My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

What we're reading

does the richard and judy label really put you off.....also i find if i read the back and the character name is something like

42 replies

zippitippitoes · 27/07/2008 11:48

...angelina dubarry it puts me off

what sort of things do you view negatively when you pick a book up

or positively?

OP posts:
Report
PinkPussyCat · 27/07/2008 11:52

Yes - odd character names. Not sure why though

Richard & judy label doesn't out me off, but having said that I'm not particularly keen on them on TV

Clichéd sub-titles, 'A tale of triumph over adversity' etc etc - I always think hmm, could have done better there!

Report
AnyFuleKno · 27/07/2008 13:12

Yes the Richard and Judy label does and has put me off several books.

To my shame, the 3 for 2 sticker is often a motivating factor for me, along with an attractive cover.

Another thing that puts me off is anything that implies the book is of the childhood trauma genre - I can't understand why people read those things, cathartic though it may be for the author to write them.

Report
zippitippitoes · 28/07/2008 13:33

oh the misery books look grim to me

i dont want to read those childhood abuse stories or experiences either

yes i have just bought three three for two books..it was what ptrompted me to write this as i struggled to find three that looked worht reading

im not sdure that this helps my reading

the three ive just bought are

the paradise trail by duncan campbell
which is set in calcutaa in 1971, india at wart on pakistan and backpapackers involved in mysterious deaths...the author is a guradian journalist...the incredible string band was mentioned on the cover which drew me in

the woman in the fifth douglas kennedy

man flees to paris after ruining his life thru a scandal in the us..a man is found dead and he falls for a hungarian emigre

and

red mandarin dress qiu xiaolong

love sex and murder in shanghai, inspector chen is a talented poet and investyigator seems to have food mentioned quite a bit

i am reading saving fish from drowning at the moment

the last book i read was the road home which i enjoyed

OP posts:
Report
brimfull · 28/07/2008 13:36

big gold lettering on the cover always puts me off

some of the richard and judy stuff is ok,a bit hit and miss there

Report
Lilymaid · 28/07/2008 13:37

I always remove the labels - I read mainly when commuting on the train so I don't want to be seen as the sort of person who would read a book because it was recommended by R&J! I would generally never buy a book where there is a quote from the Daily Mail or some weekly magazine because no one weightier would have reviewed it or said anything good about the book. Call me an intellectual snob but I haven't got the time to read junk.

Report
bundle · 28/07/2008 13:38

anything look-ee-like-ee is a no-no, surely? ie made to look like eg Paolo Coelho or Stephen King but not even that good...

Report
zippitippitoes · 28/07/2008 13:38

country cottage/cornish breaches and neglected gardens all seem to maske me pick them up and then barf at the precis

OP posts:
Report
TotalChaos · 29/07/2008 23:24

I recently read the Road Home too (book group book). It was very well written. I thought it had a bit of an overly neat upbeat ending though.

I don't mind the R & J label, as not all of them are trash or chicklit, some surprisingly decent stuff gets included.

I've read the Mandarin Dress one, thought it was v. good.

Anything that references the Da Vinci code, or includes any combination of the words "historic mystery", "grail", or "conspirac puts me off.

Report
ShallowWaterFish · 29/07/2008 23:25

have to remove sticker
will rpelace wiht a sticker saying" i am terribely clever to read thi sbook"

Report
zippitippitoes · 29/07/2008 23:26

oh the ending of road home was crap

ditto the ending of saving fish from drowning

how rubbish the kind of individual summaries

reminds me of trying to finish the end of an english language exam paper

OP posts:
Report
CuckooClockWiseGuy · 29/07/2008 23:40

fgs, richard and judy are not illiterate or stupid. They and their team of researchers (probably mostly graduates) can read through a stack of books and tell us which ones they enjoyed. GOY

The last R&J book was by Jonathan Topper, "How to talk to a widower" and they were right, it was very good.

Report
crunchynutter · 10/08/2008 10:27

I agree cuckoo they may not all be to everyones liking but isn't that the point? It does not make them trashy!

Also, I believe people who really appreciate Reading and literature should have diverse tastes and not just read in there comfort zone. If you were to look at my book shelves you would probably think it was shared by many (young and old! I am quite partial to childrens books but then again I am teacher!)

Report
Love2bake · 10/08/2008 10:39

The R & J label actually attracts me to buy the book.

I don't really like them or the show much, but I have really enjoyed all but 2 of their choices.

The 2008 list looks great, I want them all!!!!

Report
TsarChasm · 10/08/2008 10:44

I was desparate for a book to read on holiday recently. Where we were staying had a little shelf of books people had left behind that you could read.

Even in desperation though, Barbara Taylor Bradford...I just can't. The women in them make me want to scream.

Report
Bumperlicious · 10/08/2008 10:50

I was reading a trashy novel that I picked up at a friend's the other day and one of the reviews on the front was something like "really captures the zeitgeist" from Heat or something. Suffice to say I didn't get very far before I gave up.

Report
BirdyArms · 11/08/2008 12:36

I'm also put off by reviews from trashy magazines and papers. I'm also sceptical of reviews from other writers - I always think that they are probably a mate of the author's.

I have mixed feelings about the R&J label. I will sometimes deliberately pick one if I'm in the mood for a fairly light read but I normally remove the label.

Report
MonkeyLover · 11/08/2008 12:54

I find rubbish covers a deal-breaker. Call me shallow.

Report
moondog · 11/08/2008 12:56

R&J naff
3 for 2 stickers
Misery lit (although must eat my words and say have just loved Anglea's Ashes)

Report
moondog · 11/08/2008 12:56

R&J naff
3 for 2 stickers
Misery lit (although must eat my words and say have just loved Anglea's Ashes)

Report
moondog · 11/08/2008 12:57

Owt by military/SAS types

All'sizzling summer reads'

Report
moondog · 11/08/2008 12:58

Was once in Odessa with nowt to read. Resorted to scouring bookshops for 2nd hand English textbooks.

Report
hughjarssss · 11/08/2008 12:59

Agree with Cuckoo.

What a load of nonsense to let let the R&J label put you off.
The authour hasn't written it with R&J in mind, the book is nothing to do with them. They have just reviewed it

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

moondog · 11/08/2008 13:00

Nevertheless it sullies book.

Report
KatieScarlett2833 · 11/08/2008 13:03

Flashback to rainy highlands holiday where all I could find to read were mills and boon or whatever they are called these days. Ewww! ewww! ewwww!

Report
zippitippitoes · 11/08/2008 13:05

i do read loads of different books both fiction and non fiction

i did enjoy one book that i think has acquired a richard and judy label notes from an exhibition..i think that was thew title

the dire house at riverton put me off completely..how anyone could suggest asnyone read that at all weven if on holiday is beyond me

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.