Y’all, have you ever started a book you were interested in and then been immediately underwhelmed right from the start?
Or worse, have you ever started a book and disliked the main character?
Or worse, have you ever disliked a character so much you didn’t want to keep reading it?
Or worse, all that happened and it was an advanced copy that you had more or less promised to give a review for but you don’t even want to finish it?
shit.
My Book Joy 
That’s tough. Try and power through it so you can read something else that you enjoy.
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I managed! Thank goodness xD
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This has happened to me a couple times, and I usually respond to the author and let them know that I don’t want to finish it and tell them why in a constructive way. Especially since the ARC can still be modified before it’s published, any feedback you could give the author could help them make it better. The author might get upset that you didn’t like it and don’t want to finish it, but most authors would rather have the honest feedback directly from you than a bad review. Just because you volunteered to read an ARC doesn’t mean you’re obligated to have a rotten time reading it, your time is still valuable, and it doesn’t sound like you or the author are going to benefit positively from it any other way.
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Very true. I’ve had some of those conversations with authors before as well and most took it well instead of lashing out or anything. But dang if it doesn’t still make me nervous! It’s a critique of the novel, not the person, but I think it’s hard to separate those for a lot of folks when it feels so personal.
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Oh no, but yes, I’ve felt this way and yes, it’s frustrating! Because I’m a serial non-DNFer no matter how hard I try sometimes, I usually end up skimming the book as quickly as I can. There’s always some part of me that hopes that things’ll get better but it usually doesn’t 😂 I’m sorry that you’re experiencing this now though, especially cos it’s an ARC. I think if you really can’t stand it and you have to DNF but you state why then it should be okay, too. I know quite a lot of readers do that actually! Good luck 🙂
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You should pick one book a month you think you’ll hate so you can get practice DNFing and saying no to a book. xD And who knows, maybe you’d end up finding a new unexpected favorite genre or author! lol
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Yes, I started listening to Matthew Perry’s memoir, so depressing from the first sentence… sounds like Prince Harry on TV. These guys are suffering, sad about it, but there is nothing to gain from their stories, nothing that will motivate, inspire… just doom/gloom and both will admit they live a privileged life, so how sorry do we need to feel for them? Sometimes, we just need to close the book, not continue reading for our “own mental health,” LOL. With your book, if you can’t go on, that would be my review. Gave it a good shot, just wasn’t feeling it.
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Yeah…. that can be a catharsis for the authors perhaps, but not everyone else is going to benefit from that. 😅 I already know life is hard in lots of ways. I usually read to escape that and dream of ways to better things, so it sucks that there wasn’t much of that to be gained from it.
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Agree, I read to escape too, but sometimes memoirs are interesting and motivational. For example, Diane Keaton has a very genuine and funny book about her life. She talks about beauty, how she didn’t like her eyes, and how she had to deal with it. I really enjoyed hers. I heard an interview with Matthew McConaughey, he is a motivational speaker, I enjoy his talks. He had a rough life, he endured. I think with Matt Perry from the start he is in the hospital… Although, one thing I learned is his unhappiness stemmed from his childhood, his parents divorced and being sent on a plane from Canada to L.A. as a young child made him scared and angry. That anger never left him. Similar to Prince Harry. We ALL have issues from our childhood, our life that we need to deal with. So, it’s uplifting to read stories of people who pressed forward focused on happiness and worked hard to squash the daily sadnesses that crops up in life — not ALLOW the sadness to take over. Our brain is interesting, we have total control over our thoughts and in what direction we want them to go. In the morning we either focus on doom and gloom or hearing the birds chirp and see the sunshine. I’m reading an interesting book now. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak.
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Oh 10000% times! If it’s something I absolutely cannot force myself to read, or if I just don’t want to, I DNF it. I’ll write a small review explaining WHY I DNFed for the publisher and send it their way. Life is too short to read books you aren’t enjoying. DNF it and move on!
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So true! I’m not usually shy about DNFing books haha. I even have some DNF reviews of books on my site because I have a habit of sticking it out to like 80% and then when I can see the end in sight and it’s still not worth it, I stop. xD
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This has happened to me before. I always try to finish books that are sent to me because I just feel bad not finishing them when it was sent to me for free however there have been instances where I just got to the point where I couldn’t force it anymore and decided to DNF it. In these instances I will write my DNF review and explain why I didn’t finish it but would tell people they should still read it if it sounds like something they would enjoy. Don’t force yourself to much though because that can cause a slump and we don’t need any of those!! I hope your next read is better.
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Thank you! Feels good to know it’s not just me. I’m always fine DNFing a book of my own, but I feel really crap about doing it with an ARC. I did manage to get through this one, but that’s probably my end of the series 😅
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This right here is one of the main reasons that I no longer request review copies of anything. (My mood reading tendencies is the other main reason. But this feeling of obligation? That’s the main reason.)
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Yeeeeeeeeeah. I typically only request books I’m fairly confident I’ll enjoy to avoid that awkwardness (plus if I’m not that into it, I can just wait for a published copy anyway). Sandy magic is usually a winner for me but oh well!
Obligation is something I avoid at all costs as well!!!
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