Top Ten Words/Topics That Prevent
Me from Picking up a Book
- “Tour de Force” – You see this phrase everywhere and it drives me bonkers because it’s so overused and utterly meaningless.
- “Unputdownable” – see above.
- “Poignant” – I’m all for affecting writing, but it’s a word used in reviews so often that my eyes glaze over when I see it.
- “Readable” – What? I don’t even know. Is this some sort of comment on the typeface?
- “Page Turner” – Awesome, this book isn’t so terrible I won’t want to throw it across the room after two pages, but how about you actually tell me something about the content.
- Cover Blurbs from Authors I Don’t Like – It sounds terrible, but sorry. If Stephenie Meyer, James Patterson, or Jodi Picoult has a prominent quote on the cover of a new book, I probably will pass.
- Books Where the Author’s Name is Bigger than the Title – It’s like the content of the book is totally irrelevant. People will just pick up anything with a familiar brand.
- Books With Movie Covers –I believe these are technically called “movie tie-in editions,” but I can’t stand holding a glossy covered book with a picture of Reese Witherspoon on it. If it’s something I really want to read, I’ll wait until I can find an older edition.
- Urban Fantasy – Sorry coworkers! But when I see a book cover with some combination of witches, pentagrams, motorcycles, werewolves, or leather pants I can’t help but groan and roll my eyes.
- Books By People Who Should Not Be Writing Books – Jenny McCarthy, Snooki, Lauren Conrad, please. Stop. For all that is good in this world. Just stop.
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| I hate all of these things. |
~Meredith T.
Visit the Broke and the Bookish for more opinions on this topic.
Very funny commentary. I have never heard of bullets one and two. Books with Movie Covers! I should have added that one! Last bullet is hilarious and I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI am the same way with cover blurbs....I probably won't pick up a book because the authors annoy me!! And when the author's name is bigger than the title....no, just no. I want to read a book for the content and not the author!!!! Great list!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Oh man, GREAT picks! Movie covers drive me nuts too. I love your explanations. I found them to be very readable. In fact, this post was so unputdownable that I read straight through to the end! Here are my picks http://wp.me/pzUn5-1Ba
ReplyDeleteAwesome list! I did tell someone the other day that a book was "well written". I wanted to slap myself.
ReplyDeleteLast bullet= amazing. I will not read someone whose 15 minutes are almost ups book. Please respect the trees that died!
"Unputdownable" is ridiculous! I totally agree about Picoult. Bleh. I did my own post, too:
ReplyDeletehttp://cettawrites.com/2013/07/23/book-talk/
For me, it's books with the author's photo occupying the entire back of the dust cover and no text at all there...that's a sure sign of pure pulp ahead. Also, an Oprah book club pick is a fair early warning...
ReplyDeleteSorry Coworkers, indeed! I think your brain is on the fritz... Urban Fantasy is the bomb! Who wouldn't want to read about vampires, werewolves, fairies, shamans, etc.? Now, if a book says "Based on a True Story" or "Hallmark," then I run for the hills... Give me my made-up/fantasy world every time.
ReplyDelete