There are just some things that make you not want to read a book. It can be because the cover isn’t appealing, or because a horde of unicorns are chasing after you. It’s really up to how you live your life. But for me, there’s a few things that will be a killer for me so I’ve put together a list of 10 things that will make me NOT want to read a book.
(By the way, this post is part of the Top Ten Tuesday meme which is organized by the lovely Broke and the Bookish and you can see the whole list here.)
- Poorly Developed Characters: I cannot stand when a character is flat. It bothers me when a character has no personality, or is just around to be a plot device. I want to see characters who can stand up on their own, who have their own hang ups. I want to read about people I could see in the real world, you know, real human people.
- No World Building: When reading, I want it to be a total sensory experience. Something I can imagine, see, taste, hear while I read. I want to become immersed in the world and if an author hasn’t spent any time on it, I feel like my experience is incomplete. It’s even more horrible when the book is fantasy of science fiction where you really need the world building.
- Covers I Could Make Myself: Believe me, no one wants to see this. I have such poor photo editing skills and no photo shop skills.While I sympathize with people who are going it alone, but then take the time to do more research than I have. I seriously am less likely to pick up a book if it looks like the cover was drawn by a toddler (unless the book was written by a toddler, or features a toddler protagonist).
- InstaLove and Badly Done Romances: I cannot stand insta love. Like where does it even come from? Poorly done romances are even worse. I want to know why someone loves someone else. Love is big, it’s intense, complicated, and I’m sorry but one second is not going to keep you together. You need common ground, shared interests, memories for me to believe that you’ve made the big L commitment.
- Love Triangles: I used to love these. They would fill me with suspense and never knowing. It would be so exciting to see who they would pick. But now that I’m older, I’m just like, COME ON. It kind of bothers me now to see it. It’s usually full of angst, do they love me, who loves me, everyone loves me!
- Arena Survival Games: The Hunger Games and then no more…and then I read the Maze Runner. Seriously though, I am so tired of books where there are a group of YA protagonists who are dumped into an arena and they have to survive. Maybe one day I’ll change my mind, but for the moment, please give me something more!
- Military Novels: This is just my personal reference, but I lose interest in battle scenes. I’m talking about the big war scenes or the super hero fight scenes. BUT give me sword play and duels any day. Seriously. It’s just modern weaponry that I find a little boring.
- Supernatural Romance: HOLD UP! Don’t hate me yet. Supernatural romances used to be my thing. It’s all I used to read when I was younger. I got my whole fill of it and am now a little tired of it. It normally follows a similar or predictable pattern. However, if you know of an exceptionally good one, please suggest it, this is not a deal breaker for me.
- Women Who Need Rescuing ALL the time/Men who are Overprotective Eagles: I am a sucker for strong heroines. It’s okay if someone needs rescuing some times, but all the time, and, worse, when it’s their role. Seriously, women are capable of so much more. Additionally, men who are super overprotective and jumping in their way or not letting the women live. They can tone it down please.
- SUPER Long Books Combined with any of 1-9: This is something that has been bothering me more and more recently. I will read all the long books, the longest in the world, it’s true. But only if they’re good. Give me a long book and no world building, or no characters, and it’s over for me. I am more and more conscious of the value of my time, and I just don’t want to waste it on long books with things I don’t like. This has gotten especially bad now that I am a book blogger and am just aware of how much work it is to read it and review it.
Let’s Discuss: What is your deal breaker?
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If you liked this one, you might like my list of things I LOVE in books
Completely agree about too long books. I’ll read them if they’re really good but it seems like recently there’s a trend for massive page counts that add nothing to the story.
Yes if it’s pages just for pages, then nope!
I so get your point about avoiding super long books because you know it’s time being taken away from another book that needs to be read and reviewed. Like, isn’t there a shorter way to tell this story? Can I get the Cliffs Notes version please? I am right now reading my way through 826 page novel and thinking, how many other books could I have read with the time I am spending on this one. The story is really interesting though so that makes it enjoyable 🙂
My list here: https://runwright.net/2017/04/25/books-to-avoid/
Haha YES Cliff notes 😀
Women who need to be rescued is a pet peeve of mine as well. I’ve basically given up on books that treat their female characters like that.
Do you dislike series in general, or only when they’re overdone? I’m finding myself preferring standalone books most of the time these days. I’d much rather wish there was more to the story than I would slog through plot-lines that have been stretched far past their natural limits.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday!
Yes I kind of am liking stand alone books more, or duologies even.
Great list, a lot of these things bother me too 🙂
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/25/top-ten-tuesday-104/
Thanks!
I recently had to read a really long book (like one of the longest books listed on my Kindle,) for a review I agreed to do, and the characters and world just did not fit together. I kept taking me out of the story. It took me forever to finish it and I felt like there were so many other books I could have read during that time.
And just about every TTT post I’ve read has listed bad covers. I agree if it looks like a high schooler photo shopped it I’ll skip it.
My TTT: http://books.thetechchef.net/top-ten-tuesday-22/
totally agree! Did the book turn around by the end?
The cover issue really gets me. A cover that looks unprofessional or unappealing will turn me off every single time.
Yeah it’s sad, but totally true!
Arenas – I know what you mean – I don’t know if I want to try others.
Thanks for sharing!
Check out my TTT and my current giveaway.
Haha YES!
Poorly developed characters are the ABSOLUTE WORST! I know because my first drafts have ’em xD But so many characters are so similar and it’s so saaaad.
As for the world building, it really depends. I liked Cinder but I also didn’t really like the lack of description of the world.
As for badly designed covers, I’m just glad I don’t see many in real life. However, some bookish accounts try to follow me on twitter and the books they promote have the cheapest covers ever.
Instalove/Badly done romance/love triangles?! They make me wanna slam my head against a wall. This is why I avoid most books that are labelled romances. I guess the only romance book (so far) that I actually enjoyed was The Fault in Our Stars. I thought the book was only okay but the romance element was actually pretty good.
Yes it’s sad about characters and world building, because I’d hate to think that people’s creativity is tapped out. Like, really? I also tend to avoid romances, because they’re also super personal so it’s a bit hard for me to review. I haven’t read that one!