You wanted to read the book, you were excited to crack it open, you came into it with good faith and anticipation… but you ended up dnf-ing it. Which book and why?
Mine was The Maid by Nita Prose. It was for my book club and looked like a fun murder mystery. Instead I got instant manic-pixie-dream-neurodivergent-girl vibes, and I noped out before the crime scene was even found.
Not sure if it’s age, cynicism, ADHD or a combo of all three, but I DNF most books, movies and shows now, and usually within the first 10 pages/first 35 minutes/first 15 minutes.
I can tell if the writing is something that will absorb my attention by then. If the pacing is off, my brain registers it as “nope, must be something better out there, we only have so long in this life.”
Mind you, I can also spend an hour-plus scrolling through lists of books or streaming services not finding something that will be memorable for ever, so there’s been too picky as part of this.