Things You Want LESS Of In Books

Fab.

Thank.

@vidari-is-tired-in-advance

one thing that gets under my skin a lot is when book-smart characters always assume the least of a new adventure/world or something. basically, when a character is like "oh i must be dreaming! it's not possible! maybe im just high?" when they enter a new or magical place, even if they are a character who reads a lot and is well versed in book tropes and can obviously realize that no bud, you aint sleeping, its protagonist time. one book i love that subverts this hilariously has a scene where the main character has the ability to live on a day between wednesday and thursday, but the rest of the people around him can't, so they don't exist on that day. when the character enters this day for the first time, everyone around him is gone. he assumes an apocalypse has occurred and killed everybody, then starts looting the local walmart for supplies. its pretty funny because that's probably what most of us book nerds would do. this trope is really oddly specific, but it pops up over and over again and really annoys me for some reason.

@HighPockets

Yeah that's an annoying one!
Especially when they encounter something deadly and/or terrifying, and are like "oh no….this cannot be possible….what is it!!!???" like honey this is a magical place, there's gonna be freaky things.

@sheyna

one book i love that subverts this hilariously has a scene where the main character has the ability to live on a day between wednesday and thursday, but the rest of the people around him can't, so they don't exist on that day. when the character enters this day for the first time, everyone around him is gone. he assumes an apocalypse has occurred and killed everybody, then starts looting the local walmart for supplies.

ok but what book is this i need it in my life more than i need water

@vidari-is-tired-in-advance

one book i love that subverts this hilariously has a scene where the main character has the ability to live on a day between wednesday and thursday, but the rest of the people around him can't, so they don't exist on that day. when the character enters this day for the first time, everyone around him is gone. he assumes an apocalypse has occurred and killed everybody, then starts looting the local walmart for supplies.

ok but what book is this i need it in my life more than i need water

i think it’s called the eighth day

Deleted user

Anyone know of any books where a literate protagonist is transported to a world from their books, and they know exactly what to do because the world and book is so cliche?
Oddly specific, I know. But that's too good of a concept for someone to not have already written it.

@Knight-Shives

I was writing a story with a cliche but I was twisting it a bit.

@HighPockets

The whole dystopia/fantasy thing where there's factions or houses or any divided groups and the MC is like "Oh no! I have to choose if I'm brave, smart, evil, or kind!!!! What do I do?!?" Harry Potter did this well because each house is so much more than the stereotype that goes with it, and you have kind Ravenclaws, brave Hufflepuffs, evil Gryffindors, and smart Slytherins, and you can't really fit one character into a box. I've seen it done really badly though where one group is the 'pretentious arrogant nerds', one is the 'obviously evil because they're in that group (because that doesn't have any unfortunate implications attached)', one is 'the obviously brave and heroic and hot and brave and the protagonist has gotta come from here' group, and the other is 'we get pushed around and mocked all the time but it's ok because we're meek and dumb. Cuss me out and I'll pat you on the back and give you a cookie.'

@soupnana

What book is that from? (just curious.)

Deleted user

Finally someone brought that up, I hate that so much. Stereotypes can be handled well, but other times it’s poorly Putin together. When it’s pulled off well I’m still not a fan, but why do so many writers that do it miss the point intirley? Some times the physics of the path are completely broken….

@HighPockets

What book is that from? (just curious.)

I used it as an overexagerrated example, but Divergent fits the latter camp more than the former.

@HighPockets

Finally someone brought that up, I hate that so much. Stereotypes can be handled well, but other times it’s poorly Putin together. When it’s pulled off well I’m still not a fan, but why do so many writers that do it miss the point intirley? Some times the physics of the path are completely broken….

Yeah. I'm a Slytherin, and half the time when I tell people that they're like 'But you're too nice to be a Slytherin!!', when being a Slytherin means I'm ambitious, not a massive asshole to everyone. I feel like people are like 'oh in Harry Potter the house system was cool, it got merch, and people can easily identify them/have a symbol for my books!' but they ignore that the house system is flawed, people have more than one personality trait, and it doesn't always work well.

Also there's more groups you could do than just nice, evil, brave, and nerd. People take what the barebones version of Hogwarts houses are and then make them into one-note groups without acknowledging that each house isn't just 1 trait. Gryffindors are BRAVE and CHIVALROUS and DARING. Slytherins are CUNNING and AMBITIOUS and LEADERS. Hufflepuffs are JUST and DILIGENT and LOYAL ~~for the record, 'kind' and 'nice' aren't ever mention, to my recollection~~, Ravenclaws are WITTY and CREATIVE and INTELLIGENT.

@Althalosian-is-the-father

~~And Percy, and the twins would have gone to Slytherin, but JK Rowling hated Slytherin too much.~~

@CharBar

brushes off dusty list of reading complaints
I have been waiting for this forum for so long.
One of the things that I will admit I kind of like but wish there was less of is relationships between a really tall guy and a short girl. switch it up please.

Heh I have:
Tall girl and average guy
Tall girl and short girl
Tall girl and medium girl
Tall girl and tall boy
Short girl and short boy
Short girl and average boy
Short girl and tall boy
Tall girl and tall girl
Short girl and short girl
Average guy and short-ish girl
Short guy and girl who was tall but is usually in a wheelchair

with tears in my eyes
yOu arE mY hErO

@HighPockets

brushes off dusty list of reading complaints
I have been waiting for this forum for so long.
One of the things that I will admit I kind of like but wish there was less of is relationships between a really tall guy and a short girl. switch it up please.

Heh I have:
Tall girl and average guy
Tall girl and short girl
Tall girl and medium girl
Tall girl and tall boy
Short girl and short boy
Short girl and average boy
Short girl and tall boy
Tall girl and tall girl
Short girl and short girl
Average guy and short-ish girl
Short guy and girl who was tall but is usually in a wheelchair

with tears in my eyes
yOu arE mY hErO

Don't get that one much, but thanks!

@CharBar

brushes off dusty list of reading complaints
I have been waiting for this forum for so long.
One of the things that I will admit I kind of like but wish there was less of is relationships between a really tall guy and a short girl. switch it up please.

Heh I have:
Tall girl and average guy
Tall girl and short girl
Tall girl and medium girl
Tall girl and tall boy
Short girl and short boy
Short girl and average boy
Short girl and tall boy
Tall girl and tall girl
Short girl and short girl
Average guy and short-ish girl
Short guy and girl who was tall but is usually in a wheelchair

with tears in my eyes
yOu arE mY hErO

Don't get that one much, but thanks!

finger guns

@HighPockets

brushes off dusty list of reading complaints
I have been waiting for this forum for so long.
One of the things that I will admit I kind of like but wish there was less of is relationships between a really tall guy and a short girl. switch it up please.

Heh I have:
Tall girl and average guy
Tall girl and short girl
Tall girl and medium girl
Tall girl and tall boy
Short girl and short boy
Short girl and average boy
Short girl and tall boy
Tall girl and tall girl
Short girl and short girl
Average guy and short-ish girl
Short guy and girl who was tall but is usually in a wheelchair

with tears in my eyes
yOu arE mY hErO

Don't get that one much, but thanks!

finger guns

finger guns back

Deleted user

i have: short korean pure boi, tall salty black girl, and medium height (in heels) captain america 2.0 but blonder
(jynnie might know who i'm talking about - see: characters as tumblr…)

@HighPockets

YOON-KI AND OPHELIA???

Deleted user

Yep, Yoon-gi, Ophelia, and Dana!

@soupnana