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The Books I DNFd in 2023... and Why.

I want to be a completionist, but I'm really not. I tend to wander off from books I don't enjoy, rather than admit I don't enjoy them. Recognising that has been the reason I've read more this year, as I haven't been stalling for weeks on a book that bores me. 

So I DNFd a fair amount of books this year, for both serious and petty reasons. This list is a nice way to examine the trends in the books I just don't like... 

In Which I Discover I Dislike YA Fiction... 

The Devil's Revolver by V.S McGrath

A promising start and a genre I enjoy (fantasy westerns/feminist westerns) but I don't like quest journey stories (sorry LOTR fans). 

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

I tried twice and failed. This civil war era zombie western with a black heroine should be my thing, and yet it was too YA. As you'll see... this is the year I realised I hate YA fiction even when I love the concept of the book. 

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

YA and Romantasy... this book was the nail in both of those coffins. The setting was delicious, though.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

The two main reasons for not engaging with this were that it has a very young teen as a protagonist and I have a snake phobia (it has lots). But I was also on holiday and I think I was in the wrong mood.

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

This is a book I might once have struggled through, but this time I recognised that I was more irritated than engaged with it and stopped. Growth! This is fantastic if you like The Night Circus, which I hated (and yes I forced myself to finish it). Also I loathe love triangles, and while it wasn't YA it felt like it was for the majority of the time. 

The Ones That Annoyed Me Irrationally...

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

I think I had a low level of irritation with this book due to the aggressive promotional campaign it had. It took until the Barbie movie before I could see hot pink without flinching. Still, it worked. I bought it and maybe I judged it harder as a result. But I found it too pleased with itself, too eager to make pop culture references, and not especially unique as urban fantasy goes. 

It Came from the Closet by Multiple Essayists

An essay collection that should have fascinated me, yet was so full of navel gazing and so badly structured that it was enraging. Why force people to stick to one horror movie and not allow them to discuss the horror genre more widely? Why was I, who struggles to feel part of the queer community, convinced that my own experience was more interesting than at least half of them? What the fuck does you turning your nice sister's wedding invitation down because gay marriage isn't legal for you (you prick, btw) have to do with Godzilla? 

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Reading this on holiday was the wrong vibe, but it's also the Hendrix book that Hendrix fans dislike. It's just frenetic and establishes its universe ineffectually.

The Just Plain Boring Ones...

Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski

This series should be my absolute JAM - fake podcast investigations are my thing - but it was so unengaging that I gave up on both the attempts I made to read it.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

I really enjoyed the first book, Bear Town, but I found this over-long and less driven than the first book. It's one of the few on here I might return to. 

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

There were a few good short stories but it was just overwhelmingly literary, to the point I stopped understanding what was going on.

The Mist by Stephen King

I love the movie of this, but I have a love/hate relationship with King, and it's far more often hate than love. This surprised me by being neither of those things... just utterly boring.

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

I've tried H.G Wells before and gave up. This cements him as an author I find too boring to read.

Perishables by Michael G. Williams

This was so short and yet I stalled for days on it, even though it wasn't bad. It's possible that I was pretty burnt out on reading (it was my last book of the year) so I may yet return to it. 

Other Reasons

This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

This is actually brilliant and funny and very relevant but... it's a doctor's diary and I was just too squeamish. He also focuses on OB/GYN areas which is a subject that makes me woozy. I decided I was better off not struggling on.

 

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