Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.
This week’s theme is Top Ten Book Turn-Offs. A few months ago, I wrote a list of the Top 10 Words/Topics That Make Me Run For The Hills, which focused on all the reasons why I wouldn’t pick up a book in the first place. This week’s theme is a bit different: There you are, happily reading a book, when — boom! — you come across a topic, a character, a situation that is just a total turn-off, and turns a decent reading experience into a big “ugh”, “argh!”, or “oh, yuck”. (I have the vocabulary of a four-year-old, it would seem).
My top 10 book turn-offs are:
1) Designer name-dropping: When the labels on the characters’ clothing become more important than the plot, I’m out.
2) Magic in a non-magical world: More specifically, magicians. Magicians drive me batty. I love magical/fantasy worlds, with great world-building and where the magical elements have rules and make sense. I can’t stand books set in our world that feature magicians who can just do… whatever it is that they can do. Magicians in non-magical worlds always leave me feeling that all stakes have been removed — since the magician can do anything, then nothing is really a risk and there’s no situation that someone can’t escape from… BY MAGIC. Just no.
3) Unnecessary grossness: Okay, I’ll read a good thriller or horror story, but that’s not the kind of grossness I mean here. Here’s a recent example: In a book that I enjoyed recently, I almost walked away early on after reading a scene in which the main character not only has a horrible hangover and is quite sick, but in which the author seems to feel the need to describe quite vividly what that being sick looks like. Yuck. (It was a good book and I’m glad I continued, but still. Yuck.)
4) “Successful” people who do stupid things: I just don’t buy it when a billionaire CEO sends inappropriate emails, repeatedly, without more than a passing concern that it’s maybe not a good idea to carry on that way. (See: Every single email sent by Christian Grey in 50 Shades.) (Yes, I read 50 Shades. And yeah, maybe it’s a bit weird that it’s the emails that bothered me, out of everything in the book. But this is my list, and I’m sticking with it.)
5) Stalkerish/controlling behavior presented as romance: I’m sure we can all come up with examples of this. A guy who shows up uninvited in your bedroom, has to know who you’re with 24 hours a day, makes decisions for you to keep you “safe” without your consent — that’s not romance, and I’m sick of books — particularly YA books — pretending that this is somehow ideal, swoon-worthy male behavior. It’s not.
6) Too many characters introduced at once: This is a pet peeve of mine. Give me a chance to get to know who all these people are! When a group of friends or family members is introduced at the same time — on the same page or even in the same paragraph — it becomes difficult (sometimes impossible) to keep them all straight, and I find myself having to constantly go back to try to figure it out. Having to ask “wait, which one was that again?” while reading is not a good thing.
7) Not finding out until the end of the book that it’s part of a series: Those dreaded words: “To Be Continued”. This makes me so mad. If the book isn’t going to be complete in and of itself — you know, with a beginning, middle, and end in between two covers — then I want to know about it up front. There’s nothing worse than getting to the last 20 pages or so of a book and realizing, “Wait a minute! How can the author possibly wrap this all up in the amount of space left?” — and having to face the fact that you’ll be left hanging until the sequel comes out.
8) Coincidences that are just unbelievable: Tons of fiction plots are driven by coincidences — but they have to be more than just slightly plausible in order for the story to work. I read a novel last year in which one woman kills another in a car accident on a deserted country road — and it turned out that they were both from the same town, hundreds of miles away, and both just happened to be on this particular road in the middle of nowhere at the very same time. I didn’t buy it for a second, and it totally detracted from the impact of the story.
9) Unnecessary love triangles: Love stories can work without a third wheel. I was so thrilled recently while reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (great book!), when what I thought was being set up as a love triangle turned out not to be, at all.
10) Too many or too right-now pop culture shout-outs: It can be cute when current TV shows, movies, or bands get mentioned in fiction, if the reference feels appropriate to the story — but sometimes the reference feels so NOW that you just know it’ll come across as totally dated within five or ten years. For example, I’m reading a book in which a character is described as looking like Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy. Okay, that totally appeals to me — but will someone reading this book in 10 or 15 years get that at all?
What turns you off in a book? Have you ever completely walked away mid-book because of one of your reading turn-offs?
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Bookshelf Fantasies 
Too many characters is pet peeve of mine too, good list today. kelley—the road goes ever ever on
Thanks! I prefer to be able to blame my issues on “to many characters”, rather than me just forgetting the details!
I’ve come across your #10 more and more often and it baffles me so much. I don’t like the inclusion of pop references, especially since not everyone will get them, let alone not being able to stand the test of time. Great list!
My TTT
Right — and I’m actually a bit torn on this one, because I often get a good giggle from a well-used pop reference… but I can only imagine that someone picking up the book in 10 years will be completely confused or feel like the book is hopelessly out of date. Thanks for stopping by!
Stalkers, controllers, name dropping and pop-culture references… OMFG. Really? The worst!
Great list!
My TTT
Thanks, Ula! It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who can’t stand all of these book turn-offs!
Great list! So many items I didn’t think of…the pop culture shout-outs certainly will date a book and stalker behavior–really?
YES…ALL of these! Especially 5,6,and 8!
Great list! It’s nice to NOT see a love triangle at times.
Sad, isn’t it, that it’s actually note-worthy when a love story doesn’t have three people in it? Love triangles are so overdone.
Six, seven, and eight are definite no-nos for me, too. I’ve read some first chapters that introduced so many characters, I honestly couldn’t tell who was who. It’s even worse if you have a lot of characters and you don’t read about someone for a while. Then they are brought up again and you have to stop and wonder who they are.
Thanks for the great list. You can check out mine at http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2013/10/top-ten-book-turn-offs.html if you’re interested.
I just could not enjoy The Virgin Suicides because all four sisters in the book were introduced at once, and even though the book itself was interesting, I had no idea most of the time which sister was which — and therefore had no emotional connection to any of them. Thanks for stopping by!
Co-signed on 5. And 7, I feel more and more books are ending on a “to be continued” and it’s a little maddening. Novels should stand on their own, they are not TV seasons.
I never thought about 10, but those references will make a book dated extremely quickly.
My TTT
“They are not TV seasons” — exactly! At least, if the book is obviously labeled as first in a series, I can know what I’m getting into when I start it. It’s the surprise “to be continued” books that really are maddening.
Great list! I especially like your #4. So many people think that really intelligent, successful people doing things out of character is realistic. Similarly, I don’t like it when people try to make a particular person do something shocking (and unrealistic) just for the shock value. Really? So I totally feel ya. 😀
My TTT
I’m definitely not a fan of shock value, cheap sensationalism, etc. It’s fine to throw a big surprise into a good plot, but it has to make at least some sense for the character. Otherwise, it’s just off-putting and takes me out of the mood of the story. Thanks for your comments!
I have such hate for love triangles. And insta-love. Just, no.
The insta-love thing is awful. I always feel like maybe I skipped a secret chapter — when exactly did these two become soulmates???
And another great list. Love your pick for the design-name stuff. I hate it when it is described in great detail what a character is wearing but you do not hear much about their characters 🙂
Maybe it’s because I’m so not a “fashionista” myself, but all that sort of thing means nothing to me and makes me feel like the characters (and sometimes the entire plot) is just superficial. Thanks for stopping by!
Yup, #7. Although honestly I don’t come across this so often… usually a book’s blurb will mention that it’s the first in a series (at least the ones that I’ve come across). What really bugs me though is when THIS book just… ends. A cliffhanger can be fine… AFTER or AS PART of a conclusion, not in place of one. I want to want to read the next book because this one was good, not because the author suckered me into it.
I agree — it’s not fair to leave readers hanging. There are certain trilogies I’ve read that really should have been edited to take out the filler and released as one book. But I have had more than a couple of experiences where I just really didn’t know that the book was part of a planned series, and I ended up feeling so cheated at the end. I don’t mind a series if I go into it with my eyes open. But the ones that don’t tell you ahead of time — boy, do I feel suckered.
I also had your #8 on my list. It’s particularly annoying when said coincidence does absolutely nothing for the storyline, and just seems like lazy, cheap, immature writing.
Your #10 is also a pet peeve of mine, and one of the prime reasons I don’t write and barely read contemporary. Books quickly date when there are too many topical references, as much as I disagree with the current trend of books from 20-30 years ago being “updated” with modern celebrities, movies, technology, etc.
Hmm, I’m not sure what you mean about the books from 20-30 years ago being updated — can you give me an example? Is this like an “inspired by” thing, or an actual rewriting of a book but swapping out — oh, I don’t know — David Cassidy for Justin Bieber? (LOL, showing my age again…) I really do enjoy contemporary fiction, but the pop culture thing really can be a trap for writers, I think. Thank you for your comments!
The first few Babysitters’ Club books and Judy Blume’s Superfudge are some of the books I know of that have come out with recent “updated” versions. Peter’s original Christmas list in Superfudge had items like records and a pocket calculator, but the new version replaces them with an MP3 player, CDs, and a laptop. Shows, movies, and celebrities from the Eighties are also changed to modern ones, and records, Walkmans, and boomboxes are changed to CD players and iPods.
Oh, weird. I suppose they’re just trying to get a new audience among today’s kids, but it sounds so… unnatural or something. Hmm. On the other hand, I recently read The Boggart with my son and the outdated technology (like floppy discs) was definitely a distraction in an otherwise very enjoyable and engaging story, so I can see why there’d be a temptation to update and reissue.
Great list. I didn’t even think about the stalker-ish romances, but that is definitely a pet peeve of mine. Glorifying unhealthy relationships in YA literature is probably not a good thing.
On the flip side, maybe that’s why I’m always so happy when I read a YA novel that has more realistic and balanced relationships. Perhaps they’re not as dramatic, but they certainly feel more like life. And I do think that, intentionally or not, what people read — especially at a younger age — seeps into perceptions of what is or isn’t acceptable. (Sorry, getting off the soapbox now!) Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments. 🙂
Brand name-dropping bothers me, too. I remember reading one particular book that read like an advertisement for… well, everything. VitaminWater… iPod… Volkswagen… Sidekick… It was just too much.
Ha! It makes me crazy. One of many things that turned me off while reading a certain very popular book was that it mentioned not only the brand of laptop, but its configuration and the website URL the main character preferred. Just, no.
I’m LOL-ing at the Christian Grey e-mails. Aside from the ridiculousness of everything about it, I must admit I’m curious how the film is going to handle all of the texts and e-mails that make up such a huge portion of the book.
Stalkers are my number one turn-off. Most things that bother me in books can be written off as annoyances, but this is one that I believe is genuinely dangerous to young readers. I wish authors who idealize stalkers would be more responsible.
Stephanie @ Inspiring Insomnia
I agree. Interesting that the stalker-as-romantic-figure is prevalent in YA fiction, but not in the same romantic light in adult fiction. I really do think it sends a terrible message — especially when the appropriate response, according to these books, is simply to give up control of your life and devote yourself to the dreamy (yet stalkery) guy.