Some readers pass on plots that revolve around cancer, unjust accusations, or domestic violence. Some readers shun sex scenes and salty language. Some readers carefully screen out books whose plots revolve around scary stuff like sexual abuse. The writing is lovely but nothing happens. heavy-handed storytelling (my personal pet peeve).cliché-ridden plotlines and typed characters.

There are so many ways the style can go wrong. We’ve all read books like these: there’s a good story buried in there somewhere, but the painful telling turns what should be a pleasure into a slog. The right place, the right time: two underlooked criteria for loving a book. The book isn’t bad, but the timing is terrible. Maybe you’re trying to read The Fault in Our Stars right after a cancer diagnosis, or This is the Story of a Happy Marriage during your friend’s brutal divorce. Maybe your book is begging to be read at a desk, with a pen in hand, but you’re trying to read it by the pool, with a piña colada.

Maybe you’re literally in the wrong location. Maybe it’s over your head right now: you’re too young to appreciate it, you need to grow into it. Sometimes a great book catches you in the wrong place. I disagree. Most books aren’t hopeless, but they needed a great editor, a thorough overhaul, or both before they saw the light of day. Some people believe there are no “bad” books, only books that haven’t found the right reader. The book shouldn’t have been published in the first place. I’m eager to hear what you would add to the list.ġ. That’s a frequent reason for not liking a book, and that got me thinking: how many ways are there to hate a book? I’ve read multiple good longform reviews, and have heard good things from readers I know. I just finished a book with hundreds of Amazon reviews that average 4.4 stars. It has thousands of Goodreads reviews: average rating 3.99.

I hate everyone but you books