TheAfterwords commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
I've been revisiting some of my old DNFs to see if I do better with them this time around, and it got me thinking. I've heard a lot of discussion about beloved books that are disappointing when you reread them - but I don't remember ever talking about when the opposite happens!
Do you ever give your DNFs another try? (FOMO has definitely made me attempt some books far more times than I should've.) Or was there a book you disliked when you read it for school, but really enjoyed when you read it for yourself later?
Or even just, books you enjoyed, and enjoyed MORE on a reread, when you were more aware of what the author was doing and could appreciate it more?
I had such intense whiplash with Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans - it was a bit of a slog, a three-star read for me the first time around. But the second time I read it I ADORED it, and I still have no idea what was wrong with me for that first read! (Anyone else out there pining for book three?)
Or College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer - that was one I DNFed, a few times actually! And then someone talking about it made me pick it up again earlier this year, and I INHALED it!
Which has me wondering if I should make it a rule to revisit my DNFs regularly, just in case something's shifted and a book I couldn't stand before has become a potential new fave. It's happened a few times now!
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Andrew Joseph White
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It's The Shape of Water (2017) × Dumbo (2019), but gay 🤷♂️
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The Bridge Kingdom
Danielle L. Jensen
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