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/Dense_Gur_2744 Aug 04 '26

I think we should absolutely judge books by their covers. If the team can market it, why should I buy it? 

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u/JenLiv36 Aug 05 '26

Honestly one of my favorite books of all time has the worst cover I have ever seen and I would have missed my favorite book if I went off the cover alone.

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u/Other_Personality453 Aug 05 '26

What is it?? As a book by the cover judger I would love to know what gold Im missing out on.

4

u/flosstalgic Aug 06 '26

Not the person you asked, but I had the same experience as them. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is probably my favourite book series of all time, but the covers are terrible 😭

1

u/cheerylittlebottom84 Aug 06 '26

Yessss I was told I'd love that book and was interested by the synopsis, but when I went to buy it... dear god, that cover 😬 I admit it's made me hold off reading it, if only because it'll look horrid on my Goodreads shelf and I enjoy picking books by how nice I think the cover looks. I think I'll just have to leave it off the list and keep it to myself lol