Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make You NOT pick up a book (46)

Posted by Nemo in Top Ten Tuesday on

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It’s all about bookish lists!
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This week’s list:

Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make You NOT pick up a book

Ordinarily I would link to examples or put book covers up of books I’m not interested in, but I feel that’s straying into negative territory and also I don’t feel like it.

  1. “Virgin”
  2. Rapey douche stalky love interest
  3. Slut shaming
  4. Victim blaming
  5. Rape as titillation
  6. I don’t mean to sound rude to adult books but I’m much less likely to pick it up if it’s about some middle aged woman recently divorced off to find herself.
  7. If the blurb only talks about romance.
  8. If the title is unpronounceable
  9. If the cover is badly photo shopped
  10. Generally – if the lead character is male. THIS IS NOT TO SAY that I do NOT read books with male leads, because I do. Occasionally. But I am more interested in a book if it’s about a female. Men have dominated the market with their stories for so long that I simply lack an interest in reading about male leads. Most of the time I can’t identify nor sympathise with them. It has to be a pretty good sounding book for me to want to read it. Sometimes if you give me the exact same book but with a female lead I’d read it. This is why I liked young adult literature, because it is flooded with female leads.
Nemo
Nemo

About Nemo

A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.

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32 thoughts on “Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make You NOT pick up a book (46)”

  2. Nina

    Good list! Totally agree with the last one though! I really love seeing a great female protagonist, in action…it’s just a completely different feel to a male perspective.

      1. Nina

        🙂 oh definitely! I agree with all your other ones as well, but the last one, really, there’s just not enough female protagonists that actually stand out as a girl out of the norm!

          1. Nina

            No I don’t think you’re sexist. For so long I’ve looked and looked for strong female characters that feature as protagonist in high action books and I can never find many! So it depresses me, and I end up reading a bunch of romance/action just to get the same feel, but it’s not the same. I’m glad YA is amending that (even if it’s bit by bit)! Thanks for a great post!!

          2. Nemo

            You’re right, it is really hard to find strong female protagonists in high action books. Most of them appear in urban fantasy and are basically men with tits, or at least surrounded by men. Where are all their female friends?

          3. Nina

            Exactly!! It’s a bit disappointing. Why can’t it be a woman with tits, as sexy as a woman, as powerful as a woman, with the attitude as attractive as a woman, but yet she’s not your average woman. She’s the feminist warrior type, and not only that, she has female friends, who she either protects or support her in battle!!! No offence to men, but I think women as women, in whatever form and shape, need a little more spotlight and a little less push and shove to the back. Maybe there’s a hidden gem out there with a protagonist like this that has yet to be discovered? I hope so!

  4. Lucy

    The divorce books you mention annoy me too. I’d rather escape with another more pleasant topic. And yes it’s hard to get excited about a book when you can’t pronounce it, and bad covers put me off too.

    1. Nemo

      Yeah, and totally no offence to people who do like those kinds of books, but I mean I can hardly relate or sympathise at all to those kinds of characters!

  7. Bekka @ Pretty Deadly Reviews

    Totally agree with you about male protagonists. They just aren’t interesting to me. I think I’d be more likely to pick up a book with a male lead if it was an M/M romance. But as of yet I haven’t found one of those that interest me either.

    I’m also tired of the purity pedestal, especially the fetishization of virginity in NA. I’m also getting sick of sexually active girls in YA getting the shitty end of the stick. Teen girls who have sex are not bad people and do not deserve to be punished.

    Bekka
    Pretty Deadly Reviews

    1. Nemo

      Thanks Feli! I don’t get why it’s still a thing either, unless it’s women reading who aren’t actually into that kind of thing but like to read about it?

  11. dottleddolly

    I kinda agree with the female over male main character, I do not do it intentionally but there is more out there these days and they are easier to understand I think.

    1. Nemo

      I’m not sure what it is I prefer about the female POV but I know I have a hard time reading male POV especially when they start objectifying women, which unfortunately happens A LOT.

      1. dottleddolly

        Ye true, the only ones I’ve read with male POV (that I can think of) are Harry Potter and Name of the Wind, (I am not counting any crime books I have read, they don’e really interest me any more.

  12. Fly to the Sky

    I AGREE WITH IT ALL!!! Especially the last one… I really don’t like reading books with male MC, but half the time I do and end up not really enjoying them…. I think it has to do with connection to the character. And rape and slut shaming is so wrong and I am definitely not interested in reading more about them! Great list!
    My TTT

    1. Nemo

      Maybe it is connecting to the character, but I have a much harder time reading male POV than watching male POV TV or films. I’m still trying to work out myself why I prefer female POV – I don’t think it’s simply because I, too, am a woman.

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