Sunday, January 29, 2012

Reading "Deal Breakers"

The Practical Librarian asks - what are your reading dealbreakers? I've had to think about this and have realized that while I try to read everything, I do have a couple deal breakers.
  1. Werewolves. Sort of. I don't mind them mixed into other groups. I don't like Jacob in the 'Twilight Series', but part of that is because he's a jerk. I like the werewolves in 'The Mortal Instruments' - they can be sassy and strong. Professor Lupin was fantastic and I cried in the last book and movie.  But base a book around a werewolf? So far, no dice. I'm trying to read 'Shiver' by Maggie Stiefvater and I can't do it. Perhaps it's linked to my dislike of being woodsy - I like the outdoors, like hiking and all but I'll never camp if I can avoid it. Or perhaps I need consistency in my life. Maybe I don't like the moon being blamed for everything. Either way. Werewolves. Boo.
  2. Dialect. Yes, books need dialect. Characters need to have a dialect and a regional accent. So often it can mark differences, bring out character flaws and bright spots and teach us about the history of the character and the place that they are representing. But keep it to the dialogue! The narrator does not always have to have that accent in their thoughts. The story does not have to be told in that dialect. 'Blood Red Road' annoyed me. I could not stand it simply because it was narrated in the accent of the main character. It was tiring and I couldn't connect. Maybe that makes me a snob, maybe that makes me a bad person, but I kept thinking 'What if Harry Potter was narrated in Hagrids voice - how popular would it have been?'. Think about it.
The book has to seem to have a point, it shouldn't just ramble and ramble, it shouldn't moralize from the beginning. However, I'll read almost anything. However, since I started 'Shiver' I've read about ten other books, if not fifteen. And every time I get a review package I worry it will have another book like 'Blood Red Road'. Dealbreakers. I have them.