Tuesday, February 11, 2020

DNFs Abound This Year

I'm not having the best year so far choosing new ebooks to read.  I've DNF'd over half the new ebooks I've tried to read.  I mean, they sounded really great or I wouldn't have chosen them.  Right?  But when the rubber meets the road, there's been something that made me stop reading them. 

This week, the lead reason seems to be that the story is just weird.  Don't get me wrong - I like weird - but these were jarringly so.  Like one I tried recently - it was an urban fantasy... no, a science fiction... no, a fantasy... All genres I enjoy, but the only part that worked was the UF, which the author discarded after the first chapter. 

I DNF'd a book last night that I had great hopes for.  It was a billed as a thriller and it started out really well, but then the author started throwing in supernatural elements, which I really didn't mind at first but then it got bizarre.  Suspension of disbelief broken.  Close book, move on.  =o\

Then there have been the books with editing issues.  Some of those I can read past without a problem, but sometimes they slap me upside the face so hard I can't forgive them.  Not every bit of dialogue needs a tag and not every character has to be named every time you mention them.  Come on, guys.

Reading those makes me fear ever trying to publish without an editor backing me up.  On the other hand recognizing those flaws are helping me edit my own work.  So I guess they were good for something.

I'm not giving up on my mission to try new authors with few reviews.  I've found some amazing books that way.  And the amazing books I find help ease the pain of the others.  Like I said in last week's Reading Wrap-up - any week I finish at least one good book is a good week.  The others I'll just have to wade through to get to the good books.

I downloaded three new ebooks last night.  Here's hoping at least one of them is a good one.

How's your reading year going?  Finding some good stuffs or getting lots of clunkers?

2 comments:

  1. My year has mostly been tried and true rereads. The few new books to hit have been highly anticipated and they largely fulfilled my expectations. The one I'm currently listening to? Yeah...I'll review it later today. It's not totally what was advertised but whatever.

    I guess I'm a "chicken" reader. I read/LISTEN to books for comfort and entertainment. It's my escape and these days, I'm not feeling very adventurous so my DNFs are few and far between. I salute you for giving other authors a shot and a review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been doing a lot of rereading, too, but today I found a new-to-me author. So far, it's a great book!

    ReplyDelete