My Reading Preferences
I am always wary about posting my opinions on books. I am an author, so I know how much criticism of something you truly love can hurt. I do think it’s important to note that reading is subjective. Some people will love your book and others might describe it as the worst thing they’ve ever read. There’s no real right or wrong. There are just opinions, what you like, and what you don’t. My husband and I recently had this conversation because he asked me why I don’t post more reviews with how much I read. As an author I want to support other authors. I know writing is hard and honestly sharing your work is scary. It takes bravery to share, especially when you’re being raw in your writing, when you have pieces of your real life lingering between the pages.
That being said, I’ve never down right hated anything I’ve read. Even if I had, I’d never “trash” another author. I respect the craft too much and other writers too much. Just because something isn’t “for me” doesn’t mean it isn’t for someone. I also finish everything I start. This only applies to books, haha. I can, and do, start and stop a million other things from chores to projects. I can’t think of a time when I didn't finish a book. Most of my dislike of a book has less to do with errors and more to do with how the characters make me feel. If I wouldn’t like them in real life, why would I like them in a book?
With the launch of this website and me changing how I’m running my social media I am going to challenge myself to speak more about what I’m reading and how I feel about it. I’ve loved to read and write since before I was in school. It’s been a part of who I am for as long as I have memories. I love talking books and I think allowing myself to do more of that will be fun for me, but also help me improve as a writer. Being vulnerable, in my experience, leads to good ass writing.
The funny thing is sometimes the things I don’t like in a book, like an unhappy ending, finds its way into my stories. Characters do what they want sometimes regardless of where I think they need to be going. I am a die hard romantic. The Best of Us, yeah, I’m only watching the tears of joy version of that movie. When I’m writing my characters eventually take the wheel and I have little to no say in their actions after that point. It’s hard to explain to someone who doesn’t write, but characters really do develop into their own “people” which is why it’s so difficult to say I only like this and that - because it may one day show up in my own work.
Whiny female leads are not my favorite. I also am not a big fan of female leads who are immature and/or petty. Again, I want to love her…I want to wish she was my best friend in real life. For me to be rooting for her, I need to like her. I like sassy leads, women who are confident and push back. When the male MC is all “I get what I want” and her reply is “fuck you,” yeah, she’s my cup of tea. I love reading about women who know what they bring to the relationship. However, I do love me a damsel in distress from time to time. I am perfectly okay if the male MC saves the female MC. This trope in reverse is also great - when she saves him. I’ve read so many books where the female MC is running from something/someone and the male MC gives her job, gets her back on her feet, etc., etc. I love it.
I will die on the hill that trashes epilogues that set up the next book in the series. Give me a sneak peak, a sample chapter, literally anything else to promote your next book. When I see epilogue, I want and expect a future look at the characters I just read about. I hate this as a marketing strategy because I get super invested in the characters I’m reading about and I couldn’t care less about the next book during the final moments I have with the characters of the book I’m reading.
I actively avoid the surprise pregnancy trope. If the author puts it in the blurb and I still choose to read the book then it is what it is. But, if it’s nowhere and I’m 220 pages in when a random baby shows up, I never like it. I’m a mother and I’m honestly not sure why I don’t like this trope. Similarly, I don’t like when a couple breaks up, she finds out she’s pregnant and then they get back together. When I say I’m a hopeless romantic, I mean it. I want soulmate level love stories. I want the two people to live and breathe for one another. I’m not in this for real life. When a couple gets back together because of a child, I question their love for one another - every time. No amount of groveling and saying they’re together for more than the baby will change my mind. This is book specific. Don’t bring Booth & Brennan into this (Bones). Haha.
I also love, love, love one liners/gestures that tug right at my heartstrings. Especially when those lines come from the male MC. In Any Means Necessary by Lila Herron, Callum literally has the seats in his car reupholstered, switching from leather to suede, because Lexie mentions ONE time that her thighs stick to the seats. Ugh! My heart just can’t. In Fake Dating the Football Player (YA) by Sarah Sutton Landon tells Lacey to call him whenever she thinks about running away and when she says, “So you can talk me out of it?” He replies with, “So you won’t be alone.” Ahh! The sweetness. I absolutely love these little moments and I always end up thinking about them long after I’ve finished a book.
I’m sure I’ll think of more and grow this list. What are your reading preferences? Let me know at shalanabattles@gmail.com
