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15 Top Books that Everyone Starts but No One Finishes

If you’re anything like me, you have enough books on your TBR to open a library, yet despite the fact that it’ll take you 20 years to read them all, you still keep buying new books. It’s fine, it’s the life of a reading addict, but what about the books you start, but can’t actually get through and finish?

I hate to DNF books, but life’s too short for books you aren’t enjoying! When I was younger I used to plod through, thinking I had to finish every book I started but now I instil the 100 page rule. So you take 100, minus your age and if the book isn’t grabbing you by that stage it goes on the DNF pile.

Today we’re talking about the best known DNF’s of all time, let us know what you think of our suggestions in the comments.

The Top 5 Most Abandoned Classics

(As selected by members of GR)

The Top 5 Most Abandoned Books

(Overall list based on GR users)

The Top 5 Most Abandoned Books

(As highlighted by the Hawking Index for Kindle)

If you enjoyed these lists then you can find these, and other lists just like them in A Book of Book Lists by Alex Johnson. Buy it below.



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3 Comments

  • Sharon Reid says:

    Surprised to see The Casual Vacancy listed. Some intriguing characterisations and plot. I read it twice for two different book clubs and thoroughly enjoyed it each time!

  • Carole Elsner says:

    I actually read The Goldfinch through to the end, but it was twice as long as it needed to be.

  • Caroline C Neale says:

    It’s understandable not to finish a Brief History of Time. The first few chapters, you manage to grasp the concepts, but the further along to get, the harder it is to understand, until your mind explodes, lol. I did fish The Casual Vacancy. Great characterization, weak plot. I’ve read Lord of the Rings a few times. The secret is getting past the first book. Also finished 50 Shades, by sheer skimming through a lot of parts. Also finished the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The only other book I started on there and didn’t finish, apart from Hawking’s, was Wicked.

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