Thursday, January 31, 2019

TMST: Book Blurb Turn-offs

Tell Me Something Thursday? Although a bit delayed on my end, this week's Tell Me Something Tuesday from Rainy Day Ramblings was suggested by my friend at Offbeat YA, Roberta.



1) The greatest dystopian since The Hunger Games!
I hate two things about this. I don't enjoy comparisons to other novels, and I despise when people list things as "the greatest" or "the best" unless you are 100% certain that it is. And with something as subjective as a book, you definitely can't make that statement.

2) It continues from the front inner leaf of the dust jacket to the back.
I'm sorry, but if you needed all of that space to describe the book, then your description is too long and has likely gone into far too much detail. It's also a total pain to flip from the front to the back simply to figure out if I want to waste my time on this book. Yes, I am aware that is petty.

3) The entire plot.
That was a fascinating short story, thank you. I'm going to put this down for the next three years until I completely forget the spoilers I just read...if I even ever pick it up again. Related to the previous point, it's super important to give browsers just enough detail to get them intrigued, but not enough to spoil things beyond the first few chapters.



4) Main character and best friend are quirky, and have been best friends for as long as they can remember. And then...
I don't mind this plot point one way or another, but when it's written plainly in the description for a book it feels like such a clichΓ© that I don't want to put the effort into it.

5) None.
It always baffles me when there is no description at all. I understand this for older books where this wasn't the style, but for newer ones? I don't want to exclusively read the glowing praise from authors you are friends with or publishers. I might bother to flip through a tiny bit of the book, but unless there was something extremely special calling to me about it, I probably won't look into the book any further.
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There are quite a few things here and there that bother me with book blurbs, but these were the ones that automatically came to mind. What are some of your turn-offs and pet peeves?

6 comments:

  1. Awww. You even tagged this post "friends". *blushes* Speaking of which...are you on Twitter and/or Goodreads? We can connect on there as well if you want:
    https://twitter.com/OffbeatYA
    https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/14477787-roberta-r-offbeat-ya

    Quote: "That was a fascinating short story, thank you."
    πŸ˜‚ πŸ˜‚ πŸ˜‚

    I understand how you feel about "friends to lovers", especially when the blurb slams it in your face from the start. And the praises from author friends, publishers and such? Sometimes I wonder if they really think that the stuff works. To the best of my knowledge, no one ever bought a book just because John Green or Stephen King found it fascinating LOL.

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    1. I would definitely consider us blogging friends! I've added you on Goodreads, but I don't have a Twitter. I do have an Instagram, but I don't use it much yet/
      And YES! Just don't make me focus on it happening and I can deal with it.
      Ugh, it drives me nuts, those author reviews. That, and James Patterson putting his name to every book in existence.

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    2. Quote: "That, and James Patterson putting his name to every book in existence."
      πŸ˜‚ He must be a big reader...πŸ™„ πŸ˜†

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  2. I totally agree with the Hunger Games one! So many books say stuff like "for fans of the Hunger Games" or "the next biggest xxx" and it's just annoying!

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    1. Not to mention that half of the time they are nothing alike, and the other half of the time they are TOO alike!

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    2. LOL, this is a brilliant statement!

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