
I also don’t think I’d keep an angry comment from an author on my blog, that’s the kind of thing that’s bound to blow up, and I don’t want my personal space to be a danger zone.
I do DNF reviews if I read about 80-100 pages at the least. I review just the bit I read and lately, I’ve decided not to rate these books any more because the rating looks like it’s for the whole book (for instance on Goodreads).
But even “negative” reviews get the book out there, and people are more likely to remember the book per sé rather than whether it had a positive of negative review. Except… when the author starts to comment. Then we’ll ALL remember that the book got a negative review.
I recently DNF’d a book, and eventually I will mark on Goodreads why I didn’t finish it. You probably know which one I’m referencing LOL. There were a few things I just couldn’t get past. But I didn’t read enough to warrant a review on my blog of why I did not finish it, however, if I had gotten at least 50% of the way through it, I probably would have.
Authors are going to have to accept that there are opinions on the interwebz and not all of them smell rosy.
Thanks so much for answering my question!!! I post DNF’s and to me my reviews are like I’m talking to my friends so I want them to know why I didn’t finish it. That’s my take on it!!
It’s great to see others take on it.
Ali @Ali’s Bookshelf
If I DNF a book because it wasn’t my thing (like it was too high fantasy, or something like that) then I usually don’t review it. But, if I DNF because of the literary aspects, I will usually post something about why I DNF it. I do not give ratings to books I DNF, though.
I don’t do DNF reviews. Not because I am against them, but because usually if it is a DNF I didn’t get past page 100, and I don’t feel comfortable reviewing it. Usually if I do get page 100 and I am not into it, I will usually finish it because, well I am that far… and plus I try my best to finish everything, but practically that doesn’t always happen. I am lucky that I haven’t had many DNF’s lately.
Beth ^_^
I do not review my DNFs, because I have so many DNFs each year. I have even had many DNFs that I really would like to finish if I ever get the time. As a teen librarian, I like to know something about the books in my collection. When they come in I read some of them, but finish only a few of them. Just because I didn’t finish a book, doesn’t necessarily mean I didn’t like it. In most cases it means I don’t have time for it, or I have other commitments. I also hesitate to review books I didn’t finish because I have had books that really surprised me in the end.
On the other hand, I do appreciate reviewers who say why they didn’t finish a book. It helps me decide if it is something I need to pick up or not. Sometimes I do read, and do finish books I know other reviewers do not–so a poor review, or a DNF doesn’t necessarily deter me.
The review I give for a DNF is just that, the book was so and so reason I did not finish it. A book has to be truly awful for me not to finish it.
I definitely feels it’s only right to review any book only when I’ve read the entire thing, it’s all or nothing to me simply because I feel it’s only fair: it’s like reviewing a car but throwing away the back tires first.
I may still “mention” it on my blog and tell my readers why I stopped reading, but usually I just leave it on the side until I muster the energy to finish it.
Interesting discussion! I’ve done a handful of DNF reviews, as I think it’s helpful to explain why you decided to stop reading a certain book. I try to make it clear that it’s just my opinion and others may have enjoyed it, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I don’t see too many DNF reviews, but enjoy reading them. Was surprised to see a recent DNF post on one of my favorite books! She had valid reasons, which didn’t bother me but it was really interesting to see another point of view!
I reviewed two DNF books in the last year. They took the following forms:
Book 1. “Somebody please tell me that this book gets better.” When everyone who commented confirmed my expectations, I decided to put it down.
Book 2: “The first 140 pages involved nothing more than people talking about literature. I give up.”
I never tried to comment on the book as a whole–I just commented on what I read.
I write DNF reviews but I don’t rate the books. I believe that if I go into a book expecting to at least like it and I can’t even finish it then my readers deserve to know why. I just don’t rate them because I feel that is unfair to the title. I can’t accurately rate a book when I haven’t even read the whole thing (and I only provide ratings when I’m forced to, like posting on Amazon). When I write a DNF review it’s only for the portion I read (who actually reviews the rest of a book they haven’t finished?). Like I said, if it’s something that I thought sounded good enough for me to actually pick it up and read it (and considering I’m pretty picky about what I grab) and it failed enough that I couldn’t get through it, I’m going to let people know why. If someone has similar tastes to me they’ll appreciate the heads up. To people that scream and whine about how horrible DNF reviews are I just don’t care. They can tell me how to review when I can tell them how to read.
What a completely awesome post. Now that I just started my blog, I’ve started to run into this problem. This has happened twice now (2 out of 2!!) and I decided to just not review the books publicly (even though I’ve read over half of the book!) but just give the author constructive criticism through email. I’m not sure this was the right thing to do because I do want to show that I have a balanced viewpoint and don’t always give books high ratings to please people. I do think because of your post I will change my policy and update it on my website.
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This post comes at rather a good time, as today I’ve just experienced my first DNF. In the end, I decided to write a review with the reasons I couldn’t continue, but I didn’t rate the book. As a reader, I always like to know what caused someone to put down a book, so I’ve decided to do the same.
I wont review a DNF officially, but if I cant finish it I will at least pop my thoughts and why I dropped it in the goodreads review section. I usually don’t have DNFs though. If I make it 5 chapters in, I force myself to finish no matter how awful it is. Even if it takes me months to crawl through, I will finish it. It’s a personal rule of mine. I don’t see a problem with people posting DNF reviews so long as they make certain they state that they never finished and mention how far into the book they did get. I can see why an author wouldn’t like it, but its the reader’s right to be able to walk away from something they can’t enjoy and tell people why they were turned off from it.
I post DNF “reviews,” but I post them grouped with other unfinished books where I give the reasons WHY I couldn’t finish it. Sometimes it’s MY problem and not the book’s, so I like to give my reasons.
The only time I’ve had an author contact me about a review was when I was provided one copy of a book, which I reviewed. It had a few issues with time consistency, which I pointed out in my review. The author provided the SECOND edition of the book, which fixed the time issues. I added a note to the original review saying that in the second edition of the novel, the problem was fixed. The author was wondering why I didn’t “fix” the review. I thought my reasons were perfectly fine — I mean, if someone picks up the first edition, they should know the issues!
Anyway, great post!
If a reviewer ends up with a DNF book, it should be reviewed based on the portion read. I want to know why it wasn’t finished. I want to know if the reviewer has read other books by the same author. As far as I am concerned, if a reviewer is going to post books that they gush about with 5 stars and tons of praise then they should also cover the bottom with an equally detailed review. I LOVE this topic. I enjoyed your post and the responses.
I usuallly don’t either.
I mix it up, sometimes I review them and sometimes I dont. Mostly it’s based on how far I got in the book, if I didnt get at least 40% of the way through I wont review it. If I do get at least 40%+ of the way through, I’ll usually review it and I will specifically state that I didnt finish it and cannot comment on the rest of the book. I will also provide reasons as to why I could not finish the book, such as it contained a pet peeve of mine (Ex: insta-love done badly), was boring, or whatever the reason may be. That being said I always try to find at least one redeemable quality with the book so the whole review isn’t negative and ends on a more positive note.
As an author I can understand how it hurts to receive a DNF; however as an ex-journalist I prefer honesty every time and insist on the old fashioned notion of freedom of the press literally. That is one of the main reasons I do not pay for reviews. There’s a line between an objective free review and what is essentially an advertisement regardless the paid review is rave or not. I have never tried to persuade a reviewer to change their opinion and never will. What an author should do upon receiving a DNF is look at their writing and try to use the information they did receive to make the next review a full reading one.
I personally do not review a book if I DNF it. Sometimes depending on how far I get in a book, I will make notes on Goodreads and add the book–unrated–to a shelf I call “abandoned”. There is only one case where I posted a DNF review, and that was because I read 80-85% of the book before calling it quits.In most cases, I know whether or not I will DNF a book within the first 10% of the book. Sometimes, it takes a little longer. My most recent DNF took me 38% before I admitted that the book was making me miserable and that I didn’t want to finish it. Even though I read a good chunk of it, I feel I’ve already wasted enough time on a book that I didn’t like and that I don’t want to waste any more on it.I actually like DNF book reviews; they help me decide if the book is something that might be worth my time, since I will not always agree with every review that I read. I love DNF reviews from The Book Smugglers because all of their reviews are very well thought out–including for their DNFs.
If I check a book out from the library (I always read before I buy) and I don’t finish it, then I just ignore it. If it’s something that I requested, then I usually make myself finish it. If I can’t, I generally tell the publisher that I couldn’t finish it, so I’m not comfortable writing a review on it. The reason I do this is because if I decide not to finish a book, it happens pretty early on. I’ll know within the first chapter or so if I can stand to finish it or not. By the time I reach the halfway mark (where I’d be comfortable reviewing the book if I didn’t finish it), I just give myself a pep talk stating that I’ve already finished half, so I can suffer through the rest, haha. I, luckily, am pretty good at judging what I’d like by reading a synopsis. Therefore, I tend to at least somewhat enjoy most of the books I request. I always get gutsy and try new things at the library, that way I don’t have to worry about a review if I can’t stand it. Anyway, I don’t think it’s unethical to post a DNF review as long as you’re honest about it and not doing the things you mentioned above, such as bashing an author because of his or her behavior or basing an opinion on a previous book. I also don’t think that people who don’t post them are pandering to the author. I think it’s just a matter of who is comfortable with what. I read blogs where people post DNF’s and where people don’t. I enjoy both types of blog and respect all of the reviewers I read.
Just popping in to say it’s NEVER okay for authors to weigh in on your review. That’s complete and utter BS. How about be thankful that the blogger took the time to give your book a shot when there are hundreds of thousands of other tomes not getting a chance?
Keep on reviewing, and keep ignoring authors who think it’s okay to weigh in on your review!
Like you, I also blog about my DNFs — and, after reading this post, I’ve taken your advice and added a postscript to my page stating that I do write about DNFs.
Many thanks for this article! I am learning a lot from the BB101 posts!
I’ve only had a handful of DNF’s over the last 2 and a bit years of blogging. They are probably the hardest review to write – to be honest, thorough and polite while talking about a book you couldn’t finish.
Personally, I try and link back to as many reviews of the book as I can – to show those reading my review this is just MY opinion and there are others that LOVED the book.
I like the suggestion of posting about DNF’s in the review policy – this is something I’m going to do myself.
Personally, I say hell yeah. This is just me, but I want to see the
reviews for books that *you* haven’t finished. For all I know, the
reason *you* didn’t like it is why I’m going to totally love it. So
yes, I will also post a review for whatever we read. Well, let me
clarify….I’m more likely to post a review for a book I didn’t
like/finish vs one that I loved. After awhile, you can only say “OMG!
Love It!” so much before it becomes repetitious. I also believe it adds
credibility to a site. If a site has all positive reviews, then what do I
have to compare that to? How can I get a taste of what you like, if
yours will gel with mine, if I don’t know what you don’t like? Does
that make sense? Honestly, it all comes down to my first point – just
because I/you don’t like something, that doesn’t mean someone else won’t
love it.
Excellent point. Thanks Jackie.
I tell a author I didn’t like it enough to complete so cannot review it. Simple. I don’t see the point. I don’t want to know anyone’s opinion on 10-50% of a book. Sometimes a book just doesn’t fit well, nothing intrinsically wrong with the book or authors abilities. So that seems unfair. Like you say, insult to injury. I did get lots of hassle by a big 6 author on Twitter once for giving her latest novel a 3.5/5? I made clear in my review, which she clearly didn’t care enough to read, that this was more about my own ability to enjoy it than it was about her writing ability. She felt I shouldn’t have read her genre (historical fiction) if I didn’t enjoy the genre, but I have done so before and since, and I think it’s good to step out of ones comfort zones occasionally. Anywhoo… this lady looked ridiculous. I stepped away from her rantings pretty quickly while everyone else got in on it defending my very fair review.
I always think the best medicine is to step away. I am harassed by a certain author routinely about a review that I wrote of one of her books. When in fact I read/review positively a few of her other books. I finally had to email her and tell her to please stop — and sent her the links to the positive reviews. Focus on the positive instead of the negative right?? LOL — but it happens all the time, they focus on the negative. I would think 3.5 is nice…at least it’s not a 1 – *sigh*