The art of the DNF
My reading habits have been pure CHAOS lately.
I’ve been on a DNF tear lately. For all you non-book nerds, DNF stands for “did not finish” and basically means you abandoned the book for whatever reason. This can be controversial; people usually have one of three stances on DNFing. 1) They refuse to do it and slog through every book they start, 2) they give it a certain percentage or page threshold and then DNF, or 3) they DNF willy-nilly.
I used to be a die-hard member of the first camp. I remember mentally chewing glass as I forced myself to finish Ten Thousand Leagues Under the Sea in high school because I made the mistake of even starting it. Now, I’m starting to embracing the art of the DNF because life is too fucking short to read a book you don’t like. So here’s a breakdown of what I have and *haven’t* been reading lately. (Hint: it’s a lot of romance.)
Happy Place by Emily Henry
My girl Emily is back with another banger. Harriet and Wyn have been together for ten years — until recently. Not wanting to ruin their mutual friend group’s last vacation at their beloved lake house, they decide to pretend to still be engaged for one week. What could go wrong? I’m not a huge fan of friends-to-lovers *or* second chance romances (this has both), but Happy Place manages to still create spicy banter that I loved reading. Where my feelings get complicated is that I honestly don’t feel like this is a romance. The parts of the book that burrowed into my mind were Harriet’s complicated relationships with her family, friends, and herself. I think I felt a bit too close to Harriet and it made reading feel more emotionally charged than I expected for a romance.
Good for people who like: The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang, You Made a Fool of Death by Akwaeke Emezi, summery books for reading by the beach/lake/pool
The Adult by Bronwyn Fischer
Phew, this book made me feel a lot of things. I’m shocked it’s Fischer’s debut since the writing felt so mature. The Adult is a queer coming-of-age story that takes place over the course of a school year. Natalie has moved from her parents’ rural lodge to attend university in Toronto, where everyone (but her) seems to have their life figured out. She begins a secret relationship with an older woman who turns out to have secrets of her own. Fischer writes with an innate sense of intimacy and vulnerability that gave me goosebumps. Natalie perfectly portrays the emotional roller coaster of an 18-year-old on her own for the first time: I cringed, I cried, I laughed, I shook my head at her naivety. Despite the moral dubiousness of her first love (don’t worry, it’s well examined), this is a tender and overall sweet story of queer love, loss, and life.
Good for people who like: Sally Rooney, bittersweet nostalgia, complicated queer stories
Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman
Sussman’s second romance follows a similar pattern to her first: famous people fall in love, break up, then reconnect decades later. This time it follows Katee/Kathleen, a former-pop-star-turned-recluse who left the spotlight when a cheating scandal turned the world against her. Her love interest is a former boy band member named Cal (his last name is Kirby, which was very distracting for me) who is directing the play Kathleen will be starring in. This was a slow burn for me: the first half felt repetitive, but once the pair got together I could see sparks. You guys know I love enemies-to-lovers, but Cal and Kathleen’s fights were so bad I genuinely had a hard time understanding why they would want to be together. The sexy scenes were fire, though! Also, I just can’t help but cringe at adults who think “dance is life.” I’m a hater, okay!
Good for people who like: theater kid energy, Olivia Dade, friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers
Social Engagement by Avery Carpenter Forrey: A fun WASP-y listen with some twists and turns. Not the most memorable, but would make for a good beach read!
Hayley Aldridge Is Still Here by Elissa R. Sloan: This was crushingly disappointing. I loved Sloan’s first novel but this one read like a (really bad) debut. I was lowkey embarrassed I suggested this for a book club.
The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur: I am once again asking for wlw romance books that don’t make me cringe. This one wasn’t awful — the steamy scenes were fun — but overall too saccharine for me.
All Signs Point To Paris: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Destiny by Natasha Sizlo: I brought this with me to Paris but didn’t even get to the Parisian chapters lol. The writing is not great, but the plot (and astrology) might have pushed me through if I hadn’t been on vacation and barely reading anyway.
The Only Purple House in Town by Ann Aguirre: I liked the concept of this paranormal romance (if you could call this G-rated book a romance), but it felt like a middle schooler wrote it. Next!
The God of Good Looks by Breanne McIvor: I was actually enjoying the story, but didn’t love the audiobook version. Would try again in another format.
The Details by Ia Genberg: I think I just wasn’t in the mood for wacky and unhinged (gasp) but would come back to this another time.
Only time will tell if my DNF streak will end soon, but I can’t say I’m mad about it. It feels like as good an exercise in embracing life’s chaos as anything else. As always, my DMs are open for reading recs (give me some or ask for some) or drop a comment below. Thanks for reading!
xoxo, Kirby
I am down with DNF