Strange title and post for a voracious reader and an author, isn't it?
We all have our favorite genres, and even some not-so-favorites that we occasionally read. However, there are some lines that I cannot cross. Maybe that makes me narrow-minded, but there is nothing you can say to convince me to read certain books:
- computer tech manuals, although I think I need the "Social Media For Dummies" one. (Does it even exist?) I can do basic Twitter, blogspot, Facebook, and now I'm adding Pinterest, but I'm still confused and juvenile on these sites. I have to get more desperate before I'll pick up a tech manual (that's what I have sons for).
-books where I know people will suffer and die. Sorry, I can't watch or read "The Fault In Our Stars" because I know it's heartbreaking. If I read a book and there's a sudden death, like Dumbledore near the end of the Harry Potter series, I can deal--I must so I can finish reading. But to pick up a book, no matter how beautifully written, knowing that is going to wrench my heart? (especially when the subject matter hits too close to home or is one of my biggest fears?) Nope, can't do it.
-any book that involves the abuse, torture, or killing of children. I'm a mother of three and after reading The Lovely Bones, although it was handled in an excellent manner--NO. It will give me nightmares and I don't read to be upset to that degree.
-anything political. No matter how good the journalist, everything is skewed. We can't help it, we're imperfect people and our own agendas come into play. Plus, I believe there is no more objectivity in reporting now. Just watch any news show. Everyone is biased.
-black magic, satanic, or similar stuff. Yes, I'm a Christian, but I read plenty of fiction that deals with these subjects and I can disassociate my beliefs from the story. But books about this stuff in real life? NO- it freaks the hell out of me. I believe in evil, and that it exists both in our world and in people. I don't want to invite it into my life.
-literary essays. I find the language pretentious, dull, and frankly, I had enough of it in college. Who cares if there's another viewpoint that says Shakespeare stole all his work from another? They're all dead, can't change that, and it's only opinion.
-management, corporate life, and such. I bailed out of the corporate world. For good.
-books that are an insult to someone else, to justice, to peace. No way will I read OJ Simpson's book because he was trying to make money off a horrendous event--at the expense of the Brown and Goldberg families. (Makes me even more convinced of his guilt if he could do that.) I won't read anything that denigrates women, my country, authors, religion, and anything else I hold close to my heart. Constructive criticism is one thing, pure malice is another.
-anything that is so boring I can't get past the first few chapters. I don't care if it's a huge bestseller and people tell me "it gets better." There are too many great books out there I want to read and wasting my time on a dense book is something I won't do.
I think that's a pretty extensive list of 'won't read.' There are other categories that I limit how much I read of them, like autobiographies. The person has to interest me (self-aggrandizing people are tedious), even if I find them abhorrent, like Adolf Hitler or Charles Manson. I'm curious about what makes them who they were, but I can only take so much. Another category is the legal thriller. After a while, they seem to blend, but I like a good one now and then.
Is there something YOU won't read? Not even if everyone else is reading it? Not even if someone dragged you over hot coals? Tell me about it.
Char
