Question: if you start a book but don’t finish it, do you review it?
Question: if you start a book but don’t finish it, do you review it ?
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Question: if you start a book but don’t finish it, do you review it ?
For me, it depends why I didnt finish it. If its a book that just doesnt hold my interest, i dont. But if i rage quit because its a book that makes me so angry I cant function, I might leave a few words.
I can’t seem to get into it 8 chapters later (that’s more effort than I put into most books) and I’m about to give up and just put it back on my TBR list but I’ve noticed some people review books that they didn’t finish because they didn’t get into them. I was curious.
Yeah, for something like that, I’ll tend to put it down and come back to it later. I usually chalk it up to being in a weird mood.
I don’t. I try to only review books I love. I don’t see a point in spreading negativity, someone else who loves it can spread the word!
Example: someone had trouble downloading a kindle book, it was a technical issue not a book issue, the cover downloaded but the book wouldn’t open. They gave the book a 1 star review for that. ?
Yeah… that’s really silly. They don’t even understand what they do to an author’s livelihood with stuff like that.
It’s not even the authors fault she had technical difficulties
I do. I just label it as DNF instead of read. But I review what I did read and why I couldn’t get into it.
But I dont rate the book. I leave it blank so it doesn’t mess up the authors book rates. If a person DNF a book and still rates, that’s not fair to the author. But I say always leave a review because in the long run, it could help the author….. Given if you don’t tear them to shreds like most do.
I review what I read then I say why I stopped.
I will on goodreads, but just about why I didn’t finish it.
Depends on why I didn’t finish it. I’m not one of those people who will keep reading a bad book. If I don’t like it, I stop. My commitment is to review every book I finish. I no longer feel the need to review those I don’t complete unless it’s by a huge name author. If it’s by an Indie, nope.
I normally at least give a normal sized (300-400 pages) book 150 pages (less/more depending on the size) and if I can’t get into it even after reaching the stopping power I’ll mark it as “read” on Goodreads, put why I DNFed it, but I won’t give it a star rating.
Depends if I agreed to a review or not. If I did, I’ll review the part I read and explain why I didn’t finish it.
No
No.
I do but my review is to tell them I couldn’t finish it and why…I try not to be mean though.
No. I think it’s unfair, really
I have occasionally written what I call “DNF reports”, in which I describe what the book is about, why it didn’t work for me, and who I think might like it. But, I never, ever rate a book (at Goodreads or on my blog) if I don’t finish.
I think this is the difference between bloggers and readers. When we agree to review a book, even if we don’t finish, we have a responsibility to explain it. As a reader, you don’t.
I actually have a line in my review policy that says I reserve the right to say nothing at all if I don’t like or finish a book. Amazingly, publicists are fine with that. So, I seldom do DNF Reports, anymore, but I did feel obligated before I added that line!
If I agree to review, and can’t finish, I reach out and ask to pass it along to someone I know will like it, and ask them to leave a review instead.
I guess the way I’ve always looked at it is that I don’t owe anything to the publisher/publicist/author who contacted me. I have an obligation to my readers, or at least before I put the blog on hiatus, and part of that obligation is telling them when I can’t finish a book, as long as I tell them why. I feel the same about negative reviews. I don’t trust bloggers who never post about books they couldn’t finish or never have negative reviews.
It depends. If I don’t finish the book because of its content, I will give my negative comments.
Now, I’m not an official blogger. My group is my baby, which I’m considering expanding. I usually add books I don’t finish to a pile to at least be given a second shot. But if I finish something, I typically give it a 3-5 stars. It’s interesting to hear perspectives from others, especially before I make a leap into the blogging world.
^^^True of me, also. If I finish a book it will almost always get a 3-5 rating. And I often return to DNF books to give them a 2nd shot. I’m a moody reader.
Even if you finish a book you hated?
I almost never finish a book I hate. I’m too old for that! I recently gave up on a book at p. 150. If it’s not working, I ditch it.
When I first started blogging, I plowed through no matter what. I actually gave a one star to Noah’s Castle, though it should give us an option for zero. It’s the only book I’ve accepted for review that I actively told my readers to not read. Thinking about it still pisses me off.
Same. I really let loose on a couple of authors, early on. Eventually I realized there was no excuse for wasting time on bad books and changed my review
…oops… guidelines. It didn’t seem to bother anyone and I’m under no pressure to finish books I’m not enjoying. Win-win.
No, because I’m lazy. ?
Seriously, no I don’t because I choose books according to my mood at the time. If I don’t finish a book I’ll wait a while and give it another shot later. Sometimes it takes multiple shots before the book grabs me, but it usually happens eventually.
Occasionally I’ll come across a book I don’t finish because I just don’t like the author’s writing style. I NEVER rate these or review them. Just because I’m a finicky reader doesn’t make them a bad author.
great question – I enjoyed all the answers and took in the advice. I liked the DNF notation. Thanks, everyone.
When I can’t finish a book, I just put it back on goodreads on my want to read list and leave it alone. I don’t review it or rate it. I am a very picky reader and sometimes my moods impact how a see the book. One of my favorite books is one I couldn’t get into the first time I tried. But more and more I see really crappy reviews and wondered what most people here do. Thank you all for your helpful answers.
Personally, I do. But very subjectively. I am my worst critic.
Yes I’ll say it was a DNF and why
no
Yes for review books, with an explanation of why I couldn’t finish it since what bothered me might not bother other readers. I also try to point out anything good about the story.