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Hello, reader!

Today feels like a good day for a tag! I’ll be doing the In Or Out Book Tag, which asks whether you love (or hate) certain bookish tropes. I was tagged by the wonderful Ashlee @ Books Are 42 and it looked like a lot of fun. By the way, if you haven’t visited Ashlee’s blog, you should definitely take a look. Go for the awesome blog name, stay for the even better blog content! This tag was created by Rick MacDonnell over on BookTube.

Now, let’s get to the tag!

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1. Reading the Last Page First

Out!! I avoid spoilers for books as much as possible, so there’s no way I’d read the end of a story before I had read the rest of it. If I know how a story ends, what’s the motivation to continue reading? Although, if it’s a book I’m thoroughly enjoying it, I’m sure it would be fine, but still… I like the satisfaction of waiting til the end. There are times where a book is giving me ✨anxiety✨ and I skim ahead a bit to make sure everyone is okay, but, other than that, no reading ahead.

2. Enemies to Lovers

In! This is one of my favorite tropes. In romance, it’s my favorite trope, but in other books it’s still pretty high up there. Though, let’s be real, most books are really just rivals to lovers, but I’m okay with that, too. There’s something about the tension between two characters who are attracted to each other but refuse to acknowledge it because they “hate” each other that is just *chef’s kiss*

3. Dream Sequences

Out? I’ve honestly not read a lot of books where a dream sequence was a big thing in the story. I feel like I wouldn’t like it, though. Depending what happened in the dream, I’d probably feel cheated, haha. I know I’ve always disliked it when it happened in a movie or TV show, so I feel like that would hold true for books, as well.

4. Love Triangles

Out. This is probably my least favorite trope because, in my opinion, it’s very rarely done well. It feels formulaic and dull, for the most part, and it’s usually fairly obvious which love interest the author has picked as the end game. Now, if said love triangle leads to a possible polyamorous relationship that is done well… then I can get on board. I’m not poly, but I feel like we need more polyamorous rep in books!

5. Cracked Spines

Out. I mean… I’m not going to crack the spines of my books on purpose. I try my best not to because I like to keep them in a nice condition. However, a cracked spine is not going to stop me from buying a secondhand book that I really want to read. It’s cheaper and it’s not like I cracked the spine, so it’s fine! It makes sense in my head 😂

6. Back To My Small Town

In… I think. All the books I can think of that have this trope in them are ones that I’ve enjoyed, but it never was because of that trope, know what I mean? So I guess it doesn’t really matter to me either way, haha. I definitely don’t hate it, though, so will stick with “In”.

7. Monsters Are Regular People

In. Well… if this means supernatural baddies are treated like regular people. Like a werewolf that’s a PTA dad or something. Kind of like the book Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones. If it means “actual people can be monsters”, no thank you. I’m not a fan of being in the heads of evil people.

8. No Paragraph Breaks

Out. Ew. The thought of this made my eyelid twitch…

9. Multi-Generational Sagas

In! I love following several different members of a family through the course of a book. I think it’s fascinating seeing characters grow and getting deep into the family dynamics. I especially love this when it happens in fantasy, though I can’t think of many off the top of my head that do this.

10. Re-reading

In. Kind of. I’m not a big re-reader, but I have nothing against re-reading a book that I truly love. I’ve re-read Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko, like, four times and that books hasn’t been out that long! And I tend to re-read The Westing Game, one of my favorite childhood novels, frequently. Sometimes it’s nice to revisit a book you know that you love and get lost in it again. And it can help if I find myself in a reading slump.

11. Artificial Intelligence

In? This is something I haven’t read as much of, but I’ve liked the books I did read that featured AI. So I’m pretty sure I like it, but I need a bigger sample size to be sure, haha. I can’t say I love AI just because I love Murderbot, ya know?

12. Drop Caps

In. I do like a nice visual element in a book, whether it’s fancy chapter headers or something like drop caps.

13. Happy Endings

In. Generally. I have nothing against a sad or open ending, but I definitely prefer happy ones. Reality is pretty crappy, so I like my books to put a little hope in my heart, ya know? Still, I can appreciate a well-written sad ending or one where I’m not quite sure what happened.

14. Plot Points That Only Converge At The End

In. If it’s done well. Which I suppose you could say about all of these things… But I like when a book keeps me guessing until the very end! Still, it has to be wrapped up well or I’m gonna be annoyed, lol.

15. Detailed Magic Systems

In! I’m a fantasy girlie at heart and detailed magic systems come with the territory. I eat that #$%@ up! Of course, if it gets too confusing or isn’t consistent in a way that makes sense, then I probably won’t enjoy the book. It can have a bucket full of different aspects that affect the magic, but if it makes sense, I’m fine. If it’s all over the place, then I’m out.

16. Classic Fantasy Races

In. *shrug* I have no strong feelings on using classic fantasy races, to be honest. If the book has them, I’m fine, if not, my feelings don’t change at all. I like when authors play with the typical traits of the classic fantasy races, though.

17. Unreliable Narrators

I can take it or leave it, honestly. It can be interesting and make a book a fascinating read. Or it can be downright annoying, lol. Whether I’m in or out with this one 100% depends on the book.

18. Evil Protagonists

Both. I’m in if it’s a fantasy because I think it’s interesting to see a typical fantasy story through the villain’s eyes. Or if it’s a retelling of a classic fairytale villain, like Malice by Heather Walter. If it’s a contemporary or mystery/thriller, though, no thank you.

19. The Chosen One

In… for now. I can feel myself getting a little burned out with this trope if I’m honest. Still, as a person who reads a ton of fantasy, it’s a trope I can’t really avoid, haha. And it can definitely be done well!

20. When The Protagonist Dies

My head says “In” because it can make for a really compelling story. My heart says “Out” because WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?! Get me all attached to this character and then murder them in cold blood! The paaaaaiiiin! (But really it’s an “In” because it hurts so good 😆)

21. Really Long Chapters

Out. Look, my attention span is shot these days and long chapters will have me skim reading. I love a book that has short chapters because I feel like I’m flying through it and it keeps my attention better. I especially love short chapters in thrillers. I can deal with longer chapters in fantasy because, ya know, the nature of the beast, but I definitely prefer short ones.

22. French Flaps

Out. I hate them. Don’t ask me why because I have no good reason.

23. Deckled Edges

Out. It feels weird when I’m trying to turn the pages! They are pretty, though. I suppose once I’ve read the book, they’re fine, but they will definitely stop me from re-reading 😂

24. Signed Copies By The Author

In. Especially if it’s one of my favorite books signed by one of my favorite authors. It makes the book feel special to me.

25. Dog-Earing Pages

Out. What am I, a monster? (Totally kidding, y’all… dog ear away if that’s your preference!) I’m a person that doesn’t even like cracking the spine on a book. Dog earing pages is absolutely not happening. Besides, I have to justify my frankly ridiculous bookmark collection.

26. Chapter Titles Instead Of Numbers

In! It reminds me of reading when I was a kid, haha. And often when a book has chapter titles, they add to the atmosphere of the story. I think they can be creative and a great addition to a novel.

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I’m not tagging anyone specifically, but if you found this interesting and would like to join in, consider yourself tagged! Definitely drop me a link to your post if you do.

And, as always, happy reading!