Top Ten Tuesday; Book Turn-Offs

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new topic is given and this weeks topic is Book Turn-Offs

Some of these are turn-offs just from reading the synopsis, unless someone has highly recommended the book, and others are while I’m reading them. But, as with everything, I’m certain there are exceptions to these!

Seriously? Especially if it’s the protagonist doing this. Why would I want to read that? How could I ever emphasize with that character?

I know it is terrible, especially as the few historical fiction novels I have read I have enjoyed but as soon as I see those numbers, or even older, I just lose interest.

I am not a religous person. I’ve tried reading the bible, going to church and letting faith take over but it was all just too hard for me to get my head around and so when God or religous things creep up too much it can really ruin a book for me. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against religons – each to their own – but sometimes I just find it hard to read about.

Oh? That person who was dead is now alive? And it just so happened that actually they only pretended to be dead? Yeah, just no. That, for me, is the biggest writing cop-out ever! Though, honestly, this happens more in films than books!

Bypassing the triangles and going straight to a choice between three or even four different guys or girls. I’ve read a few books like this that just made me want to pull my hair out. A big no-no for me.

I’ve known you for a day but now I can’t live without you! Er… no. Just, no. Insta-love is a real irritance for me but I am likely to continue reading if the author gives a valid reason for it (i.e. fate, past lives, instigating circumstances…), but when there is no real reason at all, I will likely put that book down!

So, this one is a real nit-picky one, and something that is really down to style and personal preference but if the conversations don’t seem to flow as they would in real life, I struggle to read it and am very likely to give up. I want to submerge myself into the book and I can’t do that if I’m constantly reminded I’m reading!

This is for the same reason as above – it just pulls me back into the surface and I can’t appreciate the story for what it is. 2D characters that seem to have no substance, characters that don’t have a set personality and seem to be all over the place, or a horrible personality (like thinking it is okay to cheat!).

Those books that really remind you of your life, the one that you’re trying to forget about by reading in the first place! Whenever I feel that way I do stop reading but do also plan to go back later to see if I’ve changed the way I feel about it.

This should really go without saying but all of those things will quickly cause me to put the book down. Books need to be edited correctly, and thoroughly, or it’s just unfair to readers and could be unfair to authors as well who may well have a gem hidden beneath all the slush!