Now in its fourth year, I present to you a list of books I DNF in 2024. As I mentioned in 2021, 2022, and 2023, this is not a “worst of” list. Anyone can DNF at book at any time for any reason. Sometimes I DNF because I’m not enjoying the book. Other times I DNF because I’m just not in the right mood for a particular book at that particular time. Basically, what doesn’t float my boat might float someone else’s.
I actually DNF quite a few books this year relative to previous years. I think I’m starting to embrace the philosophy of, “life is too short to read books you’re not enjoying.” So, without further ado, here’s my list of books I DNF in 2024.
Books I DNF in 2024
DRACULA by Bram Stoker: I gave this the good ol’ college try…twice. Even sped up as an audiobook it was just too slow for me. I cared very little about whatever was happening. I’ll keep my interaction with any Dracula adventures to movie adaptations, thanks.
THE HATCHING by Jenni Quilter: I really wanted to like this one, but there’s a fine line between writing with precision and that precision making the reading unenjoyable. The writing style was too journalistic for me. In other words, the writing was too technically correct such that it was dry and, I thought, made the topic fairly inaccessible for your average viewer. It’s a memoir, but I found it hard to get into. “A provocative examination of reproductive technologies that questions our understanding of fertility, motherhood, and the female body.”
JADE FIRE GOLD by June CL Tan: For some reason I just had a hard time following the beginning. Maybe I was distracted at the time, but I didn’t feel like trying to push it. I think this received a lot of positive praise when it first came out, so I’m probably in the minority here with my DNF. “Girls of Paper and Fire meets A Song of Wraiths and Ruin in June CL Tan’s stunning debut, where ferocious action, shadowy intrigue, rich magic, and a captivating slow-burn romance collide.“
SOUNDINGS by Doreen Cunningham: I persevered to at least 50%, I think, with this book. It’s a memoir about motherhood, climate change, and whales. But at the end of the day it felt more like a slog to read. The author is also a journalist and, like HATCHING, I found the writing style similarly difficult to get into. “In this lyrical memoir of motherhood, love, and resilience that “captures rarely observed natural places” (San Francisco Chronicle) a woman and her toddler son follow the grey whale migration from Mexico to northernmost Alaska.“
HOW HERBS HEALED THE WORLD by Connor Smith: This was an ARC that I sadly decided to DNF. You can read my DNF review here. In short, it did not have an overarching narrative and I got bored.
ELRIC OF MELNIBONE: THE ELRIC SAGA, VOL. 1 by Michael Moorcock: I only DNF this because my goal was to just read the first story in volume 1 for some challenge, which I did. But I continued to listen to the second story. While I didn’t finish the second story or the rest of volume 1, I really only DNF it for the sake of time. I thought it was interesting and quite different than my usual reads. But I wanted to read other things more than this.
WHAT MY BONES KNOW by Stephanie Foo: This is one of those books I needed to be in a different mindset to read. I tried to read it after a particularly trying series of events last year. And it was just triggering me even though it’s about a completely unrelated topic to my own life. I’d like to finish it, but it won’t be right now. “A searing memoir of reckoning and healing by acclaimed journalist Stephanie Foo, investigating the little-understood science behind complex PTSD and how it has shaped her life.”
THE FORTUNES OF JADED WOMEN by Carolyn Huynh: I got tired of listening to the family drama in this one. It’s as simple as that. The writing was totally fine, but this just wasn’t a book for me.
THE SWORD IN THE ROSES by A.R. Kaufer: This is a SFINCS novella my team had as an assignment in the first round. Unfortunately, it just really didn’t work for me. The characterization of the female main character was very inconsistent. “Wisteria, princess of the Fire Court, is commanded to wed Earl Mal of the Wind Court. Refusal is not an option. The night before the official announcement will be made, she flees her court and travels to the mortal lands.“
CULTISH by Amanda Montell: I decided to give this one a shot because it seemed well liked. But after the first chapter I really didn’t think the content related all that much to the title. I DNF this one pretty quickly. The subject matter just didn’t interest me. “The New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how “cultish” groups, from Jonestown and Scientologists to SoulCycle and social media gurus, use language as the ultimate form of power.“
THE LAST ONE by Rachel Howzell Hall: Unfortunately, this is another ARC I DNF. I actually had this book preordered, but canceled it after multiple push backs of the publication date. So when the publisher’s PR folks reached out I was happy to read it. But, obviously, I never finished it and I explain why here. In short, nothing was happening and I thought it needed more editing.
THAT LIBRARIAN by Amanda Jones: I felt pretty guilty for DNF this one. It’s a memoir by a librarian who stood up against book bans in Louisiana and all that ensued afterward. I went in thinking it’d mostly cover what happened with the legal case. But the first third of the book is a recount of what happened and a lot of repetitiveness trying to convince the reader she’s a good person. Her character is not in doubt, but I just couldn’t get past the repetition. The editor needed to make the writing more succinct.
And that’s it for the books I DNF in 2024. Did you DNF any books in 2024? If so, which ones and why?
I don’t generally DNF books but I should try to do it more if they really aren’t working for me. I was tempted to with my last read but I’m glad I carried on with that one as after a majorly rough start it really picked up. Looking back there are some books over previous years I kind of wish I’d given up on though 😂
Jade Fire Gold and The Last One are on my TBR so I’ll admit I’m nervous to see them here. Although I’ll admit that I saw someone else struggle with the second of those too so I’m not particularly in a hurry to try that one. I did manage to read Dracula after years of owning it (I visited the place it was set and was determined to read it whilst there) and generally enjoyed it but I can see how it wouldn’t work for everyone. Especially when Van Helsing got talking 😂 I loved the atmosphere though and I think knowing what some of the sites being referred to were firsthand helped. Although less was within Whitby than I’d imagined.
I’m sorry that you struggled with all of these. Hopefully 2025 will bring less DNFs your way.
I’m trying to remember if I was ever glad I pushed through a book that I wanted to DNF…I think the answer is no, lol! When I was a newb on NG there were even a couple of ARCs I wanted to DNF, but I persevered because I wanted to raise my review ratio.
Unfortunately, as you can see, I struggled with THE LAST ONE. :-/ Good for you for finishing Dracula! Classics and I don’t generally get along, but Dracula just felt extra hard for me.
Aww I’m sorry to hear it. Although I’m not entirely surprised as you can generally tell if a book will work for you or not early on. I think that’s part of why I was so surprised when it invested me so much after the start.
Tbh I feel the same generally but I think that’s an assumption I’m making mostly based on Shakespeare as I haven’t actually tried that many in truth 🤔
The only book that I think I DNF was Funeral Songs for Dying Girls. It was boring, and got too weird for my liking.
Haven’t heard of that one! But no harm, no foul for DNF something you’re not enjoying!
I 100% agree
I actually decided not to read That Librarian because I read a bunch of reviews saying it wasn’t really focused on the book bans but on her personal life and, like you said, trying to look good. I think people wanted something more…actionable? I’m pretty familiar with all the bans happening, so I felt like I didn’t need to read this, but I am glad that at least it got the issue on the radar of the general public. I think lots of people not in the bookish world aren’t quite aware of how extreme things are.
I agree with those reviews saying THAT LIBRARIAN isn’t a very focused book. I was hoping it’d be more instantly about the legal steps, etc. As for wanting something more actionable, that’s usually my high-level complaint when I read something that tries to raise awareness for a social issue; I feel like it’s not uncommon for those books to just end at the education stage rather than push through to some action items. I can’t comment on whether THAT LIBRARIAN fails to offer some action items since I DNF it, though.
I only read one of these, JADE FIRE GOLD, and I think I ended up giving it like a 3/5. Like it was perfectly fine, but not amazing. If it wasn’t clicking for you, I don’t think you’re missing out!
Ohh Dini also mentioned it being just ok/should’ve DNF it…you both are making me feel less bad about DNF it considering how frequently I saw it on social media when it came out!
I think I DNF more books last year than other years although that’s not really saying much since I normally don’t DNF. But I’m hoping to improve on that this year (as I also say every year, lol)! 😂 The only one I’ve read on here is Jade Fire Gold and I was pretty disappointed in it and probably should’ve DNF but it was a pre-order and I was buddy reading it and we both pushed through. I remember being very “whelmed” by it.
Well, this list showed me I also DNF way more books this year, too, compared to previous years! I think having so many options and so little time is a motivator to DNF when not really enjoying something. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on JADE FIRE GOLD–I thought maybe I was one of the few who was whelmed by it. It’s also YA, which I don’t read a ton of, so I didn’t feel too bad DNF something outside of my reading age target.
I gave Dracula many tries too in the past but have yet to fully complete it. I enjoy the various adaptations and inspirations I’ve read and seen, but Stoker’s story just bores me so. However, I liked Cultish when I tried it. I thought it was an interesting way to talk about how people get caught up in cults and cultish groups.
Finally, someone else who’s mentioned they could never finish Dracula, lol!! In general I find classics hard to get into, but this one I found even more so difficult.
I’ve glanced at WHAT MY BONES KNOW a few times but I’ve also thought I’d have to be in a particular to mindset to appreciate it. I can’t think of anything I DNF’d in 2024 off the top of my head! Surely there must have been a few, but I guess nothing that I got far enough in to note on my DNF shelf. (Or maybe I /was/ just really lucky at picking books to read in 2024 haha.)
Yea, you definitely have to be in a particular mindset to read WHAT MY BONES KNOW. Everyone I know who has read it liked it, and I did to when I was reading it; I’ll come back to it! And good for you on no DNFs!