So you’ve heard the term “DNF” thrown around when it comes to books and reading…but what does DNF mean for books?
There are so many different book acronyms that it can be hard to keep track of them, especially when you’re new to the reading world. So if you’ve never heard the meaning of DNF before or just can’t remember what it means, here’s what you need to know about the meaning of DNF for books!
What Does DNF Mean in Reading?
DNF stands for “Did Not Finish”, and in the book world we use it as a quick way to say we “did not finish” a book. Pretty simple, right?
Generally, these are books that we just couldn’t get into for one reason or another, or books that we start reading and HATE for some reason. We all have our reading quirks and our reading likes and dislikes, and DNF is used to talk about the books we just couldn’t make ourselves finish reading.
What Does It Mean to DNF a Book?
There are lots of reasons to DNF a book and sometimes people have slightly different understandings of what it means to DNF or which books should be DNFd.
As mentioned, its most basic meaning is that it’s a book you didn’t finish. But some people think of it as a last resort for when they’ve tried and tried and tried to read a book and it’s just not working, while others are more free with deciding to DNF a book they’re reading before it gets to the hatred level.
As the one doing the reading, you’re free to start or stop reading a book at any time. And labeling a book as DNF doesn’t mean you can’t ever pick it back up again in the future. DNF isn’t a final ruling that lasts for all space and time—perhaps it just means this wasn’t the right time for you to read this particular book (e.g., reading a book where a character goes through a similar situation/grief that you’ve just experienced in real life).
What to Do Once You’ve DNFd a Book
There are many reasons you might want to DNF a book, so I recommend keeping a reading journal so you know which books you DNFd and why.
This can help you keep track of topics or tropes that you don’t like so you don’t try to read similarly frustrating books in the future, and it can also help you remember the titles of books you DNFd in case you want to pick them up again later.
Keeping track of your reading is a good reading habit to get into anyway, but it can be particularly good as a way to help you keep track of the books you DNF. There are lots of ways to track your reading, so you’re sure to find a method that will integrate well with your reading life and habits and help you track the books you DNF!