Do you ever get to the point in your reading that if you pick up ONE MORE BOOK about [insert your most over-exposed genre here], you’ll simply run screaming into the night?

No?

Just me?

I think not.

We all have those moments, I’m pretty sure. Call it genre burn-out, plot overdose, or simply too much of a good thing — but I’d be surprised if there are any avid bookworms out there who haven’t had these moments in their bookish lives.

Some readers find a genre or subject or style that they love, and that’s all they want to read. And there’s nothing wrong with that! If you like what you like, and you’re happy reading what you like, go for it!

It just doesn’t work for me.

I guess I’m a hopper. I can’t read any one genre, any one setting, any one time period for more than a few books before I start getting a little batty. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of taking a break or switching things up. Sure, I’ll read a horror book or two, but then I’ll need to switch off with a historical novel, a contemporary love story, or a thriller or two before I’ll even consider horror again. Variety is the spice of life.

Still, there are certains types of books that I am JUST SO OVER at the moment, and I can’t imagine wanting to read more of these… is ever too strong a statement? Well, at least for a long, long time.

I am SO OVER… anything you might describe as “dystopian”. I don’t want weirdly artificial social groupings. No bizarre rituals to select careers, spouses, or social castes. No common objects or foods that are randomly illegal in a future society. No battles to the death for survival, no high-tech arenas or stages, no bizarre contests of wits or strength in order to be selected for… anything.

I am SO OVER… historical novels with a split timeline framework. A 21st century woman finds [insert <relic/artwork/journal/rare book/other old-timey-thing-of-value> here] — and then, poof! wouldn’t you know it, the very next chapter is all about the 18th or 16th or 12th or whatever-th century woman who originally owned or handled or created that MacGuffin-ish thing.*

*Carving out a very big exception here for Susanna Kearsley, because I love her books no matter what, and if she keeps writing dual timeline novels, I’ll keep reading ’em. Period.

I am SO OVER… YA novels in which a geeky/shy/not-exactly-popular ordinary boy winds up in the orbit of a mysterious, slightly damaged, unforgettable wild girl. And his life will never be the same. No more. Just no.

These are my “over it” types of books at the moment, although I’m sure if you asked me again in two months, I might come up with something completely different that I’m just so over.

What about you? What type of book are you just done with? Is there a particular storyline or plot device that you never want to see again?

Share your thoughts!