The DNF Files: Volume 1
When you read as many books as we do, there are bound to be some that just don’t work. It may be us, it may be the book, it may be the timing, but here are a few that weren’t winners recently.
Waisted by Randy Susan Meyers: Ok, this is a total misnomer, because I actually did finish this book out of stubbornness. It was just…not my favorite. Three women go to a weight loss retreat filmed in the vein of The Biggest Loser, and eventually take it down from the inside. Unfortunately, the dialogue was completely unrealistic, the plot pretty bizarre, and I got sick of people bitching about their bodies for 300 pages. I have my own head to live in, I don’t need to listen to other people do it. - Moira
"Bringing Down the Duke" by Evie Dunsmore: To be fair, whatever book I read after “The Only Plane in the Sky” was destined to not be my favorite, but this one was an absolute disappointment for me. It is filled with so many things that I love: feminist ideas, Victorian England, romance, and I ended up having to put it down about 80 pages in. Instead of the cute and intelligent book I was expecting, it felt…just flat and a little icky. There are so many great romance novels, historical or otherwise, out there that are intelligent and clever and more than just “I want him to take me on the back of my stallion” — this one felt like a step back in the genre for me. - Elizabeth
“How Could She” by Lauren Mechling: This book seemed up my alley—a Canadian woman going through a devastating breakup joins her two oldest friends (who don’t really get along at first) in New York City. I’m not sure what it was, but I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of these characters. The breakup situation was vague; it wasn’t clear what happened, and the main protagonist was a mess, but not in an entertaining way. It was supposed to be an “insider's look into the cutthroat world of New York media—from print to podcasting,” but I found it a total bore and gave up after about 150 pages or so. - Shannon
“The Most Fun We Ever Had” by Claire Lombardo: I’m not sure I can count this as a DNF yet, as I haven’t totally given up on it. This book seemed to be something I really love: a family epic with lots of complicated sub-plots relating to the siblings’ lives. I’ve found the writing a little simplistic thus far, and some of the characters a little bit overdrawn. I have a nagging fear as well that the family secrets will be less consequential than I’d hope for a book of this length and scope. I’m committed to giving it another try, however! - Moira
