A friend and I were talking last night about what is a deal breaker for us when reading a book–you know the thing you just can’t get past, that makes you stop reading?
This started because I was complaining about books that have no point. Do you know what I mean? The herione gets up and goes to work, maybe something interesting happens, maybe it is funny, but you have no clue WHY the book was written. What is it the herione wants that we are going to watch her struggle to get? Or what is going to happen to her that she will have to overcome?
I can put up with this for a while if the voice is one I like, but eventually, I get peeved. I expect someone to want something. If I had to pick one genre that I think is most guilty of this, it would be chic lit. Don’t get me wrong I love a lot of chic lit, but I think there is something about that first person day-in-the-life kind of casual tone that lends itself to the no point story. But I have read this type of book in other genre.
The first tip off for me is finding myself thinking, “What kind of book is this?” Is someone going to die? I read another twenty five pages waiting for the body to drop. Or maybe we’re looking for love…another twenty five hoping for a potential paramour. Save the world? Nope, no brain-sucking aliens. Now I’m about desperate–there has to be some point, but alas there isn’t.
Now my friend wants lots of conflict or she drifts off. I don’t require this. I think it is because many times I feel books, especially in the romance genre, force the conflict. Let’s face it, setting up good realistic conflict between two people we want to eventually have wind up together is hard. So, you get a lot of banter that can become, well, wearing.
Then my biggee - the one that will stop me cold. Make me regret laying out my hard-earned cash for this sad excuse for a book. Voice. Yep, the one thing we can’t learn. Everyone has a voice–some people hide theirs, but it is there somewhere. But different voices appeal to different people. So, the voice I love you may hate, and vice versa. It is a cold reality, but true.
So, what is your deal killer? The last book you walked away from–what did it? Would you give the author another chance or are they dead to you?
Lack of compelling storytelling means that my attention and interest in the book will disappear. Also, the characters and their goals/conflicts need to be interesting enough so that I care what happens. In the last book that I tossed without finishing (not a romance), the female lead was vapid, aimless and whiney. She had no redeeming or intriguing qualities.
by Mary Stella June 24th, 2005 at 8:50 amI think a convenient plot device is my deal breaker. For example, the H/h find themselves in a predicament and will need a lot of thought, action, etc., to extricate themselves. Then *pow* a miracle. Some computer program or vaccine unknown up to that point in the story. All is well, the end. All is well…except me, lol. It needs to be believable, whether it’s plot or voice or characters, all in the realm of possibility.
by MartyK June 25th, 2005 at 10:48 amMary, I think I equate compelling storytelling to voice. Is it is something different to you? I did stop reading a romance that had a herione I wanted to slap. She wasn’t TSTL, but, man, was she shallow.
by Lori June 26th, 2005 at 7:53 pmMarty, On the convenient plot device I agree totally, but luckily that is one issue I rarely come across. :)
Lori
One-dimensional characters are dealbreakers for me–I should say main characters who are one-dimensional. Sometimes secondary characters are one-dimensional, and that’s not as bad. But I have a hard time wanting to read another book by an author whose characters are flat.
Alyssa
by Alyssa June 27th, 2005 at 6:46 pm