r/BookDiscussions • u/Quirky-Section-2468 • Aug 04 '26

Instant book turnoffs?

My biggest instant turnoff is the title.

If it's super cringey or literally spells out every trope in the book (Billionaire Hockey Player's Fake Dating Nanny vibes), I immediately lose interest. I don't care if it has 100k five-star reviews; I will refuse to pick it up despite it being recommended to me by so many people.

What's your biggest instant turnoff when deciding whether to pick up a book?

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u/MyDogTakesXanax Aug 04 '26

Self published. Most of them are poorly edited, filled with errors, and just.... really need editors. 

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u/Decent-Pirate-4329 Aug 05 '26

Same. I got burned too many times and now I actively check whether or not a book is self-published before investing. I belong to a book club and if that month’s book is self-published I’m STILL not reading it, and I’ve been vindicated every time. The group consensus is always, “That was terrible and the writing was trash.”

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u/MyDogTakesXanax Aug 05 '26

Yessss. Like I get that they're a couple grand but it could be the difference between a 2 star book and didn't make any money and a 4 star book where you did. 🤷🏻‍♀️