what i do not want to read: culling my tbr list with wild abandon
A few years ago, I finally hit the point in my life where I refuse to finish a book just because I already started reading it. This came long after I committed to no longer hate watching TV shows and Iām honestly not sure why it was more difficult to commit to letting go of bad writing, boring writing, writing that was objectively good but clearly just not of interest to me personally. Now, Iām at a point where I might read the first page of a book and go, āNope!ā and promptly return it on Libby. My time is a precious thing and I want to enjoy what I bring into my life.
Iāve prepared a list of some of the reasons, big and small, why I have DNFed a book or culled it from my Libby TBR list. Really, most of these boil down to either: (1) I didnāt feel like reading it at the time or (2) the book just wasnāt for me whether in terms of writing style or genre. Of course, there are always exceptions; these arenāt rules that I hold myself to or anything, but these are just reminders for myself about what I historically do not tend to enjoy.
1. It did not pass my āThree Chapter Testā
My first litmus test was to give a book three chapters modeled after my āthree episodesā rule for a TV series. For me, the hope was that after three chapters I would get a sense of the following: narrative style, tone, central characters, and the main plot. If by the third chapter, one or more of these elements is a dealbreaker for me, then I will stop reading the book unless someone whose recommendations I trust insists that it gets better later on (which has rarely happened!)
2. The Fantasy novel fantasies too hard
Fantasy is a genre that I have historically struggled to stick by and I have come to terms with passing on even the most highly recommended series. When I open a book to page one and see a lot of imaginary location names, creatures, and a big roster of names, I get turned off pretty quickly. Itās kind of a narrative sensory overload for me ā to many things at once set off my PDA and make me want to a close a book and never look at it again. Iām sure these books could be wonderful, but the style just isnāt suited to the way that my brain processes stories.
3. The writing is bad
I donāt mean in an subjective manner. There are plenty of books that I might have a gut reaction of āthis is bad writing,ā but that feeling comes down to taste. I can step back and acknowledge what other people might enjoy about the writing. However, I have quit a couple of books where I think the writing was objectively bad. Highly repetitive, trope-y, stiff dialogueā¦ Iām not an editor; if Iām rewriting the book in my head and assigning revision notes for how ideas could have been reworked, then I am not having a fun time reading anymore.
4. Being selective regarding YA novels
Iām in my 30s and while many YA books are fantastic, I am much more selective about which ones I want to spend time reading. One of my favorite books last year, The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White, was a YA horror ticked so many boxes for what I look for in speculative fiction more broadly, regardless of the marketing demographic. Recently, however, I have culled a lot of YA romance and coming-of-age stories from my Libby TBR not because I suspect they might be bad, but because there are so many other books that I want to read. And, personally, Iād like to read more books featuring people who are closer to my age. So Iām not giving up YA entirely, and will wholeheartedly recommend the books that I enjoy, but Iām going to be more selective about where I allocate my time.
5. The Cozy Mysteries arenāt Cozying
I really, really want to love Cozy Mysteriesāeven more than Fantasy novels. It feels like itās part of my heritage since my mom and grandfather cultivated a lifelong love of cozies and gumshoe detective stories, respectively. While I have enjoyed a couple of classic Agatha Christies and a cozy mystery here and there, I have found myself generally underwhelmed by the genre and, as with fantasy, think I need to accept that it might just not be for me. When I need a fluffy read to turn my brain off to, I still find myself scrolling through titles for something that might stand out (and, oddly enough, think I have found one with the Beatrix Potter Cottage series), but I pass on the vast majority in the genre because I know I will find myself rolling my eyes at the tropes very early on.
6. Not in the mood for Non-Fiction
Iām not especially proud of this one, because I really am trying to read more non-fiction! Iām currently reading a biography about Tove Jansson and also have a few books on Autism that I have been meaning to read. But I also know myself. Iām not a grad student anymore and reading is one of the hobbies that I engage with in order to decompress. When non-fiction is written well, I actually love the process of taking notes and reflecting on my thoughts. But I really have to be in the mood to read it. With everything going on in the world right now, I donāt have the spoons to give my full attention to non-fiction and I am trying to be kind to myself about that. While I do want to challenge myself to try to reach for them, maybe a few chapters here and there, but I know I will be using the āpauseā feature a lot on StoryGraph since these arenāt always a true āDid Not Finishā so much as a ānot right now, but maybe later.ā
7. The main characterās name made me cringe
Okay, so not every reason is rational and serious LOL I am in the process of culling my Libby TBR and dropped over 100+ titles. More than once I found myself nope-ing out of the story summary because the main characterās name was too cutes-y. I have fondness in my heart for plenty of punny and alliterative names, but for some reason when it is a Romance or Cozy Mystery trying to do the same thing, I just canāt summon it in me to continue.
8. The book is making me uncomfortable in an unproductive way
Over the past couple of years, I have read plenty of books that have been uncomfortable. There are a few essays that I have on the back burner about speculative fiction that have left a profound impact on me, but othersā¦ I wish that I had opted to DNF them because their grotesque topics and descriptions not only made me uncomfortable, but the book overall did not encourage me to reflect on anything meaningfulājust this sinking, depression or twisted disgust. I get a little frustrated when people on social media respond to a book with āWhat the fuck did I just read?ā Itās not that I donāt understand what I read or even that the author wrote it poorly (such as The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld and Earthlings by Sayaka Murata were achingly depressing and disturbing, but also so profoundly written), but sometimes a book feels so punishingly violent (like the The Dumb House by John Burnside) that I am left feeling hallow rather than pensive. Itās hard for me to predict which response I am going to have to a book, but I do think that I should vet them carefully and DNF much more often.
9. I kept passing on the book to read something else
Sometimes itās not the right time to read a book. Other times, I question whether I still have any interest or intention in reading it. This thought comes up for me mainly when I have several holds on Libby. One becomes available to check out, but I decide to extend the hold, say, another week or fortnight. I read other things. The hold becomes available to check out again. But, wait, so is another book I have been waiting for and I kind of want to read that one more so Iāll extend the hold on the first book again, just a little bit longer. There were a few books stuck in hold purgatory for over a month so I finally removed them from my holds and promptly forgot about them. I doubt I will ever read them and I think it would just be cleaner to reassess whether they even belong on my TBR anymore if they reach that point of disinterest.
10. My hold on Libby ran out
Similar to 6, this isnāt a true DNF necessarily, but it happens when Libby sort of forces my hand since I am behind with reading or have too many books checked out at once. Some of them I will place another hold on and others I will pass on for the time being because maybe something else sounds more appealing. I have gone back and read many of the books whose holds expired once upon a time, but there are other books that I ended up culling for one of the aforementioned other compatibility reasons.
Thank you for reading! Źįµį“„įµŹ
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