Since I have an ever-growing to be read pile, I am trying to be more selective with the books I purchase. I want to buy books that excite me so much because I have looking forward to them and I know that to some degree, I will enjoy them. That being said, I have a few distinct categories of that I will be avoiding from now on because I know they won’t ignite my passion for reading.
- Firstly, I will be avoiding books I know I won’t enjoy even if they are super popular and every other bookblogger is raving about them. This one is pretty self-explanatory and although I have enjoyed a few books which I read only because they were popular, such as The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary, I have some epic fails, such as The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. My goodness, please don’t read The Girl on the Train if you haven’t already, there are so many books that are so much better, just avoid it and don’t waste your time!
- I will be avoiding excessively long books series. I’m talking about Game of Thrones, the Discworld series, The Mortal Instruments and all its different spin-offs. Apart from the fact that I prefer stand alone books over series, I personally think that book series with over 4 books are just too long because my attention span just doesn’t stretch that far! Especially because book series seem to get worse as the series goes on, so unless you are head-over-heels-in-love with the storyline or plot or whatever it may be, it seems a bit unnecessary to read 7 books just to finish a series you started years ago.
- I am going to steer away from crime/thriller authors who have loads of books. The likes of Peter James, Lee Child and James Patterson were my mums addiction for many years so maybe that is why I have been put off them. Now don’t get me wrong, I won’t completely write off these books because I’m sure at some point in my life they will appeal to me, such as Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy which is set on the island I live on. Similarly to long book series, I just do not have the interest or attention span to care what happens to the detectives and lawyers over multiple years coving many books.
- IT by Stephen King. Although, this may seem very specific, I have been told by multiple reliable sources (i.e. my lovely booksta friends) that this book is unnecessarily long with many unnecessary descriptions which make the book rather boring and drawn out. Plus, I have seen the movie and that was enough scary clowns for me so I have no intention of picking up this Stephen King and horror classic.
- I will also be avoiding books that I really wanted to read a long time ago but still haven’t gotten round to yet. Things like Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell or the Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephanie perkins were some of my most anticipated reads circa 2015 but now that my reading tastes have changed I need to let go of the idea that I still need to read books I once was excited for, even though I don’t hold that same anticipation anymore.
- Book series that were continued yeeeears after the release of the original books… yes, I am looking at you Suzanne Collins and Stephenie Meyer! The Hunger Games was one of my favourite book series from my childhood and I still adore it, however, I have no desire to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, especially after some very poor reviews. Similarly, the recent release of Midnight Sun had Twilight fans so excited but there seems to be a trend in these kind of books not living up to the expectations of readers.
These are all my personal choices of books I will be avoiding in the future. If you love any of the books I have mentioned today, good for you! They are just not for me and it is totally okay for us to have our own reading preferences. Do you have any books that you usually steer clear of?
Ro x
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