Literary Tastes

Someone on my f-list (wave!) mentioned that she doesn't enjoy reading love stories. Fair enough and good to know yourself well enough to see that pattern. Me, I've got lots of likes and dislikes--love science fiction, enjoy a good mystery, not much for war stories, really dislike horror--although any book is going to lose or win points for style.

But thinking about this brought to mind one of my oddest literary kinks: I don't do diminutive protagonists. I'm not talking a few inches below average--I'm not that much of a size queen (although my taste for tall men may play into this)--but actual little people or otherwise stunted characters really turn me off. I can deal with them as sidekicks or if they're not short for their fantastical races (hobbits and Tolkeinesque dwarves are fine) but I realized a year or two ago that when the physical description of the main character involves them being stunted in some way, a misfit due to height, it turns me right off reading it. Oddly, this doesn't extend to visual media or the real world--I don't mind looking at little people, just reading about them, apparently. I think this is a large part of why I never warmed to Miles Vorkosigan.

Anyway, enough about me--what particular details reliably turn you on or off, literarily?

Literary Tastes

Someone on my f-list (wave!) mentioned that she doesn't enjoy reading love stories. Fair enough and good to know yourself well enough to see that pattern. Me, I've got lots of likes and dislikes--love science fiction, enjoy a good mystery, not much for war stories, really dislike horror--although any book is going to lose or win points for style.

But thinking about this brought to mind one of my oddest literary kinks: I don't do diminutive protagonists. I'm not talking a few inches below average--I'm not that much of a size queen (although my taste for tall men may play into this)--but actual little people or otherwise stunted characters really turn me off. I can deal with them as sidekicks or if they're not short for their fantastical races (hobbits and Tolkeinesque dwarves are fine) but I realized a year or two ago that when the physical description of the main character involves them being stunted in some way, a misfit due to height, it turns me right off reading it. Oddly, this doesn't extend to visual media or the real world--I don't mind looking at little people, just reading about them, apparently. I think this is a large part of why I never warmed to Miles Vorkosigan.

Anyway, enough about me--what particular details reliably turn you on or off, literarily?

(no subject)

Thanks to crowleycrow I now know about this really cool website that produces maps of literature by author. Lots of time-wasting fun and, who knows, maybe I'll actually use it sometime when I need recommendations.

(no subject)

Thanks to crowleycrow I now know about this really cool website that produces maps of literature by author. Lots of time-wasting fun and, who knows, maybe I'll actually use it sometime when I need recommendations.