What will put you off a book?

[pink shadow]

Is there anything in particular that will put you off a book? Any writing style, theme or something the protagonist just can't do?

For some reason I don't like books written in the present tense. It seems unnatural to me somehow - how can you tell a story while it's happening? I'm not completely consistent in my dislike though, because I like Charles de Lint who writes in the present tense a lot

/pink

 

[Kenny Shovel]

If someone uses a 'stream of consciousness' style they’ve got to be a very good writer and tackling subjects that are of interest for me to be persuaded to read on…

 

[jaybe]

too much description - if this is combined with bad metaphors - ugh - the book gets slung across the room and never opened again.

 

[G4G]

I will seriously consider binning a book if it doesn't have quotes around dialogue. It's something I hate.

And I agree that the present tense thing is a bit crap sometimes.

And I also agree with Mr Shovel that stream of consciousness, if not done well, is a turn-off.

 

[SFG75]

I put a book back if the plot is too plodding. I can stand it to a certain extent, but not overly so.

 

[abecedarian]

I put a book back if the plot is too plodding. I can stand it to a certain extent, but not overly so.

Thank you for saying that..I didn't want to sound too hooked on story, but gee whiz, I don't want to be put to sleep. I also don't want too have to wait too long to get interested in the characters.

 

[Kailana]

I am all for too much description. I am known to skip over that stuff if it gets to be too much.

 

[angerball]

I'm not too fond of present tense either.

Other things that put me off are unrealistic characters, corniness, and plots that get bogged down with too much detail. I can't stand tacky romance either.

 

[steffee]

Endings that are obviously done to avoid causing controversial reviews... such as The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

 

[zen]

christian religious themes. enough said perhaps.

 

[steffee]

christian religious themes. enough said perhaps.

I kinda agree. I don't mind a little bit, and I am a Christian myself, it's just other religions don't throw it in your face as much... maybe it's just me.

 

[pontalba]

I am put off is there is a lot of foul language strewn about for no good reason. I know sometimes its valid, but OTOH, many times its simply put in for shock value. People do use it in real life, but every other word? Not Necessary. The expression that "foul language is a weak mind expressing itself strongly" comes to mind.

Also if excessive cruelty is described in too much detail it is off putting.

 

[mehastings]

I made a resolution at the end of the summer (after reading more than a couple stinkers in a row) that I would stop reading books I am not interested in by a third of the way through. This is my list of reasons:

1) Poor character development. If I can't shake a feeling of ambivalence toward the characters, I'm through.
2) Grammar! Spelling and grammatical errors are UNFORGIVABLE.
3) Weak execution. Just because the grammar is fine doesn't mean the book is well written.
4) ZZZzzz... Boring is boring, I can't get over it.

 

[abecedarian]

I made a resolution at the end of the summer (after reading more than a couple stinkers in a row) that I would stop reading books I am not interested in by a third of the way through. This is my list of reasons:

1) Poor character development. If I can't shake a feeling of ambivalence toward the characters, I'm through.
2) Grammar! Spelling and grammatical errors are UNFORGIVABLE.
3) Weak execution. Just because the grammar is fine doesn't mean the book is well written.
4) ZZZzzz... Boring is boring, I can't get over it.

oh yeah, there's a point sometimes, where I suddenly realize I'd rather wash dishes than read the current book. This is a big flashy neon sign that maybe this book is not for me right now

 

[direstraits]

I was unfortunate enough to read a gay sex scene once. Let's just say I'd rather get a hundred thousand papercuts on my face than to read another paragraph. (prize to who can guess where that phrase came from!)

Neal Stephenson writes in present tense. I didn't even notice it until someone in the forum (a long time ago) actually mentioned it, and I had to pick up the book and check it. That person was right. So present tense doesn't bother me.

ds

 

[Miss Shelf]

For me, it's books where there are long passages of what someone's thinking, I guess this would be under the "stream of consciousness" umbrella.

Flashbacks are another gripe.

Sex scenes shoehorned in, apparently to make the book attractive to those who are titillated by soft-core porn in an otherwise respectable genre.

Books that seem to be "screenplay-ready", written so it wouldn't be hard to convert it into a screenplay.

 

[Fantasy Moon]

Poor writing styles, bad grammar, lack of character development, too much description that has little to do with the story... I'm sure there are others.

 

[mrkgnao]

I've been considering this, and in addition to (on behalf of the author) plain stupidity, bad writing and (on my behalf) good ol' being bored stiff, I've come up with two things that make me sigh and hide the book behind the bookshelf:

# My favourite character being killed off. At least if the rest of the cast isn't good enough to carry the load, and especially if it's uncalled for.

# If I realize early on that the whole book is based on a "ploy" (e.g. 'You think this is what's happening, but this is what is really happening') - and I figure out the ploy on page 26, rather than on the last page...

*mrkgnao*

 

[pink shadow]

I realized another thing that annoys me: When the author tells you a character is a certain way and then makes the character act in ways completely contradictory to this. Like if the author tells you a character is really smart and they just keep doing stupid stuff. That's just the author underestimating the reader in my opinion. Same with what mrkgnao wrote above about figuring out the plot on page 26. Readers may be stupid, but some authors are more so .

 

[Wabbit]

I dislike it when books preach at you. When the author uses the characters in the book simply as an alter ego to inform you of all his wonderful and clever wisdom. This is why I hated Dune

I'm not really a huge fan of time travel, but as with everything in life there are exceptions!