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23 July 2013

Top Ten Tuesday #7: Top Ten Topics I Find Less Interesting

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Topics that don't interest me
Now, I don't follow this as a hard and fast rule, but these are the trends that generally make me shy away from a book.

1. Fairies. Don't get me wrong. I like Tinkerbell and The Iron Fey, but in general, I find fairies a lot less interesting than most other supernatural/paranormal entities. I think it's because the so-called "fair" folk usually suck. They're all aloof and obnoxious, and generally, they embody a ridiculous superiority complex. Ugh. Get over yourselves and go back to being covered in mischevous glitter a la A Midsummer Night's Dream-style, guys!
2. Drugs. No. Not interested. Drugs are just about all that's wrong with the world. Miss you, Cory Monteith.
3. LGBT. While I do appreciate a well-written novel with well-written characters who happen to be lgbt such as Will Grayson, Will Grayson, Winger, The Shadowhunter Chronicles, or Beauty Queens, I'm really a straight romance buff.
4. Anything by William Faulkner. Hate him. Trashy southern lit at its worst. Ugh ugh UGH. "My mother is a fish." Seriously, that's a Faulkner quote. NO.
5. Religion/Chrisitan fiction. I find learning the academic, historical, and theologial aspects of various religions interesting, but I'm actually not as interested in getting preached to via fiction. Don't be offended if I'm not into your brand of Christian or [insert your religion here] lit. My own religion does have a number of well-known mainstream authors (I guarantee at least a couple are on your list of favorites), but there are many fictional works published by church-operated presses. I have no interest in them either. I prefer novels that portray religion in someone's life without being completely overwhelming because that's much more realistic. A couple examples of books that do it right are Miranda Kenneally's Stealing Parker and Things I Can't Forget.
6. Classics. I'm too busy reading books that are being published now that I have no time for the classics. Exemptions are Austen (duh) and Shakespeare (also duh).

Topics that DO interest me:
 Since I missed this previous TTT post, I thought I'd put them here.

1. Sports. I love sports to the point where I am a bigger fan and follow more sports than most guys I know. I have favorite teams, favorite players, and favorite obscure Olympians. I follow trades and stats and off-season chatter. Sports in books is book porn for me.
2. Hollywood. Anything to deal with the lifestyles of the (moderately) rich and (somewhat) famous is a total guilty pleasure. It doesn't have to be real Hollywood gossip to be interesting and fun. See: Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita. Adorable series. I think it's the glamour mixed with the sheer absurdity of the whole lifestyle. If sports are book porn, Hollywood books are a molten chocolate lava cake filled with fudge. And crack.
3. Romance. Yup. I'm a sucker for a good romance. Shut up, Lady Gaga. You know nothing. Please note that this says romance, not smut. Smut has its place too, but I generally prefer the sweet kisses and hand-holding to getting down and dirty. *cough* Generally.
4. Marching band. I was a band nerd for over a decade, and I loved ever second of it. Why else would I ever have stylistically walked around a giant rubber-and-plastic field in 90 degrees and 90% humidity at the ripe old age of 23? It wasn't because of those sexy wool uniforms. They were hot. Literally. Hot. Sweltering. Band was the best thing I ever did in my life, and I love traveling back to those days with a good book about other marching nerds. Jennifer Echols's Major Crush is a great read.
5. Boarding School. I think kids who never attended boarding schools are more obsessed with the idea of boarding schools than kids who actually did attend. Winger and Anna and the French Kiss are fantastic examples of good boarding school stories.
6. Magical Boarding Schools. If boarding schools are super cool, magical boarding schools are like Antarctica. Okay, that metaphor was terrible, but seriously, they're amazing. Don't tell me you didn't want to attend Hogwarts or Hex Hall or Camp Half-Blood (not a school but same kind of experience) or the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women (not magical, but pretty dang close so I'm counting it in this category because it's not a "normal" school) or St. Vladimir's or a House of Night or....I can keep going, but the point has been made. Magical boarding schools > regular boarding schools > regular school.

Thoughts? Got a great book that fits the first few categories that will change my mind? Let me know! Also, fellow bloggers, always feel free to leave a link to your TTT posts. I'd love to compare lists!

4 comments:

  1. Category Romance:
    Hopeless Magic series:Rachael Higginson

    and
    Inescapeable by Amy B Bartol
    This series got an award for best bad guy character this year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I haven't read any Faulkner but I do enjoy reading the classics. Once in a while! :)

    ReplyDelete