This year I’ve started keeping a log of books I haven’t finished, and I’m going to look at them periodically to refine what I do and don’t like to read. I hope this helps me get out of my reading slumps a bit quicker than usual.
1. No serial killers. This is my first obvious criteria. I’ve read enough serial killer plots. They’re either too gruesome (Silence of the Lambs) or too woman-in-peril for me.
2. Books where women are just on the sidelines. I know that this happens especially with some period pieces, but it just makes me uninterested in a story.
3. Excessive violence, especially against women. I don’t like gruesome stuff, and casual violence and torture are just not what I like to read about.
4. No Gothic stories. I might be okay with them if they’re fairly short, but I’ve picked up some long ones lately that just don’t hold my interest.
5. No overly naive characters. They drive me bananas.
Ms. Wordopolis Reads 