‘Books I’ll Probably Never Read’ Tag.

This tag was created by littlespider9 on YouTube.

I wasn’t tagged for this but I saw it on Ariel Bissett’s channel and I just thought… that tag is so me. There are so many books that I can’t help but roll my eyes when people talk about them because they’re so hyped, so many series that I just don’t want to finish… so here’s the chance to tell you about them. I also love these kind of controversial tags – this one reminds me a bit of the unpopular opinions tag, which is probably my favourite book tag ever.

1. A really hyped book you’re not interested in reading?

There are loads that I’m not interested in, because hype really turns me off a book. I even refused to read Harry Potter for ages because of the hype.

I’m really put off by the hype surrounding all the books by Sarah J. Maas. (Fantasy isn’t really my sort of thing anyway.) I’ve got no interest in anything by Cassandra Clare, or by V. E. Schwab. Just not interested.

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2. A series you won’t start / won’t be finishing?

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many series that I just can’t be bothered to finish. Usually this is because the sequels are never as good as the first book in the series, and often I just read the first book and think, ‘Nah, it won’t be as good’ and I can’t face the possibility of having that book ruined for me by a shit sequel.

I don’t think I’ll bother reading the rest of the Dorothy Must Die books for this reason. I did enjoy the first book but not really enough to sit through a whole series. I also loved the first two books in the Maze Runner series, but found the third book quite dull and stopped reading halfway through. I don’t think I’ll be picking it up again. I also won’t bother with A Song of Ice and Fire: I read Game of Thrones and it was all right but the books are just so long and there’s so many of them.

What annoys me is how book series now start with a book that doesn’t have any closure at all. It used to be that the first book in a series had its own narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end, and then there were a few loose ends to be tied up in future novels, such as a love interest or a bigger villain. For example, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has its own mystery / adventure which is wrapped up, but we are aware Voldemort will probably return one day. I don’t think there are any Harry Potter books that you couldn’t read without reading the others first (except perhaps the final book), whereas these days it feels impossible to read a series out of order. This annoys me and actually makes me quite resentful of series. I love a good standalone book and it often irritates me if I hear a sequel is being published because I don’t feel it’s needed.

Saying that, I read Splintered by A. G. Howard and decided against continuing the series because I felt the story was already closed and it didn’t need a sequel, so obviously I’m a massive hypocrite. (Click here if you’d like to read my review of Splintered – one of my first posts, I believe!)

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3. A classic that you’re just not interested in?

There’s not really any classics that I’m just not interested in; I’d like to read them all. There are a few I have tried and failed to read, though, because there’s no denying classic literature can be a bit tedious at times: Wuthering Heights, Heart of Darkness, The Scarlet Letter (annoying because I really expected to like that one), and Dracula, to name a few. I don’t think there’s any classics that I just don’t want to read, though. I feel like they’re classics for a reason so I want to give them all a chance.

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4. Any genres you never read?

I don’t consider myself much of a genre reader anyway: my favourite books are all kind of genre-less, just about ordinary people and the things that happen to them along the course of their lives. However, there are a couple of genres I tend to turn my nose up at.

When I think of romance, a little shiver of dislike goes through me. I feel like any book that’s marketed as a romance is just going to be too soppy, and I’m not interested in stories that have nothing going on apart from the love story. However, one of my favourite books is One Day by David Nichols, which is very clearly a love story. It just doesn’t feel like your typical romance genre when you’re reading it.

I’m also put off by paranormal – I think it just seems a bit silly and juvenile. I know that’s not true, of course – you can’t judge any book without having read it first – but it’s just my gut reaction whenever I see a paranormal book in a shop.

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5. A book on your shelves you’ll probably never actually read?

I try to declutter and get rid of any books that I’m not likely to read, but I do still have a couple on my shelves that I know I’ll probably never feel like reading but I keep them because they’re pretty or because I convince myself I’ll read them one day. One of these is (again) Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte, but really that’s because it’s part of a set of editions I’m collecting so I’m not too embarrassed about that. However, I AM embarrassed about the short story collection, Reader, I Married Him that I really wanted for ages and ever since I bought it I’ve just had no interest.

I also have those little Penguin black books that you get for 75p to £1, which I bought just because they were cheap and I thought they were cute. I’ll never actually read them.

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I know it’s naughty but I’m not going to tag anyone in particular today, because it’s too hot and I’m lazy lazy lazy. So I tag anyone who reads this!