# Stories that you are tired of reading



## MissingAlaska (Apr 28, 2014)

There is a discussion in the writer's forum about hackneyed plots.  Which made me think, what are some storylines that readers are tired of seeing or that have been overused recently?  Any plotlines in particular that makes you want to fling a book across the room?  Plots or subject areas that make you want to choke the writer?  Admittedly, any plot can be retold and done well - but what subject matter makes you roll your eyes and say "No more!".

For me, it's hundreds of versions of The Hunger Games that are springing up.  Loved the original - but enough is enough, at least for a few decades.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

As someone who has not been a young adult for longer than I care to think, I'm pretty tired of any story centered around coming of age stories and/or teens solving major world crises (especially the pig farmer who's actually the rightful king sort of thing  ).


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I'm really tired of any story with terrorists, drug cartels, serial killers, or street gangs. I won't even consider reading them.  Also anything with zombies or vampires.

And I'm considering adding books with protagonists that have some sort of flaw such as alcoholism.

Put it down to my generally liking things that lean more to being plot-driven than character-driven.

Mike


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

So absolutely _*TIRED to DEATH*_ of the "supposed pathetic girl suddenly torn between amorous attentions of two or more supreme specimens of manliness"


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## K.B. Rose (Sep 7, 2014)

jmiked said:


> Also anything with zombies or vampires.


Yes!!

In contemporary romance, I'm really tired of the girl always being a virgin and the guy being super experienced. It seems like the majority of books I read in this genre have this and ugh.

And I know this isn't plot-related, but I get tired of really ridiculous, unlikely character names.


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## derekailes2014 (Aug 4, 2014)

Twilight has ruined the horror genre.  A lot of horror authors are now putting love angles into stories where there shouldn't be now.  Vampires, werewolves, and other horror creatures should be killing mortals not falling in love with them.


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

derekailes2014 said:


> Twilight has ruined the horror genre. A lot of horror authors are now putting love angles into stories where there shouldn't be now. Vampires, werewolves, and other horror creatures should be killing mortals not falling in love with them.


Absolutely! I mean, how can you be frightened of a monster with feelings?! The only time that storyline worked for me was in the original *Dark Shadows,* where we already knew that Barnabas Collins was once mortal but was cursed by his wife the witch when he attempted to kill her, doomed to never die, but always live in the shadows of night. He loved a mortal woman, but had been tricked into marrying the witch after he broke her heart, and that triangle that spanned through the ages was what made the series so popular. However, he was also frightening because we never knew who he would kill under the power of the curse that afflicted him. And he vowed revenge on the witch, whom we secretly felt sorry for because he had used her, just outright _used_ her, which caused her to....well, don't get me started! Suffice to say it was the ONLY horror story that made me feel sorry for the villainous monsters!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I wouldn't say 'tired of reading' because I just don't any more but it's been years since I found any 'pure romance' anything but a big yawn. Mind you, I don't have a problem with a bit of romance as a side plot. But, for me, most romance plots are completely predictable, and I also don't usually much like any of the characters.

Never had any interest in zombies. Vampires I can take or leave. So, again, not 'tired of reading' because I don't much anyway. 

Dystopia seems to be a 'thing' nowadays too, and I totally don't get it. Read _On the Beach_ as a teenager and decided that was it for me for depressing 'the world is ending' books. 

I guess that I'm most tired of reading books that are supposed to be 'meaningful'. Yeah, but, are they any fun to read? It's worse when they're billed as an adventure or thriller and you find out within a few chapters that, really, they're trying to be deep. Happens sometimes in Science Fiction, also current political thriller type books. Of course, it _can_ be well done -- to where you don't feel 'preached at' at all, but finish the book actually thinking about things.


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## Lcthulou (Dec 6, 2013)

Stupid Dystopias and Science fiction where the entire society revolves around one social aspect. I just want to scream "Who thought this was a good Idea? How did you get here?"  Have to pick one of four personality traits? Sacrifice your Kids? Eat Paste? No problem. It's for the "Greater Good." Really? we can't even agree on whether giving people Healthcare is a good idea, but you're asking me to believe we all agree to let the "Specials" make every social decision? Usually as the result of some unexplored "Devastating catastrophe that killed X% of the population" 

Ugh.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> So absolutely _*TIRED to DEATH*_ of the "supposed pathetic girl suddenly torn between amorous attentions of two or more supreme specimens of manliness"


 Yes that a the ever loving love triangle as been done to death already. Why can't there just be one solid love interest? I hate the wishy washyness that comes with love triangles and I just think they are overdone already.


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## von19 (Feb 20, 2013)

MLPMom said:


> Yes that a the ever loving love triangle as been done to death already. Why can't there just be one solid love interest? I hate the wishy washyness that comes with love triangles and I just think they are overdone already.


Thirded? I dont know. But I totally agree!


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

Political thrillers. IMO our government is such a hopeless mess that any story featuring anyone in government as a hero/heroine doesn't work and nothing bad/evil/stupid that anyone does in those stories has any ability to shock or excite.


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## ValeriGail (Jan 21, 2010)

Everything y'all said about vamps already, and then some. I was going to post the day this thread started but wanted to see where it would go and I'm glad I waited.  I'm constantly making jokes about how "twilighted" the vamps and werewolves are in books, tv and movies now. So basically mainstream media.  It's annoying. I'd like our monsters back. Enough sparklies.  (And I did read all the books)

In the romance genre, I can not stand the misogynic male lead that takes what he wants when he wants it written in because women (puke) want a powerful man.  Give me an effing break.  There are confident, strong men and then there are arrogant abusers that should never be used as an example of a love interest to our daughters.  I can not stand that authors in this genre still chose to write these characters in.  

I also can't stand that they write crappy women characters too. Just swap out man with woman and it's the same thing.  Why?  People still read the stuff.  And leave review claiming it was the best book ever!!  Sad really. 

How about the overly perfect beauty of the characters?  Does that bug anyone else?  Or, if the character is plain or normal, it is stressed quite often that they aren't up to par.  I find it annoying. I was just reading a synapse today that actually said something along the lines "he meets a girl who is by no means beautiful but he finds her alluring", and I think wtf?  

I'm also tired, in any genre, of the simpleton heroine or hero that can't or won't learn for them selfs. You all know what I'm talking about. 

And stupid names, specially ones hard to pronounce. I shouldn't be spending more time figuring out the characters names than on the story plot.


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## Jena H (Oct 2, 2011)

LOL, where do I begin on this?  

- Vampires.  They're dead.  Their bodies are cold.  Some popular fiction references vampires biting their wrists to give someone blood for purposes of healing or whatever.  Here's a hint:  there wouldn't be blood coursing through the veins, and what blood is there wouldn't be bright red.  Without the heart beating (i.e., dead) the blood would all stay where it was at time of death, and then pool in the lower extremities.  So you have cold bodies with purple splotches where the blood pools.  What warm-blooded living person wants to hug or kiss a room-temperature skin-bag?  (And I say this as someone who has faithfully watched The Vampire Diaries from the beginning.)

- Zombies.  They're for Halloween and 11-year-old boys, imho.

- I agree w/ Ann in Arlington about romances being predictable.  Yes, I realize that's the point--they're romances, so we know how they're going to end. I can't explain why some romances are enjoyable and I totally 'buy in,' and others I want to throw across the room in the first chapter, but there it is.

- Subsets of the romance disconnect include the Great Misunderstanding and the One Conversation gambit.  THose things indicate an automatic "fail" in my book.

- Post-apocalyptic or dystopian.  Ugh!!  Yes, I think that while these books certainly existed for decades, we have The Hunger Games to thank for the fact that they've flooded the market over the past years.  And of course the main characters are always young and strong and while they think there's nothing special about them, it's clear to the reader that they're very attractive yet humble.

- The "orphan child who learns there's something special about him/her."  Popularized by Harry Potter and others have jumped on the bandwagon.  Only he/she can save the world or has the power to defeat the Great Evil.  And along the way the MC usually learns that the dead parents were part of some great heroic secret group, or they were powerful beings working toward the common good, blah blah blah.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I was a fan of post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction for decades before _The Hunger Games_ and only read the first one in that series since I found it a bit derivative and worth continuing. As for other apocalyptic fiction, I loved it all before the current crop of economic collapse/EMP/super-virus fiction that often showcases a superhero like protagonist. I loved vampires for a long time and still adore Lestat de Lioncourt more than I probably should.

With those things said, I'm sick to death of all the purely derivative fiction capitalizing on the fashions of dystopias, apocalypses, paranormal, etc ... and I'll be happy as they slide out of fashion again. There is some good stuff to be found but it's lost in a sea of mediocre fiction.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

The problem is that the stories you're tired of reading are all the popular tropes of today and they are selling. That means authors are either writing the same stories in hopes of jumping on the bandwagon, or they've written something different and it languishes in the high six figure or even seven figure rankings and nobody finds it. If nobody is finding it, those authors either give up writing, or try to jump onto the bandwagon as well. 

I love post apocalyptic books and have enjoyed some of the recent ones, but none of them are as good as the first one I read, One Second After. I don't know if that one was really better or if it was just something new to me and that's what made it special. 

I love romance, but the kind like LaVryle Spencer wrote. I don't care about billionaires or arrogant powerful heroes. I can't find Spencer-like romances any more unless I seach for older stuff. I just keep re-reading 'Morning Glory" instead.   

Thrillers--eh. I'm not a fan of the heroes in most. They are all like Rambo. Fun the first time you read them, but then they all blend together. (and as an author of thrillers, I do look for something different and rejoice when I find it.)


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## Adrian P (Aug 5, 2014)

Jena H said:


> - Subsets of the romance disconnect include the Great Misunderstanding and the One Conversation gambit. Those things indicate an automatic "fail" in my book.


Oh gosh, those. The author wants more pages in their book, they press the "insert predictable drama here" button.

Hackneyed plots...can I include movies in this one too? I've seen a few written plot lines like this, but I remember it mostly on TV - where the girl has two love interests, but one of them is just a total jerk the entire time. Actually, the "bad" romantic interest ranges from jerk to just plain evil. Sometimes it's so obvious that it makes you wonder what's going on in the girl's head. It makes me facepalm a lot. (Then again, it can be disappointing when both love interests are sympathetic, and the girl chooses the one you liked less.)


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Any "coming-of-age" stories ... but it is merely my personal preference. Especially if the main protagonist is the Chosen One.
I am also taking a long-term break from triple A - adolescents, assassins and agents. Particularly political "thrillers" written by folks with zero knowledge of weapons, politics, history, sex and humans. At least some of that really should be based on the first-hand knowledge


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

I find it funny that adults cite coming of age stories as tiresome. Yes, they are, but they're not intended for adults. They're mostly intended for YA readers who are actually young teens and who haven't read these stories hundreds of times before. As reader, you tend to mature and your tastes change. 

Like most girls at high school, I went through a romance reading stage where I devoured five or six Harlequins per week. That lasted, like, two months, if that, and then I couldn't bear to look at another. That's OK. New people discover romance all the time, and then get sick of it, too.

Personally, I am very tired of reading hard science fiction or hard/military space opera where female characters serve only as eye candy/booty for the male heroes. Can bear to read some of the "classic SF", but I'm mostly disappointed to see it in recent books.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I guess I am lucky that I am just reading apocalypse distopian type novels now. I am not interesting in Hunger Games though. I read Angelfall and loved it. I guess that is distopian. I also liked one I read a while back that was basically an alternate universe with it being recency England, just after the plague had it and the fall out from that. I wish that author had written another in the series, but nothing. 

I am not a fan of the current crop of whats in romance, especially the contempo category. If I want to read a billionaire romance, I'll pick out an older Harlequin novel with a Tycoon or a Sheik or something, they did it better anyway then most of whats out there now. Not a fan of the new crop of New Adult either. It has morphed into the stalker alphole hero and again, if I feel like that, I go back in time to the 80's and 90s and find much better ones there. Already done better. 

As far as the tropes with the TSTL characters and such, well they always have been around and I always had to pick through what tropes I feel like reading today. I like the tortured hero for example, scarred, emotionally and phycially, its like cat nip to me. Also the downtrodden heroine. Thats in historical mostly. Not all tropes work in all time periods. What I like in historical wouldn't work in contempo and so on. 

The one thing though I have noticed more in newer contempo romance is the insta-love. And I really hate that. No buildup of any characters and as soon as they see each other, the universe farts fireworks and unicorns and every action, stupid or not, is then excused with, but he/she is meant for me. Unless its a fated by some forces paranormal, I hate that trope in romance. There is no journey that way, no getting to know each other, no growth of the emotions. Its all, eyeballs latch on and the womb is vibrating and the manly bits are honing in like a launch signal. 

But overall I just go with the flow. 

And I think I just broke my spell check. You have been warned.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Patty Jansen said:


> I find it funny that adults cite coming of age stories as tiresome. Yes, they are, but they're not intended for adults. They're mostly intended for YA readers who are actually young teens and who haven't read these stories hundreds of times before. As reader, you tend to mature and your tastes change.
> 
> Like most girls at high school, I went through a romance reading stage where I devoured five or six Harlequins per week. That lasted, like, two months, if that, and then I couldn't bear to look at another. That's OK. New people discover romance all the time, and then get sick of it, too.
> 
> Personally, I am very tired of reading hard science fiction or hard/military space opera where female characters serve only as eye candy/booty for the male heroes. Can bear to read some of the "classic SF", but I'm mostly disappointed to see it in recent books.


Have you read The Lost Fleet Series, by Jack Campbell? He has a woman in his series who becomes a love interest, but is an officer in her own right. Their problem comes in the form that her love interest (the star of the series) is her commanding officer. Both of them are honorable and fight their feelings.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I am not a fan of the current crop of whats in romance, especially the contempo category. If I want to read a billionaire romance, I'll pick out an older Harlequin novel with a Tycoon or a Sheik or something, they did it better anyway then most of whats out there now. Not a fan of the new crop of New Adult either. It has morphed into the stalker alphole hero and again, if I feel like that, I go back in time to the 80's and 90s and find much better ones there. Already done better.
> 
> The one thing though I have noticed more in newer contempo romance is the insta-love. And I really hate that. No buildup of any characters and as soon as they see each other, the universe farts fireworks and unicorns and every action, stupid or not, is then excused with, but he/she is meant for me. Unless its a fated by some forces paranormal, I hate that trope in romance. There is no journey that way, no getting to know each other, no growth of the emotions. Its all, eyeballs latch on and the womb is vibrating and the manly bits are honing in like a launch signal.


AMEN Atunah! I automatically skip any book now with the word Billionaire in the title. ever notice how they are all hot young studs? PLEASE! A) There aren't that many SINGLE, hot, young, & studly billionaires in the world! B.) What the heck is WRONG with a guy who is say only a millionaire? OMG isn't that ENOUGH?!?

And while I did tell my mom I had found my future husband on the day I met him (married almost 24 years now) I know that doesn't happen nearly as often in RL as the books seem to make us believe.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

jmiked said:


> Also anything with zombies or vampires.


I don't even read this genre and I'm tired of it.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

All the above. I can't even look at the _covers_ in some genres anymore without feeling queasy.


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## A.A (Mar 30, 2012)

I like intense mystery, and if a story doesn't have that, I can find it a tough read. There's lots of tropes I'm bored to the eyeballs with, but these tropes do well on Amazon, so it's certainly not the case that everyone's tired of them. For years there, almost all I read were spy novels (Ludlum etc) and I burned out on them - I'm sure the stories are still good, but I can't read them anyone. (Actually, yes I could, but I don't seek them out.)

My dad, who is in his eighties, grew up on a farm and didn't have a lot to do in his spare time - so he read cowboy books. And he always tells about the day he realised the books all had the same plot. He never read a cowboy book again. Sadly, he gave up on reading altogether.


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## Debbie Bennett (Mar 25, 2011)

Atunah said:


> It has morphed into the stalker alphole hero


I just love that phrase. I may have to plagiarise it....


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

DebBennett said:


> I just love that phrase. I may have to plagiarise it....


Atunah has said she can't write & has no desire to be a writer, but she can certainly turn a phase, eh?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I doubt I came up with this myself. But I have no recollection when I started using that term, or where it came from. 

Googling shows even goodreads shelf with that term.  

I wouldn't mind being a writer if I could. The same way I wouldn't mid being a rocket scientist, or a stunning, young, perky breasted famous actress.


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## bobbic (Apr 4, 2011)

I think authors might be more critical of the "same ol' same ol'" because we do tend to analyze books, and see the plot "formulas." Some of my non-author friends say that they never notice the same things I do in books. So maybe we're the wrong ones to ask about this.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I doubt I came up with this myself. But I have no recollection when I started using that term, or where it came from.
> 
> Googling shows even goodreads shelf with that term.
> 
> I wouldn't mind being a writer if I could. The same way I wouldn't mid being a rocket scientist, or a stunning, young, perky breasted famous actress.


You wouldn't leave us then, would you?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

intinst said:


> You wouldn't leave us then, would you?


I'd still drop by and then make a dramatic flouncy exit each time to keep up my diva-ish reputation.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

bobbic said:


> I think authors might be more critical of the "same ol' same ol'" because we do tend to analyze books, and see the plot "formulas." Some of my non-author friends say that they never notice the same things I do in books. So maybe we're the wrong ones to ask about this.


Of course, not everyone here is an author. Probably most are NOT.  Especially here in the Book Corner.


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## bobbic (Apr 4, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Of course, not everyone here is an author. Probably most are NOT.  Especially here in the Book Corner.


Ah, where am I? LOL. Sorry. In that case, then never mind!


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I'd still drop by and then make a dramatic flouncy exit each time to keep up my diva-ish reputation.


I think I'd like to see a rocket scientist make a dramatic flouncy exit.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

bobbic said:


> Ah, where am I? LOL. Sorry. In that case, then never mind!


Well, you're perfectly _welcome_ if you're an author.  Interesting and courteous discussion in non-author-focused areas of the board often generate interest in an author's work.

And, you do have a point -- a lot of times I think authors worry about things that the average reader doesn't give too hoots about. Or if they notice the 'thing' they can't put a name to it, just know they didn't like the book. 

Me personally: I think I get tired of a thing when I've binged on it a bit. Like I read about 10 JD Robbs in a row once. I think I overdosed. Haven't had the inclination to read others since -- though I'd probably enjoy them. Someday I 'spect I will.  And I think people's tastes change as they move through life.


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## bobbic (Apr 4, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Well, you're perfectly _welcome_ if you're an author.  Interesting and courteous discussion in non-author-focused areas of the board often generate interest in an author's work.
> 
> And, you do have a point -- a lot of times I think authors worry about things that the average reader doesn't give too hoots about. Or if they notice the 'thing' they can't put a name to it, just know they didn't like the book.
> 
> Me personally: I think I get tired of a thing when I've binged on it a bit. Like I read about 10 JD Robbs in a row once. I think I overdosed. Haven't had the inclination to read others since -- though I'd probably enjoy them. Someday I 'spect I will.  And I think people's tastes change as they move through life.


Yeah, that was the point I was *trying* to make. ;-D I love hearing what readers are sick to death of. It's very hard, doing Amazon sales, to know what readers are thinking unless they leave detailed reviews. I am a reader, too, and find myself sick of the same things. Like you, I tend to get sick of things I'm binging on. Like recently, the Cussler books. Now I'm trying to read a stack of contemporary romances, and not getting very far in them. My love is the creepy suspense stuff (without women who wear $800 shoes--LOL), and don't find much of it anymore.


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## ValeriGail (Jan 21, 2010)

I tend to break up my reading material specifically so that I don't burn out on it. Learned that lesson in my teens when my mom would only buy me thrift store 10 cent books and I would purge on romances like potato chips.  Which is why most of what is listed in my "what I can't stand" post referenced that genre.  Now I only read two of the same genre or series in order then I switch it up. Helps keep things flowing nicely and less feelings of been here seen this before from happening.  I'm also a lot more selective in my old age as I was way back when. Lol. At least id like to believe so


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2014)

When I was young, I began reading science fiction--everything I could get my hands on. I even went back and read the science fiction from the 30ties and 40ties. I loved it all. Then one day, when I wasn't so young, I picked up a highly-rated new author and realized the plot was very similar to other things I had read. I picked up another book, and the same thing. Soon, I realized every new book was just a rehash of an older book I had read. I still love science fiction movies and tv shows (aren't those special effects awesome?), and if I hear wonderful things about a new sci fi book, I try it. I never get past the first few chapters. I think I may have read every plot imaginable in that genre. That's okay. I now love mysteries and thrillers. Yeah!


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## JamieW (Sep 1, 2014)

I'm beyond bored with romances and new adult told in the first person by a "brilliant" young woman who thinks in deathless clichés and feels so..you know... wilting-violetishy every time his eyes do that you know..like..penetrating (sigh) thing... that her lips keep trembling so relentlessly she has to ...like ...um...(what was that line I saw recently?)... nip them into coercion. Yes, really.

And a perfectly intelligent author has entrusted this NINNY to deliver a story. Obviously, an attractive successful billionaire who never seems to do anything to manage his empire will be smitten. Gag me now. I want characters like these to step in dog s**t, not fall into the sack on page three. I'd rather peel potatoes for a month than be stuck inside this MC's puerile viewpoint for 220 pages.

I know there's an audience addicted to first person romances like that... Yep, different strokes!


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## JamieCampbell (May 29, 2013)

For a while there, it seemed every book I read had a "dead" parent suddenly come back who happened to be royalty - meaning the character was suddenly a princess and required to save the world.

So. Many.


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## jeffaaronmiller (Jul 17, 2012)

I'm thoroughly sick of love triangles. I think it's time for more love rectangles! Yes, bring on the love rectangles!!!


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## ValeriGail (Jan 21, 2010)

jeffaaronmiller said:


> I'm thoroughly sick of love triangles. I think it's time for more love rectangles! Yes, bring on the love rectangles!!!


Haha!! That made me laugh so loud that now I'm inclined to agree!!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Not so much a "story" as a plot device, I really dislike when otherwise intelligent protagonists do stupid things, seemingly just as a way for the author to add suspense/action. While the extreme prototype might be the classic movie scene of going down to the basement with a flashlight in the middle of the night during a power outage to investigate a strange noise while a serial killer is known to be on the loose in the area, more subtle things can bother me as well. For example, I started reading the 2nd Harry Dresden novel this weekend (_Fool Moon_) to see if it did more for me than the first book (since the series has been quite popular), and in hardly any time at all, Harry is sneaking into an abandoned building on the trail of one or more werewolves, without any backup or serious preparation for trouble. Really?


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Not so much a "story" as a plot device, I really dislike when otherwise intelligent protagonists do stupid things, seemingly just as a way for the author to add suspense/action. While the extreme prototype might be the classic movie scene of going down to the basement with a flashlight in the middle of the night during a power outage to investigate a strange noise while a serial killer is known to be on the loose in the area, more subtle things can bother me as well. For example, I started reading the 2nd Harry Dresden novel this weekend (_Fool Moon_) to see if it did more for me than the first book (since the series has been quite popular), and in hardly any time at all, Harry is sneaking into an abandoned building on the trail of one or more werewolves, without any backup or serious preparation for trouble. Really?


Funny that you say that about the Dresden books, I said almost the same thing in my review of 1 and 2 in the series. For me he is like a TSTL heroine at times. I think that is why I haven't been able to start the 3rd one yet. I can only take so much of acting so dumb.

Characters acting stupid can and will ruin a book for me, especially if they started out showing some smarts.


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## VictoriaScribens (Sep 11, 2014)

I read a bunch of cozy mysteries this summer, because I'm working on a new series of sort-of cozy mysteries set in a fantasy world (I say sort-of because I'm not following all the genre tropes), and the thing that really bugged me in them was how little the characters seemed to be affected by the really quite extraordinary body counts in their lives.

I mean, I've personally been terrified of finding a body in an abandoned suitcase since I was about twelve and that happened in a city I was living in (and particularly a ravine I used to play in). I wasn't even the person to find the body! Yet I've always been deeply, deeply suspicious of abandoned suitcases ever since.

I read one, the middle in a series, and the main character referred to a murder that had happened _the previous month_, which I gather her teenaged daughter had stumbled on, and how her daughter was now over it. I enjoyed the book but that really threw me out of it. How callous are these people? And the thing about cozies is they're _not_ trained professionals--I get a police officer or the like being able to move on quickly, because they in fact have had training specifically to do that, and I'm sure it's still hard. But a random knitter/gardener/hotel owner/vintner/dog groomer ... ?

I'll keep Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter, who grieves for the victims and the murderers, even when he doesn't like either of them.


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## Jonathan C. Gillespie (Aug 9, 2012)

Oh, goody *cracks knuckles*:

1) Sex for the sake of sex, and violence for the sake of violence. I see this as a bigger issue in film and TV. If you're not writing erotica or romance, then why would you force content in the name of putting your plot on the back burner?
2) Strong female leads for the sole sake of having strong female leads. There's nothing wrong with strong women; I've known several, including my wife. But always writing cookie-cutter superwomen isn't really an improvement over whatever it was you took issue with before, because you're still writing only one kind of woman. Write a believable human being, with vulnerabilities and bruises, and worry less about being "empowering". Just write a good character, and everything else with fall into place.
3) Books that were written to focus on a character's demographic attributes as a higher priority than their motivations, dreams and vices.
4) Sparkling vampires, hunky werewolves, sexy blobs, etc. You don't have to make a monster a sex symbol to make it sympathetic. Boris Karloff performed what was probably the most sympathetic monster moments of all time, and I wouldn't expect him to have made GQ.
5) Dramedies.
6) Reboots. (Yeah, I know, I'm verging into film).
7) Big, manly men with guns doing things big manly men with guns do, with little attention to their motives beyond being a machine gun with legs. If a guy is so tough he walks from point A to B, and the story ends, then you've got a problem.


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## Jena H (Oct 2, 2011)

Jonathan C. Gillespie said:


> Oh, goody *cracks knuckles*:
> 
> 7) Big, manly men with guns doing things big manly men with guns do, with little attention to their motives beyond being a machine gun with legs. If a guy is so tough he walks from point A to B, and the story ends, then you've got a problem.


Alpha males. Yeah, I'm not a fan of them, either.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I keep seeing the sparkling vampire thing pop up here and there in similar threads. But I am at a loss to think of any other books than Twilight that had actual sparkling vampires. That is just 4 books though and since folks keep bringing it up, there must be a horde of them. Who else writes sparkly vampires? Just curious. I just thought it was a Twilight thing.


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## Jonathan C. Gillespie (Aug 9, 2012)

It's a catch-all term for the fact that the most terrifying creation of contemporary "horror" is the monster that really isn't.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

But its different genres. Or are you saying there are sparkly vampires in the horror genre. If so, I guess I could see your pain. 

If a vampire, were or other "monster" is a love interest, than different rules apply. You get to have your bad mean monsters in horror and others get to have their still bad but redeemable ones in PNR. Its just characters, nobody owns them. 

They don't really exist you know.


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## Jonathan C. Gillespie (Aug 9, 2012)

Yes, "Twilight" is a romance with stick-on fangs, sure. But to me, it's like if someone took the xenomorph and dragged it into a romance once it when public domain. They replace the double-jaw with a rose dispenser and so forth...


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

NogDog said:


> Not so much a "story" as a plot device, I really dislike when otherwise intelligent protagonists do stupid things, seemingly just as a way for the author to add suspense/action. While the extreme prototype might be the classic movie scene of going down to the basement with a flashlight in the middle of the night during a power outage to investigate a strange noise while a serial killer is known to be on the loose in the area, more subtle things can bother me as well. For example, I started reading the 2nd Harry Dresden novel this weekend (_Fool Moon_) to see if it did more for me than the first book (since the series has been quite popular), and in hardly any time at all, Harry is sneaking into an abandoned building on the trail of one or more werewolves, without any backup or serious preparation for trouble. Really?


I was going to read one of those books, but that'll probably keep me from it.


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