My Did Not Finish bookshelf

Recently I created a new bookshelf called “Did Not Finish.” Several of my GR friends asked me why the books on this DNF shelf are unrated and not reviewed. “If they were such stinkers that you couldn’t finish them, why not say so?” they ask.
The answer is two fold. First, I created the DNF shelf because people asked me why I was shelving books as “Read” without rating (or reviewing) them. The DNF shelf was my answer to that critique. Second, DNF literally means what it says and is no reflection on the merits of the book. Let me explain.
I’ve been reading books for many decades and have read thousands. Since joining GR a little under a year ago I have shelved 2040 books as Read: about a hundred that I’ve read in that year and the rest that I came across browsing in the master GR To Read list. Prior to joining GR and getting my kindle I browsed for books in brick and mortar bookstores. Like some other readers, I read broadly across many genres. Like many other readers, I like particular types of and not all books that I find in those genres. I select books for my To Read list based primarily on the descriptions provided in the rear cover blurb (or electronic equivalent). Occasionally, rarely, I find that when I get into a book it isn’t what I expect it to be.
That book goes to my DNF shelf unfinished.
Prior to joining GR (and prior to becoming an Indie author myself), I read mostly the works of established authors only occasionally taking a flyer on a new author whose book description caught my fancy. Since GR and finding a treasure trove of potentially interesting reads by fellow Indie authors (at ridiculously low prices, often free), I’ve changed my reading habits. Fifty percent of my reads are now GR Indie authors. Where previously I had a backlog of six to twelve print books sitting in my bookcase, I now have 306 books (almost all eBooks) on my TR shelf. The result? I’m perhaps quicker to move on and DNF (or before DNF shelf as Read but unrated) a book that I have difficulty getting into.
The reasons for DNFs vary. It could be I don’t like the writing or the editing. It is more likely that both were good indeed and the story just wasn’t my cup of tea. If a book is poorly written or edited, why don’t I give it one star and say why? Because to give a fair and balanced rating and review I’d have to finish the book. Some authors have PM’d me about their DNF book, and I have given them my reason(s) privately.
I hope this post has cleared up the mystery.