Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
The following are things I do not enjoy when it comes to reading novels.
1. Chick Lit - This is a genre that I simply do NOT gravitate towards.
2. Poetry - Yes, I have been known to enjoy some poetry, but again this is another genre I tend to avoid mostly as poetry is really hit or miss for me interms of whether I like it or not.
3. Anything that is written as "stream of consciousness" isn't my thing. I remember having to read a novel by William Faulkner in college and hated the novel as it was a written in this style.
4. I've read a few novels by various popular authors (Neil Gaiman, Rachel Hawkins, Rainbow Rowell, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and William Faulkner to list a few of them) and have not enjoyed their books. So, I now stay away from these authors that have simply not resonated with me.
5. Cliffhanger endings are so annoying! If I even hear a whiff that a novel has a cliffhanger ending, I don't want to read it.
6. Ambiguous endings are another ending I dislike!
7. Unreliable narrators - I have a love/hate relationship with unreliable narrators. If done well, then I'm fine with unreliable narrators. If not, then yuck!
8. Small print/font size in physical books!! I have aging eyes, so smaller print/font size is annoying to me. I stick with either audiobooks, Kindle books, or physical books with not so small print.
9. Absurdist fiction - I tried it. I didn't like this genre very much.
10. Obscure genres don't interest me in the least.
What things do you tend to avoid when it comes to books?
That's quite an extensive list. I'd have to think very carefully about compiling about compiling a similar list for myself. The truth is I can be enticed into reading just about anything if the mood is right.
ReplyDeleteUnless it is required reading or for a book club, I tend to stay away from the above.
DeleteI don't mind a cliffhanger if I have the next book at the ready! Lol. Or the sort of ones you can see coming and aren't detrimental to the story. Like the wait won't kill me, but it won't be fun either. I've had plenty that have killed me and then the series was cancelled. That is a devastating horror I hate reliving!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Cliffhangers are annoying if there isn't a follow up book... Even if there is a follow up book, I feel like cliffhangers are a bad gimmick to persuade readers to buy more books. Just write a good novel and people will buy books without having a cliffhanger ending.
DeleteHonestly, I resonate with all of these! Good list.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lydia for stopping by and leaving me a comment. Happy reading!
DeleteI also find ambiguous endings frustrating. Just let me know how it concretely ends!
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT: https://readintowonderland.blogspot.com/2026/03/t10t-buzzwordsphrases-that-make-me-want.html
Glad we're on the same page!
DeleteInteresting list, Lisa. There are a lot of those that I don't like, either. But I didn't mention them, I only did the buzzwords that tell me that I should read a book. LOL
ReplyDeleteThansk for visiting it.
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2026/03/top-ten-tuesday-buzzwords.html
I enjoyed reading your TTT post for this week.
DeleteThanks, Lisa. I had a lot of fun doing the list.
DeleteHave a great week of reading, Marianne.
DeleteAlways. And the same to you!
DeleteThank you!
DeleteI agree with almost all of these. I do like at least some of Neil Gaiman's books, although they are hit or miss for me.
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
I've only read one book by Neil Gaiman I liked. The rest of them weren't to my style.
DeleteThe Stream of consciousness structure is not for me, nor is poetry. These days I prefer hen lit to chick lit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your #TTT
Lol, I had to look up the term 'hen lit'!
Delete