My Unpopular Bookish Opinions

15/4/25 23:11
killercahill: (Book love)
 Top Ten Tuesday: My Unpopular Bookish Opinions

(a.k.a. I Said What I Said—Don’t @ Me)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is “My Unpopular Bookish Opinions,” and I am absolutely leaning into it. These are the little hills I’m willing to die on—whether it’s about reading habits, hyped books I side-eye, or just the quiet rebellions I’ve embraced as a lifelong bookworm. Grab a snack, take a deep breath, and let’s dive in.

1. I don’t care if the main character is “likable.”
Give me messy. Give me selfish. Give me someone who makes terrible life choices and doesn’t learn their lesson until the last five pages—or never at all. I don’t need to want to be friends with them. I just need to believe they’re real.

2. Romance novels are some of the smartest books out there.
Yes, I said it. People love to sneer at romance like it’s all fluff and fantasy, but crafting a truly compelling love story takes emotional insight, great pacing, and dialogue that snaps. Some of the sharpest writing I’ve read lately came from romance authors. (Looking at you, Emily Henry and Talia Hibbert.)

3. I’d rather reread an old favorite than chase the next big thing.
New releases are exciting, sure—but you know what’s really exciting? That one chapter in a book I’ve read twelve times that still hits like a truck.

4. I didn’t like The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
I wanted to! The premise had so much promise! But it felt too neat, too moralizing, and honestly… kind of shallow? I know it helped a lot of people feel seen, which is lovely—but it just didn’t land for me.

5. Audiobooks absolutely count as reading.
Your eyes don't have to be involved for your brain to be. Anyone who tries to gatekeep this is just being a snob with too much time on their hands.

6. I love a good spoiler.
Seriously. Sometimes I want to know who dies or who ends up together before I commit. I read for the journey, not just the surprise.

7. I don’t need a map in every fantasy book.
Unless the geography really matters to the story, I’m not flipping back to trace your protagonist’s route through the Hill of Dust and the Forest of Shadows. Just tell me who’s stabbing who and why.

8. Annotating books isn’t sacrilege—it’s love.
Dog-eared pages, underlined quotes, little scribbles in the margins—yes, even in pen. Books are meant to be lived in. Pristine pages are nice, but give me a copy that’s been dragged around in a tote bag and cried on during a layover.

9. I don’t always need a twist.
Plot twists are great when they’re earned, but not every book needs a gotcha moment. Sometimes I just want to watch characters grow and stumble and fall in love without a sudden “and then they were siblings” moment. You know?

10. I don’t feel guilty about DNFing a book.
If I’m not into it by page 50, I’m out. Life’s too short and my bookshelf is too full to push through out of obligation. (Apologies to the unread literary masterpieces gathering dust.)

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Characters I Never Want to Meet (and Why?)

2/4/25 22:11
killercahill: (Default)

Look, I love a good story. I’ll fall for morally gray antiheroes, cry over reformed villains, and happily let fictional chaos reign—as long as it stays between the pages. But every so often, a character struts into a book and makes me think: Oh no, you and I could never be in the same room. One of us would not survive—and it wouldn’t be you.

So here’s my official, lovingly curated list of characters I never want to meet. Not even for brunch. Not even if they’re bringing mimosas.

1. Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey

I don’t care how rich you are or how many gliders you own—if you try to buy me a car without asking and then gaslight me into signing a contract about my own body, we’re going to have words. You can’t seduce your way out of controlling behavior, sir. You just can’t.

Why I’d Avoid Him IRL: Because I’d end up arrested for throwing a copy of his NDA at his face in a Starbucks.

2. Lestat de Lioncourt from The Vampire Chronicles

Yes, he’s charming. Yes, he’s pretty. But the man is chaos incarnate. He causes problems on purpose and then acts surprised when the world catches fire around him. You just know he’d show up at your funeral, dramatically sobbing at your casket, somehow turning it into his moment.

Why I’d Avoid Him IRL: Because I like being alive, and I like my drama fictional, not immortal and constantly monologuing.

3. Every Toxic Ex in a Rom-Com Who Comes Back “Changed”

You know the one. The manipulative ex who shows up halfway through the book and tries to derail the plot with a heartfelt confession and a slightly new haircut. Suddenly they’re “reformed” because they learned how to make sourdough or do yoga. Sir, no. We remember you.

Why I’d Avoid Them IRL: Because people don’t magically become less emotionally unavailable because they bought a plant.

4. Professor Who Doesn’t Understand Boundaries™ (a.k.a. the Bad Academic Love Interest)

Ali Hazelwood writes great scientists. This is not about them. This is about the creepy ones lurking in dark academia novels, quoting Nietzsche while emotionally manipulating their students. They wear tweed and have too many opinions about Wuthering Heights.

Why I’d Avoid Him IRL: Because I’d spend the whole conversation asking, “Is this therapy, or are you hitting on me?”

5. The “I’m Not Like Other Girls” Girl

I used to be her. Then I grew up and discovered feminism, moisturiser, and the joy of group chats. The Not-Like-Other-Girls Girl doesn’t like women who wear makeup, reads only 19th-century male authors, and thinks she’s the blueprint.

Why I’d Avoid Her IRL: Because she’d judge my romance novel collection and then borrow my mascara when no one’s looking.

6. Victor Frankenstein from Frankenstein

A classic, yes. A genius, sure. But let’s be real: the man had one bad lab day and abandoned his child/creation/trauma monster like it was an Amazon return. And then he just… kept making bad decisions. Over and over.

Why I’d Avoid Him IRL: Because he’s the kind of guy who ruins your group project and then blames “fate.”

7. Any Demon Who Offers Me a Deal in a Gothic Cathedral

Tempting? Absolutely. Do I want to flirt with them a little? Maybe. But I know better. If the lighting is moody, there’s Gregorian chanting in the background, and someone with glowing eyes asks for my soul in exchange for eternal youth—I’m running.

Why I’d Avoid Them IRL: Because I read Anne Rice. I know how this ends.

Honorable Mentions:

  • The brooding love interest who refuses to communicate like a functioning adult.
  • Any character who says, “I’m doing this for your own good,” before making a life-altering decision without consulting you.
  • That one best friend who disappears for 15 chapters and then shows up to give terrible advice.

Final Thoughts:

Books let us walk alongside people we’d never tolerate in real life—and thank goodness for that. I’ll happily devour their stories, analyze their flaws, maybe even swoon a little… but would I invite them over for tea? Absolutely not.

Now you tell me—who’s on your list of characters you never want to meet?

  • Mood thoughtful
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