Deciding When to Stop Reading a Book 

Wondering how to decide when to stop reading a book? Or if it’s even okay to stop reading a book?

This is a fairly large debate in the book world, with staunch defenders on both sides of the argument. But if you’re curious about when it’s okay to stop reading a book, read on!

What Does It Mean to DNF a Book?

So what does DNF-ing a book mean? DNF stands for “Did Not Finish,” and book lovers (predictably) use this term in relation to books we don’t finish reading.

Is It Okay to Stop Reading a Book?

In most cases, yes! (In fact, I think it’s okay and important enough that I include space to track DNF books in my reading tracker spreadsheet with statistics).

So here are a few reasons why I believe that stopping reading a book can be the better choice:

Life is short

We have already lost some time (and perhaps money) to this book we don’t like. But isn’t it worse to sink more time into it instead of getting out now before we lose even more time?

How many books can you actually read?

Now, let’s say you read on average one book a week for every year of your life and you live to be 80. That’s 4,160 books you could read in your lifetime.

Swipe up to learn more!