This Or That Tag (The Stressful Edition)

This edition of the This Or That Tag was created by Cait @ Paper Fury. It’s stressful because most of the choices are terrible. I hope you enjoy watching me make difficult bookish decisions. Some of these are painful.

This Or That Tag (The Stressful Edition)

Series or Standalones?

Standalones. I don’t like “middle book syndrome” or waiting for the next book in a series to come out. I usually lose interest in the series while I’m waiting for the next book. I have a short attention span and get bored easily. That’s why I rarely finish the series I start.

Magic Earned or Magic Born?

Well, I don’t like the “chosen one” trope that often comes with magic born. I also don’t like sitting through tedious, cliché “learning to use magic” chapters. Let’s go with magic born because if the character is already part of a magical community, we can get right to the interesting part of the story. Skip all the “OMG, I’m becoming magic!” training montages.

Enemies-To-Lovers or Friends-To-Lovers?

I know that enemies-to-lovers happens in real life, but it often comes across as forced in fiction. The pacing of a book moves faster than the pacing of real life. In my experience, authors don’t give enemies-to-lovers enough time to develop realistically. I choose friends-to-lovers because it takes less time to develop. 

Hilarious Banter or Emotional Ruin?

I don’t like humor books because most of them aren’t funny, but if a story has depth and can make me laugh, I’ll love it forever. I choose hilarious banter.

Love Triangle or Instalove?

Love triangle. I like to see relationships develop slowly. With instalove, I usually don’t understand why these characters are instantly in love with each other. Love triangles are cliché, but at least I get my “why” questions answered.

Keyboard-Smash Names or All Names Start With The Same Letter?

First, why can’t authors give their characters pronounceable names? Some names really do look like the author just smashed their hands on a keyboard. Keyboard-smash names also make book reviewing difficult. Do you know how many times I’ve had to Google how to spell Daenerys Targaryen? Way too many times! (Don’t get me started on Rhaegar, Viserys, and all the other Targaryens. This family requires way too much spell-checking.)

I choose names that all start with the same letter. It might be confusing at first, but I won’t stumble over the names every time I see them.

Mean Parents or Dead Parents?

The problem is that so many children’s books have both! The birth parents are dead and the replacement parents are mean. I’ll go with mean parents. Mean people are more interesting than dead people.

Supermodel Looks or Constantly Complaining About How “Plain” They Are?

I can’t stand complaining. It gets on my nerves immediately (in real life and in fiction). I’ll happily take the non-whiney supermodel, please.

Face On Cover or Typography On Cover?

Do you really want your book to stare at you with human eyes? This one is easy: typography. I like looking at pretty fonts, and I don’t like looking at people. What’s worse is that it’s often obvious that the cover designer didn’t read the book. I read one novel where the narrator is described as “chubby with frizzy hair.” The girl on the cover is thin with straight hair. Just . . . what? Why? Who is this cover girl?! She’s nobody in the book, that’s for sure.

Villain Turning A Little Good or Hero Turning A Little Bad?

Ooh, I like both of these. A villain turning good could be interesting. It would throw everybody off and make you wonder if the villain is really a villain. On the other hand, most stories focus on heroes. The villains get much less page-time. Since heroes get the most attention, I want them to be complex and flawed. I choose hero turning bad.

Do you want to do this tag? Consider yourself tagged.