Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Should I count a book if don't finish. I'm 75% through the book and I just can't make myself finish it. But, I've read enough to say I've invested time in it.

I vote yes! I think the point of the challenge is to try to new things. At 75% (even 50%) you definitely try it. :)

I generally do not count DNF books, mostly because I would like my list at the end of the year to be books I enjoyed enough to finish. I don't think there's anything wrong with counting a book you DNF, though. As Zoe said, 75% means you gave it a proper try.

It's entirely a personal choice. I don''t count DNFs, BUT I would have given up long before reaching 75%. If I made it that far I would most likely want to finish.

I personally would not count a book that I didn't finish, but if I was 75% of the way through already, I'd probably just push myself to finish and count it so I wouldn't lose the time I spent so far on it, in terms of crossing something off one of my challenge prompts.

I always figure any choice is a personal one because it's an individual challenge so it's entirely up to you. But like others at 75% I'd likely just finish it, even just a few pages a day but move on to other books in the meantime. And I wouldn't count a dnf.

I move my DNF into an exclusive shelf called "abandoned" so it's not counted in my read but also no longer in my want to read. I may try to finish later. Sometimes I switch media to finish a book...for example I got 100 pages into A Gentleman in Moscow and can't stand it, but I think I can finish it by listening to it on audiobook.

What's the book you do not want to finish?

It is your challenge. It is personal and up to you! There are so many great books and I do not torture myself with books I do not like just to satisfy a prompt. I do like the challenges because it helps me pick out some great books I would never have chosen! But LIFE IS TOO SHORT FOR BAD BOOKS!

I recently DNF'd on a book at 38%. I chose not to count it but substituted something new for the category. I'm glad I did because I really liked the second book a lot, and might not have gotten to it if I'd pushed painfully through the first book, or decided to count the DNF book. Ultimately, it depends on what you want to do though :)

Amy I am with you! 2 years ago when I did this challenge in 2015 I forced myself through some really shitty books and it started to feel like homework. After that I vowed never to do it again! I read for my pleasure or to learn more about people and topics that interest me. I'm 35, let's say I continue being able to read 50 books per year (that's low but I don't want to estimate high) and I live to 70 that's 1750 books I'll read in the rest of my lifetime. That's shockingly low! I am not wasting any of those on books I hate! Especially since shitty books take me longer!!

Maybe try listening to the audio version for the last 25%. Sometimes a different format helps me push through!

I have one I DNF, but I am going to try and finish all the other prompts and come back to it before the year is out. It's a bit of slower, more thoughtful read, so maybe if I am done with the other prompts, I will be more willing to stick with it and finish.

How long is this book exactly? Like if you've read 75% of 300 pages, I would say power through so at least you don't have to go and find another book for this prompt. But if you have another 300 pages to go, it might be time to call it quits. You might just want to put this one down for a month (or two or three) and try coming back to it later in the year if you haven't found something else to slot into that category. It's only May, you can defer this decision for a couple months.

I allow myself to DNF, but I wouldn't count it for this Challenge. A Challenge is supposed to be challenging! Sometimes it is a slog.

If I were 75%, and hating it, but needing it for a category, i would skim read, let my eyes fly over the words and not worry about capturing every nuance. That minimizes the pain, but is not a DNF in my book.

I agree with everyone who says it's a personal decision. I have a DNF that I'm sort of counting (in a different challenge). It was my second attempt for the category, and I just couldn't bear to read another line. After 2 fails in the same category, I'm counting the book I finished 60% of. To me the point of the challenge is to expand my reading horizons. By trying different things I'm accomplishing what I intended for the challenge.

The book is The Invisible Library. I think I'm going to push through. I just finished Where'd You Go Bernadette and loved it. I'm an avid library addict and I'm waiting for the next book to become available, so I'm going to finish this one while I wait. Thanks for the input!

When I get to a point of a book and I really don't want to finish it, I skim the rest. I read like a sentence a page and just breeze right through it. That way, if the book gets better, I can start reading in earnest again. If it doesn't, at least I finished it.

Rebecca wrote: "The book is The Invisible Library. I think I'm going to push through. I just finished Where'd You Go Bernadette and loved it. I'm an avid library addict and I'm waiting for the next book to become ..."

I gave up on that one super early:(. I'll give steampunk one more try, but I just don't think it's for me.

Also just read Where'd You Go, Bernadette and loved it.

I didn't like The Invisible Library either! I only stuck with it because I sorta purchased it for the library just so I could read it haha.

I'm having a hard time with A Gentleman in Moscow. I abandoned it at 80 pages of the book, then requested the audiobook from OverDrive. Took a couple weeks to get it and now I'm 70% through and still hating it! Pushed up the speed of the audio just to get through it.

Add me to the list of Invisible Library dislikers. I tried to read it last year and DNFed after around 15%. Steampunk is really not my thing, I still haven't found a book that appeals for that prompt.

So glad to hear I'm not the only one who is struggling through steampunk and "The Invisible Library" in particular. I'm tempted to bail on this prompt entirely. I tried another suggested book and only made it a few pages in.

I was disappointed with The Invisible Library. I was intrigued enough to finish, but ultimately won't keep reading the series. I love books about books, so I thought the concept of this was fascinating. It turned out to be kind of bland - I felt like there was so much opportunity to create this richly-detailed world, and it just fell flat. I'm curious if the rest of the series helps fill in the gaps more, but I think this is what a first book is supposed to do (and maybe I'm spoiled by the progression of, say, Harry Potter, where we're introduced to this interesting world that feels whole from the beginning, but is illuminated more and more the further into the series you get). It felt like the story was picking up in the middle and I should have been following along way before it started. This was my first introduction to steampunk, so I'm not sure how well it represents the genre, but I can say it wasn't my favorite.

Deborah wrote: "So glad to hear I'm not the only one who is struggling through steampunk and "The Invisible Library" in particular. I'm tempted to bail on this prompt entirely. I tried another suggested book and o..."

You should try The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1; it's definitely steampunk and it's a lot of fun. Even if you don't like it that much, it's a graphic novel so it's a quick read.

I'm curious - does anyone have a book you WISH you had DNF once you did finish? Mine would be Henderson the Rain King, Ethan Frome, The Awakening, the entire Twilight series, and Allegiant.

Not really, there are books I didn't enjoy and kind of feel like they were a waste of time but I can't say I wish I didn't read them because then I wouldn't feel justified to my criticisms lol and I love criticizing books I hated!
A couple would be the alchemist, eragon, the girl with the dragon tattoo, twilight series and heaven is for real. Lots of wildly popular books that I hated!

Laura wrote: "I'm curious - does anyone have a book you WISH you had DNF once you did finish? Mine would be Henderson the Rain King, Ethan Frome, The Awakening, the entire Twilight series, and Allegiant."

Yes and No. I can name several I would have DNF'd if they hadn't been book club books, but finishing them so I could argue about how terrible they were was worth it. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons and When Crickets Cry

There are also several books that are discussed frequently that I wouldn't have missed the final 2/3rds, but I'm glad I can take part when they come up in conversation. The Road, In the Woods, and The Alchemist

I'd say the closest I've come to things I wished I could DNF were mysteries that I wasn't enjoying at all, but still had to know what happened. Still Life and Lies I Told

Laura wrote: "I'm curious - does anyone have a book you WISH you had DNF once you did finish? Mine would be Henderson the Rain King, Ethan Frome, The Awakening, the entire Twilight series, and Allegiant."

PopCo. It was infuriating and took me forever to finish (I kept throwing it at the wall). I could've read so many more enjoyable books in that time.

I think I am going to DNF A Gentleman in Moscow. It's just too twee--I'm annoyed at how it over-romanticizes wealth and nobility and fine things, it doesn't portray the Russian revolution in a realistic way, the relationships feel overly cute and the tone book-clubby, and it constantly reminds me of a far better book I've read on a similar topic: I Served the King of England--which is just as plot-less and meandering, but manages to be much more vivid, interesting and weird. I put myself back on the wait list for Gentleman in Moscow after my library loan expired, but I'm thinking of just quitting. I just need to find another hotel book I haven't already read...

Wendy wrote: "I think I am going to DNF A Gentleman in Moscow. It's just too twee--I'm annoyed at how it over-romanticizes wealth and nobility and fine things, it doesn't portray the Russian revo..."

I liked The Dollhouse.

Ooh, thanks for the suggestion!

For me, it would depend on two factors: how far I got, and how many other books I could fit into that category that I'm more likely to finish.

I'm not the biggest fan of crime books, so if I picked up a book for Nordic Noir, and got part of the way through and didn't want to finish it, I would still mar the prompt as completed, because I'm not likely to find another book I'm interested in.
But for the 2018 release prompt, I would't count a DNF for the prompt, because there is likely going to be another book that I WILL finish.

Really, it just depends on how wide my selection of books is for the particular prompt.

Tara wrote: "I always figure any choice is a personal one because it's an individual challenge so it's entirely up to you. But like others at 75% I'd likely just finish it, even just a few pages a day but move ..."

ditto. 2 pages a day or so doesn't feel like you are wasting too much time. I have one like that at the moment and slowly it will be finished so I can review it being honest about the whole thing.

Brandyn wrote: "Laura wrote: "I'm curious - does anyone have a book you WISH you had DNF once you did finish? Mine would be Henderson the Rain King, Ethan Frome, The Awakening, the entire Twilight series, and Alle..."

The North Water was for book club so I slogged through it despite there being so many geographical and historical errors then discovered the others had all DNFd. Bleugh nasty book with nasty characters and lots of errors.