July 23, 2013

Top Ten Aspects of a Book That Make Me NOT Want to Pick It Up

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the bloggers of The Broke and the Bookish. I altered this prompt slightly to be: Top Ten Aspects of a Book That Make Me NOT Want to Pick It Up. This is basically a companion post to a previous Top Ten Tuesday where I listed my Top Ten Aspects of a Book That Make Me Want to Pick It Up.

I believe this calls for a certain type of writing/critical thinking. *grabs snark cap* Are you ready, lovely readers, to see what aspects of a book tend to either ensure I'll never read it, or if I have read it, will most likely garner it a low rating?


 

Romance masquerading as speculative fiction (most specifically YA dystopians) I have no idea how this became the common, cool thing to write. Really, I don't. As a reader, I dislike being fooled into thinking that a story is being marketed as a dystopian about a corrupt government and potential rebellion, when those aspects only seem to be setting the stage for a forbidden/difficult romance. Last time I checked, dystopian world don't exactly provide the best setting for romance. (ex. Renegade by J.A. Souders) 

Love triangles  Okay, not all love triangles are taboo for me, but many of them are. I just hate how prevalent they are in YA novels (and you're going to have a hard time convincing me they're that prevalent in real life). I don't think I'd mind them as much if every once in a while they focused on a different "side," rather than having our female protagonist be the focal point and object of affection for two guys. It's just become such a tired literary device. (ex. Matched by Ally Condie) 



Unrealistic male protagonists  I suppose the same can be said for unrealistic female protagonists, although I feel as though there are fewer female protagonists being written by a male author. I do think it's a wonderful thing to try to step outside one's comfort zone while writing. I run into issues, however, when I start realizing that a protagonist just doesn't sound or act like his/her gender at all. I understand how difficult it can be to write convincingly as someone of the opposite gender, but then get help? Have people of said gender review your story and tell you how the voice can be made more realistic? (ex. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl)
 

"Mandatory" in-between novellas  These just make me angry. First of all, shouldn't the authors be focusing on the actual next installments in their series instead of taking time away for a random novella? If the events/characters of the novella aren't included in the actual books, there's probably a good reason why not. My general belief: if whatever aspects in the novellas are important enough that they need to be read as part of the series, then they should probably be included in the actual novels. (ex. Destroy Me by Taherah Mafi)
 


Companion novels that tell the same events from a new POV  This is somewhat related to my thoughts on in-between novellas. I live life as a singular person, with my single point of view. I prefer to read my novels that way, too. If I've formed enough of an attachment with the protagonist, then I'm satisfied with my understanding of the story. I don't want nor need the same story to be rehashed from another person's perspective. (ex. Hopeless / Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover)
 



Lack of believable worldbuilding If a story is not taking place in our world, then solid worldbuilding should be a no-brainer. I don't think it's much for me as the reader to want to understand the new world I'm reading. Some geography is nice, as is a basic understanding of history, culture, language, religion, race, etc. It can be difficult and intimidating to consider all these factors, but they're crucial to a reader's ability to understand and enjoy the story being told. (ex. Delirium by Lauren Oliver) 
 



Uncredited retellings  Let me first be clear: I absolutely adore retellings. I think it's great how authors can find creative ways to envision an older story, while also allowing the older story the potential to be brought back to public attention. What I dislike, however, is when it's not readily apparent that the story is a retelling. Since this story wouldn't be in existence without some older one, I think it should be made clear through blurbs, promotion, reviews, etc before even starting the book. Not knowing a story is a retelling upfront is not okay with me. (ex. Ten by Gretchen McNeil)
 

Being touted as the next [big name book]  I kind of understand the marketing tactics behind this move. At the same time, though, why would you want to emphasize the fact that you're derivative and invite comparisons? If I've already read some of the big name books that a new book is being compared to, is the new book bringing anything new to the genre? In my opinion, it makes so much more sense to focus on what makes the story unique and worth reading. (ex. Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza, which is supposedly for fans of The Bourne Identity series and I Am Number Four)
 

Contemporary Protagonists with Strange Names  For fantasies and other sorts of speculative fiction, I am more than fine with authors using more fanciful names for their characters. In books that take place in our world? Not so much. You're trying to convince me of the normalcy of your setting, and yet your character has a ridiculously strange name? Yeah, not very convincing. Also, I hate it when female protagonists randomly have surnames as their first names, or names that are 100% guy names. (ex. Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins)

 


I could push myself to add another example, but, honestly, these nine are the big ones for me. That's not to say that I haven't read and loved books that incorporate one of these dreaded aspects, but in those cases generally everything else about the book has been pretty much perfect.

What about you? Let me know what are some of main bookish aspects that cause you to think twice before picking up a book!



Disclaimer: The only book listed that I've actually read is Lauren Oliver's Delirium, so these are all my interpretations based on others' reviews and promotional materials. I am not saying that I'd necessarily hate any of these works, but that they all contain an element that tends to bother me as a reader.   
author image

Amanda

Amanda loves few things better than sitting down with a cup of tea and a book. She frequently stays up far too late, telling herself she just needs to finish one more page. When she's not wrapped up in the stories of others, Amanda works as a children's librarian in a public library.

24 comments:

  1. I love the 9 you came up with!! Wow... I read each one and I was like YES!! I also love that you gave a book example. That retelling of a story did make me curious about the book Ten. Checking out your review now!
    Angie
    My Top Ten

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    1. haha thanks! No review of Ten from me, since I haven't actually read it. The whole it obviously being a retelling and yet not blatantly giving credit to Christie's work made me decide not to read it.

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  2. Ooh, your list is great, and very different.

    I completely agree about uncredited retellings. I recently read Flawless by Lara Chapman, and there was no acknowledgement in the blurb or the author's notes that it was a retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. I just found that rude!

    Here's my list.

    Sarah

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    1. Thank you! And really? Wow. That's just not okay. Why do authors/publishers think it's okay to do that?

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  3. This is a fabulous list. I agree with you on so many counts. I'm totally with you on unrealistic voice (I tried to read Beautiful Creatures on 3 different occasions and could never get past the 50 page mark) and lack of world-building. Don't authors understand that they have to create the world their story takes place in--especially if it isn't the one we currently live in?
    Natflix&Books' TTT

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    1. Thank you! And you'd think so, but who knows? I just don't understand.

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  4. I never really thought about it before, but I've always knew strange names in books bother me, but I guess it is just in contemporary that it really annoys me. In fantasy books it makes sense people wouldn't be named "Ryan" or "Jane" or whatever. Thank you for making me realize that!

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    1. Yeah, I think that ultimate conclusion makes sense. I want my fantasy worlds to have strange names! I want there to be outward things that differentiate them from our world so I can then focus on the characterizations (which should hopefully be relatable and all).

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  5. This is a really brilliant list. I have the "next [insert big name title" thing on my list as well. I just hate that that's the only way they feel they can really market the book. A book should really be able to stand on its own two feet, so to speak, and not rely on people wanting to read it precisely because it's reminiscent of something else.

    My TTT post :)

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    1. Thanks, Merin! It's a double-edged sword, I think. I really do understand why publishers do it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it or agree with it.

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  6. The biggest one for me is love triangles. They immediately put me of reading a book - I haven't read many of the popular YA trilogies because of them. I've seen some people say that most YA books have love triangles so it's hard to avoid them, but I have to say that I disagree. Out of all the books I've read this year, only 1 had a love triangle (and it was a sequel). There are plenty of authors that manage to create conflict in the romance without bringing in a LT.

    Great list!

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    1. True. You're taking a more positive approach than me - I appreciate it! I suppose you are right, though. They just seem far too common for me. :)

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  7. I'm not really into novellas so I completely agree with your thoughts on mandatory ones. I still haven't read Unravel Me and one of the reasons is I need to make sure to leave time to read Destroy Me too. And weird names! lol I have purposely not read a book or two because the character's name was ridiculous. Sometimes I can overlook it if the story is something I'm excited for though, like Cricket in LOLA.

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    1. Exactly! I mean, Destroy Me isn't long, but it's just another thing we have to make sure to do and all. And that's true. The Lola cover AND his name AND the general premise makes me a little wary. But I'll probably read it eventually anyway.

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  8. Wow,your list is so well-thought and just...GOOD. I tend to agree with a lot of them. I don't mind a love triangle if it is what I consider well-done, but I know that most or at least many don't like them, so I try and make a point to include the presence of one in my reviews. I didn't mind so much in the beginning when the books were doing the retelling from another POV, but it does seem now like a marketing ploy and it is popping up WAY TOO MUCH. I don't want to see it as often. I didn't even think of that. In fact, I had a hard time coming up with my list. I didn't think very well outside of the box this week! But your list is superb, one of the best I've seen.

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    1. Thank you, Asheley! I'm glad you enjoyed reading it. :) And I'm not dead-set against them. But reading a book with one will definitely induce some eye-rolling on my part. I just can't believe too many teens can actually relate to that in the books, which I guess is my main critique.

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  9. I love the honesty in your post! I love that you know what you like and stick to it. I tried to do one of these and basically only had LOVE TRIANGLES for all of them, so I gave up. I wouldn't say that everything here would make me NOT read a story, but some of them are annoying. Lack of world building, or believability in how a society got to how it did is a big turn off for me as well. And YES to the uncredited retellings. I didn't bother with TEN b/c I read and loved Agatha Christie's original and didn't think I needed to revisit that story.

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    1. Thank you, Lauren! And I try to, for the most part haha. And yeah, I don't think I'd just stop reading a story based on one of these aspects, but if it includes a combination of many of them...then it's very likely I won't want to read it. And that's exactly how I felt about Ten.

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  10. I have another friend of mine who doesn't read books because the characters have strange names, so it's interesting that you're like that too. I rather like eccentric names - probably because mine is - but I agree with you on practically everything else. I hate love triangles, cannot stand lousy dystopian romances, detest horrible male characters, feel like stabbing books with shabby world-building, and find that books told from two PoV's are rather useless. I'm not a fan of mandatory novellas either, but I can deal with them (most because they count towards my yearly goal and are quick to get through). I really hate books pitched as the next big HP or something, though, since it builds unwarranted expectations and I'm always skeptical but disappointed nevertheless. Anyway, lovely list, Amanda!

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    1. Eccentric names just aren't as realistic, which is where I find issue. I read somewhere (don't have a link right now unfortunately) where the writer pointed out that most teens today have rather common names and that the whole unusual-naming trend didn't really start until the 2000s. Hence the teens currently reading YA have much more basic names than many YA characters do. And that just bothers me a little because it decreases the validity of the world-building, imo. Although there are exceptions, of course. (And ps I do love your name and how unique it is - so you proved me wrong there :))

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  11. I love that you mentioned romance masquerading as other genres. Trust me when I say that's one of my biggest pet-peeves. Seriously, if you're a romance, own it! Don't pretend it's this broken world and dark dystopian then spend the next 239048908 pages about a forbidden love. F'reals. Geez. Thanks for sharing! All of these are so great! :)

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    1. I know, right? Maybe it's a good tactic for some readers, but it turns me off quick enough. Thanks, Melissa!

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  12. I hate when genre fiction turns out to just be a romance novel. To my mind, dystopian, fantasy, sci fi requires ample world building, so I hate when that is ignored in favor of mushy gushy romance. BLEH.

    Bahahaha, at your choice for unrealistic male POV. That was my number one complaint about Beautiful Darkness among other things.

    Ew, is that what Losing Hope is? If you want to do both POVs, then just...do both POVs in the one book, unless they're not unique enough to stand up to that close of investigation... *raises eyebrow*

    *stabs inbetween novellas*

    Haha, I was complaining about the weird names in contemps on Twitter a couple of weeks ago.

    Also, I think not telling people your retelling is a retelling is disingenuous.

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    1. So annoying.
      And I've heard. One of the primary reasons I refuse to read that series. And it's something I'm just super conscious of ever since I tried writing a contemp short story from a male POV and failed epically. I know it's hard. But published authors better try even harder to make it valid!
      And I think so? I haven't read Losing Hope or Hopeless, but that was my understanding.
      Disingenuous and just plain rude, imo.

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