The Anti-TBR Tag | books I never want to read

Happy Monday, all! It’s been a while since I’ve done a tag, and since I’ve been seeing this one around, I figured it was about time I got to it.

Thank you to Caro @ Bookcheshirecat for tagging me! Go check out her post too, as well as the original tag from Nicole @ Nicole & Her Books.

A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading?

 

Well, it’s impossible to find a book that everyone loves, but The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline are both incredibly popular at the bookstore where I work, yet I have absolutely no desire to pick them up myself. While I’ve loved some Brandon Sanderson books in the past, the Stormlight Archive series is just too big and almost nothing about it sounds appealing to me. And Ready Player One sounds like a bunch of video game and ’80s references all rolled into a book, and since I have no interest in either of those things, I think I’ll pass. Besides, who has time to read SFF from white men when there are so many incredible books by women and authors of color to try??

A classic book (or author) you don’t have an interest in reading?

There are quite a few classics that I don’t care to read, but one that seemingly everyone but me has read already is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I get that it has cultural significance and lots to say about the American dream, but…eh. I’ll pass.

An author whose books you have no interest in reading?

I’m going to be incredibly basic and unimaginative here by saying Sarah J. Maas. I hate to judge books that I’ve never read, but everything I’ve learned about SJM’s books leads me to believe that I would deeply dislike them. Thanks, but I’ll pass on the patriarchal, heteronormative fantasy worlds with weirdly graphic sex scenes!

An author you have read a couple of books from & have decided their books are not for you?

While I’ve enjoyed a few of Neil Gaiman‘s books, I’ve never loved them, and I usually end up liking the adaptations better. I think I tend to like the concepts of his books, but have trouble getting into his writing style. I still have a few of his books on my TBR, so I haven’t entirely given up on him, but I don’t think he’ll ever be a favorite.

A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into & couldn’t?

I don’t think I’ll ever be a big mystery reader, especially not those formulaic detective novels that always have approximately five dozen in the series. I read some as a teenager before I knew my own reading taste and I remember thinking that they all felt the same after just a few. Plus, I would always rather have interesting characters than an surprising plot, and mystery books seem to be much more plot-focused in my experience.

A book you have bought but will never read? (this can be a book you have unhauled/returned to the library unread)

I thought I didn’t have an answer to this because I don’t usually buy books unless I’m absolutely positive I want to read them, but then I remembered all the unread books on my Kindle. 😬  I downloaded Red Rising by Pierce Brown years ago because I wanted to read more sci-fi and this was popular, but since learning more about it, I don’t think it’s for me after all.

A series you have no interest in reading OR a series you started & have dnf’d?

There are far too many series that I’ve started and don’t plan to continue to name, but here are just a few…

The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, the Miss Peregrine’s series by Ransom Riggs, the Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir, and the All for the Game series by Nora Sakavic. With the first three, I did enjoy the first book in the series, but either started/read the second one and didn’t like it as much, or simply decided I was fine with the story ending there. The Foxhole Court, though, is one of my least favorite books I’ve ever read, so even though I’ve heard that the series gets better as it goes, I would honestly rather pull out my own tooth than continue.

A new release you have no interest in reading?

The Hunger Games might be one of my favorite series, but I have absolutely no plans to read its prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I was fine with President Snow being a fairly one-dimensional representation of the Capitol’s greed in the original series; I don’t feel like I need his backstory to understand him or the world any better, thanks.

In terms of actual new releases, I’m not really interested in The Project by Courtney Summers, despite loving Sadie and hearing great things about this one. I know cults are the big thing that people love reading about these days, but it’s not a topic I care much about, and I just don’t think I’ll be picking this one up.

If you haven’t been tagged already and want to do this, consider this me tagging you!

Click for questions

A popular book EVERYONE loves that you have no interest in reading?

A classic book (or author) you don’t have an interest in reading?

An author whose books you have no interest in reading?

An author you have read a couple of books from & have decided their books are not for you?

A genre you have no interest in OR a genre you tried to get into & couldn’t?

A book you have bought but will never read? (this can be a book you have unhauled/returned to the library unread)

A series you have no interest in reading OR a series you started & have dnf’d?

A new release you have no interest in reading?

What books are on your “anti-TBR”? Are there any authors that you steer clear of? What series have you decided not to continue?

x Margaret

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