This is the fifth year in which I’ve compiled a list of books I DNF, this time in 2025. (For previous DNF lists, check out the ones I compiled in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.) As I mentioned in the past, this is not a “worst of” list. Anyone can DNF at book at any time for any reason. The books I DNF in 2025 were DNF for a variety of reasons. Since joining the bookish community online, my TBR has grown exponentially such that I fully subscribe to the philosophy that life is too short to push through a book I’m not enjoying. So, without further ado, here are the books I DNF in 2025.
THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS by Pip Williams: I think this is a pretty well-loved historical fiction. But I thought it was incredibly slow and I just didn’t have the patience to keep going.
THEY KNEW: HOW A CULTURE OF CONSPIRACY KEEPS AMERICA COMPLACENT by Sarah Kendzior: I think this was one of those reads where it looked interesting, but when I started it I just wasn’t in the right headspace.
ORBITAL by Samantha Harvey: I’ll probably get some flack for this, but this book bored me. I didn’t make it very far in this scifi novella.
ONCE UPON A TIME I LIVED ON MARS by Kate Greene: For a memoir about staying in a Mars-like environment, the author overwrote everything. It was too journalistic and therefore dry, so I lost interest.
MY MONTICELLO by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson: I liked the titular short story at the beginning of this. But I was so confused with the next story or two that I gave up.
CLEAR by Carys Davies: This was a case where I had a hard time following the audiobook because of the narrator’s accent and because the chapters kept switching POVs too quickly for me to settle in. I think I’d get along with it better if I read it with my eyes. The subject inspiration is new to me, so I’d be interested in trying this book again sometime.
MADLY, DEEPLY: THE DIARIES OF ALAN RICKMAN by Alan Rickman: I probably should’ve read the book’s description better before I preordered it. I thought I was getting a distilled memoir from his diary entries. Instead it’s literally his diary entries with no context. This was a quick DNF for me and not a good use of my money.
A FAE IN FINANCE by Juliet Brooks: This was a rare DNF of an ARC. Unfortunately, I just didn’t enjoy the writing or plot development or the main character. I wrote a DNF review for this one.
ZORG: A TALE OF GREED AND MURDER THAT INSPIRED THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY by Siddarth Kara: This sounded so interesting, but I had to DNF this as an audiobook because I couldn’t follow all the dates and ship terminology very well. I think this also made me realize that ship tales aren’t my cup of tea even if the history topic is important. I’m the same way with fantasy–I’m just not into high seas adventures.
JUNIPER’S CHRISTMAS by Eoin Colfer: Holy moly, this author just overexplains everything. Maybe the author did that because this is a middle grade book. But geez, trust your readers.
Madly Deeply was such a disappointment. I’m glad I only got it from the library.
Yea it was such a disappointment. I can’t remember if there was a foreword or anything like that, so without having more context it kind of just felt like a money grab.
That was the impression I got. I wasn’t sure that he would necessarily have wanted the diaries published either
I bought a copy of Orbital, but I haven’t read it yet. You’re not the first blogger to DNF it, though. Maybe I’ll try it this year!
Good to know there are other bloggers out there who also couldn’t get into ORBITAL. I hope you like it when you get around to it!
Thanks for sharing!
I bought Orbital at the airport on the way to Sri Lanka for the holidays and I had two other books with me, but I *struggled* to get through this one. I thought maybe my brain just wasn’t on enough but now I’m wondering if maybe it’s not just me. I might just give it one more go and see if it works better (but mostly, I’m just sad that I bought it and might not love it, haha)! Great post 🙂
Oooo another person who couldn’t get into ORBITAL! 👀 Good luck if you decide to give it another go. It might be something I could read as a audiobook, but tbd if I had the desire to do so.
I remember you DNFing The Dictionary Of Lost Words and I think the Rickman one as well. I didnt realise you’d DNFed A Fae In Finance in the end though. Im sorry these didn’t work for you but sometimes DNFing is definitely for the best. I rarely do it but I’ve had one temporary one already this year. Temporary as its a book I desperately want to love so I’m hoping I’ll connect to it better at a later date 🤞
Yea, I dnf A FAE IN FINANCE at 50% in…I have it a good shake! There are a handful of books I’ve had on pause for a while that I intend to go back to, much like your situation with the book you’re hoping to love.