The Oh-So-Sad DNF Collection: Take 2

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.

Our Frail Disordered Lives by Mary M. Schmidt

I requested this title from Netgalley thinking it was a horror novel because it was in the horror category. I must be more careful about hitting that request button without doing a little research first.

This book is a comedy about a demon gone rogue because his boss Satan is an unappreciative pain in the bum. Satan sends all of his bounty hunters out to drag the demon’s sorry butt back to Hell. But this is not a horror novel. At least not the first 25%. It is written in the sarcastic spirit of Christopher Moore and Clive Barker’s Mister B. Gone which is a book that did not get along with me and I normally adore Barker so you can see how this going to go, can’t you?

Not well, if you were wondering.

I gave up on this book at the 25% mark not because it wasn’t the horror novel I was expecting (so don’t rag on me about that) but because the characters were all loathsome unlikable creatures and I wasn’t in any kind of mood to deal with them. I am also very particular about my humor. This was vaguely amusing but wasn’t making me laugh or snicker or any of those things it should’ve been doing. It was mostly frustrating me because it is written in the “tell don’t show” mode, the plot was extremely disjointed, the ARC had all kinds of pesky formatting errors and it was not keeping my attention no matter how hard I tried. I think a good pass through an editor could easily fix those things but as is, I couldn’t find the will to continue.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me the ARC. I wish it could’ve been a five star read for me but you can’t win them all. I'm sure there are many out here that will dig the humor but unfortunately I'm not one of them.

The Axeman of New Orleans: The True Story by Miriam C. Davis

I am DNFing this book. For a story about the axeman, it is so incredibly dull. The author has clearly done her homework but she's included too many sidelines that have nothing to do with the murders. If I wanted to learn about the origins of the Italian Mafia in New Orleans I would've picked up a different book.

This story was also one of the subplots in American Horror Story’s season of “Coven”. The "axeman" is the guy Jessica Lange gets cozy with. The gals over at MY FAVORITE MURDER also covered the case in one of their many disturbingly amusing podcasts. I’d say listen to that instead. Life's too short and stressful so I'm picking up something else rather than struggling to stay awake during this one.

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

This story is beautifully written but after struggling through 50+ pages I am calling it a day. It's not quite what I was expecting and seems to be a series of vignettes and loosely attached memories about summertime. Some of the vignettes were amusing but not amusing enough to hold my attention at this particular moment in time. I may try again when my mind isn't quite so cluttered. Right now I'm craving something darker. Don't murder me in my sleep!

I'll say it before someone else does. I am a terrible person. I know this, haha.