For me, I avoid historical and literary fiction that focuses on multiple generations in a family. I really don’t give a shit about familial drama or who’s fucking who, which these stories tend to shallowly focus on. If I wanted to see family members at each others’ throats, I’d visit my dad’s side more. Also, I think these stories are just overdone.
However, I see a lot of people bothered by books with a ton of POV characters. This doesn’t really bother me because I don’t get easily attached to characters, and sometimes, stories can benefit from getting the bigger picture. Another cliche topic people seem to dislike on this sub are WWII stories, but I don’t really mind them since I’m a huge enthusiast of military history.
by Aurelian369
30 Comments
Non-fiction that I avoid are current political commentary books. By the time the book is published the information is outdated and sometimes wrong.
Anything where there is an awkward romance just thrown in, when it clearly isn’t thought out or woven in well. I hate when it feels like it’s thrown in just to be able to grab another audience.
I avoid grim dark, especially grim dark that goes out of its way just to be grim dark. Like everything is going well and then the last 40-50 pages of the book just fucks over all the characters.
I’m really not a fan of crime thrillers and murder, and the second the back of a book opens with something about a mystery body that turns up somewhere it’s going back on the shelf. As for hated tropes, I’m not sure what exactly is hated but I am a sucker for a happy ending and will accept the most contrived ways of getting one if it means the characters I’ve been rooting for turn out fine by the end of the book!
Marketing that uses tropes as selling points. Makes me feel the book was written around the tropes.
Intese parasocial promotions. The author & publishing company is not your friend. Content creators are not discovering this on their own. It’s all lies to get you to identify with the author as your friend.
Anything that is fanfic with serial numbers filed off. I’ve tried, and it felt hollow. Imagine writing a media tie in novel only needing to strip all trademarked material in the story. Can feel a little hollow.
I’m not a fan of romance, unless there’s some crazy, really interesting plot on the side, I find it pretty boring.
Most popular nonfiction stuff like self-help. Just no.
It’s a *big* list for me:
* Modern-day thrillers, like the Jack Reacher books or anything by Dan Brown
* Biographies in general
* Non-fiction about politics or war (unless it’s pre-WWI)
* Anything involving “The Chosen One”
* Anything that sounds like it was created by the mind of a frustrated Dungeon Master
* Books written in present tense
* Historical romances
* Anything set in a D&D world
* Modern YA, especially if it’s a YA romance
* Sci-fi books with plots so cliche that I could write the outline myself
* “Dark” fantasy
There’s definitely more, but It’d take me ages to come up with them all.
I mainly read fantasy. I normally avoid any fantasy book that leans heavy on romance, especially if it’s in first person.
If there’s any tropes I don’t like, it’s not necessarily the chosen one. Just when a character is new to things and with little amount of time show to be better than characters who have done that thing for years.
I’m avoiding books about war and books by western authors explaining modern russia. (I’m from Ukraine)
I’m sure I’m going to get some negative comments about that, but I don’t care about books that offer advice. Like how to be an overnight success, or how to be happy, or how to be happy and an overnight success. I received a few of them as a present and they were just repeating the same thing over and over again, rephrasing the same concept to fill out the pages. Waste of paper mostly.
I don’t usually read detective stories. I did read Agatha Christie, though.
Romance. Any and all romance.
Crime and legal thrillers… my mom reads a ton like jo nesbo and john grisham but i can’t bring myself to care about them at all. Read like two books by jussi adler olsen, the first was interesting, the second was a slump. They just aren’t for me.
Also romance when it’s the center of the plot and the sex scenes are a lot and super detailed. Snoozefest for me.
I hate, with fiery passion, books written in present tense.
If the marketing copy contains the words “life-affirming”, I’m out.
Self help and get rich quick books can burn in hell. I also have a love-hate relationship with time travel tropes. Romance books meh, for me to read romance books it would have to be between.. I dunno, a human and a talking tree or something and they want to destroy the world.
Anything where a pregnancy/baby is central to the plot. I hate that.
I avoid romance where it sounds like the love interest is subjugating the female lead. Being controlling is one thing, but adding on being a generic, shallow male love interest? It irks me.
I don’t necessarily avoid them but complain relentlessly: military novels that spend too much time on basic/bootcamp. Or any time, at this point. Like, I get it, that was a part of the experience and pretty traumatic in its own right, but most of these descriptions are about the same. Not everything needs to have a *Full Metal Jacket* structure.
On a more general note: romance. I’m uninterested and therefore get annoyed by it ‘taking the time away’ from the elements I do enjoy.
I can’t stand it when the entire plot is created by 2 characters simply not talking to each other. If a book can end in 20 pages by 2 characters having one conversation, but they choose not to, and drama ensues, I’m over it.
Anything that booktok hypes up. I’m convinced that the influencers don’t actually even read the books. It’s all a fashion statement.
YA. Nothing wrong with, and if it’s what someone likes they should absolutely read YA and I’ll be pleased for them. But I’ve reached a point in my life where it just doesn’t resonate for me anymore.
-A fantasy book that has a dark lord who is raising an army
-A thriller that involves politicians/the FBI/CIA , trying to stop a secret organisation from doing bad things
(This is just because I read way too many of these kind of books, I’ve experienced burnout and the plot and tropes are just too easy for me to predict )
– Anything nonfiction
– Romance
– Horror, there are exceptions but it is a genre that I tend to avoid
Seeing “The next Tolkien” in a book blurb is a turnoff, ngl.
Anything by Jordan Peterson
Alpha male bullshit in romance fiction. The whole brooding, ‘I’m so damaged’, ‘I’m going to treat you like crap but I’d burn the world for you’ is only acceptable if the character has magic or wings. And doesn’t actually treat the woman like crap.
Well, I’m gonna sound a little shallow here, but I have no interest in reading about other people’s problems. Someone will recommend a book and be like, “Oh, it’s a wonderful book about how she was raped as a teenager and raised 11 children, and her husband was murdered by extremists, but somehow she still survived and now runs a vegan bakery in Soho,” and I’m like WHY would I want to subject myself to that sadness and misery?? I want to be uplifted and distracted from how hard life can be, not reminded how horrible people are!!” Now you know 😉
I don’t read romance-heavy books at all but friggin love triangles make me want to eat fake decorative fruit.
This is a very specific one but I hate the trope of the lawyer that only defend innocent people. It’s often presented as a noble character but imo it completely miss everything that is interesting about being a lawyer. There is a nobility in making sure that even the worst monsters are being treated humanly and in accordance with the law. The lawyer that only defend innocents are the worst kind of idealists, the kind that miss the point.
No one is going to see this, but I’m sick to death of “woman returns to her home and harbors a dark secret/past” or her hometown is sketchy. I think I read one too many of them last year and none of them felt particularly good to me so I just avoid them now.