Why We DNF Books Too Easily (& What It Says About Us)

Описание: Have we gone too far with DNF culture? 📚

The book community often celebrates DNF-ing — encouraging us to put down any book we’re not loving. But lately, I’ve been wondering whether we’re losing something in the process.

In this video essay, I explore how our relationship with reading might be changing:

Why DNF culture has become so normalised
The pros and cons of not finishing books
The Problem with “Every Book Must Be Fun” and only reading for joy
What it says about our attention spans and our ability to tolerate boredom
Whether you should review or rate books you didn’t finish
Why slowing down with a book might make reading more meaningful

I’ll also share how ADHD has influenced my own reading habits (and how easily I DNF!), plus a few examples of books readers initially DNF’d but ended up loving.

So… do we DNF too many books? Do you think there’s still value in pushing through slower or more challenging reads — or is this just the evolution of reading culture? Let’s talk about it.

Timestamps:

00:00 - DNF Culture
01:32 - Have We Gone Too Far?
03:30 - Avoiding Boredom & Dwindling Attention Spans
07:13 - Slowing Down & Letting Boredom In
08:58 - Loving Previously DNF'd Books
12:10 - Rating Unfinished Books
17:19 - DNF Stance

📚 Books Mentioned:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow
a few more in passing!

#booktube #dnf #readingculture #videoessay #bookishcommunity