Sometimes, things in life just don’t resonate, and when they don’t, it’s so important to honour that. This is exactly why we’re putting down stories that just aren’t serving (and low-key might be draining).
Check out the stories we bailed on with our Did Not Finish picks (or un-picks) below.
And if you don’t feel like finishing this blog article, that’s okay!
Amy's Pick
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My review is brutally honest and most likely an unpopular opinion! But maybe it'll resonate with someone haha. **Hides under my desk**
From nearly the start this one felt like reading a science textbook interspersed with cringey dad jokes from the main character. There was no depth to the main character, he felt completely one-dimensional. I tried to care about him but he was just a man with a name I've now forgotten. I also didn't appreciate the inclusion of some pretty problematic stereotypes when describing any non-white or non-American characters.
The author also includes these memory flashback chapters as a plot device - as if the main character also pauses to read a “memory” in complete vivid detail for 10 pages before returning like "Aha! Now I know how to solve this thing!". I was pulling my hair. I am baffled by the popularity and high rating, but clearly I’m in the minority so I’ll just run away now!
Alison’s pick
The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson
You'd think that, as a Librarian, I'd love this small town British story about the group of plucky community members banding together to save their local library, but all I could focus on was the absolute mismanagement of the space, lack of suitable training and staff support, and the numerous HR concerns. I hope this little library survived (with better management!) but I just couldn't slog through the rest of the book to find out.
Colleen’s picks
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros + A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
I may get some heat for this, but there are two very popular series I tried to get into and I have failed to progress beyond the first book of each.
I may push through so I can be part of the buzz and enjoy the films and shows when they come out, but maybe this style of writing is just not for me.
Dragons and fae, take it away! Convince me to continue!
Diane's Pick
Yellowface by R. F Kuan
I actually read most of it but didn't enjoy it and gave up before the end. It was such a popular book that I really wanted to finish.
It has high ratings everywhere (lots of people gave it five stars!) but I really couldn't bring myself to pick it back up. It has a very unlikable main character and to me, that's a major strike against it. I find it hard to read a whole book about someone I don't like and wouldn't want to spend time with in real life.
Elizabeth’s picks
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Jess arrives in Paris at the apartment of her half-brother, Ben. However, Ben isn’t answering any of her texts, is nowhere to be found, and there are some unsettling discoveries in the apartment. Will Jess be able to find out what happened to Ben?
Unfortunately, I will never know.
I am usually a Lucy Foley fan, but this one just didn’t hit the mark for me. It started off strongly, but I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t enjoy any of the characters and just could not finish it.
The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker
This title is book one in the 4MK Thriller series. I have heard people rave about this series and I really wanted to like it, but I’ve tried to read this book twice and both times, it just didn’t engage me.
For over five years, the Fourth Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive. This book has been described as a fast-paced, horrifying serial killer novel.
I just found it boring.
Emma’s pick
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
A book that I did not finish was The Time Traveler’s Wife, which was highly recommended to me by many people.
I just did not like the main character. I found him very creepy and not relatable. That was enough for me to put it down.
Jocelyn's Picks
The Last Chairlift by John Irving
American War by Omar El Akkad
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
Julie's Pick
I loved the first book in the series, was "okay" on the second one, and this one was so bad I don't think I'd read a fourth if the author wrote one. It was soooooo long. The growing romance between the main characters did not work for me at all. I appreciated the world-building the author did in this one, but it didn't save it for me. Read the first book as a stand-alone is my advice.
The Survivor Wants to Die at the End
Kassondra's Picks
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
I'm trying so hard to finish this book. I've tried the physical copy and the audiobook. The writing is slow and atmospheric and I'm just not in the mood for that kind of pacing, no matter how much I enjoy Bardugo's books!
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
I love horror, but just not monster horror. I just finished "Our Wives Under the Sea" by Julia Armfield and loved it, so I picked another maritime-themed horror novel. I like my horror to be the horrors of human nature, not human-eating merfolk (though the human-eating merfolk are pretty cool).
Kenneth's Pick
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Not technically a DNF as I did eventually finish it, but it took over a month! While I enjoyed the beginning, following Harker's arrival to Castle Dracula, the book quickly became to feel like a slog. It's a classic for a reason, but I think I learned my personal preference is more contemporary.
Laurel’s picks
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
My bookmark sits about 90 pages in. I can’t quite recall why I lost interest in this beloved novel. Maybe it was the element of magic, or the choppy chapters, or that I didn’t quite connect with the characters. Whatever the reason, there it sits on my bookshelf.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
I am certainly in the minority on this one. Where the Crawdads Sing might have kicked off the Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick to box office hit pipeline.
I abandoned this audiobook after about 25 percent. I’ve never revisited it or watched the movie. What am I missing? Should I give it another try?
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica
Despite finding Tender is the Flesh a gruesome modern fairy tale, I enjoyed Bazterrica’s dark imagination. I could not finish their follow-up novel, The Unworthy.
I tried to make progress in this buzzy book (BookTok wanted me to like it), but I found myself confused by the plot, distracted, and not able to move beyond a page at a time. Life is too short for books you don’t enjoy.
Moriah's Pick
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemmingway
Admitting that this book sits unfinished on my shelf is quite embarrassing. Hemmingway is, of course, an all time great; however, this book requires a devotion to completion that I could not muster. His writing, although beautiful, asks one's mind to process language in an a way that feels unfamiliar and, at times, laborious. One day I will finish this story, but it will likely not be soon.
Toni’s pick
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Here is a book I tried to get through, but ultimately DNF’d (and I really, really try to avoid that).
During my time in grad school, I was researching AI and came across this book from a webinar. It was highly praised as a foundational text for how machine learning is structured, but I could… not… finish… it.
Every time I picked it up, I got through maybe a paragraph before falling into a deep, exhausted slumber. I felt like I was forcing myself to slog through it, and ultimately around the 125-page mark, I admitted defeat.
Maybe I’ll try it again as an audiobook, but for now, there’s no way I’m getting through this.
Congrats, you made it to the end!
Or maybe you skimmed your way here, which absolutely still counts.
Ready for something you will want to finish? Check out more staff picks and reading lists, opens a new window on our website.
Also, write in the comments and let us know which books you've decided to not to finish.
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