DNF Meaning for Books: What Does It Mean?

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?

[{"selector":"#anim-169002b8-bf8c-4f93-b197-a19c1d6c342a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-87844e11-b2a9-4221-a6be-6565fdb8afdd","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -642.351%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-de1cbc59-cbed-4730-b347-b4167bb30e4d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e104b33b-a2c7-4eb8-aaf9-c02ef4c379c4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -614.69123%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] 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? Learn more

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.

[{"selector":"#anim-2be61ecf-a8a5-417b-8eca-d97dfe5fbd6a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1fdecfe0-9cd2-4bc5-a2f2-c7c63dc06f66","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -375.15874%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more

What Does It Mean to DNF a Book?

[{"selector":"#anim-dba2b885-2afb-4092-8366-9749b5fc58c8","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-398c123f-32fa-418b-8a7a-030e35b029f1","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -606.11909%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-364cb090-d17d-492f-b4b7-2d1c7dc6fb58","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-043d80f4-3ee4-4e94-9e88-684f0d4e73c4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -491.26981%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] 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. Learn more

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.

[{"selector":"#anim-20a82ec2-a362-44ec-ba67-82b37c5326cd","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-52b81863-cd93-497b-b7e6-6b52fc53a3a0","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -295.49855%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Learn more