In a shocking state of normality, there are many things I’ve grown out of reading.
I had to grow out of something because I sure haven’t grown out of my clothes from when I was 14. I am vertically challenged. But I still get monstrously SHOCKED when I realise I am, in fact, not the same type of bookworm I was four years ago. Or six years ago. I’m not even the same bookworm I was twenty three years ago, mostly because I was a baby and a leech on society and just loafed around eating snacks and hating on my siblings. *
It’s always a bit scary to realise your reading tastes have changed but, IT’S REALLY OKAY!!! WE ARE ALLOWED!! I don’t see myself growing out of YA books (because that’d be heckin’ awkward considering writing them is my attempted career) but I’m totally okay with growing out of types of books. Or tropes. Or genres. OR ANYTHING. Tastes can change.
Except for cupcake tastes. If you think you’re “growing out of cupcakes” then no. You need to see a doctor and maybe lie down I don’t think you’re well.
Today I’m listing 10 types of stories I used to love but now….no. And a lot of these made up my childhood so I feel a SMOL PANG OF GUILT for not loving them anymore. But also some of them make me question Smol!Cait’s life choices so… it evens out.
* FUN FURY STORY TIME: Apparently all I did as a smol baby child was frown and cry at my 4 older siblings if they tried to hold me. Obviously you don’t touch The Queen without permission.
I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday for their prompt “Throwback Freebie” and OKAY FINE LOOK I TRIED TO JOIN IN PROPERLY BUT IT’S JUST NOT WORKING OUT FOR ME. Although to be fair after the suggested prompts of “books I used to love”, it does say “tweak it however you want.”.
I have permission to be a terrifying snarly-toothed disagreeable little prompt rebel.
So throwback to when I loved these.
(NOTE: Obviously there are exceptions to all these…if a book is well-written or by my favourite author, heck yes my standards are gone and I’ll read / love it. This is just a generalised list.)
1. DYSTOPIAN, AAAALL THE DYSTOPIAN.
Do you remember when dystopian was The Thing Of All Things™?? It’s honestly freaking impressive how popular it was. I’m pretty sure they were even selling dystopian cookbooks and socks * by the end. So I, like any other smol bookworm bean, obviously devoured not one, not even two, but 3989 MILLION OF THESE DYSTOPIAN NOVELS. Obviously I just burnt out. And this was like on the very cusp of me turning to book blogging so I didn’t really know about other genres!! I thought life was The Hunger Games alone.
BRIEF LIST OF REASONS WHY DYSTOPIAN WAS TICKING ME OFF BY THE END:
- it all sounds the same
- like I get that you need the super bad government and rebels but like…can we not shake things up
- it was all narrated by girls with as much personality as a dehydrated apple
- at least two boys
- or maybe THREE
- why is everyone so cleanly shaven tho
- no one has a sense of humour
- the boy is named after a number
- save your family
- OH LOOK YOUR FAMILY IS DEAD TIME YOU DID A FREAKING BAD JOB OF SAVING THEM
- why do the rebels have no personality
- the government sucks in 2040
- yeah but the government sucks in 2017 and we at least aren’t eating each other
Obviously I do love some dystopians. AKA the Hunger Games to which I owe my entire love of YA! And I’m quite fond of the Disruption duology, The Giver, Blood Red Road and Shatter Me. But otherwise? If I see a dystopian these days, my #1 reaction is:
ALSO LIVE FOOTAGE OF ME @ STARRING IN MAD MAX: FURY ROAD.
* Starring things like: hOW TO COOK ONE RAW CARROT TO FEED FAMILY OF 6. And also: BUY ONE HOLEY SOCK, GET THE OTHER ONE NEVER…JUST LIKE IF YOU WERE IN A DYSTOPIAN SOCIETY. Omg someone put me in marketing, I’m impressing myself here.
2. KIDS TRAVELLING INTO MAGICAL WORLDS THROUGH SECRET DOORS.
Okay so full disclosure: Narnia was my LIFE as a kid. I have most utter respect for it despite the fact that CS Lewis was sexist trash. But you know!! Oblivious childhood love!!
Nowadays — I just really find the “ooooh a door to a MAGIC WORLD” tedious. The people either (a) accept this magical society far too easily or (b) we waste PAGES AND PAGES of them getting infodumps.
I’m too old and tired.
So I will always love Narnia, but if you show me a book about kids and portals and adventures that all become obsolete when they go home…I just make this high pitched keening sound and fall over dead. 1/10 do not recommend killing me like so.
3. I USED TO LOVE JUST FANTASY AND NOTHING. ELSE. EVER.
This is actually a recent development of my gnarly heart but I actually read a lot more contemporary. And do you want to hear something else shocking??
WHO EVEN AM I.
Obviously fantasy is still my #1 but I write contemporary and l read contemporary and wow.
4. SLAPSTICK COMEDY.
I CAN’T STAND IT. I CAN’T EVEN SIT ON IT. I literally hate books that have the tone of “And then I ate eggs for breakfast but someone got murdered on my front porch, oh bother! My eggs will get cold!” Or satire. Or lol @ serious moments. Or anything in that strain of flu. It is a flu. Keep it away from me, please, I beg you.
Did I just get old and serious??? Possibly. I love humour, don’t get me wrong! But I prefer sarcasm, snark, self-depreciating, really bad puns, and witty comebacks.
5. HISTORICAL FICTION.
When I wasn’t spending my childhood in Narnia, I spent it in HISTORICAL FICTION. Which is great. I had a good childhood. I used to organise games with my sister where we would play Roman soldiers and attack each other, but you know…it was a good solid childhood and don’t worry about me at all. *
Now? I just am tired of all the sexism. I know this has the potential to sound like I want to erase that part of our history — AND I DON’T. I love it how women rise up and pave the way for us to have freedom today. But I am also just a little weary of the constant “having-to-prove-yourself” thing. And I still do love a lot of HF, I just don’t gravitate to it. At all. Same as I don’t gravitate to books about spiders or books that disagree with eating cake. **
* Pls worry about me.
** Heresy. Burn it.
6. REALLY BADASS FEMALE HEROINES WHO KICK EVERYONE WITHOUT EMOTIONS.
Full disclaimer: I love badass female heroines who will stab you in the left earlobe and win the war and marry the dragon. But why can’t they have EMOTIONS too??? And why do they like 90% of the time hate pretty things?!
Girls can be masculine or feminine and no shame for either one, but “strong” doesn’t have to equal emotionless stone.
7. MOST SUPERHEROES.
Here is my bookworm confession: I don’t actually love reading action scenes! I know. I’m ridiculous. I’m a very very visual person so I’d rather SEE a superhero movie (I love those) and watch the explosions and the fight scenes with my own eyeballs. My brain doesn’t want to create them. I’m so bad at visualising things. Particularly directions. Whenever my family tries to explain something to me, it basically plays out like this:
FAMILY: Then you’ll see lots of shops on the left *USING LOGICAL HAND GESTURES* and the road bends like so and then you walk around this park and–
ME: did u say left
ME: which is my left
Also my family is trying to sell me on ebay and get a Cait that actually works but whatever.
With great power, comes great responsibility to write action scenes that don’t leave me at the end saying, “Wow! Epic! What just happened!”
8. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST TALES.
I loved Hatchet by Gary Paulsen so so much when I was a youth! I was legit going to get myself thrown into the middle of Canada to survive, which would’ve been a feat because (a) I live in Australia so that’s quite a detour, and (b) I’ve never been truly cold in my life so I’d be dead before day 1 was over, and (c) I hate fish??? C’mon, Smol!Cait, what were you thinking??? You can’t survive anywhere YOU FREAKING HATE FISH.
Now I just find survival books really boring.
Oh the look for food. Oh they step in a bear trap. Oh they nearly get rescued but don’t. Oh they sit in a rubber boat in the water and nearly die of thirst. Oh they realise humanity suck and is pointless. Surprise surprise.
Like food is obviously a great motivator for me too, but I JUST CAN’T WITH GATHERING IT BEING 90% OF THE PLOT.
New Idea: survival story but an introvert trapped in their own house with a stranger in the kitchen so the introvert can’t get to food and must go eat raw shells from the wild wild seas instead of say “please move so I can get to the fridge” because nO ONE WANTS TO DO THAT.
9. MYSTERIES.
I can’t even with how frustrating I find mystery books. Because I’m a Slytherin and the only option for me is (a) win or (b) WIN. And if I can’t solve the mystery before the book does (and usually you CAN’T because they don’t give you enough details) then, mate, I’m outta here like the entirely self-confessed over-achieving narcissist I am deep down inside.
My smolhood * consisted of reading 3989 Boxcar Children books. I also read the Mandy mysteries and kind of want to burn my eyes out. Smol!Cait didn’t know quality literature.
Smol!Cait has so many regrets. **
* This is the new way to say childhood as decreed by me literally 4 seconds ago. It’ll be a worldwide phenomenon soon.
** I regret reading those darn Mandy books but another of my regrets is the time I put vegemite on an orange. I don’t even know why but I think I poisoned myself and this is why I am like I am now.
10. BOOKS ABOUT DOGS, BY DOGS, OF DOGS, BASICALLY EVERYTHING DOGGIFIED.
Did anyone ever grow up reading things like Old Yeller and Sounder and Shiloh and Big Red? Because I did. Clearly my mother wanted the hope in my eyes to be snuffed out while I was young. I FREAKING HATE DOG BOOKS, OKAY?! They always always kill off the poor dog, who is too good, too precious, too pure for this world.
BRIEF AND HONEST SUMMARY OF EVERY DOG BOOK OF EVER:
- boy finds dog and for some reason or other can’t keep him
- but must have dog anyway
- they play with the free abandon of Summer And Goodness™
- then dIRE GLOOM comes
- pure and precious dog inevitably dies heroically to save stupid boy
- boy is sad
- but totally gets over it because apparently the dog dying was his character development
- at least 78% of readers are crying now thanks
- the remaining 22% are freaking furious <— me
The truth of the matter is dogs > people. Let’s let a few humans die off for once, is all I’m saying. And stop killing off the ONLY GOOD CHARACTERS, AKA, THE DOGS. I honestly avoid dog books like nothing else these days. I don’t have much of a heart, it is well known, so I need to take care of the 2% I have left.
I used to love vampire books. It started in my pre-teens I read loads but since Twilight it’s gone down hill. The vampire books now are all for teens, the main character always seems self-centred and whiney. Or they are adult books action packed and full of sex. There’s no depth. Yeah ok the characters have personality and interests but they seem similar. I still love vampire books ( Morganville is ok. Anne Rice’s Lestat. Deborah Harkness’s Matthew Clairmont and Gallowglass!!!!) But the sad vampire was over done in the 90s when Angel was our favourite and nobody will ever beat Lestat in being the vampire who isn’t sad.
I tend to be read books outside my favourite genres and have enjoyed things I thought I wouldn’t. I get put off by YA books and new vampire books ( especially with a buff male or skinny woman on the cover. )
. Publishers look for money making books and as soon as sonething like Twilight of The Hunger Games comes along they want something exactly like that to make them money. But we as readers don’t. Twilight etc were good because they were and copying them makes us all sick of that genre. But I think we shouldn’t be put off. Don’t stop reading these genres just don’t read too much of the same. Read outside your comfort zone and support independant publishers who look for good stories not money. More good vampire books: Lost Souks by Poppy Z. Brite, Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova- books that are different from the norm exactly what we need.
I was weirdly not in on the vampire craze which is strange for me because I basically always follow hypes.😂 But I agree they usually are written quite badly ugh. ALTHOOOOOUGH I did love The Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black and Certain Dark Things (I can’t remember the author’s name agh sorry) which are the best vampire books I’ve read haha.
I do think we tend to get flooded with a particular genre and that can turn us off.😂 I don’t have a problem at all though with publishers working for a business. I mean, that’s what a business is! I know there are tons of hidden gems out there though too. 😀
I didn’t get caught up in the hype I’m 28 so I was reading vampire books in the 90s before the hype. Not many read vampire books back then but as soon as Twilight came out everyone loved them. I wish it’d come out sooner so I had more people to talk about my favourite books with lol I know publishers need to run a business but I wish they’d look for new stuff more often but then I can do that myself. I haven’t read the books you mentioned. Yet.
I’ve got a decade+ more experience, and this is completely normal. You’ll eventually gravitate back to those things you used to like, but don’t know. Tastes within will change tho. Looks like you already know yours 😛
I did this with modern mystery and horror. I’m gravitating back now, and re-discovering the joys of Stephen King. Thanks to Netgalley, I’ve discovered Hunter Shea. And as for modern mystery, I have discovered I really love foreign authors. Icelandic especially.
Is the violin yours? It’s a beauty 🙂
It’s kind of cool to grow back into things right?! LIFE IS A CYCLE. *twirls in aesthetic circles* 😂 Omg I do want to try Stephen King sometime. I’ve never found a good horror…I want to be scared ok.😂
(Yes! I used to play aaaages ago and then switched to cello. But now I just have it around for the aesthetic.😂)
Ok, too funny. I have a violin and a cello too.
I got completely burnt out by dystopian books too, there was only so many things that could be done with them and the whole emotionless girl who punches and kicks her way out of things because of some kind of emotional trauma bugs me so much. There’s more than one way for a woman to be strong, and some of those ways don’t involve violence.
When I was really really small, my favourite author was Enid Blyton but when I grew up I realised that her books are actually pretty racist and sexist. I was about four or five when I was reading them so I didn’t know any better but looking back it’s almost like a secret
shame 😬
And I’m so glad I’m not the only person who doesn’t like dog things! Every time I see a book or a movie with a dog as the focus, I know one of two things is going to happen: the dog is either going to get into some hilarious and unusual antics or it’s going to die. Why kill dogs to make people cry when you could kill off a character that everybody hates and make people happy instead?
I know right?!? Like you CAN be a kickass powerful woman and…also like pretty things?! Or be diverse would be nice too. Or like HAVE A HOBBY. IDK there are options and these girls are all so interchangeable I think it’s insulting to females worldwide. *sigh*
I hate it when I discover my childhood favourite authors were so bad. 😭😭 It’s SO hard to keep respect for them, but like they defined our childhoods?!?
JUST LET THE DUMB HUMANS DIE AND GIVE US THE PRECIOUS DOGS OMG.
Love this list! I don’t know where to start in my reply. Mainly, I totally agree with you.
– I was guilty of loving all dystopian books too.
– historical anything sucks bc of sexism (and I’m majoring in uni rn as a historian?!?!?!?) I can recommend some great YA reads, like The Raven’s Wing by Frances Watts.
– I hate dog books too. Ugh.
AND I HATE ACTION SCENES. For exactly the same reasons. It’s just not enjoyable to read. Helloooo I’m sitting here reading for a reason. I do not do this “physical” you speak of.
Aww, thanks, Cal! 💕 Let’s just hope they someday revive dystopian and add in a little bit of difference to the normal boringness. I mean is it so hard to put in a girl with a PErSONALITY?! That’d be nice thanks.
I wish I had a better imagination for action scenes that’s for sure. 😂 But I tend to sit there and hope they debrief afterwards because WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
So agree about the emotionless action heroines who hate girly things! Strength shouldn’t be synonymous with masculine likes and dislikes. And the dog books – I think all animal books are like that. You have to emotionally prepare yourself for lots of death :/
Exactly! And girls are 100% allowed to be masculine and tough and I respect and admire that…but I feel like they take the majority of action/adventure books and I HATE how (in a lot of books) they often really sneer and look down at anything feminine. Like, no. Be tough, be masculine, but it doesn’t make femininity weak or rubbish. It crushes me how it took me till like 17 to respect girly things. UGH I HAVE SO MANY REGRETS.
As always, you are so hilarious! I don’t know how do you do it 😀 I am really grown over the typical romance stories where boy and girl used to hate other, then fall in love, then there is a 3rd person between them, they got separated and then there is final happy ending. I mean why, why do we are still in this kind of stories? However, I must tell you that I love romances 😀 but I just need something different.
Ahh the good ol’ love triangle.😂 They are tedious omg. I don’t think I ever was a fan (although I have read some good ones but … not many hhaha) but they get so tired so quickly!
(And omg thank yooooou!)
ALL THE FLAWLESS CHOSEN ONE TROPES. And then I realized that flawless Chosen Ones in stereotypical high fantasy are boring as beige walls.
THEY ARE BORING UUGHGH. I like Chosen Ones who make mistakes, suck a lot, run away, and take naps and maybe do the wrong thing.😂
I used to love thrillers and I still do. Mystery too… but I started to get bored. Sometimes I even got the killer before the end. Please. I can’t.
And I hate reading action scene too! English isn’t my mother tounge and everything became a blur even when I read in Italian. Basically my mind is: okay, fighting, moving, moving again. movingmovingmoving, killkill, blood, fight… but details? Nah. I literally cannot understand a clue while people fight in books.
And I hate writing action scene too. Because you must be clear. You cannot get all poetic over a battle because the reader will not get a clue of what it’s happening. I feel like a robot everytime
Oh, and I got tired of horrors too! Never got scared. Never.
I have yet to find a thriller/mystery that I truly enjoy hhah.😂 It’s possible I just keep picking up the bad books, but it gets depressing after a while!
Let’s just hope they like recount what actually HAPPENS in those action scenes at the end.😂 I hang out for the recaps of “what just happened” because I haven’t a freaking clue. *cries*
I used to love horror novels and films. My nerves can’t handle the films anymore and, whilst I still love horror novels, I haven’t picked one up in a while.
I used to get freaked out easily as a kid (JUMUNJI RUINED ME OK WHEN I WAS 12) but like something flipped and now I never get scared?? Even watching scary movies I’m sitting there analysing the sets. 😭😭
I am so agree about the dystopian thing! They all sound the same to me with the EXACT same main characters (only with different name and power) and bad government and plot, like how they were reluctant but then someone dear to them was killed by the government and now SHE RISE UP AND LEAD THE REBELLION. Just stop-_- I don’t really read much books about animals really, because they tend to kill the animals and I’ll be either furious or sad, both are unpleasant emotions for me xD For me the genre is paranormal. Like dystopian, each and every book in the genre is exactly the same: girl meets boy (or vice versa) who turns out to be something supernatural, got caught up in ancient battle/curse (your pick), some sort of love triangle and “claiming” by the love interest, bad guy is defeated and they live happily ever after.
I mean…. give use something new guys. Don’t go around copycating THG or twilight UGH.
Omg it’s so true. And half the time the girl’s name starts with K too which is not at all confusing. 😒😂 It’s all just so interchangeable and dull and I think dystopian needs to make a comeback with some MORE POWER. That’d be nice. Also some more diversity because omg dystopian is a genre that seems so very lacking in that area!
I’m with you on historical fiction…used to read tons of it! Not so much anymore…maybe b/c I feel like so much of it is WWII and I’m completely burned out of that.
Yep, exactly! It’d be nice to see some HF in other time periods?! I read Outrun The Moon by Stacey Lee recently which I LOVED because it was super diverse AND it was actually set against this earthquake in the 1900s that I knew nothing about and so it was really interesting and different?!😂
I used to love reading chick-lit type books but I’ve since grown out of it, although I do sometimes enjoy a quick chick-lit read now and then. I’ve always loved historical fiction and still do. It’s interesting that there’s so many things you’ve grown out of! Thanks for sharing 🙂
It is kind of interesting analysing how our reading tastes change right?!😂 I’m sure I’ll fall back in love with a lot of these things eventually though haha.
(My smol sister put vegemite on orange once… she said it was good?? [or I may be getting it mixed up with the vegemite on apple. She claimed one was good, anyway…] Needless to say, I do not trust her recommendations.)
Yes don’t trust her and don’t trust me. I don’t even know why I did it??? I feel like it was because one of my siblings told me not to. SEEMS TYPICAL.
that gif in #6. XD XD XD i loved that scene.
and #8 omgosh I’m dying XD
I don’t really like narnia anymore??? I loved it when i was little but now I’m kinda like no thank you. I like the story, but I don’t like how it was written. I also don’t like the end books, just the first few. #verypicky
I also used to like Nancy Drew, but then I read almost the whole series and stopped. 😛
Most crazily, ~Olive
I feel like I CAN’T reread Narnia in case I don’t love it anymore!! IT’S SO SAD GAH. And I never got into Nancy Drew but I was all over Trixie Belden.😂
I think the two main types of books that I read a lot of before and I haven’t read for a while are thrillers (like The DaVinci Code) and books about Vampires. I guess it was a phase… I’m not saying that I avoid them, just that I haven’t come across a really good one in a long while.
Great list!
I get that! Like if you read a lot of one style/type of book, your tastes and standards often rise, right?!
Yes! Also, the publishing industry – just like any other industries – goes through phases or fads and I guess vampire stories are not “in” anymore.. It used to be that you could find them everywhere!
ERMEGERD SO MUCH AGREE.
I 100% care if they kill the dog. Or the cat. To be honest I might actually care more about the animal than the people 😂
I used to love Dystopian too! Hunger Games gave me life but I have to admit that the genre got waaaayyy too repetitive!
I also used to be more into historical fiction but I have always devoured fantasy as though it were my life force and I ALWAYS WILL ♥
Also WHAT A COINCIDENCE that we both pay no heed to the rules my TTT is pretty much random 😂
ME TOO THOUGH. Like humans make bad decisions, ok fine whatever. But the precious animals???? All they do is love us???? They deserve the most precious rewards NOT DEATH OMG. *cries for hours*
I feel like dystopian could benefit a LOT from just some revamping. 😂😂
*hi fives for our rebel TTTs*
I agree with so many of these. I think I’m a grumpy old man reader, too.
Dogs are totally better than people. But they always die. And if they don’t die, then one of the beloved characters die instead (looking at you, Bridge to Terabithia). Harry Potter gives you a double whammy with Sirius, both dog AND beloved person.
*hi fives for our grumpy old age* 😂 I think maybe I might come back to loving some of these when my tiredness of them has worn off?? WHO KNOWS.
Dogs > people. There is just no argument here. And Harry Potter has established that it doesn’t care about our feelings. 😭
I went through a massive dystopia phase too but you’re right, it was getting kind of samey by the end, I will still read them, if i find one that catches my interest, but I’m not quite as crazy into them as I was a few years ago. The last magical door book I read was Stealing Snow and I hated it, but I don’t think the fact that it had a magical door was the main reason! I have never been solely fantasy, I did read other genres growing up, in fact I think it’s more recently that I’ve started reading mainly fantasy and less of a mix of everything else. I don’t think I’ve read any books that have slapstick comedy! Like you, I prefer the sass, the snark, the sarcasm, that’s my humour jam! I do like strong female characters but it does bother me when they shun everything feminine and can’t seem to feel anything. I love reading action scenes, I’m not a particularly visual reader either but when an action scene is written well, it really excites me, even if I can’t picture it (I know, I make no sense!). I don’t think I’ve read any survival of the fittest books aside from Lord of The Flies which I loathed. Mysteries I do actually like, I want to see if I can work it out before the character does and get such a sense of satisfaction if I do! Dog books I was never actually into that much, I preferred horse ones! Historical fiction I do love, and I feel like I haven’t really read any sexist ones? Maybe I’m wrong though!
Omg I LOATHED Stealing Snow so I’m with you. That was like all the cliches of ever tied in a bow. *rolls eyes* Come to think of it, it probably didn’t help me distate for the trope now. haha.
I think strong females ARE epic, but like can they not spit on feminine things??? It’s like they’re TRYING to be powerful feminists, but really they’re not, because they’re solely drawing on masculine things and saying anything girly is “bad”. That’s the opposite of what we need to achieve here.😭 Both can be good?!
I totally get you on the action scenes don’t worry. 😂😂 I just have to hope they recap in dialogue afterwards so I’m sure I know what happened haha.
I HATE it when the dog dies! If I know in advance that a dog will die in the plot, I probably won’t read the book. I love dogs. (I have three) I go through phases where I’m really into a genre, and then I move on to something else for a while, but I do cycle back to genres I’ve enjoyed. I think reviewing has really helped in that regard. When I pick out books to review, I’ll grab several from different genres. It helps me avoid getting burned out or in a slump. Great post! Here is my Top Ten Tuesday.
I have a precious floof ball. I CANNOT HANDLE THE THOUGHT OF DOGS DYING FOR STUPID HUMANS’ SAKES.😭 Dogs are so pure so precious omg.
I completely agree. I think sometimes I get more upset over the dogs in stories than the people…
I’m 1000% SURE I get more upset over dogs than people. 😂😂
I pretty much only read dog books when I was a kid. If there wasn’t a dog in it, I probably wouldn’t read it. I totally burned myself out on dog books, and now I avoid them at all costs. I also went through a dystopia phase. I couldn’t get enough of that stuff.
I read SO many dog/animal books as a kid. Clearly I didn’t get it that THEY WERE ALL GONNA DIE. 😭😭
I am so with you on mysteries. For me they just disappoint time after time! I still really like historical fiction, but I’m very selective on it and only like a couple of eras. Fun list…as always!
Thanks, Susie! YOU ARE KIND. 🙂 I think it’s too easy to predict mysteries in books too because like you know the killer HAS to be someone in the friend group so like??? It’s too easy.😂
Hahaha brilliant list, Cait! I agree with so much here, particularly that we are allowed to grow out of things and, more often than not, the things we’re growing out of are elements of a genre and not the genre as a whole. Personally I love historical fiction, it’s one of the genres I read the most of because I’m also a huge history nerd, but, as much as I love the Tudors, I’m done with novels set at the Tudor court. If I want to learn about royal history I’ll read a history book, I read historical fiction for the Average Joes of yesteryear.
Ugh I hate to say it but YA dystopia kind of ruined dystopian fiction for me. I still can’t bring myself to go near any dystopian fiction which is a shame because I used to love dystopian stories, and I love how the stories done well can get a general reader interested in politics and how important it is that you understand what politicians actually mean when they open their mouths and spew forth lyrical sentences. Then the genre became a trend and suddenly every YA trilogy ever was a dystopian story and dystopian fiction apparently meant kicking butt while choosing between two equally annoying boys. Hmph.
Rant over. Great list!
Thanks, Jess!! *flails happily* And for sure! It’s fine to change, although it can be a bit scary ahhah.😂 And I’m really glad you adore history. I think it’s fascinating but maybe just flooding myself with too many books as a kid just has made me worn out now? Hopefully I’ll come back.😂
YA dystopian ended up…like a hot mess.😂 I think the authors/publishers might’ve been rushing and to put out so much and so none of it was developed enough. Like here’s a bad government and A LOVE TRIANGLE. *cries*
I have to admit, I still love dystopian 😂 that said, I’m a little glad the phase died out because now when I find a great one it’s more exciting since it’s not the same as every other book being published!
I do approve of your marketing skills, especially about the socks 😂 I work in marketing! You can come work with me! 😜
I feel you with fantasy. I definitely go in phases where I want to read a ton of fantasy and read a bunch back to back, and then I go months without reading any. I have to be in the right mood for it I guess!
I am the complete opposite with mysteries! I do love when I can figure out the ending because I feel like Sherlock Holmes, but I also love when the author outsmarts me and I can’t figure it out, especially when all of the hints are there! I agree though that I don’t love books where you can’t guess the end because the murderer wasn’t even a character in the book until the end or something. It feels cheap!
I do hope dystopian makes a comeback and is a little more original/different than it used to be.😂 Because I used to be SO into it haha.
OH GOOD. I HAVE THE MARKETING SKILLS TICK OF APPROVAL FROM YOU. *spins majestically* 😂
I think fantasy is also exhausting?! I LOVE it but this year I’ve been so tired that it’s just easier to read something a bit fluffier where I don’t have to work as hard concentrating.😂
I don’t read mysteries anymore, either. Mostly because they’re SOOOO predictable and I can’t stand the boredom. I’d much rather read the first chapter, then flip to the end and find out who the murderer was.
I tend to avoid historical fiction, too, these days. Honestly, I still appreciate it, but so much of it published after 2000 is just so drowning in trying to get people to understand all the bad things about the past, and I think that just puts far too much of a strain on the reader. There’s no chance in Hades of simply enjoying the story anymore.
And I was never one for the survival stories or dog stories. Yeah, I’ll choose the dogs over the humans in those books every time.
Bhaha, I hear you! I hate it when they’re impossible to solve or TOO possible to solve. Plus you know like instantly the killer is someone who’s been mentioned so it’s too easy to narrow it down?! I do better with it on TV though, like shows like Sherlock. That at least is a bit more stimulating.😂
I have read some good recent HF but like…mostly I find it’s about girls just trying to prove they can do stuff. And I KNOW they can. And it pisses me off how boys in HF actually get storylines but girls just have to fight to be heard. *sigh* I’d rather read something magical with dragons.😂
Smushy! I haven’t visited in aaaaaaages. I’m emerging from my shitty blogging slump cocoon. I must admit, I still love dystopian but fusion type books with a little fantasy thrown in or even a natural disaster. Those corrupt, totalitarian governments are actually considered realistic fiction now.
I refuse to read a dog book if the dog dies. I always ask for spoilers. I can’t even consider books where the dog is abused but has a happy ending. I think it’s being a dog parent. Any hint at cruelty and I’m bawling. There needs to be lists dedicated to dog survival stories.
I trust you’ll be on this smushy.
KELLY. <3 <3 I'VE MISSED YOU!!! I feel so bad for not messaging you or anything! I hope you're doing okay?
Let's just agree that dog-dying should be ILLEGAL. I think it's worse for those of us who are raising fluff-balls. I seriously read books where they abuse the dogs for the "shock" factor and omg no. How about no.
I used to love Horror and nothing else. Never thought i’d be one to love contemporary, but now I do! <3
I don't love reading action scenes either! I thought it was just me that was bad at visualising things. I try but then they do something and i'm like "but you were…how…what?" and am just a ball of confused.
Why must they kill off the dogs! T.T
Yay for loving contemporary! *hi fives* I also find it’s a bit easier to read? Like when I’m exhausted an epic fantasy seems to much, but a contemporary is perfect.😂
ACTION SCENES ARE HARD. I’m glad I’m not alone being confused!
I too became burned out on Dystopian. THERE’S ALWAYS SO MANY ISSUES WITH IT.
So I decided to write my own dystopian AND FIX EVERYTHING THAT ANNOYS ME. Enough with the evil government, bring on doing bad things for a good reason!
We’ll see if I ever write it, but if I do, it will singlehandedly redeem the entire genre! For sure. ;D
Ugh it’s so same-same too. I mean I know the definition of dystopian is generally a corrupt utopian government, but why is it always so BLACK AND WHITE?!? Where is my morally grey dystopian!! I look forward to yours.😂
I totally agree re: historical fiction and sexism. That actually caused me to basically abandon HF when I was about ten years old and I literally just picked up an HF book again THIS YEAR. I will never forgive HF books for ten-year-old girls for ruining an entire genre with that spate of “the patriarchy will ruin you at every turn because it’s the Middle Ages and you wear a dress so you have to pretend to be a boy.” UUUUUUUGH
Weirdly, I’ve also started loving contemporary in the last year, but like, I think contemporary books are just more cheerful nowadays?? Like there’s less ruminating on the meaning of loss and loneliness and horrifying drug addiction and more stuff about squishy best friends?? 10/10 I approve
Ugh I know how you feel. 😭 And like I hate being all “I’m never reading it again” because that feels like I’m trying to erase history. And I’m NOT. But also why do I have to put myself through it all the time??? IT drives me freaking mad that if you pick up a HF starring a boy, the #1 thing happening is a STORYLINE for him! But if it stars a girl, then her #1 story is fighting being allowed to do stuff. It’s so unfair.😭😭
Haha and contemporary is easier I think! I’ve been really tired this year so like it’s easier to devour a contemporary.😂
*takes deep breaths*
I totally get you with historical fiction! Though I AM READING THE BOOK THIEF RIGHT NOW And it’s glorious. The ad you still love other books like Gentlemen’s guide rigggghhtt?
NO NO NO I LOOOOVE MYSTERRIIESS AND YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK RUDELY TO THEM! I’ve definitely grown out of portal worlds and dog books though and definitely dsytopian (all dystopias are the same tbh, so predictable) BUT THEY WERE GOOD WHILE THE ADDICTION LASTED.
AND OMGGG, I so get the ‘REALLY BADASS FEMALE HEROINES WHO KICK EVERYONE WITHOUT EMOTIONS.” I am so glad you included that here because I like badass heroines! AMAZING but why can’t they like fancy dresses or like the colour pink? Sure, they can be ‘masculine’ too but WHY ARE THEY LIKE ROBOTS WHO JUST WANT TO KILL. I like it, but I want things to shake up.
I’m totally the opposite with you. I used to love contemporary and now devour fantasy. AND OMG yes to the action scenes things. You know an author is good if you understand what is happening in an action scene! AND LIKE YES FOR NOT UNDERSTANDING DIRECTIONS. I am bad at visualising things THAT I CAN’T SEE. Like characters — faceless blobs. LOVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY <3<3<3
Oh I love The Book Thief!😂 I mean there are some historicals I will always adore and I love the Walk On Earth A Stranger series! SO it’s not a “I will never read HF again”…but I don’t gravitate to it at all. AND OMG GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE? PERFECT BOOK IS PERFECT. (I’m so freaking excited for Felicity’s book!!)
I sooo agree. Like masculine and kickass girls are awesome. Very awesome. But the way they often are portrayed sneering at feminine things? It’s really harmful and disappointing.😭 That’s why I love Katniss who was badass AND loved looking beautiful in her dresses! And Kestrel from The Winner’s Curse series!
Divergent ruined the entire dystopian genre for me. The only dystopian books I have actually liked are THG and TMR series. And you’re so right, there’s only so much you can do with dystopian before it all starts sounding the same. I love historical fiction because I love history but I don’t like reading out of a textbook so even though there’s a *lot* of sexism i deal with it. I’ve got the same humor as you, I love witty comebacks and smart remarks. AND AFTER SEEING MARLEY AND ME YEARS AGO WHEN IT CAME OUT I WILL NEVER TRUST ANOTHER MOVIE/BOOK/ANYTHING ABOUT A DOG EVER AGAIN.
I loved The Maze Runner too! I should’ve put that on my list.😂 I liked Divergent originally but thought it was knocking off THG and now I just…I can’t take it seriously. The movies were SO BAD I LAUGHED MY WAY THROUGH THEM.😂
Yay! I’m so happy you like the maze runner cause a lot of people don’t seem to. Yeah, I liked Divergent at first too but it just went so downhill… and the movies were a complete flop
i never really grew out of certain genres because i never really got into them? like i’m sixteen and i used to have such a hard time getting ya books (around three years ago) to read because my mother is like SUPREME OVERLORD THERE’S A MENTION OF A CONDOM YOU CAN’T READ IT but like…safe sex, everyone! whatever. like she still censors some books (two weeks ago she said i couldn’t read a gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue??? sorry what?) but it’s a random thing so i usually get to read whatever i want but by the time i actually got FREEDOM! over my reading choices, a lot of ya phases were over. (like the hunger games and divergent happened when i was like…10)
so the whole cancer kid thing? not into it (i finally read the fault in our stars like last week. ehh)
dystopian? (she said hunger games was too violent?) it’s okay (also read catching fire last week)
love triangles? RIP MY EYEBALLS OUT PLEASE i just never liked them.
i actually don’t really like reading romance centric teen plots because the number of teenager who actually find a loving life partner in high school is…none? so idk, subplot, sure! main plot? i think i’ll pick up that fantasy novel over there.
so yeah. never got into the phases from five years ago because i wasn’t allowed to read them. oh well.
Haha omg I totally know how you feel.😂I didn’t really start reading YA until I was about 16 or 17 and before that it was all Middle Grade. Which I’m REALLY annoyed about but like whatever…I have a wonderful bookish diet now. (I cry for you not being able to read Gentleman’s Guide. 😭😭I’m so opposed to parents censoring their kids reading, particularly because it was done a lot to me. Gah.)
Bahha, I do agree that these kids who find “TRUE LOOOOVE” in highschool are highly unrealistic.😂 iF it’s cute I don’t mind, but I’d prefer an actual PLOT to go with the romance.😂
I agree with quite a few of these. Dystopian is a dead genre at this point. I’m really not interested in it at all anymore when I once loved it. And I also am not a fan of the comedies. I usually avoid anything cutesy. lol Give me the angst!
Exactly! It’s so so dead. Dystopian needs seriously revamping to come back from that burn out. 😂
I now struggle with historical fiction because authors can’t seem to find a good way to deal with historical gender roles/relations. Honestly, I read a lot of really old literature (I studied medieval literature in grad school), so sexism in texts doesn’t really bother me. You have to learn to not take things personally if you’re going to study literature because otherwise you will never get over seething about misogyny in order to actually understand or discuss the text. “This book is sexist” doesn’t really count as an insightful remark after like the first year of college because…we all know. However, the trend in YA historical fiction has definitely been to write these badass female protagonists who don’t fit into the time period AT ALL. Worse is when in books like Stalking Jack the Ripper when they won’t stop making speeches every two pages about how women are as good as men. I think there’s a trick to writing a female character who maybe is more active than would have been historically normal for the “average” women of the time, but who doesn’t stick out as a crazy anachronism in the book. I think A School for Unusual Girls is pretty good at this, But much of historical fiction right now is not.
Oh I totally get that. And like somedays I’m a little more chill about it, because, like I said: I’m not after erasing history or what women fought for! I just get so TIRED.😭
I’m okay when the girls actually DO speak out and stick up because someone was doing it back then in order for us to even start the movement of getting rights, so it makes sense to me?
OKAY ABOUT THE HUMOR THOUGH, SAAAMMMEEEE!!!!! My WIP features a super salty and sarcastic 20-something and a punny innocent 20-something. I actually am basing them off of my friends LOL. I find saltiness and sarcasm so much more humorous than slapstick.
I’M GLAD I’M NOT ALONE!! Like what even to slapstick. It’s so dumb and generally cruel or offensive. I’d much rather actual intelligent witty comebacks.😍
I don’t think my tastes have changed that much? I am still kinda smol so there’s that. I have some tropes that I started to hate (like girl hate, toxic masculinity etc.) but nothing as major as a whole GENRE.
I also didn’t really read contemporary but now?? I QUITE LIKE IT?? A LOT?? I think it’s because a whole lot of diverse books are coming out and the stories are just so new and interesting and AGHHHHH I NEED TO READ THE ALLLLLL!!
And GIVE FEMALE PROTAGONISTS EMOTION 2KFOEVER!!! I hate it when they make them powerful in the sense that yey the can punch but CAN they also push trough trauma and face mental illness or GET STRONG?? If you don’t show emotional strength as well as physical one welp you lost me there son!!!
Ugh I hate those tropes you listed too. 😭 Although I never DID like them, but like I’m way more aware of things that are problematic now? I wish the girl hate storylines would quit. They’re everywhere and they’re DUMB.
afjdkslad for contemporary. ❤️ I don’t even know when I became such a fan but I DID. And you’re so right that it’s probably because of the diversity!! Contemporary is making an effort where a lot of other genres fail.
I’m the same with dystopian. I think that maybe the Hunger Games craze was what put me off… I don’t know. Or maybe I just don’t fancy having to be reminded of how sucky our government is in the form of a made up universe with flat-as-a-pancake characters. That could be it. Here’s a link to my TTT!
https://thewritebooksblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/12/top-ten-classics-that-i-love/
Ugh the government in most countries sucks as is. I’m so mad at most of the western governments currently. 😒 BUT YEAH.
Oh, the Mandy books. Lol.
Omg you KNOW. Can we just sit here and ponder the meaning of good literature and the shame of our youths.😂
I was in a used book store the other day, and they had a bunch of them. Nostalgia made me pick one up; my self-respect made me put it right back down. 😂
I don’t care if they kill the dog, as long as it makes sense. (In other words, I’m not one of those readers who’ll stop reading just because someone killed Fido.) I think that sort of thing would bother me more in movie form, though.
I used to read some of those old series mysteries. Trixie Belden was my sleuth of choice. And, no, I’m not actually that old; my great-aunt gave me some of the books for my birthday one year, and I just went with it. With the first installment coming out in 1948, those are pretty much historical fiction now! I’m not the biggest fan of mysteries, anyway; I read the first three Richard Castle books, but mainly because I liked the TV series (the books weren’t bad, but they weren’t amazing, either). I kind of get frustrated with mysteries. I often can’t figure out who did the crime, and sometimes even after it’s revealed it makes no sense. On the other hand, if it’s too easy to guess, that’s no good, either.
*SHOCKED AT YOUR DOG LOVELESSNESS* 😱😱😱
I did read Trixie Belden too haha! I think I read about 8 or something? They felt all the same. 😭 I own a few because I heard they were really lucrative to resell but honestly I could never be bothered.😂
dystopians used to be my favourite genre, but now i realise most are super cliché and the plot has been done 560 times. i will only read one if it’s really original.
Exactly! I think it could be really cool if it got a bit of a revamp?!?
I pretty much avoid dystopian at all costs, but it’s really because, like you said, all modern dystopian books are the same! There’s no variety. I like some classic dystopians because they tend to be different, but as a general rule, they’re not for me.
SAME. I struggle with classic books and I’m not motivated enough to search out older dystopians now either.😂 Dystopian needs a bit of life breathed back into it!
I feel the same way about historical fiction… It was my FAVOURITE when I was younger, but now I’m bored of it. Honestly I actually still like a lot of it, it just CAN’T take place in North America, or World War Two… otherwise I enjoy it…
I also used to love animal stories of any kind. Now I hate them. ESPECIALLY when they kill the dog.
I know right?! It’s like mostly all set in WWII which is interesting, but surely there are other parts of history.😂
Haha definitely Supernatural Romance books! Unless someone can give me a new spin on the supernatural creature (The Wolves of Mercy Falls is a perfect example. Fucking temperature Cait, HOW DID SHE THINK OF THAT!) But if its the same old, oh I’m a Vampire but I deny my true nature cause I’m a good Vampire and I love you… ugh! I adored Twilight as a Teen, and I still own the books because NOSTALGIA IS LIFE, but it’s not my thing now that I am grown.
I am also so sick of Female characters who are described as awkward, clumsy, useless, shy etc etc etc, who all of a sudden can miraculously do all of these amazing hardcore things and save the world with all these skills they never knew they had. And then the love interest, who never noticed her before, all of a sudden falls head over heels with her new found sexiness and confidence. Just bite me, seriously. It’s not fair on all of us who actually are awkward, clumsy, useless and shy. If our world needed saving I would probably attempt to help and trip over the super important cable and fry all the super important data, and knock a coffee over a super important document and ruin all the plans everyone had worked so hard on. Everyone would then proceed to shut me in a room with books and puzzles just to keep me out of the way until the world either ended or was saved.
Other than that I am pretty open to most genres. I might gravitate away from them sometimes but I usually come back. I’m still a sucker for a good dystopian, but it has to be different than the rest to keep my interest.
ZOMG EVERYTHING ABOUT STIEFVATER’S BOOKS ARE PERFECT THOUGH. SHE COULD WRITE A DYSTOPIAN AND I WOULD THROW MY STANDARDS OUT THE WINDOW AND READ IT.😂 Stiefvater is my FAV. Ahem. #fangirlMoment
I’m really frustrated when shy characters are “cured” and stuff. Like it’s ok to be shy?!? And I’m tired of just the ones with no emotional range…honestly, most humans have a HUGE emotion range so why do these kickass females not get that? And the whole “I’m so ugly and awkward no one loves me” followed by a freaking love triangle *rolls eyes* I was never convinced by it but now I’m fully over it.😂
Well I HOPE my tastes don’t change. But now I’m kinda worried as a book blogger that they aren’t changing enough. Everybody is yelling about how DYSTOPIAN ISN’T COOL ANYMORE and I’m just over her like…but…but…I haven’t read them all yet?! (pouty face) 🙁 Now if I read them nobody is going to care. 🙁 Oh well.
Aww, you don’t have to feel like that AT ALL.😂 Read whatever you want to read and enjoy it!
I wasn’t as hyped by dystopian as a lot of people I know were but I did have a few months where that was alllllll I would read and I regret it so hard right now. I’ve tried to go back and read many of them but I just can’t anymore.
Yup so so relate. I think sometimes binging genres seems like a good idea at the time but in retrospect….it always turns me off.😂
This is such a great post! 🙂 Some of the things you listed I’m still going strong with (historical fiction, magic portal worlds, mysteries) but some I’m also done with.
Like dystopia. As you said, I’ve always wondered why the main characters have to mess with the society?? Can’t they just realized they’re doomed to live a colorless life?? (Though not all dystopia is bad.) AND DOG BOOKS. I just avoid those at all costs. I CANNOT read about a dog dying.
Recently I’ve gotten a little burned out on fantasy- I’m more into realistic fiction. Thanks for the great post, Cait!
I just sometimes wish dystopians could shake things up a LITTLE. Like why are the government so black-and-white evil?!???? Seems like there should be more moral greyness honestly. (And the rebels are always so boring.😭)
DOG BOOKS SHOULD BE OUTLAWED.
I think fantasy is sometimes a bit exhausting? And I’ve been having an exhausting year so like contemporary is an easier break.
I, like you, LOVED (lived and breathed the Hunger Games and still love it so much, opened my eyes to a lot), but I didn’t really care for other dystopian. I liked The Maze Runner, but I really only read so I could before the movie and the movie had Dylan O’Brien in it (no shame whatsoever). Honestly, didn’t care for the first Divergent and didn’t make it through the second book. I just watched the movies, and (somewhat shamefully) just compared it to the Hunger Games. But that wasn’t really “childhood” for me, it was more high school. My other reading faves are still my faves and I love them all so much! I didn’t really read by genre, I just picked books that I thought were interesting lol.
Absolutely Ariana
http://absolutelyariana.com/
Omg Dylan O’Brien is 100% the reason The Maze Runner movie is so good.😂NOT EVEN GONNA LIE. I actually loved the books too though! Although I still don’t understand how running a maze can cure a disease???? But okay.😂 I loved Divergent when I originally read it, but now I find it really cliche and boring. 😭 I could NOT get through the movies. They were so bad I just ended up laughing.
I relate to this so much. My tastes have changed immensely. I used to avoid romance and swearing. Now they are basically staples. I read contemporaries and even some adult fiction.
Bahha same though! I used to be so offended by swearing and now I love it.😂😂
I am not a dog person and don’t generally read dog books?
BUT IF YOU KILL THE CAT WE ARE FOREVER ENEMIES.
I have recently discovered a strain of fantasy books that enjoy killing/eating the pet cat? Smh.
JUST NO KILLING ANIMALS. NOOOO. Not the dragons or the horses either. *stamps foot* And omg a fantasy I read recently wrung the little kid’s cat’s neck. 😳😳😳
WHAT MONSTROUS BOOK WAS THIS?! *disapproves*
Another awesome post! I 100% agree with you about dystopians, slapstick comedy and survival stories – save for the latter two I’ve never been a fan of in the first place.
For me I find that I’ve turned my back on a lot of mainstream books that I used to like, largely because I’ve read so many better books since – for example The Goddess Test, 13 Reasons Why, The Maze Runner…
Have a lovely day 💕💕
It is always frustrating realising old favourites are actually not well written.😂 I still love The Maze Runner though! Although wasn’t impressed with the latest prequel….*sigh*
Definitely! Fair enough 🙂 💕💕
Great list! I’m still a Superhero and Dystopian junkie (see my TTT post for more info on that), but I agree that the whole kids travelling to different worlds thing has lost its appeal for me.
I think maybe the kids-travelling-through-doors/portals is maybe more appealing when one IS a kid??? It seems something logical to grow out of.😂
Ha, I totally agree with many of these! My reading choices have changed a bit but not drastically. I also fairly recently began reading contemporary books, and I LOVE them!! Sometimes it’s nice to just read something that’s more realistic yet probably better than actually reality will ever be! And with the dog books, your description totally reminded me of A Dog’s Purpose, which had a lots of doggy deaths. ☹️Though it was actually still really good, and I enjoyed the movie, despite not being a dog person! 😂
Omg remind me never to read A Dog’s Purpose. That sounds like I will be A RUIN AFTERWARDS. (Also so glad we both love contemporary now!!)
RE: #9 – smol!Cait and smol!Destiny would’ve been great friends with our horrible taste in children’s mysteries, because the Mary Kate & Ashley detective books were my LIFE, and I’m pretty sure those are about as shameful as children’s lit gets.
Oh we would’ve. 😂 But at least there was hope for us and we eventually moved on to quality literature?!?😂 I’m so embarrassed hahaha.
Did you read Where the Red Fern Grows as a kid? If you want to talk about sad dog books, that tops the list. I think it beats out Old Yeller, because there are TWO dogs. There was also two movies made about it (double the sadness), so… yeah. (Though to be fair, I believe there were a couple human characters between the two movies that didn’t make it, I guess to ensure that if you weren’t bawling your eyes out about one tragedy, you would be about another.) Probably one to steer clear of if you’re not a fan of depressing dog books ;P
I didn’t but I’ve heard of it. I doooon’t want to read it. 😭 OLD YELLER WAS BAD ENOUGH I’M SO TRAUMATISED.
I used to love dystopian so much too, it is all I used to read. But I think that’s more because the entire world was on a dystopian craze and all the authors were writing that, the same way all the authors started writing paranormal after Twilight! But anyways, weirdly, I never used to read fantasy and much preferred contemporary but after starting to book blog, I read both fantasy and contemporary! Lovely post Cait xx
That’s true! And I think just maybe the sheer quantity of it was the problem? Like all those books coming out at once meant writers weren’t reading what each other was coming out with until it was THERE. And we readers were just getting bombarded with 4989 versions of the same story.😂
I legit began my booknerd career with the Boxcar Children in 4th grade. I came from a foreign country and didn’t speak English well and so I was put into this class called Read 180 to learn English better and the teacher read us the first book in the series and I got obsessed and checked it out from the library and now i’m a booknerd extreme whose TBR is threatening to crush her.
I’m sitting in my school library using the computer and almost burst out laughing at the vegemite on orange part. LOL! people are like wondering why tI’m laughing randomly, but who cares? you’re hilarious, cait.
*hi five for the BOXCAR CHILDREN* Also I hear you with the TBR piles…is there any hope for us or are we just going to get buried alive??
(I’m so glad it made you laugh. 😂 my work here IS DONE!)
Okay, hold up. I have to stop you at “CS Lewis was sexist trash”. I’ve been reading and studying C. S. Lewis for years, and while he was certainly no feminist. He was also, most certainly not “sexist trash”. I highly recommend this book: Women and C.S. Lewis, edited by Carolyn Curtis. Several C. S. Lewis scholars (women and men) came together to address that accusation and look at the friendships/relationships Lewis had with women in his life as well as the characters in his literature.
Hmm, well that’s the beauty of different people having differing opinions…we’re both entitled to think what we like of CS Lewis! I have 0% intention of ever reading books by people who aren’t feminists.
I’ll grant you that there are a lot of C.S. Lewis stories that were…eh, not so great on the gender theory. But the Narnian chronicles were DEFINITELY not one of those. So I get where you’re coming from, but the Narnian chronicles were extremely progressive for their time.
I’m also a C.S. Lewis scholar and might I recommend you Don King’s collection of Joy Davidman’s letters? Or Abigail Santamaria’s biography on her? She eventually married C.S. Lewis (after a lot of the books you know were published) and she was a FIRECRACKER and absolutely a feminist. She had a long-running argument with C.S. Lewis about birth control, she has this great diatribe in her letters (she was a writer too and just as talented as Lewis) about how she was expected to be a homemaker and just give up her writing and how much she resented that–she was also an active member of the American Communist party in her youth.
Also she wrote erotic poetry about C.S. Lewis so let’s just say she was super sex positive! So if you’re not keen on giving Lewis another shot (there is a lot of evidence his views on women shifted after he met/married his wife, who btw came to England with the express intention of seducing him, she was awesome) maybe check out some of her work or some of the biographies about her.
Sorry, but I’m honestly not interested in reading his stuff ever again.😂I mean, if his wife was a feminist then his wife is amazing…but unfortunately being around a feminist doesn’t make him one. (And Susan in Narnia basically went to “Hell” for being into feminine things??)
Okay, but she didn’t go to “Hell”. She just wasn’t in the last book. She is still alive by the end of the book. And it wasn’t because she was into “feminine things”, it was because she started putting material things over her family and she was pretending Narnia didn’t exist to “seem more grown up”. Dunno how the “Susan got sent to Hell!” thing got started, but it’s canonically not true. You don’t have to like Lewis, but that’s not what happened in the book.
I just wanted to recommend another really great writer who unfortunately often gets overshadowed by her more famous husband.
Well I assume we are both mature bookworms and both can have our own opinions without accusing the other being wrong! I see CS Lewis and his books as I see them and that’s cool you have a different opinion, but mine isn’t going to change. (Especially regarding Susan.) 🙂
This made my day! Totally agree with everything. Thank you for turning dreary into cheery. I sending you a link to a super short story inspired. by your writing. Wrote it on my 30 minute lunch break. Enjoy! https://www.smore.com/a0r71-dystopian-cake
Aww I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And oooh cake stories! 😀
Hope you enjoy Dystopian Cake: The Story of Cake-lin. This will remain an unpublished guilty pleasure of mine.
I am pretty sure I will NEVER be over dystopians. There, I said it. I also have always wanted to write one, so there’s that. Promise you’ll read mine, okay? Great thanks.
Now. I am with you like, 173% on the Magic Door and the Girl Without Feelings. Those can burn and die. Also fully admit to not being a fan of superhero books OR really action-y books. Nope, pass. I mean, I don’t want to read about grass growing or anything, but yeah, constant battles aren’t my thing. I mean, I’ll be SAD if they kill the dog. But it depends on the story- if it’s done just for shock value, then NO. But if it matters, I can live with it after all the tears.
I love this topic though! Okay- when I was young, like, college and younger, I swore to myself I ONLY liked contemporary- or VERY realistic historical fiction. Idk why, but I told myself I hated fantasy, anything futuristic, science-y, etc. What was my malfunction, Cait? No one knows. But I was so very WRONG.
I PROMISE I’LL READ YOURS. 😂 And honestly if Suzanne Collins wrote more I would be all over them.😂 (Also omg Disruption though?!?? How is it so perfect.)
I WANT to like action books and I tell myself I do all the time but omg I would much rather sass and magic and things because I get so lost when they’re blowing each other to kingdom comes.😂
i am shocked, judging by your list i am ancient? But if a book has all 10 things that you hate, you might end up liking it
I’m sure some of these things I might come back to liking someday.
I used to love The Hardy Boys but the same thing happened over and over again in every book and I started to realize the pattern by about book seven. My mystery phase ended then and there forever and ever Amen.
I also used to read a lot of other series’ in many genres that I have now dubbed “Run On Series’,” because the authors clearly did not know where they were going, but they kept going anyway. I would just keep reading as the story fell apart. I don’t do that anymore.
Basically my taste in books has narrowed so much that I am not satisfied by anything unless it is absolutely perfect. Aside from mysteries, there aren’t many genres that I have changed my views about, I just like fewer books in every genre. I guess I just like to make things difficult for myself.
My brother was really into the Hardy Boys and tried to get me to read them and I was just…no thanks.😂 I did Trixie Belden (have you heard of those?) and they were the same thing on repeat too.😂 AH. These good ol’ fashion mystery series.
I do find myself being tougher and tougher to please and like waiting for the PERFECT book to give 5stars! I keep reminding myself that life is short and give out 5 stars whenever but hhaahha it’s hard.😂
Alas, no, I have never heard of Trixie Belden. If I was still into mysteries I am sure I would look them up, but as it is…I definitely won’t. 😉 Sometimes I miss the olden days when I could be pleased by just about anything. But sometimes I am proud of myself for honing my literary analysis skills.
Hahah don’t even bother.😂 I wouldn’t recommend them at all haha!
You know how I know I’ve been following you for ages? The fact that I REMEMBER SOME OF THESE PHASES. Especially the dystopian one LOL. I’m so proud of you and your new contemporary ways *wipes tear of pride*
STALKER. 😂😂 Nice stalker though. I shall keep you. (And omg you have been following so long and haven’t ditched me I think someone should award you.)
Historical fiction for me, too! I used to loooove historical fiction. I know you’re from Australia so I don’t know if you’re familiar with these toys but we have these American Girl dolls here that are like dolls from different historical periods and they have book series from that period with them, and when I was little I started reading those books and got hooked on historical fiction, so I read so much historical fiction for years and years and I think I just burnt myself out on it because I was obsessed.
Also, like someone else said, vampires. I used to read indiscriminately about vampires, and to be honest, I still love reading some vampire stuff, but as I grew and my reading tastes evolved, I realized not ALL vampire fiction is good vampire fiction. It needs more than JUST vampires now. It also has to not be terrible. Lol
Actually funny you should say that…my sister and I were OBSESSED with American Dolls!😂 We read tons of the books and had the paper dolls!!
I actually missed the vampire phase which is probably a relief.😂 But I have read two vampire books which I really like, but overall it doesn’t appeal to me much?
I was really into the dystopian craze for a while and I think I got burnt out too. It started to feel like everyone wanted to copy The Hunger Games! And TBH I got sooooooo tired of love triangles. So. Many. Love triangles.
Exactly! If it had been shaken up a bit more it would’ve been more interesting?!? But way too many triangles. 😂
I’m laughing. It’s so true, literally every male in a dystopian novel is described as ‘clean shaven’. Which I don’t even get because when the world is half way to falling apart where are these people finding the time to actually shave their faces? In the midst of rebelling against President Snow, I’m sure Gale was particularly worried about his stubble.
I know right?! How are all these guys so hairless.😂 And they’re usually all super fit despite SUPPOSEDLY BEING IN A STARVING COUNTRY. *sighs* (How did Peeta shave in the arena??!)
I agree the most with point two, I always find it so annoying how they just accept these amazing secret passages into new places. But then again, if it happened to me then the readers would have to sift through a few hundred pages of me doing things like sticking my arm in and out and freaking out haha, so I guess it’s better to read about the former.
Amy;
Little Moon Elephant
That’s so true! 😂 And like it’d be super boring to read a book where they couldn’t even HAVE the adventure because they were too busy going “eh this isn’t real.”😂 It just, I guess, has probably lost it’s magic for me due to reading too many as a kid?!
I AM RIGHT THERE WITH YOU WHEN IT COMES TO CONTEMPORARY. I haven’t been enjoying the fantasy YA as much this year and I even halted my Fantasy WIP to work on a contemporary idea. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US CAIT?!?!
<3333
~Brittany @ Brittany’s Book Rambles
I DON’T KNOW, BUT I’M SCARED, BRITTANY????? HAVE OUR BRAINS BEEN TAKEN BY ALIENS????
(Actually I was mentioning this to my friend and she pointed out that it’s perhaps because contemporary is really being flooded with excellent diverse authors who are bringing great perspectives and stories and excellent writing to the genre, while YA fantasy isn’t following quite as fast? Which I thought was a really good point!)
That is a really great point! That makes so much sense. I feel a little better now haha
oh absolutely i am just like dystopian NOPE i read all of the dystopian ever when i first discovered YA. it’s all the hunger games fault, but yeah i LOVE the hunger games more than any dystopian. i always will. it just feels different because i don’t know, that was how i discovered it?? I MAKE SENSE.
FLIPPING DOG BOOKS ARE THE WORST. i avoid dog books like the plague. i picked up old yeller not realizing what is was about when i was a youngin and NOPE. seriously, who thought this was a good idea?? like yeah, death of the dog is GREAT character development, let’s just do that instead of actually writing the MC some changing and developing moments!! yeah, no thank you. i’ve had enough dog death.
IT just feels like most every dystopian after THG is trying to BE the next Hunger Games and like…why?😂 Do something new, peoples, we’ve read the Hunger Games…we don’t want it 3989 more times.
OMG OLD YELLER SHOULD COME WITH A WARNING STICKER. It’s been like 10 years and I’m still not okay. 😭😭
I’m a little afraid of reading dystopian nowadays as well…
Maybe one day Fantasy will win me over… I have much to read. (Though Contemporary isn’t my only. I do like Historical and Literary Fiction…. I gotta read more of those as well… Also, that Gordan Ramsey gif was brilliant.
Also never read Narnia before. I can’t wait to start it one day!
There’s not really a particular genre I’m tired of (not even Dystopian.. Need to finish the next book in The gver or whatever it’s called series). I didn’t branch out a lot as a child but now I’m reading more things.
Narnia is super cute and such a building block of my childhood! I’m sad that I’ve realised how problematic it is now.😭 But anyway. I do love The Giver series and the 3rd book IS SO SAD BUT SO GOOD.
I’m not really into survival books any more, but I was totally obsessed with them in middle school – I loved Hatchet and another favorite was the My Side of the Mountain series by Jean Craighead George. Good times! 🙂
Oh I read My Side of the Mountain too but I didn’t even know it was a series. 😱 Ahhh, good old childhood reads. 😂
I loved Hatchet, too!!!!! I live in the middle of Canada and can tell you that you can totally survive here in the Summer months. It’s flat and the trees are sparse. We have fresh water lakes and lot and lots of berries that grow in the Summer. So lots of berries to eat to survive. Bears are really up North and so mostly you’d see moose, deer, coyotes, rabbits, hawks, owls, and fox. Maybe the odd vulture, porcupine, badger, raccoon, or skunk. Many of which really are more scared of you then you are of them.
I do find as I’m getting older my reading preferences are changing. I’m more open to trying new genres or giving other genres I didn’t like another try. I still love mysteries but now I like them creepier. I used to stay away completely from any form of horror. Now I really look for it when I choose a book. I also enjoy contemporaries! I used to never read them. I still adore fantasy. I just about never read any dystopian. I used to but now they seem all the same. Unless they are really unusual I won’t pick them up.
ooh that’s good to know. I’ll plan my terrifying plane crash after all. I mean, I would probably still die because LACK OF WIFI but I have read the books!! I know how to gather food!!😂
I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s found a new love for contemporaries. :’) I used to avoid them like ANYTHING and now it’s like yes please.😂
I used to read so many second world war stories as a kid. To be fair, that was probably the biggest genre in children’s books in my library, haha. I even read a few chapters of Mein Kampf when in high school for a project in my final year. Never attempt that.
I feel like most of historical fiction is set in WWII?!?😂 It’d be good if there was more options hhaha.
Oh Cait, this was hilarious.
“the boy is named after a number” XD
I feel you. Dystopias were what got me back into reading after a very long drought, but man, now YA dystopias have me running for the hills. I have a little more patience for adult ones, though. (And The Hunger Games will always hold a special place in my heart. They are excellent and I will defend this opinion to the death. Or..to the something.)
I’M BEING SO SALTY THERE. 😂😂 And like I owe a lot of love and respect to dystopians in the past since they got me into YA and book blogging! But I feel like EVERYTHING was trying to be “The next Hunger Games” and like…why. We have one Hunger Games. That’s enough.😂
Ohmygosh I was obsessed with the Boxcar Children too!!
WHAT A CHILDHOOD WE HAD.😂
YOU READ THE MANDY BOOKS?!? You are literally the first person I have run across who was also scarred by that series. I read so many horribly written, horribly plotted books as a kid (maybe because I read literally EVERYTHING within arm’s reach) that I’m shocked I still love books as an adult. I also devoured the Boxcar series…at least they weren’t trying to shove religious drivel down my throat?
I’M NOT PROUD.😂 I HAVE SO MANY REGRETS. I kind of hated them yet read like 30 so like what is wrong with me.😂 (And like Mandy literally just had to be a privileged BRAT the whole book and then as long as she prayed at the end she was forgiven??? And looking back omg I think the Native American rep was pretty problematic.)
Yeh, I have no idea with action sequences. Even in films and graphic novels. I just wait for the dust to settle and see who’s still alive/who won!
Actual example of me giving directions:
Me: You turn in by the bushes
Brother: ‘The bushes’? What?
Me: Well, there are bushes.
Brother: There are lots of bushes. WHICH bushes?
Me: The ones by her house…?
Brother: You were explaining how to get to her house. How do I get to her house?
Me: You turn in by some bushes.
(And what if the food survivalist people were looking for was cake…?!)
Bhaha exactly! Directions are SO hard to give and take…I mean, my dad’s all like naming streets and I’m like “BUT WHAT COLOUR IS THE TREE?”😂
(Also surviving by finding cake would be my kind of book.)
I honestly never really got into dystopian (and I’m kinda glad I didn’t) because truthfully all the blurbs just sounded the same. I didn’t even finish the hunger games (I only read the first one) I know, I’m crazy for not reading them there just not really my thing. I still love fantasy but I have to be in the mood. Some of them can sound the same as like a thousand other fantasy books but then sometimes I’ll find one and be like… where have you been all my life because there so uniquely different that I just want to hug the author! I totally get your struggles with all of these types of books though (I mean book lover problems am i right?)
The honestly are all the same hhaha, so you’re not missing out on that much. I feel like if dystopians varied a bit more they’d do SO much better!?? (So many book lover problems.😂)
“New Idea: survival story but an introvert trapped in their own house with a stranger in the kitchen so the introvert can’t get to food and must go eat raw shells from the wild wild seas instead of say ‘please move so I can get to the fridge’ because nO ONE WANTS TO DO THAT.”
^ HOLY MOO, I HAVE LIVED THIS STORY TOO MANY TIMES. The struggle was ENTIRELY real and I just had to starve in my room until the house was clear of people who didn’t live there. I wouldn’t even be able to read a book centered around this; it would be too triggering.
For some reason, Child Me loved to read joke books? Hundreds of pages of bad kiddie jokes. Stayed up past bedtime with a flashlight, devouring them. I do not understand why.
THAT IS LIKE A TRUE HORROR STORY THOUGH OMG. I’ve literally missed meals to avoid people. 😭
Hey joke books are wonderful and terrible at the same time! 😂
hahaha Cait, you are my favorite person to read from now. “it was all narrated by girls with as much personality as a dehydrated apple” and “but the government sucks in 2017 and we aren’t eating each other” are probably the best things I’ve heard all weekend. Just, thank you for this post. Seriously, thank you!
I’M SO SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT.😂😂
I love crime novels, and because of this i completely binged on them as a child and teenager. This meant, unfortunately, that I became a bit of a snob regarding them and then got turned off completely because of a few crappy authors. BUT! I’ve recently got back into them, and most of them have been enjoyable, it’s helpful for my writing as I’m writing a Contemporary Crime novel,
I totally agree with you on Historical Fiction, unfortunately the Fantasy genre suffers from Sexism as well, I mean, potatoes weren’t around in Medieval times, and yet, potatoes are usually always mentioned in fantasy. But having a Fantasy and/or Historical Novel that doesn’t include Sexism? What is this? **sarcasm** I read Fantasy to get away from Reality *sigh*
I totally hear you! That’s basically my life’s story with historical fiction.😂(But so so cool you’re writing a contemporary crime! You’d know all the dos and don’ts after reading so much, right?!)
GAH THANK YOU! I’M GLAD YOU UNDERSTAND!! People keep telling me it’s “historically accurate” to have sexism. But teh fact is, if I read a book about a BOY in a fantasy book, he gets an adventure/quest straight away. While a girl’s #1 goal is to be seen as a human. It’s not fair???? *stamps foot* I demand more books where women don’t have to prove themselves because it’s not that hard to imagine!
Completely agree. Women shouldn’t have to prove themselves worthy before the Quest even begins. If the female main character has to deal with sexism from the “good guys” as well as the “bad guys”, then (as a reader) I find it difficult to tell the two teams apart and there’s no real justification for the female main character to associate with the “good guys” (as opposed to going alone).
You’re a slytherin too!!!!!! I just found my favourite freakin blogger I’m so happy!!! I’ve been so conflicted on whether or not I’m an actual Slytherin, because I read&write books and stuff, and I, too, do not like dogs dying, but now I know I CAN BE MYSELF AND A SLYTHERIN AT THE SAME TIME!!!
YES I AM SO SLYTHERIN!! And we don’t have to not have emotions, pfft, we can cry over dogs (it’s the humans that are tedious, right?) 🐉🐉
I can’t think of a genre I used to love and don’t anymore… My tastes just seem to grow and nothing gets pushed out as such, they all just snuggle up together on the shelves.
Oh wait! Horror! I used to be massive horror fan; starting out with goosebumps, then point horror then progressed onto Stephen King. But they’re all the same. It got to the point where, and the same is true for any crime novels I’ve read, I can’t differentiate between them in my mind!
That’s awesome that you just love everything! But hhaha I hear you with some genres having books that just all merge into one. 😂 I guess it’s hard to think of different crimes after a while?!
The murderers are all the same!
I am so with you on dystopia! I am so over it ALL. There are the ones I love, but I just can’t do with fighting governments any more. The world is currently going to hell, I don’t want future versions of the world doing the same. I can’t take it. I’m kind of with you on the door/portal ones, where they resemble Alice in Wonderland. Or even if there’s no door/portal, but the plot is: On some magical adventure type thing, in a different “world” or a strange part of your own world, you have to do XYZ, but on the way to the destination to do XYZ, you come across Obstacle A, which has a problem or bad guys or some other reason thing that means you can’t go on, so you have to sort that first, and after that, there’s Obstacle B, and C, and D and so on AND OH MY GOD IT DRIVES ME MAD STOP STOPPING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I can’t bear it, I simply can’t. They enrage me. It’s more common in MG, but it does still happen in YA. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova is one such example. I’m also really over fae. So over fae. And most vampire/werewolf books. Unless it’s by a favourite author, or sounds particularly good, I just can’t.
I used to be all fantasy, mainly high/epic fantasy. Then I discovered Twilight through uni, and got into urban fantasy, adult and YA. And then I got into YA in general because I was interested in how the YA urban fantasies/paranormal romancies dealt with the sex scenes, and how different books would either show it or or fade to black, and after talking to some people, I decided to hold my first YA blog event, and held Sex in Teen Lit Month, and read YA novels outside of fantasy recommended to me, and I loved it! Now I read almost all genres in YA, and a lot less fantasy outside YA. It makes me sad. But it’s always a nice treat when I go back to fantasy and find something I love.
When it comes to dog books… I am not interested in any kind of animal focused book. I wouldn’t say I’m not an animal person, but I just don’t care when it comes to books, And I’m scared of dogs in general after being clawed by my aunt’s dog when I was two, so whenever a dog is ill or dies in a book, there’s no change in my emotion. I get kind of heartless because I don’t like dogs, and just think “Ok, can we please move on from the grieving over the dog and get back to the story, please?” I know it sounds awful, but with dogs, I’m either completely indifferent at best, or terrified at worst, so dogs in books, I’m kind of meh about. Don’t hate me, I’m sure Atticus is lovely! My other aunt has a greyhound which I don’t hate, and I will even give it a hug sometimes when ti comes begging for one by trying to arrange itself so it’s legs are either side on my lap and it’s belly is resting on top. It’s kind of cute, for a dog. But those yappy, barky ones that jump up at you, oh my god, they are terrifying. I freak out like a right child. Enough about my fear/dislike of dogs though.
I really loved this post, Cait! 🙂
Ugh the actual politics of the universe are so bad at the moment…I mean, have they ever been good??? But these horrible dystopian book governments suddenly don’t seem unrealistic.😳😳
And you’re spot on with the portal books! They are totally cliche/predictable with those formulas. That’s probably why they’re so dry for me now. 😂
I’LL TRY TO FORGIVE YOU FOR HATING DOGS BUT OMG, JO, MY HEART.😂 (Atticus is also actually horrible but I still love him haha. He mostly hates me and loves my mum but??? I try???)
It’s scary how many points on this list describe me and my reading life! I definitely went through a heavy dystopia phase (as in 1984 dystopian) all the way through high school. Nowadays I avoid dystopians like the plague– they always feel so superficially dramatic.
*hi fives for our strangely similar lives* 😂😂 And omg I feel you with the dystopians. That genre needs freshening up.
For me, it’s different now.
I used to read a bit of everything, you know? Since I was a kid, I developed this likeness of enjoying reading a lot of «adult books». I read books usually read and liked by adults – not children -, and no, I was the only true book lover in my family, .. Which means I did my own research and made my own choices. And, I wanted to read a wide variety of books, I felt so passionate about it! Know new things! Explore new books! Wow, it was heaven!
History, fantasy, romance, action, biography, contemporary books, you name it… I’d read all but the books my age. / Well, I admit I also read a lot of teenage books… when I was like 11 years old. And, I took it as a challenge… When the book wasn’t making my excited, I’d still have finish it. Good times..
Nowadays, I feel I have no patience. And I found out how much of a fantasy lover I am! I still read romance and contemporary novels, but I am a sucker of fantasy and supernatural books. Damn, how I love those! I can’t seem to get bored of it, so I feel like I turned into a one-genre-book-lover. It’s a bit annoying, I admit, but it’s also true I’m not the same nowadays… Since I found out internet and doramas, and especially after I started to have no time for other than studying/working, I put a lot of my reading aside. It’s like, “I don’t want to waste my time reading something I don’t enjoy; I will bet my time on the fantasy books I enjoy.”…. I can focus more when I’m on vacations, and that’s the only reason why I’m still going to the beach (when I don’t really enjoy going).
I have to say, tho… One of the best feelings in the World is finishing up a great book. I want to be addicted to reading, but at same time I don’t. I still try to read when I’m in the subway, going to work, but sometimes – when the book is really addicting – I avoid it as I don’t want to stop it and get anxious to get home again and keep reading it. My mind is a mess, I guess xDDDDD Contradictory haha
That’s great that you focus on reading the type of books you enjoy! I think that’s really important for a book lover to stay enthused. :’)