The Oh-So-Sad DNF Collection, Vol. 1

I don't like to DNF but I also don't like the idea of struggling through a book that doesn't get along with me. Here is a little collection of books I had to give up on because I am a quitter and I have entirely too many books in my tbr pile.


Unbury Carol Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman

I gave it my best try and read a third before throwing in the towel. This book was just so incredibly not for me. I like weird and dark little stories but this tale about a woman afflicted by a condition where she falls into a death-like state and the dastardly bastard of a man she trusted, who naturally is doing her all kinds of wrong, isn't working for me in any way. The characters are not engaging me and the plot is not interesting to me so I'm calling it quits and starting something else.



Tasty Treats for Demanding Dogs Tasty Treats for Demanding Dogs by Gregg R. Gillespie

I made it to the 25% mark, skimming all the way. I never read all the way through cookbooks but already I've noticed something scary going on here with several of the recipes. If you own this book please be careful before attempting the recipes because this book will lead you astray. I don't get what this author is trying to accomplish. He has a written an informative introduction outlining dangerous and potentially hazardous foods including garlic and onions and yet (pardon me while I scream) he then includes some of them in his recipes!!! WTF? Does he purposely want you to harm your pet? Does he harbor a secret hate for dogs? Or did he just collect a bunch of recipes from the internets, slap 'em together in a book and call it a day without double checking the ingredients? I just don't get it and now I don't trust anything he's written here.

FWIW, I did make the oatmeal with peanut butter cookies and my doggies love them.


They were so much cheaper to make than buying them. I think I'll copy that recipe and a couple others with benign ingredients and then I'm getting this book out of my house before my kids decide to bake some unsafe treats. Having spent over $1500 to save one of my doggies a few years back after he ate something toxic none of us are up for another frightening trip to the ER Vet! Beware . . .


A Night At The BeachA Night At The Beach by Malcolm Bryant

My KindleApp is overstuffed with terrible things. I got this book for free somewhere but, let me tell you, it was not worth the $0.00 I paid for it. It featured a so-called naive protagonist who falls into bed with two interchangeable men he meets on a beach getaway. They have lots of boring sex within hearing distance of his family (ick! why?! that's not sexy, that's not sexy AT ALL) and there are many, many words and so much repetitive speak that I couldn't get past the first few chapters. Writers, do you want to know how to make sex boring? Read this book! It also includes a whole bunch of other little stories that feature the same sort of writing to add to the page count. I think they call that book-stuffing and I really hate it when they do that. Delete! Delete! Delete! Off the Ipad you go.





Comments

  1. "there are many, many words" & wasn't worth the 0.00 lol

    I'm sorry you had so many DNF's but they were fun reviews.

    And GRRRR to that recipe book. WTF?

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh no that recipe book for dogs sounds scary. What in the world was he thinking?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, so weird and contradictory. One quick pass through by an editor or beta reader would've been able to catch it. I just hope no one's pets are harmed by this book :(

      Delete
  3. I would have DNF'd Unbury Carol, but it was the only book I had easily accessible on a weekend trip and on the plane, so.. I finished it, but I would have DNF'd in another situation, haha. It was just so dry and not compelling. That dog treat books sounds crazy--why would you include bad ingredients!? Super weird, but I'm glad those ones worked out for you! That's not a bad idea to save some money.
    And the one with the sex within hearing distance of family is just... odd and questionable. Hopefully some good books come along to make up for these!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was very dry and not at all compelling. I was really surprised because his previous books were raved about so much. I wonder if this is anomaly or a new path he's taking.

      Delete
  4. I'm horrified by the toxic dog treat cook book! I would probably write a nasty note to the publisher and ask them to take it off shelves. Ugh! Glad you noticed those mistakes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really stunned that it made it to publication.

      Delete
  5. That's so horrible about the cookbook. All copies need to be destroyed - not just yours. I'm sorry Unbury Carol didn't work for you - know I'm worried.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it bothers me that the cookbook is out there. Before I knew better, I once made my dogs some food with loads of garlic, it was some healthy dog cookbook, and they had the runs for days. Now I'm super skeptical.

      I wish you luck with Unbury Carol. A lot of folks on my Twitter feed adored it and I hope you do too.

      Delete
  6. Not okay at all about the recipe book. I stick to tried and true treats for my precious:) Sorry these all flopped for ya.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such a bummer about Unbury Carol as I have that one but I have seen a few DNF it. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you like it. A lot of folks do but it wasn't for me.

      Delete
  8. That cookbook is just plain dangerous for our poor furry friends!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm all for chucking a book that you're not enjoying! Life is too short...and the TBR pile is way too high. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Holy crap. I'm disturbed that the author would publish that book on dog treats with dangerous ingredients in it! Especially since you know not everyone is going to do their research and will assume since its a published book it's fine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seriously, I haven't a clue how that thing got published and it wasn't a self-pubbed ebook either.

      Delete
  11. Ugh - Unbury Carol is a great example of why I should never read review copies. It was dnf worthy. It only managed a 1.5 star from me having read the whole thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooooh, I'm sorry. At least I didn't have to review it. It would've been a struggle.

      Delete

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