I hate dnf’ing. I understand why people do abandon books, but it’s just not me. If I start a book, I’ll do my damnedest to finish it. But then I’ve very rarely found a book I couldn’t enjoy at least some aspect of.

If I’m struggling, I try to pick out a character or thread or aspect of the writing that I’m enjoying and focus on that. Maybe I’m not here for the weird religious voodoo visions of Paul, but I can be invested in Jessica’s journey. Or maybe I’ll focus on the general world building and wider concepts. Or I’ll appreciate the prose even if the story itself isn’t compelling. There’ll almost always be something I can enjoy.

If you’re happy to read more than one book at a time then you could out the tough book down and read something else for a bit, but that’s not for me personally. I do however, somewhat paradoxically, read more if I’m struggling. It’s a case of the more I read, the quicker I’ll be done with the book and the sooner I can move on to the next one. I’ll also quit happily speed read large sections - not quite skimming, but not necessarily taking in as much as I would typically. The goal is to take in enough information to keep up with the basic plot, rather than savour every word.

You could also try switching to audiobooks if that’s your thing, and have it be a passive listening experience whilst doing chores/exercising/whatever else, rather than a more concentrated reading effort. That might take out some of the difficulty and still get you through it.

Ultimately there is no failure in a dnf, all it means is the book wasn’t right for you at that time. But if (like me) you can’t bear to dnf, then the only way out is through.