DNFs from September and October

Too Many Books, and Not Enough Time have led to me trying to DNF more books. In the past two months, I’ve set aside seven. Interestingly, all were audiobooks on loan from the library. This probably means I’m being too stubborn with my physical books that I spent money on … but it’s a start.

Wind and Truth – Brandon Sanderson
At one point in my life I had committed to buying every single leatherbound Sanderson ever came out with. I am incredibly thankful that he got me back into reading after college as an English major killed my ability to read for fun. He was ideal as a new teacher to getting back into reading, and I am happy that he’s extremely popular. I still want to read more of his stuff, but I’ve found that I’ve reached the end of the line for Cosmere-adjacent works. I just don’t have the time or energy to devote to managing plot threads across so many series (hell, I barely read as many sequels as I used to). Wind and Truth was the nail in the coffin: I was enjoying it as an audiobook loan from the library. When that loan expired (20 hours into a 60 hour audiobook) I didn’t have the desire to dedicate any more time to it. Thanks for all the good times Brandon, and I’ll definitely see you again.

Water Moon – Samantha Soto Yambao
A fascinating premise for a book. The main character inherits a pawn shop that buys memories, regrets, and intangible things. During their first day, it gets trashed, her father (the old owner) goes missing, and one of the memories escapes. The opening sections were delicious, with the right dreamlike quality that I look for in this style of magical realism. Unfortunately, the atmospheric writing went out the window when the ‘plot’ started. The dialogue between the main character and her (presumable) love interest was awkward and stilted. There’s a level of immediate and unnatural trust between characters that makes little sense, and it felt like the book turned from something very organic into a story that’s on railroad tracks.

A Little Life- Hanya Yanagihara
A realistic/historical fiction novel focusing on queer characters in New York City. I’d gotten a lot of recommendations for this book from friends. I can see why people love it. The characters were dynamic, their relationships intriguing, but ultimately I wasn’t in the mood for realistic fiction and didn’t want to devote 20 hours to this doorstopper volume. I can see myself returning at a different time in my life, when I start branching out more aggressively from fantasy and science fiction.

The Ruin of Kings -Jenn Lyons
A rags to riches story in very dark trappings, this book follows a character sold into slavery as the son of a treasonous prince. The points of views were distracting: one narrator was an ancient shapeshifting serial killer (cool idea) that spent the whole time describing the events of the kid and his thoughts (less cool way to use that perspective). I can see why some like it, but there wasn’t enough gripping me to keep me engaged, and I’m trying to be better about DNFing books, especially when they’re library books. There were plenty of other people in line who would enjoy it more.

The Prince Without Sorrow – Maithree Wijesekara
I picked this one up because of the delightful cover, and because of its queer rep. It felt very similar in premise to Jasmine Throne – nature gods, persecuted witches, burning women alive as a major plot point – which makes me wonder if these are common elements in Indian mythology and folklore leading to these similarities. Unfortunately, I found the prose flat, the characters uninteresting, and began tuning out by the end of chapter 2. The me of a year ago would have pushed through, and perhaps really enjoyed it. Even today, had other reviews been more positive, I may have gave it more of a chance. However, it seems like I’m fairly in line with most people in these thoughts, so I put it aside

The Entanglement of Rival Wizards – Sara Raasch
Fall and Winter is typically when I hit a romance kick (love a Hallmark movie), and this was meant to kick off a great season of sappy love stories. Unfortunately, I found the world and character uninteresting (and annoying) right away. I’m all for romances as a way for arbitrary and accelerated character growth, but an hour into this book I just couldn’t stand spending any more time with our lead character. Thankfully my next romance (Looking for Group) scratched the itch I was looking for.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle – Matt Cain
The story of an elderly postal worker with severe social anxiety who gets forcibly laid off from his postal work job (I think, didn’t make it that far) and has to reinvent himself. It was hard to identify why exactly I put this down, but I think our main character just felt a little too ‘here’s a character trait’ for me. And my tolerance for realistic fiction is distinctly lower than fantasy or science fiction. Similar vibes to A Man Called Ove, but not done as well.