Number nine is one that has made many a book DNF for me. Sometimes books are mysterious- too mysterious. Mysterious as in- I am on page 200 and I have no idea what is going on -mysterious. There wasn't much world development or character development. It irritates me so much!
This has been a problem recently for me- too many points of view. I don't mind books with tons of characters and elaborate worlds. But when you have 3 or more main characters switching the "helm" in rapid fire time, I am not interested. This counts ESPECIALLY if there is no clear distinction given when switching. Grr!
I use books as a way to escape and relax. One sure way to make me not relax while reading- put it in verse. I get it, I get it. It is experimental, it is artistic, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! I want to be completely immersed in a world that is new and detailed and complete. That doesn't seem to happen with books written in verse (at least the ones I have read).
Although I debated whether having a comparison to Twilight or the Hunger Games on the back should be number six, I decided on jumping the shark. You know what I mean... when a book is going along pretty well and you are really enjoying it. Then, all of a sudden, something happens that is completely out of character and out of left field. I am not talking about an exciting development or some sort of plot twist- I am talking about when a character does something that is so incredibly out of their personality that it verges on being ridiculous. (Or if it suddenly becomes a horror story out of nowhere- that is an immediate NO too)
I am not the kind of person who will not read an author because of things they have done- I try really really hard not to judge a book based on the author, but rather based on the book. There is one thing, though, that will almost always keep me from reading an author ever again- Christian bashing. Yes, there are some pretty stupid Christians out there. I am talking about authors that bash all Christians and say some pretty horrible things and mock them openly. I am pretty against any author singling out ANY group and mocking them. I won't name names, but I have stopped reading a few very popular YA authors for this reason.
What is it with bad boys? I don't find them attractive at all. I want them to pull up their pants, comb their hair, and start using manners! (Perhaps that makes me old ha ha). There are a few series out there where the main character is being
Rape. Yes I get that there are books out there to help victims and to help get people taking. But I am an adult and I choose not to read books about rape- they make me uncomfortable. I am glad they are out there to help people talk, but I'm good.
I'm a momma. I will not read a book where a baby or child is hurt or abused. If it has a baby or child getting hurt/ killed- it IMMEDIATELY gets chucked. (Yes that is how bad it is.)
So what about you? What are your top ten Book Turn-offs?
I am going to post a discussion sometime soon (hopefully when I find some time) to talk about pop culture in books. I can definitely see how reading about an episode of Glee in the middle of a book would be really weird and feel out of place. I have been reading a few books lately too where the references make the book seem really dated. It's not something I usually like in my books either.
ReplyDeleteI HATE when books are too mysterious! It makes me want to throw it against a wall because of how slow it feels. Great post!
ReplyDelete-Marianne @ Boricuan Bookworms
AMEN on the name dropping! Hate that! I'll never be an erotica fan either! Nope! 100% on the Christian bashing!!!! So sick of that! Nothing wrong with not wanting to read about rape or child abuse! We read for fun so that means reading what we like--whatever that may be! Great list!
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Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
Good list, I agree with almost all your points on this list. I don't understand the bad boy appeal either because I don't understand why someone would want to feel in danger while in a relationship that's not hot it's scary. I don't like reading sex scenes at all either and I dislike Christian bashing as well because it's something that when it does come up tends to have nothing to do with the story even and then I just feel kind of offend as well as confused by why that just happened. I hate reading about child abuse but at the same time I find stories that deal with that to be very interesting as well as heartbreaking so I do tend to read those type of stories I just prefer it too be part of their back story not their current life. With the name dropping thing I get why it's annoying but I kind of don't mind it when it's tv shows or movies because it is realistic for teens to talk about and watch these things but I agree it does date the book.
ReplyDeleteAgree with a lot of these, especially Christian bashing which is a big no- no for me. Not real fond of too mysterious either- its nice to have mystery but at some point its nice to know whats going on too! I read to be entertained first and foremost so anything that's depressing isn't really my thing.
ReplyDeleteOMGOSH, I could have written this! lol. Maybe in a different order, but I agree with all of them. My biggest one is rape, I will not read a book about rape. If it is a book, memoir or something of the sort, yes, but not in my fiction. Don't need it, don't care for it, will not read it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my blog btw! :)
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ReplyDeleteI read a book once that went the whole other way in regards to name dropping... instead of "I picked up my iPod", it was like "I picked up my electronic music player" or something like that, which was just as jarring as being overly pop-culture reference-y. There's got to be a mid-point between the two!
ReplyDeleteName dropping and pop culture references can be easily overdone. It's important to have SOME pop culture references in order to establish the cultural background of the time, but too much definitely dates the book. That is the FIRST thing they taught me when I was learning about writing YA! So, it makes me crazy when published authors do it.
ReplyDeleteBad boys: I dunno, I think there's a way to write bad boys in fiction where it can be exciting but not be dangerous and creepy. The problem is, too many authors rely on the dangerous/creepy factor. I like when characters have a little bit of a wild side.
I get your point about novels in verse. Some of them are done really well and some aren't, and it's just a matter of finding the ones that work. (And I will say as a writer who has written a novel in verse that it is extremely hard to do, and that's probably why you don't usually see worlds that are new, different and complete in them.) For an excellent novel in verse, try Song of the Sparrow or The Weight of the Sky, both by Lisa Ann Sandell.