Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons for Avoiding Books on TBR–and a few of the books

My usual reason for avoiding titles on my TBR is that I’d have to read them–in a book or on an e-reader. Over the last 11 years, my super-long (1.25 hours each way) commute has made me insanely in love with audiobooks. Sometimes though even I have other reasons for avoiding a book I might want to read.

 

1. It could be an Oprah book

If you’ve read any of my reviews you know that I often (but not always) dislike things with murder, incest, sexual abuse, body parts in the freezer–that kind of thing. Oprah’s the Queen of picking disturbing books (but not always). Disturbing is not my thing. Sometimes, I’ve been proved wrong though so I o occasionally try and like such a book. But I do hesitate a lot on any book with this potential.

Plus, a review used the phrase “lyrical masterpiece” which sounds desperate.

 

2. It could have too many “ick” sex scenes

I do not like to read graphic sex. Consuming sweat from yeasty areas does not entice me, ok?

All I can think is: “What do these people call sex in badly translate English?” That’s about what her last few books meant to me–and I used to jump at her books.

3.  If Historical Fiction it could be full of pet peeves

Those would include stilted conversations to explain everything, names not of the era, using the newspaper to fill up space, views/morals out of synch with the era. All are dnf reasons for me.

Scarred of a caricature of Alice Roosevelt doing even more insane things than she really did. And, know any Americans named Poppy–until the hipsters? Me neither. Social Security didn’t, either. And a fictional Margaret? Hmmm. Tracey Ullman did a great job, but in fiction writing? Lots of possibilities for who’s who conversations that should be covered in a Who’s Who page at the front.

4. It could go into BOTH #1, #2 and #3

Scary, isn’t it?

5. It will be a copycat.

I’ve loved many of the “Something-somthing-life of Somebody-Somebody” genre, but really? How many of these will work?

 

6. The Animal is in an Oprah book

Animal cruelty is a big NO.

 

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