Option to include DNF in star rating chart with finished books | Requests/Ideas

I'm currently using the DNF functionality for two purposes; firstly, for marking a book I disliked enough to not want to finish, and secondly to mark a book I was unable to finish for some reason and want to reshelve and revisit later (I already upvoted the Pause status request 🧡).

In the case of the former, I would like to be able to mark the books both as DNF'd and give a star rating.

I feel my spread of ratings skews higher than it ought to because it isn't counting books I disliked and would've rated 1 star had I actually made it to the end.

Comments

maestro_cerrotorcido

Sep 10, 2026

I think you should be able to rate DNFs, and I feel they should count to both personal stats and the average rating of the book.

Before I get started, I know people DNF books for various reasons including having to return a book to the library (for which the pause feature now exists). I obviously can't say for certain, but I think most people who DNF for a library return for example would choose to not rate the book and those who do will be so few I don't think it warrants not allowing ratings for DNFs if you feel those people shouldn't be rating.
DNFing does not mean you did not read the book. It means you did not go from cover to cover. DNFs are still people who read the book. What constitutes reading is arbitrary. Someone only reaching 75% of the book or even 50% with full attention and engagement probably understood, got more out of, and has more right to rate the book than someone who went from cover to cover mostly daydreaming or skimming. Someone who gets to a certain point and then skims the rest of the book just to say they got from cover to cover is really not that much different from someone who reads to a certain point and Spark Notes or reads a synopsis online. Actually, I would say the latter probably got more out of the book and has more "right" to rate it.
Not allowing DNFs to rate inflates book ratings and makes ratings less useful and meaningful. A book being so bad or disliked that a large number of people could not finish it should be part of its average and I would like to see that reflected.
It promotes continuing reading even when you are hating a book. I have felt myself and seen in reviews people sticking with a book they don't like just so they can rate it. Many reviews even mention not getting any more out of the book than when they wanted to DNF. A personal example: I have had a couple pretty well rated Sci-Fi books and one that I despised and had to DNF. Right now my stats show that my Sci-Fi reading this year is one of my best genres when I do not agree. So now I am contemplating do I check out that book again to skim to the end or do I just say I read the rest and inflate my page count stats?

steffy

Sep 2, 2024

Same, My DNFs are a mix of books I'm going to come back to another time and ones I'll never finish so giving star ratings would be helpful to differentiate. I understand if those ratings don't affect the average rating of the book that everyone sees but I'd still like to be able to include them on my chart

Nadia

Sep 3, 2024

steffy Noted, especially them not counting towards the average rating.