DNF: Three Seconds

After slogging through about 100 pages of this as an ARC for BNBC's First Look program, I put it down.  Everytime I look at this book, it makes me heave a sigh of resigned "I really must finish this" sentiment.

Sadly, I have no desire to finish this - no sympathy for any of the characters, no identification, and I think the undercover-prisoner-drug-smuggler plot is far too nuts for my to follow.  I have so many books to read that I have to let this one go because the thought of reading it no longer brings my joy.  Just drudgery.

And that isn't very fun when I have shelves and shelves of books I would rather be reading.

DNF: Burnt Shadows

I won a copy of Burnt Shadows about a year ago and was initially excited to read it - the premise was intriguing and I'd heard many good things about the book.  I started reading right away but about 40 pages in the progress ground to a halt. 

So I put it aside.  From time to time I'd come back to it, re-read the last few pages, maybe read a few more pages, and "meh", reach for a different book.

Unfortunately, I have to stop reading at about 50 pages.  The opening section in Japan was beautiful, lovely writing, but now that the action has switched to India I feel disconnected from Hiroko, even though I felt for her situation.  I've tried multiple times to continue but I just have no impetus to finish this book.  So into the DNF bin it goes, hopefully to find a new reader.

*While unpacking all my books, I took a long, very, very (painfully) hard look at the books I have "in-progress"; I made the decision to DNF several titles because I just could not summon the interest to finish them.  Not that the books are awful, they just didn't speak to me (oddly enough, the books that irritate me enough to say they are awful are usually ones I finish).

Books I will never finish

Three moves is as good as a house fire or so they say.  I've accumulated a verging-on-the-insane number of books since I last moved almost 7 years ago.  I'm planning to move again (hopefully soon) so I would rather purge as I pack instead of moving the whole she-bang and purging as I unpack.  Mom would kill me for my lack of common sense if I did the latter.

I've got a few books lurking around the collection that are partially read....and they've remained partially read for what is probably several years.  I think it is high time I acknowedged the reality that I will never get around to finishing those books because everytime I look at them I sigh.

So those books really need to go in the donation box because I have too many books.

DNF #1:  The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
I can't get past the first chapter.  Doesn't grab my attention plot-wise and for whatever reason I find the writing lackluster.

DNF #2: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid
This is a short novel so you'd think this would be a slam-dunk for me...but no.  I made it to about page 40 and I can't take any more from the narrator.  I think the concept of the novel is intriguing but I just don't want to read anymore and I've been trying to finish this for about 4 years.  So I'm done fighting.  Out it goes.

DNF #3:  Travels in West Africa by Mary Kingsley
Travel memoir!  For Literature by Women!  And I couldn't finish.  It wasn't the most successful choice for the group.  As courageous as Mary Kingsley was, to go exploring on her own in West Africa in the 19th century, I just couldn't get into her writing.  And Victorians are usually my favorite.

DNF #4:  The Spirit of the Place by Samuel Shem (advance copy)
I got an advance of this for the old Literary Ventures Fund group at BNBC...what ever happened to the LVF people?  Hope they are well since they were pretty cool people.  Anyway, I can't get past chapter one on the Shem, a shame since his other novels are pretty good.

I realize this post is dated for April Fool's Day - wish I actually was fooling about having to DNF books.  *sigh*