Top Ten Automatic Book Turnoffs

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This week's topic is Top Ten Automatic Book No-Gos.

1. Time travel - I just can't get behind it. I have yet to read a time travel book that I liked. I struggle enough with "then" and "now" books. If I even see a hint of time travel in the description of a book, I'm out.
2. Middle Grade - For my personal reading preferences, I will not even consider middle grade books. Since I'm reading more and more books to my kids I will be exploring the genre more so this might change over time, but right now, I am firmly against middle grade books.
3. Mermaids - I've tried. I have wanted to like mermaid novels. I don't really understand why fantasy is one of my favorite genres, but mermaids defy logistical sense to me. I can't make them make sense enough to get behind them. Maybe a completely underwater species would be doable, but if they come on land or have any kind of relationship with a human, I can't buy it. I usually skip mermaid books.
4. Erotica - My tolerance level is much lower than most I assume. I don't enjoy descriptive physical scenes. For me, the build up and tension leading up to a kiss can be way hotter and better written than descriptive sexual scenes. In my opinion, they are unnecessary. And if I know to expect them in a book I will usually steer clear.
5. Anti-God or Anti-Christianity - God can handle us questioning Him, but I have no interest in reading books that portray God in a false light or that use the characters to implant lies concerning God into the reader's minds. Some authors seem to have a personal mission of trying to make God look bad. It backfires in my opinion. And I'm not interested in these types of books or authors.
6. Explict Language - Again, to me, this is unnecessary. I know plenty of people claim the f-bomb as their favorite word. And arguments can be made over words just being word. I don't avoid books for an occasional drop here or there, but if the language pulls me out of the story then that's a problem.
7. Political - Any time a book, character, or author tries to push a political agenda then I'm out. Not interested. There's a difference in a character experiencing an event that might lead them to think or feel a certain way, but usually it's obvious whether this feels organic to the story or a political agenda push.
8. Psychological Thrillers or True Crime - For the most part, I don't want to read about the worst of mankind. If I spend my time dwelling upon the worst mankind has to offer, I become a jaded, anxious, depressed, paranoid person. I don't want to be naive to the dangers around me, but I don't want to spend my free time focused on crimes of this nature.
9. Absence of a Love Story - While other books might be amazing, I just don't have the time if the story isn't mostly driven by romance.
10. Bucket Lists - I've also found that characters that make lists of things they want to experience often feel forced and contrived in my opinion. I end up not enjoying these usually.

What are your auto no-gos when it comes to books? Let me know!

Top Ten Things That Make Me Not Want to Read a Book

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Things That Make Me Not Want to Read a Book.

Last week we talked about the Top Ten Things That Make Me Want to Read a Book, so now let's look at the opposite.

1. CHEATING! - This is a no go! I don't mind love triangles that are done right, but crossing the line into cheating is NOT something that I want to read about.
2. LGBTQAI - And whatever other XYZ you want to throw in. I'm a Christian. I'm straight. I read for pleasure and to escape. And this is not a subject that allows for escape for me. If there's a hint of this in the subject, I'm out. This isn't about hate at all. It's simply a matter of what I enjoy reading about. Sorry, not sorry.
3. Time Travel - I know there are a ton of readers who find this fascinating, but I've just found that I don't usually enjoy these books.
4. Mermaids - As much as I'm a fan of mermaids, I've not found a book about mermaids that's been a right fit for me. I'm still hoping to find one that might work, but this subject makes me skeptic that I'll enjoy it because of my past experience.
5. Anti-God - I respect everyone's right to decide for themselves whether they believe in God or not, but as I've also chosen, I don't enjoy reading books that put Him down. The most common thing I see is an apathy towards Him, but even that grates on me because of the frequency that I see it.
6. Weak Characters - I don't mind if bad things happen to people in books, but what I really want to read about is strong characters who are able to overcome their circumstances, not be defined by them.
7. Authors I've not enjoyed in the past - There are a few authors that I've marked down as "not for me." That's not to say that they're "bad writers," but just that their style or subjects are not a good fit for me.
8. Unappealing Book Covers - Explaining what I like and don't like in a book cover isn't exactly easy, but I know it when I see it. A cover that doesn't appeal to me usually means I don't even read the book description.
9. Political Agenda - Again guys, I read for fun. I cannot stand when the author is using a book to make a political statement. I am perfectly capable of my own thoughts concerning politics. I don't enjoy an author taking this opportunity to force their political opinions down my throat.
10. Preaching - Even though I'm a Christian, and I said that I don't like Anti-God books, I also don't like books that feel like you're being preached at. This is similar to a political agenda that I mentioned above. I read my Bible for this. I'm completely fine with a character learning a moral or spiritual lesson as a natural consequence of the events of a story, but to feel like the author is speaking beyond the characters to me as the reader directly is a big no-thank-you.

What about you? What are you reading turn-offs? What things make you immediately decide that a book isn't for you? Let me know!

Top Ten Book Turn-Offs

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Book Turn-Offs.

I feel like I'm repeating myself. See my Top Ten Words that Make Me Put Down a Book and my post here about deal-breakers.

1) Cliches - I know this one is hard to avoid, afterall there is "nothing new under the sun," but repetitive themes, characters, plot, conflict, etc get so old.

2) Errors - One or two is fine. We're all human. But please hire an editor.

3) Covers that look homemade - I'm not a snob (okay, maybe a cover snob), but you guys know how homemade commercials look. Well that's how I feel about covers that don't look very professional. We all have differing tastes in cover art, but I think we can usually all agree when one looks unprofessional or homemade.

4) In books with multiple POVs, when the narrators voices aren't different enough to know they're different. I need the author to know that the characters are different, and therefore they don't always happen to use the same words and phrases. They need to sound distinct. Not every person in the world is going to use the phrase "sweet baby Jesus."

5) Characters studying for the SATs - I LOVE when a book has a word thrown in that I don't know what it means and I have to look it up. That my friends is expanding my vocabulary. I don't love when I feel like I'm going to have a vocabulary test at the end of the book because the character is either trying to learn their SAT words or any other reason. Especially when the sentence feels forced. Not to mention that in my area of the country, the ACT test is the standard for college acceptance/scholarship testing. IJS.

6) Continuity Errors - Don't tell me that they left on a road trip without packing anything and then mention a suitcase later. Or that they've fled to an island that's hidden but there is not only an entire civilization on this island but also resort hotels. This could probably go under number 2, but it feels like a different beast entirely.

7) Authors trying too hard to please the readers - When the characters never make any hard decisions--like making a choice out of the members of a love triangle because we don't want Team X fans to be angry if MC choose Hotty-Y but also not choosing Hotty X because we don't want Team Y fans to be angry. Make a decision.

8) Characters that miss the obvious - I like to read about smart characters. Enough said.

9) Tiny print - I don't come up against this often, but I don't want to need a magnifying glass to read the book, else risk a massive headache.

10) Books not loanable on Kindle - I know this is probably a hot button issue for some people. But I love loaning my friends my books, and I love borrowing theirs. I really hate that this feature isn't there for each and every book. There are work-arounds. As much as it pains me, I will actually loan my kindle out to some of my friends to borrow in order for them to read the books I have that aren't loanable. Can you imagine parting with your e-reader? Not to mention that since I don't loan it often, it usually takes a while for my friends to give it back since by the point that they borrow it, there are usually a long list of books they want to read.

So that's mine. What are your book turn-offs? Let me know!