Friday Fives - Five Books I've Recently DNF'd

I'm taking a bit of a break from my usual Friday Linkups to try something a little different.  I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.   Today I'm talking about 5 books I DNF'd recently.  I'm not much of a DNFer but it's a habit I'm trying to get better as since it does me no good to unhappily trudge through a book.

1.  Go Ask Fannie by Elizabeth Hyde - This book really had me thinking about my reasoning for DNFing books.  It's been on my TBR for ages with a premise that sounds right up my alley.  I read about 100 pages of it and found the writing and pacing well done.  That said I was absolutely not enjoying reading it at all.  For starters all three siblings were rather dreadful.  I don't mind characters with flaws but the more I read the less I liked them and the less connected I felt with them which is not the direction I care to go. But I wasn't hating it so I was going to slog my way through it.  Then I had a sit down with myself and did some thinking.  This isn't a review book or a nonfiction book - this is supposed to be a fun read and I am very much an escapist reader.  With that in mind  -what is the benefit for making myself finish a book I'm not enjoying?  And with that I put this one down and picked up a book that I enjoyed much more!  DNF'd Page 107

2.  All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall - This is a dystopian novel that takes place after the glaciers melt.  The weather has become very unstable and Nonie who is a young teenager is trying to survive with her family   This isn't my usual type of book but I thought I would give it a try as the premise did sound interesting.  Unfortunately, the author's writing style never clicked with me.  Nonie's narration felt emotionally distant from even the most dramatic events that happened which made it impossible for me to connect with what was happening.  From the posted reviews it looked like while there were people who loved the book and found the writing style the readers who found it boring found it boring all the way through to the end.  DNF'd Page 93

3.  Accused by Lisa Scottoline - I picked up the audio from the library as I've been interested in reading something by this author for some time.  The mystery is a bit unusual as a suspect has already been tried and convicted but the victim's 13 year old sister isn't convinced the right guy is sitting in jail.   The concept of the book about whether the client can be trusted and what really happened in this case was an interesting one.  However, the primary character, attorney Mary DiNunzio, was hard to warm up to and it was difficult to believe she had made partner in a big law firm as it didn't seem like she could make a major decision to save her life.  Her family drove me crazy and I just didn't care to keep them all straight.  After a little while I realized I just didn't care about any of the characters or how it turned out.  This wasn't terrible but wasn't for me.  DNF'd 37% (audio)

4.  Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy - This isn't a permanent DNF but it is a reminder that while I'm not really a mood reader there are sometimes when my mood does impact my enjoyment of a book.  I've been teetering on the edge of a reading slump due to just a frantically busy schedule.  This book is character packed and slow paced with some truly dreadful characters.  I think I will enjoy it as a slow read at a later time but as a regular read when I'm exhausted and distracted it just didn't work.  Instead of forcing myself through it and probably sliding into a full on slump I've put this down and will maybe pick it up again in few months.  Soft DNF'd Page 61

5.  Renegade by Marissa Meyer - If this had been a standalone I probably would have finished it.  The writing style and world building were pretty good, and I liked the characters enough to see where the story went.  However, it's a trilogy and when it really came down to it I decided I wasn't interested enough to make it through 3 books.  If you're a super hero/YA urban fantasy fan I think this would be an interesting and enjoyable series.  This has been on my TBR list since it first came out as I did enjoy the first two books in the Lunar Chronicles but I think when it comes down for it this world just isn't for me.  DNF'd 29%