Top Ten Words that Will Stop Me From Picking Up a Book
Oh dear. This is a hard one for me.
Ten words that will stop me from picking up a book?
Me? Honestly? I read everything.
Well, almost everything.
There are a few things I do not read.
Here goes then...the top ten words that will stop me from picking up a book....
1. Romance. Especially Harlequin Romance.
2. Action-packed thriller. And action-packed spy novel.
Honestly, anything that is action-packed.
I like my stories as action-less as possible.
3. Textbook.
Does anybody get excited thinking about reading a textbook?
4. Self-help.
Authors of self-help books seem like know-it-alls.
5. Witch. Or zombie. Or vampire. Or any scary monster.
See #6.
6. Scary.
I am a big scared-y cat baby.
7. Math. And Science.
I apologize for this.
I've tried and tried to like these.
I just can't.
8. Celebrity.
I just really don't care about the empty lives of these empty people.
9. Sports.
It's hard to raise two sports-crazy sons without reading a sports book or two.
And there were a couple I really loved,
like The Last Shot and Bill Bradley's Values of the Game.
But, mostly, no sports.
10. Bestseller.
If there is anything that will put me off a book, it's this word.
If it's a bestseller, I probably won't like it.
Hope I didn't step on any toes.
How about you? What words on a book cover will make you put that book back on the shelf?
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
I like a good crime novel. Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series was excellent. I don't know if any of the words you mention were used to describe the books. I don't like the word "bestseller" either.
ReplyDeleteAh! I love this list! Textbook is a brilliant choice.
ReplyDeleteHaha textbooks! Very true. I barely read those in school. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteGirl With the Dragon Tattoo was too scary for me. I tried it. I'm sorry, but it was too scary.
ReplyDeleteTextbooks. Just the word puts me off.
ReplyDeleteLove these. No, I don't enjoy reading textbooks, although some of them at least try to be a little entertaining (medical textbooks do the dry humour thing a lot).
ReplyDeleteMh and I agree with everything on your list, except I've found some math-y, sciency books that I enjoyed, like The Black Swan and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper.
Alright, I'm off to add Mathematician Reads the Newspaper. I feel hopeful. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not a big fan of math/scienc-y books myself. And I will probably never understand the appeal of self-help books... Great list!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. I read (and love) lots of children's math and science books. Maybe the grownup books are just too hard for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into self-help or romance books either! And that especially goes for romance self-help books!
ReplyDeleteWe have similar tastes. Loved your comment about action-packed. Haha. Thanks for stopping by my TTT.
ReplyDeletebrenda
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm with you on #6 and 8. It bugs me when I look in the biography section and it's mostly memoirs of celebrities while I have to dig to find historical personalities. Argh... :-)
ReplyDeleteNice list! Agree on most of them (except for the romance of course :p I'm too cheesy) Follow your blog now ;)
ReplyDeleteSelf-help authors seem awfully full-of-themselves, I think.
ReplyDeleteI am a sucker for romance, Eline. I will read a book that is heavy on the romance even if it's a bit sappy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the follow!
Ugh...self-help is a kiss of death for me. My boyfriend loves them, but I always feel like they're preachy and really condescending. Definitely not for me. Great list! ;)
ReplyDeleteCelebrity bios? Don't see the appeal. Then again my dad always said that everybody puts their trousers on one pant leg at a time.
ReplyDeleteI think, Melissa, if I knew someone who was living an amazing, happy life and I found out they had written a self-help book, well, that might work. But, mostly, it seems like they are trying to walk their way through problems just like all of us.
ReplyDeleteI like a good scary book (I'm a Stephen King fan), but I don't like overly violent books.
ReplyDeleteI also like the paranormal/fantasy stuff.
I'm also not into Sports or Celebrity books.
There are so many more words/topics than I thought of for my list this week.
My Top Ten
Sports made my list this week too. I prefer watching them than reading about them xP
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Amen. Especially "celebrity."
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the witch/vampire/etc. one. One whiff of that and the book is off my radar.
ReplyDeleteAnother one of mine is anything that mentions environmental issues--this morning I was looking at a (fiction) book and the first line of the synopsis said: "A Thousand Acres and Empire Falls meet during the present hydrofracking controversy as a beleaguered patriarch must decide the fate of his land and children in this enveloping family drama" Yawn...
One last entirely personal turn-off is any book where the main character is wrongly accused of something and has to spend the entire book proving their innocence. Can't stand those.
Definitely with you on texbooks, harlequin romances, and math or science. I'll read the occasional thriller and I love YA spy novels (the Heist Society books are fun). Great list! Thanks for stopping by mine!
ReplyDeleteCelebrity and romance are two words that make me pass on a book every time.
ReplyDeleteRight there with you on Celebrity too!! And will severely hesitate at romance. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't I think of celebrity and sports? Like you, if someone offered them to be, I'll be um, no thank you.
ReplyDeleteGreat list & thanks for stopping by my TTT! (:
Your list made me laugh. It is clear that cliches are not for you.
ReplyDeleteCliches are not for me.
ReplyDeletehahaha textbook. that's a big yes to skipping a book if there's ever one. thanks for stopping by my TTT :)
ReplyDelete-michelle @ Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks
I agree mostly with you, but I do love vampire and witch books :)
ReplyDeleteEl @ So Bookalicious
Very nice list Deb! Totally with you on self-help, math/science, and action books (if its YA action, I will probably read it, but not Adult) I can't say I'm crazy about Sports either. Now vampires, witches, etc- I just love. :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my TTT!
Jessica@Lovin' Los Libros
Yep. I know there are lots of vampire/witch/other cool monster-ish creature people. Just not me.
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying reading these lists. I agree with a lot of yours, although I find I do OK with fiction that has a math or science theme even though I'm not necessarily drawn to them. I don't mind some crime fiction and paranormal, but sports and celebrity bios are a definite turnoff for me!
ReplyDeletea lot of those are stop words for me too. coming of age does it for me sometimes, and things like "one special summer. barf.
ReplyDeleteEew. Double barf, Marie.
ReplyDeleteI might do okay with a book where math or science is strictly a theme. Not like reading an entire book about irrational numbers or wave particles.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you on celebrity. There are biographies, and then there's books about people who are famous for not having done much at all.
ReplyDeleteSarah