This is a book tag I saw on both Fanda's Classiclit blog and Cath's Read-warbler blog, and I thought it looked like fun. Have you done this tag? If not, would you be In or Out on these:
Reading the Last Page First: OUT
(Though I do admit when I'm not enjoying a book,
I sometimes flip to the end to see if it's worth finishing.)
Enemies to Lovers: IN
(This is always a fun romance trope.)
Dream Sequences: OUT
(I just don't enjoy them.)
Love Triangles: OUT!
(I find them frustrating and not at all fun; they make me want to shake the girl and say: Make Up Your Mind Already!)
Cracked Spines: IN-ish?
(I'm NOT advocating cracking the spine of a book...in fact, I try very hard not to do that with my paperbacks...but if it happens, it's not going to keep me from enjoying the book.)
Back to My Small Town: IN
(Small town settings are some of my favorites, especially in a romance.)
No Paragraph Breaks: OUT!
(That's just annoying.)
Multi-generational Sagas: OUT
(They're long and I usually don't enjoy them. Of course, there's always exceptions.)
Monsters are Regular People: IN
(I love fun supernatural and paranormal elements in books.)
Re-reading: IN
(Though I haven't had much time lately to reread any of my books; library books keep getting in the way.)
Artificial Intelligence: IN
(I love a good science fiction novel.)
Drop Caps: IN
(They're fine, but I really don't care either way.)
Happy Endings: IN!
(Of course!)
Plot Points that Only Converge at the End: IN
(Isn't that the point of reading?)
Detailed Fantasy Systems: IN
(I grew up reading a lot of fantasy, and while I don't read it as much these days, I still love it.)
Classic Fantasy Races: IN
(I also played a little D&D growing up, and always wanted to be an Elf.)
Unreliable Narrators: OUT
(I feel like this trend has been way overdone lately, and I'm a little tired of it.)
Evil Protagonists: OUT
(Isn't 'evil protagonist' an oxymoron? I want to like the main character, not hate them.)
The Chosen One: IN
(Like Buffy? I'm in as long as the chosen one isn't whiny about it.)
When the Protagonist Dies: OUT!!
(Even if it's for a "good reason" literary-wise, I don't like it...and usually end up hating the book when it happens.)
Really Long Chapters: OUT-ish
(I don't love them, but if the book is well-written, I tend not to notice.)
French Flaps: IN?
(I'm not even sure what these are.)
Deckled Edges: ??
(Again, I don't really care.)
Signed Copies by the Author: IN
(Especially if you get to meet the author and have them sign the book for you;
though I'm certainly not paying more for a book just because it's signed.)
Dog-earing Pages: OUT
(Can I just say bookmarks!)
Chapter Titles Instead of Numbers: IN
(Especially when they're humorous!)
Happy Reading!
Fun tag! I love a small town romance. I don't think I've ever read a book with no paragraph breaks, but no doubt it would drive me crazy! Not a fan of unreliable narrators. And chapter titles are interesting (and often funny).
ReplyDeleteI love when chapter headings make me laugh. And small town romances are so great. :D
DeleteI think we're pretty similar, surprise surprise! That's maybe because we both like fantasy and sci but also yeah... we have similar tastes and views I think. 😁
ReplyDeleteWe really do! It's nice, because if you love a book, I know I'll love it, too. :D
DeleteThanks Lark, this tag really got me thinking about what I enjoy in books and I agree the unreliable narrator right now is way overdone. I enjoy enemies to lovers romances but it takes a lot of skill to pull off this kind of romance and I have seen it done badly.
ReplyDeleteNo paragraph breaks are an out for me too because I have not had a good experience with stream of consciousness writing and above all I have to be able to understand what's happening in a book and some of these modernist writers I am not sure what is being said at all.
No paragraph breaks just make reading feel like work, not pleasure. And I agree with you about the whole enemies to lovers trope in romances. I've read some fun ones, and DNFed many others that were not so well done.
DeleteThis is such a fun tag! I'm not the biggest fan of really long chapters, but I've noticed that the majority of my favorite authors write long ones. I don't know what that says about me, lol! I guess with a well written book, it doesn't matter so much.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing...if the book is well written I don't notice how long the chapters are, I just enjoy the story.
DeleteChecking out the last page to see if it's worth reading - I have done that but mostly for books that I am almost sure it wasn't worth reading.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy a dream sequence now and then but I always hate it when they start a book with one.
Cracked spines is signs that you've enjoyed reading the book, I think. Some books are printed with very stiff paper so do you have to crack the spine to read the pages.
Happy endings - always in for me.
Protagonist dying - definitely out, I see no point in this but then again, there is those books with sick protagonists so those I can accept but otherwise, nope.
Signed books is out for me - I really see no purpose in this.
Chapter titles in - humorous titles are just fun.
Have a lovely day.
Fun to see how many of these we agree on! :D
DeleteI did this one back in January, and linked it to Kami (I saw it on her blog). https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2023/01/in-or-out.html
ReplyDeleteThat's where else I saw this tag! I couldn't remember. I know I read yours when you first posted it, but I had to go back and see how many we agreed on...maybe half?
DeleteLark, sounds about right :)
DeleteDream sequences are iffy for sure. Love triangles- no mas! :) Yes to re- reading, I've been doing some of that lately. and yes to AI as well!
ReplyDeleteSame with fantasy! I love it too but read very little these days. Kinda weird. And ooh you were a D&D player too :)
I love shorter, punchy chapters lately.
Short chapters do make the book read faster, that's for sure, something I appreciate when I'm running tired. And yes, back in the day, I loved playing D&D...especially rolling for a new character and buying all their stuff. ;D
DeleteSame here- when I see short chapters I'm like yessss
DeleteFun book tag! I will give it a go!!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read your responses! :D
DeleteMy post will be published this Friday.
DeleteI'm looking forward to checking it out. :D
DeleteWe're definitely similar on our ins and outs. I have been known to flip to the last page if there is a dog (or cat) that seems like its in peril. I need to make sure that the dog is going to survive before I can become emotionally invested in the story!
ReplyDeleteI've done that, too! I don't want to read a book where the dog dies at the end.
DeleteHa! I often peep in the ending when a book is dragging on. Just to see if it's worth to read on.
ReplyDeleteI'm still puzzled too about the plot converging at the end. It doesn't make sense.
That was a strange one...isn't the plot supposed to come together at the end of a book?
DeleteI like the book tags. I do so many of these too.
ReplyDeleteThis one was a lot of fun. I should do more of them.
DeleteLove this book tag! I've never done one, but I like this one. I'll just weigh in on a few: Love Triangles: out, reading the last page: sometimes I'm in, especially if the book is stressing me out and I'm worried about how it'll end. Happy endings: in. The protagonist dies: out! It's why I didn't finish the Divergent series. No thanks. Great answers, Lark! I line up with a bunch of them. :)
ReplyDeleteWe do match up on the important ones! ;D
DeleteThat's a fun tag and I enjoyed reading all your answers! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Melody! It was an easy post to do...and I didn't have a book review written, so there you go. ;D
DeleteLove your answers. Regine
ReplyDeleteThank you, Regine! :D
DeleteI have just been working on this book tag, and hope to get a post out soonish. Most of my answers are in line with yours.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to check it out. It's a fun one. :D
DeleteWhat a fun book tag. I'm with you mostly, but for some reason I don't care for author-signed books, and I'm not that into sci-fi but I do like a good time travel story.
ReplyDeleteGotta read what you love! :D (And I actually only own one author-signed book...I got to meet Novel Prize winner Kip Thorne a few years back which was awesome and he graciously signed my copy of his book Black Holes.)
DeleteEnjoyed seeing what you responded. I'd say we match on more than half. :) The ones we differ on are: I'm out on enemies to lovers, in on family sagas, in on evil or shades of gray protagonists, and in on unreliable narrators. I like deckled pages and French flaps now and then for something fancy and old-style looking.
ReplyDeleteFun tag! Thanks for posting it.
PS, This is Sophia Rose. Can't get my Avatar and account to work here, today. :)
DeleteAnother Blogger frustration! I don't know why it works sometimes and not other days. And it's fun to know how we differ on these. :D
DeleteIt's always fun to read others' answers to these!
ReplyDeleteIt really is! I love seeing if I match up with other people's answers, and how we disagree, too. :D
DeleteI'm right there with you on no love triangles. They just frustrate me to no end. Fun tag!
ReplyDeleteThanks. :D And here's to no more love triangles!
Delete