Ten Words/Topics I Try To Avoid When Picking Books To Read!

Posted July 23, 2013 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 43 Comments



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Ten Words/Topics I Try To Avoid
When Picking Books To Read!

You guys, I’d like to consider myself a relatively well-rounded reader. 
For the most part anyway. 
But there are some things that I just don’t enjoy as much as others – 
and there are some things that I just won’t pick up. 


(I can’t even put a picture of an example. 
I DON’T KNOW ANY!!)

1. MEDICAL THRILLERS. 

I don’t even know of an example of a medical thriller, but as a book blogger I get pitched/emailed about these all the time. I never accept them. I just don’t enjoy them, so I see no point in subjecting myself to a book that I basically know that I won’t like. 

That is all. Life’s too short! 

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2. MYSTERY/THRILLERS


There is something so crazy and fun and utterly terrifying about finishing a great thriller with a mystery element, but you guys, actually getting thru them terrifies me. I bite my nails, pace the floors, and wiggle around in my chairs. I will occasionally pick them up and read them, but I don’t really incorporate too many of these books into my reading mix because they just tear my nerves UP. At this point, I feel like the only person left that hasn’t read Gone Girl but I promise I will because everyone says it is really great. Soon. 

I am reading The Never List pretty soon, though. It looks really good. 
And scary!

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3. WEREWOLVES.


Oh my goodness, werewolves are my absolute least favorite paranormal thing. 
That’s all. To me, they just remind me of smelly dog. I didn’t like them in the Twilight Saga (which I loved) and I never gravitate toward books that tend to feature them. That being said, I will sometimes pick up some books that do feature werewolves, and these two are some that are on my to-read list. (I really need to go ahead and finish that Maggie S. trilogy!)

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4. COWBOY BOOKS/WESTERNS.

Love the movies, can’t stand the books. 
This is probably why I haven’t picked up the Gunslinger books, even though I know they have more elements than just western. I want to read them, I just kind of gag a little at the whole western-ness of them. But before the movie comes out, I’ll definitely read them. (#ReadIt1st and all)

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That’s about all I can think of. 
I love reading memoirs and biographies and autobiographies, 
but I’m selective and want them to be about people that I’m interested in. 

I do have a hard time getting through classic novels that are wordy or have a difficult language. 
But I recently read Anna Karenina, so there’s that! 

I’ll try just about anything, really. 
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BONUS:  

I DO NOT LIKE READING BOOKS WITH UGLY COVERS. 
Call me shallow, call me what you will. 
Yes, I do judge books by their covers. 
Sometimes it works against me, but at least I’m being honest. 

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OKAY YOU GUYS! 
This week was hard for me and probably the first time ever
I couldn’t make a completed ten or go over! 

What made your list??


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Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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43 responses to “Ten Words/Topics I Try To Avoid When Picking Books To Read!

  1. haha…. not down with a good western, eh? Me either! Also, I totally agree on covers. They can be such a turn off, or on the other hand a TURN ON… *ahem* Lux Series. 😉 😉

  2. Gone Girl was more suspenseful than terrifying, in my opinion. It makes you sad for humanity, LOL. A great read!

    Thanks for connecting on Linked In. Now I'm following you multiple places. *stalker*

    • I've heard such incredible things about Gone Girl and I'm really trying to psych myself up for it – I'd probably try to audiobook it while following along in print – I tend to do that a lot. I've heard it's crazy though!

  3. Hmm. You know, I don't think I've read a medical thriller before. I'm not even sure if I would like them, but I guess I've just unintentionally stayed away. And as for thrillers — I used to THRIVE ON THEM. But now? I never pick them up. I want to. I have several on my bookshelves, but I just… haven't. :-/ Werewolves aren't really my thing either. I'm sure if I started reading Maggie's series, I would almost forget about the werewolf thing.

    • I think I get so many pitches for them that I'm just like NO NO NO STOP!!!! There has to be something special that sticks out about a thriller for me to pick it up – like the language has to be particularly lovely like with Kate Ellison's books or something. Otherwise, I get really freaked out! Like a kid or something.

    • Same here! I can't help it! I've read some great books with ugly covers and some terrible books with fantastic covers, so the rule doesn't apply 100% but for the most part, first impressions are super important to this gal.

  4. This week was totally hard! I've seen werewolves pop up on lots of peoples' lists – not a favorite of mine either! I actually don't read a lot of thrillers but don't so much shy away from them – I love the suspense!

  5. Ems

    YES on westerns. No thank you. I find them boring and campy.

    I'm very picky about my thrillers, especially medical ones. I liked Robin Cook up to a point, but then he got condescending to the reader and NO THANK YOU.

    Great list!

    My Top Ten

  6. Ugly covers put me off more than anything else… I figure if a book is worth reading, a publisher would have spent enough money to make it appealing. Great list 🙂

    • Agree! I've tried to get into books with not-pretty covers, but I do have a hard time enjoying them as much as a pretty cover. And you're right, even indie authors, I think, should spend a little more on the cover for a good first impression.

    • I've actually never read anything by Kresley Cole! In fact, I don't think I've ever read anything unique about werewolves. Perhaps I should be a little more open-minded? But they're still my least favorite of all of the paranormals.

  7. So I agree with this entire list, even the bonus! haha. I'll even admit I cringed when seeing Forever pictured. I dislike werewolves but I still forced myself to read that entire series and didn't like it at all. Bleh. Hopefully you have better luck than I did! ><

    • I hate the fact that I can't bring myself to read Forever. It bothers me that it's just hanging out there, unread, like an unfinished…thing. But I just can't stand werewolves. Eventually I'll probably finish it so say that I have, but UGH.

  8. We all know how I feel about werewolves and the Shiver trilogy as a whole haha I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely hated that series and, frankly, it totally could have stopped after the first book. Blergh. I hate being mean about books, but don't just jump on the paranormal bandwagon because it's hot, ya know?

    • I like Maggie S and her work and the books are BEAUTIFUL on the eyes, but werewolves are just yucky. I like paranormals, I really do. Vampires forever for me. But no werewolves. I can just smell wet dog while I'm reading, which probably sounds really weird, but SO TRUE.

  9. Great List!! I tried reading Gone Girl, but I put it on hold about half way through. It isn't bad, I just lost interest. I will eventually read the rest.

    I loved Twilight and was definitely Team Edward. The Maggie Stiefvater series is still on my TBR list as well. One werewolf series that I did enjoy is the Nightshade Series by Andrea Cremer.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂

    • Gone Girl terrifies me. I think I'm the only person ever that hasn't even tried it. I think I'll love the Twilight books forever – they're really not as bad as everyone makes them out to be – I just think that everyone hates the hype on them, which I understand. That being said, I was definitely team vampire and not werewolf!

  10. Gone Girl is really great but yes it will WRECK YOU.

    I would put Forever on hold, well, forever. I was not a fan. I can tell you all the reasons why (without spoiling) if you want to know! And I love a werewolf so it's not that…

    The Gunslinger is AMAZING. Oh Ash, FOR REAL. Can we try and read at least one westerny book together? What if we imagine Daryl as the main character…will that help? RAWR.

    • I'm SO SCARED OF GONE GIRL. I would need some serious support to get thru that one. And I'd have no fingernails or nerves left fo sho.

      The Gunslinger. Le sign. I want to read at least the first one before the movie comes out but that one as a western and one with ugly covers just qualifies in so many ways as ICK in this list. BUT BUT I do love sci-fi. So I'm torn. And then you go and pull the Daryl Dixon card which is like WHOA I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU EVEN DID THAT. xo

  11. Heh — I'm with you on werewolves and westerns. And medical thrillers, though I love regular thrillers.
    I think my "no thanks" words are zombies, midlife crisis, high fantasy, and epic love story — I have no patience for love stories that span decades .

    Of course, there are always exceptions to my rules 🙂 I loved Hemlock (werewolves) Something Strange and Deadly, Hallowed Ones, and Reboot (zombies)…

    • Midlife crisis! Yes! I love high fantasy so much, so very very much, but midlife crisis – why on earth??? And I agree that there typically are exceptions to all of the rules and I'm sure that I could think of even some exceptions to my own rules. Except medical thrillers, no way.

  12. I love your comment about werewolves! Honestly, I tend to hate most paranormal creatures in books although I have come to love certain series (like Vampire Academy) regardless. There aren't a ton of books that I'll specifically avoid (although I don't romance novels, as you know haha!) but I'm also not drawn to Westerns and HECK NO to ugly covers!

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