If you like reading, you might also have a list of books that you wish were never written, to put it mildly. As a reader, I got curious about what exactly turns people away from a book. Whether it's the storyline or characters, there has to be something else that accompanies the poor writing.
Some time ago, I asked our community what their least favorite literature tropes and stock characters were and our pandas had a lot to share! Scroll down for the answers. What are your least favorite clichés in books?
#21
When a male character is in love with a female character who verbally or physically abuses him.
102points
#22
I'm a Strong Female Protagonist! I look down on things like cleaning, cooking and sewing! I live in filth and if I need to reattach a button I just punch it. I drink straight grain alcohol and eat raw meat! Grrrl Power!
101points
#23
Well, I don't like the token gay friend, there's never just one, in a friend group that has a gay friend, its more likely to have a token straight friend. It's not that the gay friend turns everyone gay, it's just that everyone realizes they have been gay.
And I also don't like the girl who takes off her glasses and puts down her hair and puts on a nice outfit and boom all of a sudden she's the most beautiful girl ever and everybody likes her. Like, no, everyone's beautiful no matter what, let her wear her glasses, let her wear a ponytail, let her wear leggings and a t-shirt, she's beautiful, she doesn't need to change, everyone else needs to change the way they look at her.
99points
#24
I really don't like the stereotypical Strong Female Character. They are not strong, they are two-dimensional and have no personality. Usually all you get is a fight scene or two without any motivations behind their actions. Usually a man is their superior and they're like nO iM tHe SuPeRiOr ToDaY and you're supposed to be like "yeah!" but then you don't like her enough to care. Oh, and they're always like "I don't need a man to be strong!" but then are in a relationship by the end of the movie and can't do anything by themselves anymore.
98points
#25
Love triangles. The absolute jerk male character who's the alpha type (yes, the word is used at least once), who's an absolute a-hole to the girl, gets aggressive, always at least 7 times says 'you're not my type, or I won't have sex with you' and then does, still is a d**k, as she falls harder in love with him. Her 'changing' him by the end of the book usually frustrates me the most. Does love change people, sure, do people adapt and compromise in relationships, yeah they should, but you're never gonna fundamentally change someone.
94points
#26
The old good girl + bad boy plotline. Also, the movies and books and tv shows where the character is completely normal and boring, being picked on, maybe being raised in a bad household and wishing things were different, and then BAM BAM BAM it turns out their humanity's only hope to stop evil and save the world!!!!!!!
I mean, don't get me wrong, some people execute this idea pretty flawlessly, but still.
I mean, don't get me wrong, some people execute this idea pretty flawlessly, but still.
91points
#27
Years ago I stopped reading a author when I saw that in every book the main characters were always described as “devastating beauty/rich beyond compare/immortal" I will admit, I did enjoy reading the Interview with a Vampire books when they were first published... but OMG that trope got annoying
89points
#28
love triangles, cop falling for the criminal, fatal love story that ends in death, etc.
85points
#29
The "perfect" girl/boy that has parents that make about a gazillion dollars a day.
84points
#30
The "supposed to be _ but is actually _ whereas friend is supposed to be _ but actually _" or the "I'm different from the other girls".
81points