DNF
Also known as Did not finish
DNF means “did not finish”, a book you stopped reading partway through and don’t plan to go back to.
Marking a book DNF just means you’ve decided to stop. Maybe it isn’t working for you, maybe the content turned out to be something you’d rather skip, or maybe it’s the right book at the wrong time. Lots of readers note where they stopped in case they want to pick it up again later.
People argue a lot about whether you should review or rate a DNF. The usual middle ground is to say how far you got and why you stopped, and leave off the star rating. If a reviewer does rate one, they’ll usually mention the percentage up front.
There are a couple of rules of thumb for when to give up. One is to give a book fifty pages. Another is to take your age away from 100 and read that many pages. Most people end up with something simpler: if one book is keeping you from reading anything at all, put it down.
In BookBubble
DNF is one of the default shelves in BookBubble. You can set it to private if you’d rather keep your abandoned books to yourself.
DNF: common questions
What does DNF mean in books?
Did not finish. It’s a book you stopped reading partway through.
Should you review a book you didn’t finish?
You can, as long as you’re upfront about it. Say how far you read and why you stopped. Most people skip the star rating, since they haven’t read the whole thing.
Is it bad to DNF a book?
No. You don’t owe any book your time, and stopping one leaves room for something you’ll actually enjoy.