Ep 431 - Did Not Finish Books Vs Not Right Now Books

Summary

Reading Glasses – Episode 431: Did Not Finish Books Vs Not Right Now Books
Hosts: Brea Grant & Mallory O’Meara | Date: October 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, Brea and Mallory deep dive into the nuance of giving up on books: the “Did Not Finish” (DNF) pile versus the emerging concept of “Not Right Now” (NRN). They share practical advice on recognizing which books to abandon outright and which ones might simply not fit your current mindset or circumstances. The discussion is peppered with humor, relatable bookworm struggles, and actionable tips for every type of reader. The episode also features listener feedback, personal reading updates, and ends with sisterly book recommendations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recent Reads: What’s On the Hosts' Nightstands?

• [00:33–05:12]
  • Brea is reading Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel, recommended by Mallory. She loved the sci-fi premise and appreciated that the story resolves its mysteries:

    "You are questioning the whole time...and he actually tells you what the f*** is happening." (Brea, 02:14)

  • Mallory just finished Alma Katsu's Fiend ("Succession but with a demon"). Mallory praises its pace and how it brought her out of a reading slump:

    "This book got me out of a reading slump... What if I get home early so I can finish reading this book? It’s that good." (Mallory, 04:32)

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2. Listener Feedback: Creativity in Cultivating Reading Lives

• [05:19–09:01]
  • August: Tipped listeners to read nonfiction “monogamously” by interspersing chapters between fiction books, using notes to stay engaged.
    • "It functioned well as a palette cleanser between fiction books..." (Listener feedback, 05:52)
  • Car: Shared how her family uses Reading Glasses lingo, inspiring a school project ("reading wheelhouses").
    • Her dad created a bulletin board where AP Lit students identified reading preferences to foster lifelong habits:

      "Many of them don’t currently read for pleasure, so I emphasize that there is a book for every reader." (Listener's dad, 07:41)

  • Hosts react: Delighted by the impact, noting that thinking in terms of a “wheelhouse” changes how they choose books:

    "The idea of a wheelhouse really has changed my reading life so much, and I can’t even imagine having that back in high school..." (Mallory, 08:24)

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3. Main Topic: DNF vs NRN — A New Way to Sort Dropped Books

• [12:57–23:10]

a. Genesis of the Idea

• Listener Taylor’s Email: (14:02) Introduces NRN (Not Right Now) as a distinct category from DNF, especially helpful for mood/bandwidth readers.

  "Some books I’m interested in, or maybe I am too stressed in real life for more serious book to have a positive impact on me or my mental health. That feels much different than a book I don’t finish and know I’m ready to dump entirely." (Listener Taylor, 13:12)

• Hosts react:
  • Bria: Appreciates reframing, noting many DNFs are simply bad timing—not bad books:

    “It was not for me right now. It was not for me at that moment." (Bria, 14:31)

  • Mallory: Realizes she's intuitively followed this concept for years; renaming it validates the frequency of bouncing off books for personal reasons.

    "A big chunk of your enjoyment of a book is you. You are the secret sauce. You are the magic ingredient." (Mallory, 14:49)

b. How to Distinguish DNF from NRN

• [16:04–18:49]
  • Bria: It’s more about the reader’s context than the book’s quality (projects, stress, life events decrease appetite for complex reads).

    "I can't world build in my life and world build in my reading life too." (Bria, 16:43)

  • Mallory: Knows instantly if something is NRN (“within the first page or two”) versus a DNF, where she gets much deeper before giving up. Uses food analogy ("It's like looking for a snack... No, I don't want this").
  • Both find it relieves guilt—books don’t “wink out of existence” if set aside.

c. Practical Tips for Implementing NRN and DNF

• [18:49–22:17]
  • E-Readers: Use tags (NRN, DNF) in apps like Goodreads or Storygraph; your device may even remind you when you’ve already sampled a book.
    • "If it's still on my TBR list and I get it again and my e-reader will remind me..." (Bria, 19:37)
  • Print Readers: Reshelve as future possibilities; use post-its to note when and why you set a book aside. If it cycles out repeatedly, consider passing it on.

    “If I've done that a couple of times with the book after a year or so... maybe, just maybe, the time will never be right.” (Mallory, 20:36)

d. Making Book Abandonment Less Fraught (and Even Cute)

• The hosts consider making the terminology less “gross”—maybe “dumplings” instead of “dumping books" (Dumpling emoji suggested in Discord).

  “Maybe that's what we do—maybe instead of a dumped book, we just call it a dumpling. It makes it cute and less weird...” (Mallory, 22:21) “Yeah, that's what I want. Less bathroom stuff.” (Bria, 22:31)

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4. Advice for Reluctant Dumpers/Completionists

• [24:05–32:23]
  • Listener Chelsea asks: How do you permit yourself to DNF without guilt?
  • Bria: It’s normal to slog through a dud (“Everyone plowed through a book and been like, I guess that's a two-star book.”). Used to grant 10% before quitting; now gives only a chapter. Notes “soggy middle” is the hardest.

    “If I don’t like the writing or the plot isn’t grabbing me...it’s going to be a quick DNF.” (Bria, 25:23)

  • Mallory: Looks for issues unlikely to improve (annoying protagonist, confusing style, “if I start to skim, that’s the sign”). Suggests using summaries if you’re only curious about endings.

    “Even if it does get better at the end, is it worth the journey?” (Mallory, 28:59)

  • Cautionary Tale: Mallory shares how a close friend (Scott Wampler) died stuck in a reading slump, halfway through a book he disliked, reinforcing the value of never wasting time on books you aren’t enjoying.

    “Like, is it really worth hours—even an hour—of your life to slog through a book that you’re not enjoying?” (Mallory, 30:01) “Don’t die reading a book you hate.” (Bria, 31:05)

  • Practice Makes it Easier: Dumping gets less fraught with repetition.

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5. Sisterly Book Recommendations

• [32:25–34:50]
  • For a “sister book club” focused on books with strong sister relationships:
    • Bria: Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy – Twin sisters, empathy, and mystery in Scotland.
    • Mallory: The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine – A 1920s retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” with 12 flapper sisters breaking free in NYC.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Hot Book Tip:

  “It functioned well as a palette cleanser between fiction books and knowing I only needed to read a chapter at a time helped keep me from getting paralyzed over the length of the book.” (Listener August, 05:52)

• DNF vs NRN Distinction:

  “A big chunk of your enjoyment of a book is you. You are the secret sauce.” (Mallory, 14:49)
  “We always say: If you dump a book, it does not wink out of existence.” (Mallory, paraphrased, 14:56)

• The Stake of Book-Wasting:

  “Don’t die reading a book you hate.” (Bria, 31:05)

• On Changing DNF Terminology:

  “Maybe instead of a dumped book, we just call it a [dumpling]. It makes it cute and less weird…” (Mallory, 22:21)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:33] Recent Reads – Best of All Worlds & Fiend
• [05:19] Listener Feedback: Reading habits & classroom ideas
• [12:57] Main Topic: DNF v. NRN – Introduction
• [14:16] Differentiating DNF and NRN; hosts’ experiences
• [18:49] Practical NRN/DNF system tips for e-readers and print readers
• [22:21] Making the lingo cuter: “dumplings”
• [24:05] Advice for reluctant book dumpers/completionists
• [32:25] Sisterly Book Recommendations

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Tone and Language

Conversational, witty, encouraging. Hosts use frank language, humor, and relatable metaphors (“soft dump”—to much amusement/embarrassment!—and “soggy middle”). The overall tone is supportive and practical, emphasizing that enjoying reading is more important than “finishing” anything.

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Summary Takeaways

• Differentiating DNF from NRN can free up guilt and improve your reading life.
• It’s okay—healthy, even—to abandon books, whether temporarily or for good.
• Habitual dumpers/completionists alike benefit from self-knowledge and giving themselves permission to curate their reading experiences.
• Organize your TBRs with tags or notes to remind you of why (and whether) you stepped away.
• Bookish joy should always outweigh obligation—don’t let yourself get stuck in book slumps!

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To submit a reader problem, get book recs, or bring joy to your bookish family, email the show at [e-mail] or check the show notes for links.

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“Don’t die reading a book you hate.” – Bria Grant, [31:05]

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. You're listening to Reading Glasses, a show about book culture and literary life designed to help you read better. I'm author and book devourer, Mallory o'.

[B]

Meara. And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. In this episode, we're talking about a new way to sort out your dumped books. We're giving advice for reluctant book dumpers, and we're recommending sister books. I don't know why that sounded gross.

[A]

Yeah, there's some. There's some weird terminology in this episode that I don't like. But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[B]

I'm reading. I'm actually a little bit on a Mallory train right now where I'm reading books that you really liked this year because I've had a few duds, and I'm like, maybe train that I'm. I just read on the plane on my way home. Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Apple. So good. It was so good. I can't believe how much about this I. Well, I'm telling you now. Oh, my God. I. This book was incredible. And if you haven't heard, Mallory's talked about it a few times on the show now. But it's so good. It's such a me book. But so it's interesting. You read it first, but it's basically these. These. This family wakes up and they're on vacation. House is no longer where they're. Like little vacation. Home is no longer where it was. Now it's in. On a farm, and there's goats and there's chickens. Like, why are they there and they. They're not. The house has been moved. And then they walk to the ed. They walk out and they realize they're also in a dome, and it's very wild. And then they basically figure out how to farm and stuff. And then three years later, another family arrives, and there's. That is so interesting because it's another family that's very different from them. Yes. And they have to deal with them, and they're stuck in this dome together. And what I loved about this book is this is not a spoiler, but there is an ending. Yes, there is a. Yes, that explanation. You know what?

[A]

I'm glad you said that, because it's something that I keep. For getting to put in. In my descriptions of it, because there's a lot of books like this where, like, the whole book, you're walking the line of, like, what is happening. We're not sure what's happening. This book gives you a definitive. This is what's happening. And I love that about it.

[B]

Yep. Yeah, it's it. And I. And because you are questioning the whole time about what the is happening and he actually tells you what the is happening.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's great. It is like, it really delivered for me. I freaking love this book.

[A]

I want you to direct this movie.

[B]

Oh, my God. It'd be amazing. Amazing. Yeah, it's. It's so good. I can't believe I. Yeah, it's just funny that you. I feel like it's such a me book. It is such a sci fi book.

[A]

But I love authors. Or read whatever he puts out. But I. I read this and I was like, this is such a Bria book.

[B]

Fantastic book. Can definitely recommend. What. What are you reading?

[A]

Oh, Bria, I was just talking to you about this. I just finished Amakatsu's new book, Fiend.

[B]

I'm so excited.

[A]

Oh, my God. Okay, so first off, I have to say we. We're having Alma come on the show for our Halloween episode this year, so I'm really pumped. And this book, it's her first modern horror because Al Makasu writes historical horror and then modern, like, political thrillers. And this is the first time she's done a modern horror and she knocked it out of the park. It is so great. I mean, it. The pitch for this book is really quick. It's just. It's succession, but with a demon, if you love succession. But we're like, what if this had a demon in it? This is for you. It's. It is this big gigantic empire that is controlled by this very powerful family. They live in New York City. There's a son who's kind of set to inherit everything. Inherit everything. But he's not stoked about it and not very good at it and kind of. It's. It's really not for him. The person who is very good at it is the daughter. But she's the second born and she's also a girl. So she's kind of looked at as only useful for. For like some sort of political marriage or for making heirs. Even though she's the. The cutthroat rootless one. There's a third daughter that everyone kind of writes off because she's just. She's the third. She's the second daughter. She's not going to ever do anything. She's very flaky and, you know, kind of a party girl. And they're all sort of orbiting the. The head of the family, which is this man. This. The. The family is Albanian and There is some rumors that if something, if you cross this family, something bad will happen to you. And you know, they always like to. To write it off. There's no way. Haha. The silly rumors about how. What a powerful family that we are. Well, turns out there's a demon and he is definitely making things happen for this family. But it's not as. It's not all that other people in the family think it's cracked up to be. And there's some really fun scary moments, but it's also, it's just, it's like a fun corporate family drama with like some supernatural flavoring. It moves super fucking fast. I mean it's all Makatsu. Like she doesn't, she doesn't miss. And this book got me out of a reading slump. I just, this was a book where I was like, what if I just finish work early? What if I get home from. What if I get home from this thing early so I can finish reading this book? It's. It's that good. So I'm reading Fiend by Alma Katsu.

[B]

And I'm reading Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel.

[A]

We want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. August wrote in to say hello. I just completed the read a book for a long time part of the challenge and I wanted to write in with with my thoughts. I decided to spend a long time reading all that she Carried by Tia Miles. It's a very heavy and thoughtful book so I wanted to take my time with it. I also find that I have trouble keeping up with non fiction books. Sometimes I prefer to read semi monogamously and that just doesn't work for most non fiction books. Instead, I decided to read a chapter or two of all that she Carried in between every fiction book that I finished. I took notes at the end of the chapter to help me remember the information. It functioned well as a palette cleanser between fiction books and knowing I only needed to read a chapter at a time helped keep me from getting paralyzed over the length of the book. I finished it last night and found that having stuck with it for so many months made the final pages so much more poignant. I think this idea really improved my reading life and I'm already picking out the next non fiction book I'm going to try it with. Thanks for everything you both do and keep reading. This is.

[B]

I think that's a great tip.

[A]

Hot book tip. This is really fun. What a cool way to get through a long book and have a little palette cleanser in between reads Yeah, I don't.

[B]

I didn't know this book and so it's. It is non fiction.

[A]

Got it.

[B]

That's so cool. This sounds like a great book. Honestly. Very cool. I think that's a great way to get through book. Fantastic care wrote in and said, hi, Brian, Mallory, I'm writing as you must know that ever since my dad discovered reading glasses, you've been a consistent topic in the family group chat. We all love the pod. And just when you thought a family of readers couldn't get any more bookish, we find ourselves now discussing books in terms of wheelhouses, honkers, and the power of a good dnf. But more specifically, I wanted to highlight that my dad was so inspired that he created a wheelhouse activity for his high school students. My stepmom and I were driven to happy squeals when we saw all the proud declarations of unreliable narrators, cozy fantasy love triangles, and vampirese, which we have learned. Vampires, which we've since learned are vampire fairies. I didn't know that. Wow.

[A]

New innovations in the world.

[B]

Please see the attached bulletin board bursting with wheelhouses and a blurb from my dad below. Do you want to read the blurb?

[A]

Yes, and I will say so. This dad created a massive display on the school wall that was. It says reading wheelhouses. And then all these students made wheelhouses. They. Some of them drew. Drew put illustrations on there. Some of them, like cut stuff out, painted things. It's so cool. I was like, I sent this to Bria immediately. I sent her these photos. I was like, this looks so amazing. So the dad says, my goal in AP literature is not only teach students how to read deeply, but also to help them grow into dedicated, lifelong readers. Many of them don't currently read for pleasure, so I emphasize that there is a book for every reader. They just need to discover it. To guide them, I had them complete a reading wheelhouse activity, though most had no idea what a wheelhouse was, to identify their individual tastes. Even if they don't read frequently, they do engage with different forms of storytelling, and my aim is to help them transfer those preferences into books. Thanks so much for all you do. The POD truly has added so much to our reading lives and put the pet back in our page turning.

[B]

I love this so, so much. That's so nice. Wow. Love that.

[A]

What a cool. Honestly, if I. I know I'm saying this about my own podcast, but if I I. The idea of a wheelhouse really has changed my reading life so much, and I can't even imagine having that back in high school and being able to think about books in that way. Like, oh yeah, love it. You want to read Cars Wheelhouse.

[B]

Yes. Literary fiction, especially about women losing or finding their minds. Cozy fantasies in a small town. Dark academia. Bonus points for magic, multiple timelines, found family, witty underdogs, romance. But get out of here with the thinly veiled miscommunication, trope and hidden corners of big cities. I like that.

[A]

Love this. So you can email us reading glasses podcast gmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month, you can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show notes. Just one quick book bark from your old Uncle Mallory. We've been getting a lot of new I. I can always tell when we get new a crop of new listeners because people start writing and emailing us for Sci Fi Rex for their dads and husbands. Folks, we have got a whole episode about it. We literally have an episode called Sci Fi Rex for dad's Husbands. So if you, if you have a, if you have a husband, if you have a dad, if you have a male figure in your life and you want a recommendation for him, that is a Sci Fi book, go check out that episode. I'll put a link to it in the show notes. Just saving myself some time answering emails. There is so many we. And I'm proud of that episode. We did a good job with that one. So before we talk about a new book dumping system, we're going to take a quick break this week. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part by green chef Bria. Fall is the most delicious season. I mean, there's a lot of great stuff about fall. There's Halloween, there's hockey. Really, all of my favorite things are in fall. But it's also the tastiest time of the year as far as I'm concerned.

[B]

For sure, you can get cozy. You can have your soups, you can have. Everything is warm. It's roasted. It's roasting season.

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Yeah, we love the flexibility. We also love the flexibility in meal plan. Both Bria and I have a lot of weird food restrictions. We have. Bria and I are both the kind of people that when we go to a restaurant we were asking for substitutions. We're being extra nice to the waiter because we're, we gotta, we have stuff that they gotta leave out. Green Chef's menu easily accommodates all different kinds of food restrictions or maybe just taste restrictions. Stuff that you want to eat there. They change their recipes every week. You're not going to get bored. Make this fall your healthiest yet with Green chef. Head to greenchef.com 50glasses and use code 50glasses to get 50 off your first month. Then 20 off for two months with free shipping. That's code [e-mail] 50glasses glasses. Are you a five star baddie?

[C]

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[A]

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[C]

Tune in every other Thursday to the podcast that's dedicated to helping black people feel more seen. Find black People love paramore on maximumfun.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

This week we're talking about a potential new way to dump a book. Did not finish. AKA DNF versus this new idea. Not right now. Nrn. Will this system help you read fewer boring books? Can it improve your reading life? We are Getting into it. So today's episode was inspired by Taylor, who wrote in to say hi, Mallory and Bria, longtime listener, first time emailer. I just saw a video about making a distinction between dnfing a book versus putting it in the not right now category. As a mood slash bandwidth reader, I really like this idea of separating those categories. Some books I'm interested in, or maybe I am too stressed in real life for more serious book to have a positive impact on me or my mental health. That feels much different than a book I don't finish and know I'm ready to dump entirely. I hope other glasses can find a benefit from this slide whistle. Hot book tip. As things go to hell in a handbasket, I'm continually grateful for the normalcy and joy your podcast brings. All right, I'm definitely first off, this gets a slide whistle for sure. But before we get into this, Taylor, please send us this video so we can credit the creator. I could not find this. I looked. I. I am not on TikTok, and I delved into the world of TikTok, which was very scary for me to try to find it. Could not find it. Taylor, please send it. Or if anyone, if you know this video, please, we want to credit this because this is a really interesting idea. Bria, what do you think of this?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I love the reframing of it. Yeah. There's so many books that people want to talk to me about that I didn't finish, and I have to think about why I didn't finish them. And I think the answer is usually it's just that I. It was not the right time. The timing was wrong. It's not because people be like, you didn't read that. That's a great book. And I'm like, I'm sure it is. I don't know why I didn't finish it, but it's. I think that this helps me really, like, think about reframing that. That. It's just. It was not for me right now. It was not for me at that moment. Yeah. Yeah. You like this as well.

[A]

I love this. I actually think I have been doing this for a long time. I've just not been smart enough to articulate the difference. I think it's really important to recognize that a big chunk of your enjoyment of a book is you. You are the secret sauce. You are the magic ingredient. It's your experiences, your current state of mind. I am constantly reshelving books, which is my version of an nrn for this reason. There's been so many books I've picked up months or even years later and been like, why did I not love this? You know, why did I, Why didn't I. Why did I bounce off this initially? If you have the library space at home to keep a book like this around, I think this is great. Especially when it just takes the pressure off. You know, we always say if you dump a book, it does not wink out of existence. You know, like that you don't get one chance to read a book. You can always come back to it or get it from the library. I saw a glasser call this. I forget who it was, but there's a glasser in this. Either the slack or the discord that called this a soft dump, which I do think is a great term. But it did make me laugh really hard.

[B]

I know I'm not saying. I can't say that. I can't say it. It's too, I can't too there. That's too. There are too many things that come to. That's coming into yalls mind as well.

[A]

Yep, yep. But no, I think this is fantastic. So how do you know the difference between a book that you should DNF and a book you should nrn?

[B]

I mean, I think this charm is more about the reader than the book. Right. So it's about the reader and the reading. By the way, should we call books readies?

[A]

Readies.

[B]

We call books readies from now on. Like, you know, if you're working on a tough project, if you're going through a major life event, you're not sleeping well, then your tastes are going to feel a little bit different. You may feel more sensitive, you may not have. And the attention span, whatever's going on with you and it's not something to beat yourself up about. Like, I just can't read complicated books when I'm working on a major project. Yeah, I can't world build in my life and world build in in my reading life too. Like, I'm like, I mean, at night I'm. I'm there trying to like remember the world. But I'm also trying to work. I like, I can't do it all. So I get it. Like sometimes I want to relax. I want to read something kind of like very uncomplicated or not too distant from my current world. And I feel like a lot of people relate to that. So I think it's not about the ready, it is about the reader.

[A]

Yes. I mean I.

[B]

There's 3D being a book.

[A]

We see this all the time where people, especially with buzzy books that a lot of people are enjoying. Some people will be like, I just didn't. I couldn't get into this. You feel kind of. You almost feel like something's wrong with you because all so many people are loving this book. It's so buzzy, and you're bouncing off of it. It takes that pressure off because it's like, you know what? It's just not for you. Maybe it's just not for you right now. You know, for me, I know a book should go in the NRN pile almost instantly. Like, within the first page or two, there's usually something about the writing or the. Just the plot, the situation of the book that I bounce off immediately. It's like when you are looking for a snack and you take a bite and you're like, no, I don't. I want something else. No, I don't. Do not want this. On the flip side, DNF book I'll usually get kind of far into before I realized I just don't like it for whatever reason, which is interesting.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

It's a really interesting.

[B]

So you're like, give it more pages. Yeah, that's interesting.

[A]

There's something about a DNF book that I'll be like, okay. Because it's like, this book could be right for me right now, but I don't like the book itself.

[B]

Where you gave it a longer shot.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Gave it more time. Yeah, that's interesting.

[A]

Yes. Whereas if a book is just not for me right now, I know a me. Like, immediately my brain's like, hey, this is. Something about. This is. Is too stressful. It's too complicated. It's like, you know, like last year, all I wanted to do was read grief books and everything else I bounced off of. And I'm revisiting some of those books I bounced off of, and I'm like, oh, yeah, this is when I'm not, like, crying myself to sleep every night. Sure. This is. This book is actually great. Whereas a DNF book, it actually, like. I would normally like it, but I. There's something about the book itself that I just don't like. So it's. It's a really. For me, I. I know immediately. All right, so we love this. This concept. How do people use this to make their reading lives better, Bria?

[B]

Well, we'll. We're gonna do E readers versus print readers because you suggested this, actually, that E readers make an NRN tag right on. Libby. Storygraphs, Goodreads, wherever you track you can make a little tag, and that way, you know, you can come back to it at a later time. You just weren't into it and at the moment. And then you can also have a DNF tracker. You can, like, split it so you know which is which. Or you can just leave it on your tbr, which is what I do a lot. I have a very long TBR and I'll have record that I tried it on the Humble brag. My TBR is way too long. I won't read it in my lifetime. But the nice thing about having the E reader is that you get that book again and you open it up and it's like, hey, remember, you remember me. You've already read three chapters. And so if it's still on my TBR list and I get it again and my e reader will remind me, I've already tried this book, which is something that I have trouble remembering. But if I'm like, oh, I already read three chapters. Let me see if I already read like four pages. Let me just see why I didn't rev. I did this recently, and it was a DNF book. Honestly, I re got a book and I was like, oh, I've already read like a chapter. And then I tried it again, and I was like, nope, this is definitely just a dnf. Yeah. So for me, just leaving it on that TBR list and research coming back to it later with fresh eyes is sort of helpful. What about print readers?

[A]

Yeah, I feel like the difference for E readers, I think it's more of an issue of organization because you just have all the space in the world. For print readers, it's a little different, especially if you live in a tiny house like I do. For me, if I have the space, I'll just reshelve it. I'll just. I have like a big bookcase. That is my tbr. It's like my wine cellar. It is a TBR bookcase. And if I pick something up and immediately I'm like, not right now. I'll put it back. I will say, if I've done that a couple of times with the book after. After a year or so, I'll be like, you know what? Maybe, just maybe, the time will never be right, time for me to make more space. If you really want to go wild, which some people, maybe we have a lot of very organized people who listen to the show, you can stick a little post it in the front to remind you why you entered it. You know, like, hey, this book was maybe you Went through a breakup, and it's a romance book, and you don't want to. Don't want to read that right now. Maybe it was. You were really, really stressed out, and this book was too complicated. You can leave a little something space. But the. I mean, the great thing is, if you're a print library reader, you're good. You could just give it right back to the library, and the library is going to hold it for you forever.

[B]

And are you leaving it on your TBR at that moment, or are you just making a different list?

[A]

I will leave it on my tbr. I do have a very, very small digital TBR in Book Buddy, but most of the time, my TBR is. Is physical. So, I mean, again, I think this all depends on having space, but I think. I think this improves your reading life because it takes the pressure off of you. And yeah, I mean, we say it all the time on the show, like a book's not gonna. Not gonna wink out of existence, but that still, a lot of people still put. Put pressure on themselves. So if it makes you feel better to be like, you know what? This is going on a separate list, an NRN list, and you will revisit it another time if that helps you dump a book and get to something you're really going to like reading. Amazing. This is another. Another tool in your dumping toolbox. I wish. We need to come up with a different. Like, obviously, dumping a book is the. Like. It's the term. It's. It's. We. We love it. It's funny. People on the Discord use the. Use a dump. Dumpling emoji. Like, oh, that's cute. But I do look retroactively.

[B]

I'm, like, calling them dumplings is very cute. Like, oh, it's just one of my dumplings, you know?

[A]

Oh, maybe that's what we do. Maybe instead of a dumped book, we just call it a. And it was a D. It makes it cute and less weird and. Yeah, maybe something that is less associated with poop.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I want.

[A]

That's what.

[B]

Less bathroom stuff. I don't love that. I don't love. I don't love the soft dump. No, thank you.

[A]

Better than a hard dump, I guess.

[B]

Oh, I don't know. Different show, different show.

[A]

Sorry. Sorry, everybody. Okay.

[B]

Don't know whose show it is. Who listens to that show.

[A]

Somebody.

[B]

I don't want that one.

[A]

All right, so say you can send your thoughts on this to reading glasses podcast gmail.com before we give advice for reluctant dumpers we're gonna take a quick break.

[D]

Hey, it's sue the subway train. Hey, guess what, Sue. I just inherited a game show and I have to continue it because there are people out there who like to curl up into a ball and listen to it. Yeah, it's a podcast where listener submit game show ideas for others to play on air. Well, it is in fact, the dumber the better, right? Right. It's called Dr. Game Show. Some curled up balls consider it a tradition, while others call it a train wreck. No, not you, Sue. It's Dr. Game Show. If you're the sort that likes to listen to people competing for refrigerator magnets, then curl up into a ball and listen to Dr. Game show every other Wednesday. MaximumFun.org.

[A]

All right, time to solve a bookish problem from one of our listeners. Chelsea wrote in to say hi, Brianne Mallory, I want advice for how to know when you don't like a book and can DNF it. I'm a bit of a completionist, so I will finish things fully usually even if I am not liking them. I haven't found a book yet I want to dnf, but I have finished one and two star reads in the hopes it would get better as well as to just check it off a list. So I want to know how you know when to DNF something as well as not feeling bad that you didn't finish. So we have talked about this a bunch on the show, but it has been quite a while, I think since we've done an episode on this and in the spirit of this episode, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit, especially since you and I both have kind of our DNF system has sort of evolved over the course of this show. So let's check in on it. Bria, how do you know when, when you should DNF a book?

[B]

Well, first, Chelsea, I just know. You don't need to feel bad. All of us, every person has plowed through a book and been like, I guess that's a two book. Like it just happens. Like you know, you and sometimes you just don't know.

[A]

I hate read a book that Bria knows what I'm talking about, but I will not reveal the name of just because I, I recently, I don't, I don't normally hate read books, but this book was, I just had to know. I just had to finish it, you.

[B]

Know, to do it. Had to do it. I also recently finished a book and I loved it all the way into the ending. And I hated the ending. You never know when something's going to end up being not a great book.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I know pretty quickly these days, like, if I don't like the writing or the plot isn't grabbing me or it's not a cool setting, which obviously I love, it's going to be a quick dnr. DN F. Not a dnr. Whoa. That's a different thing. I do not resuscitate or do not read. Do not read. Huh. I used to give books 10%, but now I'm like a chapter. If that's like. I am very quick. I think the toughest thing is that thing where you're halfway through a book and you're like, huh? I don't.

[A]

The soggy middle is the roughest because.

[B]

You'Re like, I don't know. Is it worth slogging through this? And maybe it's going to be amazing. I've already wasted so much time reading and, like. Like, Chelsea, sometimes I'm like, maybe it's gonna get better, and I will try to get to the end or I'll skim to the end.

[A]

Well, here's my question for, though, because I know that this happens. How many. How many times has that happened to you? When a book got to the point where you were truly considering dumping it? How many times is it. Has it, like, nailed the landing? Like, how? How? Once, twice?

[B]

Maybe never. Maybe never. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. That is. That is the problem. You just think you have high hopes.

[A]

Well, because you put.

[B]

I have high hopes. I just keep thinking the book's gonna.

[A]

Get better hours with this thing. You know, it's like. It's like leaving a relationship. You're like, but what if you were better? What if you figured this stuff out?

[B]

You're like, but we started so great at the beginning. You were so wonderful and showing me all these new things, and it was. The writing was wonderful. And then. Then it trailed off. So you're right. I don't know. You, I guess, you know, that is. But that is always the hardest part. Like, it's easy for me to dump a book in, like, five pages. For some reason. I can just be like, this is not going to be for me. But I think one thing I do try to. You're right. Like, I try to think about, what if I never started this book in the first place and I knew it was going to be like this halfway through? Would you have picked it up? You know, then I'd be like, well, I'm not going say to gonna. I'm not gonna. Would I restart this book and read this half?

[A]

That's actually a great question to ask yourself. I think that's very helpful.

[B]

Right. Because most of the time is going to be. No. You would never restart a crappy book.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And read it again. Yeah, but if. Yeah, but it is hard because you've invested so much time.

[A]

The sun. It's the sunken page fallacy.

[B]

We've Sunken page fallacy. It's rough, but I think a lot of people, which is what we call when you read so much of a book that you feel like you need to finish it. And I know people who are just completists and they're just like, I started it, I have to finish it. We don't think it's worth your time, but I think, you know, some people, that is the way they live their lives.

[A]

I have a story. I have a story about that after.

[B]

I will not finish a TV show. People are like, I do that all the time. The very last episode. I'm like, I won't watch it. It's not worth it. I don't care about this. There's other good shows. Okay, so what about you? How is your DNF journey progressed?

[A]

So something that has really helped me is that I've been able to articulate why I'm not liking something more and that just comes from being a professional book discussor. I, I think about this stuff all the time. So let me pass on my hard earned podcasting wisdom to you. For me, I look for things that probably aren't going to change over the course of the book. Like if the main character is annoying to me, they're probably not going to get less annoying. And if they do, it's going to be after they've learned the lesson of the book and it'll be in the last chapter. Not worth it. If the writing style is kind of confusing. Like the main indicator for me, besides like any dog house items or just like I don't like the writing style is if I start to skim, then there has never been a time where I have started to skim wide swaths of a book that I have enjoyed. My experience of finishing reading that book. It's probably not going to get better. And here's the thing, here's the, the, the crux of all this. Even if it does, is it worth another two hours more of your life?

[B]

I know.

[A]

That's really the thing. Even if it does get better at the end, is it worth the journey? Like, you can I mean, if there's a doghouse item you can like. There was a book, actually, the book that we read for reading Smut this month. There was one scene that I was like, nope, not for me. And I just skipped over. It was totally fine. Was very happy. I read the rest of the book. But if you just aren't enjoying the book, you can look it up on fucking Goodreads. Just dump it. Find a summary on Goodreads. Look what happens at the end. Reclaim your goddamn life. Like, I'm going to tell you all a little story that is funny to me, but also kind of funny, but kind of sad. If you've started listening to the show recently, you might not know. One of my best friends died last year, and Scott Wampler died in the middle of a reading slump. There was a book that he was reading that somebody he was dating wanted him to read, and he really didn't like it. And he. So he just, like, he did the thing that we all did. He tried to push through, and then he just, like, had stopped. Kind of like, he hadn't been. He hadn't read in, like, a week when he died and he was halfway through. And I just. I think about that all the time. Like, because that's, like, all of our worst nightmares, right? Not to scare anybody, but, like, God, that's my. Like, one of my worst nightmare. Not my worst nightmare, but, like, a nightmare is like dying in the middle of a book slump. Dying in the middle of a book that you did not like. And it makes me extra bad because I had just bought him a big stack of books that I thought that he would like, so. But he just wasn't reading because he was caught in a slump. I will not reveal the name of the book. I'll tell you, Bria, after. But it just wasn't for him. And so. And then he fucking died. So don't let this be you. Use my beloved Scott Wampler is a. As a cautionary tale. Like, is it really worth hours, even an hour of your life to just, like, slog through a book that you're not enjoying? I get it if you're a completionist, but what I hope for listeners is that your desire to have more life is stronger than your desire to complete something you're not enjoying. Annoying.

[B]

Yeah. Don't die reading a book you hate. Yeah, that is a really good message if you.

[A]

I mean, they're. I don't. Scott Wampler. It was his, like, I very much push against the idea that people exist to like, teach us lessons in life. Like, Scott Wampler was the main character of his own story. And I really hate when people are like, oh, but it's so great that he lived and taught you these lessons. You. No, like, my. My best friend was not a. You know, he was. He was not a lesson to be learned. But I will take this. And I do ever. I do think of him every single time. I'm like, should I read some more of this book? I'm like, no, what if I die? What if I walk out of the. What if I walk into the street, get hit by a car? I don't want to be in the middle of reading this book. So. And. And I will say final thought. It does help, like, you. You get into the habit of it. It's hard at first. A lot of us have that, like, it's ingrained to us in school that you have to finish these books. Like, it does take practice. But once you get in the habit of it, it gets a lot easier. And I. So I like, if you do it a couple of times and you're like, oh, I still feel bad. I still feel like I am. I. You know, I've. I spent all this time with a book. I should finish it. The more you get in practice in the habit of it, it gets easier. And then before you know it, you'll be hard. Dumping, soft, dumping, dumping all kinds of ways. All right.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

So if you want us to solve your reader problem, you can send it to reading glasses podcastmail.com now let's answer a recommendation request from Emily, who says, hello, I'm looking to start a sister book club with my sister and my sister in law. Oh, this is so cute. Hopefully focusing on books featuring sister relationships. Could you please recommend some good sisterly reads? All genres are welcome. Thank you. All right, Bria, hit us with your hot sister, Rex.

[B]

Okay. This is very cute, by the way. I almost did my sister's serial killer, and then I was like, maybe that's not a sister.

[A]

Actually almost did that too.

[B]

So funny. But once again, I could talk about Charlotte McConaughey, which I love her book, so I'm going with Once There Were Wolves, which is about a woman who goes to Scotland to study wolves, and her twin comes with her, and the twin has. It's one of the parts of the books that I don't talk about much when I'm talking about the book. But the twin has mirror touch synesthesia, and so she feels everything basically that anyone else is feeling. And as her sister is the main character gets involved in this, like, thrillery mystery plot. She starts to experience like everything she's going through. And it's dark, but, like, not so dark as my sister's serial killer. So I thought it could be a fun one, but it's also a fun little like thriller mystery. And it's just.

[A]

And it's Charlotte McGanni, so it's amazing.

[B]

And it's. Yeah. And she's amazing. What do you have? Maybe something lighter hopefully.

[A]

Yeah. This is. I'm pulling out some deep backlist for this one. This is the Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine. This is a reimagining of the 12 dancing princesses, about 12 sisters who are flappers in 1920s New York City. So this is as sisterly as you're gonna get. It's 12 sisters. It's all the sisters. So it's again, prohibition era New York. These 12 sisters, they love to sneak out at night and dance at this particular speakeasy. Their, their dad is very controlling, wants them to stay in the house because he wants to marry them off and protect them, but they love sneaking out and doing the Charleston or whatever other flapper dances there were. But at some point, the particular, the, the speakeasy they go to gets busted in a police raid, some of them get arrested, and they decide that they need to change their lives, figure out how to break out from under the thumb of their father. It's very fun. It's a little under 300 pages, so it's a very quick read. And the dynamics between the sisters are a big part of the book. So I think it'd be a really fun, quick, easy, very sisterly read. So my recommendation is the Girls of the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine.

[B]

And I'm recommending Once There Were wolves by Charlotte McConney.

[A]

So you can send your recommendation request to reading glasses podcastmail.com as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Discord server and our Facebook group. Remember folks, it's. We're deep into fall and if it's spooky season and we have horror reader merch, we're gonna post some photos on Instagram. But you want to shirt this is horror Reader on it. You want all the horror tropes listed on a shirt. You want some spooky reader merch, we got you covered. Check out our void merch store. There's shirts, but there's also the stickers. There's pillows, there's sweatshirts. You want a nice dude, you Want a warm horror reader sweatshirt? This is no better time of the year. Check out the link in the show notes. Go look at the store. There's a lot of really fun stuff in there. And folks, we're getting really close to 2,000 reviews on Apple's podcasts. We're so close. We're gonna release an AMA episode which you. You can email questions for the silly AMA to Reading Glasses Podcast at G. Last time we did an AMA it was all serious questions about the podcast. This time it's going to be all silly random questions. You want to know what brand of socks we wear? You want to know our favorite sandwiches? Send them into reading glasses podcast gmail.com. but we're, I think we're, we're. I think It's a maybe 110 or something. I think we're away pretty close to that. There's easily 110 of you out there that love this show that have not taken the time to review it. It really means a lot to us. So if you use Apple podcasts, please take 30 seconds. Open up the mobile app on your phone, give us a five star rating or a nice little review. We're seeing the ones that come in. We're reading them. They're very sweet and we love them. Please, we are so close. You can email us at reading glasses podcastmail.com find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.

[B]

Thanks for reading.

[A]

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