Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Here are some of the books I started reading in the last month or two but did not finish. I’m including my reasons for not finishing them in today’s post because of how subjective these things can be.
What I consider to be reasons to stop reading might be the sorts of writing styles, themes, genres, or topics that other readers love, of course! So if something on this list looks good to you, consider it a book recommendation if you wish.
1. Northern Nights by Michael Kelly
Why It was a DNF for Me: Too scary! Since the events of 2020 I have kept thinking I could handle the horror genre again only for it to be too much for me in 95% of cases.
2. When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth’s Tumultuous History and Perilous Future by Paul Bierman
Why It was a DNF for Me: It took way too long to even begin to say anything about what these ice cores say about our possible futures. Maybe someday I will have the patience to try again.
3. Beyond the Sea: The Hidden Life in Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands by David Strayer
Why It was a DNF for Me: I tried to read this one right after #2 and once again found the pacing too slow to keep my interest.
4. Truth, Lies, and the Questions in Between by L.M. Elliott
Why It was a DNF for Me: A relative of mine raved about this book and I expected to love it. I liked the characters but found the rampant sexism and focus on Watergate and other politics a little too much. To clarify, both of these things felt pretty realistic for the time from what I know about this era….I just need happier things to read at the moment. Someday I will revisit it.
5. Black Woods, Blue Sky: A Novel by Eowyn Ivey
Why It was a DNF for Me: The many forms of abuse written about in this book, including the neglect and endangerment of a young child. In no way do I expect protagonists to be squeaky clean, but I’m not really interested in reading about a character who repeatedly harms others without showing any remorse for their actions or intentions to change (at least in the portion of it I read). I don’t have any desire to be a parent, but I would have made sure that kid had all of her basic human needs and at least some of her wants met every single day.
6. The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women’s Lives Forever by Lydia Reeder
Why It was a DNF for Me: I already knew most of what the author had to share. If you don’t know the history of women doctors in this era, though, this is a good place to start.
7. It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished: A Memoir of My Body by Kate Gies
Why It was a DNF for Me: This was an excellent read, but I was dismayed by how poorly her parents and medical providers prepared her for the many surgeries she endured as well as how many painful complications she had as various ear replacements became infected or were rejected by her body. It was heartbreaking. Yes, she was too young to consent to the reconstructive surgeries as a small child and of course her parents needed to decide for her then, but it surprised me that no one ever wondered if all of those surgeries were really in her best interest after the first few failed and she’d endured weeks to months of misery after each one. Eventually, it became too much for me to continue reading.
8. The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories by André M. Carrington
Why It was a DNF for Me: I struggle with anthologies in general, but I do keep trying them. This one combined so many different writing styles that I just couldn’t get into the flow of it even though I wanted to.
9. All the Water in the World: A Novel by Eiren Caffall
Why It was a DNF for Me: I was irritated by the choppy writing style and, from what little I read, total lack of an explanation for why everything suddenly flooded in New York. I mean, wouldn’t people leave the city and go somewhere dry and safe if your hometown became part of the ocean? I sure would.
10. The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
Why It was a DNF for Me: Weak character development. I desperately wanted to like this tale more, but I needed stronger descriptions of who the characters were as human beings.
Occasionally, new books are released that are written in the form of poetry. That is to say, the entire story is told through one poem (or, more often, many different poems) that push the character and plot development forward.
Maybe a character said something really profound or romantic or hilarious or heartbreaking. You could share witty one-liners, mic-drop moments, snippets of funny dialogue between multiple characters, catchphrases, quotes that have become a part of pop culture–like “May the odds be ever in your favor.”, etc.
One of the reasons why I enjoy science fiction so much is how often authors in this genre set their tales in alternate universes, alternate timelines, or in versions of the past or future that are likewise different from our own in important ways.
As I mostly review and discuss speculative fiction books on my blog, that’s the genre I will be narrowing down this week’s prompt to.
My previous takes on the Valentine’s Day freebie post include: 
Those of you who have read my blog for a while might notice that I don’t post reviews for a lot of the books I put on my seasonal TBR posts, and part of that is due to how long it takes me to read them in some cases due to factors that are sometimes within and sometimes out of my control.
Go grab a cup of tea if you’d like to and let’s chat. I know I sure enjoy tea when the weather grows so cold and snowy at the end of January where I live.
The original theme for this week was “The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Book Collection,” but I’m tweaking it a little.