As I was browsing online reader, I came across the book tag at Maxxesbooktopia. An anti-to-be-read list? That sounds intriguing to me. It’s always interesting to see what books other people will not read (or have no interest in reading). I think you can probably tell just as much about a person from what they dislike as from what they like. So without further ado, here’s the questions and my answers to what is not on my TBR list!
The Anti-TBR List
1. A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading?
For a while, every other person I met was recommending The Help by Kathryn Stockett. With the best of intentions, they would talk about how the book was rejected X number of times and add “look what happened!” They intended to encourage me while I queried my first (and still unpublished) novel. Instead, it made me want to scream. It also made me dislike The Help, though my irrational feelings are hardly the book’s fault.
Other pick? The Fault in Our Stars. So many people tell me they adore this book. Somehow I’ve never felt interested in reading it.
2. A classic book (or author) you don’t have an interest in reading?
I have no interest in reading Lolita. I know it’s a classic, but there’s something so repellant about the premise that I’d rather not waste my reading time on it.
3. A problematic author whose books you have no interest in reading?
J.K. Rowling. I wasn’t interested in reading the Harry Potter series when it was first published, despite (or perhaps because) everyone in the universe telling me that I absolutely had to read these books. You aren’t my English professor; no, you don’t get to tell me what I have to read. I’ve never been interested in any other work of Rowling’s. Now that she’s shown she doesn’t know how to respect other people, I’m definitely not putting her work on my TBR list. (I wonder how many people have answered this particular question with her name.)
4. An author you have read a couple of books from & have decided their books are not for you?
There are several on this list:
Charles Belfoure. He wrote a bestselling novel several years back. I read two of his subsequent novels. Not impressed. My mom loves his work, though, so maybe I’m not his target audience.
John Grisham. In all honesty, I have enjoyed two of his novels (The Runaway Jury and The Last Juror). But most of his work doesn’t interest me; there’s only so many legal thrillers that I can read and enjoy.
Ditto with Jodi Picoult. She’s hit-or-miss with me. Some of her work I like (My Sister’s Keeper, Nineteen Minutes) but most of the others haven’t interested me.
5. A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into & couldn’t?
High fantasy. In middle school, my mom guilt-tripped me into reading The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, but I didn’t enjoy them. I never finished the LoTR, to the chagrin of my daughters (who love it) and a church friend, who thinks LoTR should be required reading for church membership. He’s joking. I think.
But my main issue with high fantasy isn’t Tolkien himself. I admit the guy was innovative and a genius at worldbuilding and all that. But in my hometown, I’ve meet a number of aspiring writers who write fantasy and Tolkien is their inspiration-muse-idol–and it stops there. They’re not trying to go beyond his inspiration in any substantial way. When I ask them about their unfinished manuscripts, it often sounds derivative of LoTR. I don’t think they even realize it. I know my prejudice is unfair to the many fantasy authors who aren’t writing LoTR-knock-offs, but I can’t shake it.
6. A book you have bought but will never read? (this can be a book you have unhauled/returned to the library unread)
City of Ash and Red by Hye-Young Pyun. I bought it but I’ve never managed to actually move it from the TBR list to the currently-reading pile. Each time I do, I read the blurb and think, how depressing. Right now, it looks pretty on my bookshelf. I should take it to a second-hand bookstore and let someone else have a chance to read it.
7. A series you have no interest in reading OR a series you started & have dnf’d?
Game of Thrones. I know enough about it to understand when the characters/plot are referenced in pop culture or in writing craft books. It’s simply not for me.
8. A new release you have no interest in reading?
I’m a little weird about new releases. If a book becomes extremely popular, I tend to avoid it, sometimes to the extent that I ignore its existence. So I have no answer to this question!
What’s on Your Anti-TBR list?
So how about you? Are there books you would never, ever put on your TBR list? How to your answers compare with mine? As always, if you enjoyed this post, a share on social media is greatly appreciated!
Talk to me! What do you think?