#TopTenTuesday | 15th April 2025: My Unpopular Bookish Opinions #Top10Tuesday #bookblogger #bookish #amreading #TTT #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookX #BookSky #damppebbles

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Hello and a very warm welcome to damppebbles. It’s Tuesday which means it’s time for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday post. I’ve decided to take part in That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday meme to mix things up a little here at damppebbles. Add a little bit of variety to our bookish weeks.

The meme was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish but has lived with Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl since January 2018. It was created to encompass a love of books, of lists and to bring readers together. If you would also like to take part then you’re very welcome: the more, the merrier. Just make sure you link back to Jana’s post every week. If you don’t have a blog then no problem, just add your list to the comments below.

This week’s theme is My Unpopular Bookish Opinions (You can share opinions surrounding being a reader, a book reviewer, etc. OR you could share your opinions on specific books that go against what everyone else is saying. Are there any books you loved that most people didn’t, or vice versa?). Well, this could be an interesting one! I don’t like to be negative about books. Full stop. Writing a book takes blood, sweat and tears. Producing a book takes a village of willing, able and talented souls. I’m really not keen on criticising books, which I’ve mentioned on the blog before as part of Top Ten Tuesday. HOWEVER (it’s a big HOWEVER!), everyone has opinions and I always, always find these sort of posts, well, irresistible? 🙈 What does that say about me?! So I’m going to keep it broad. No mention of any particular book or any particular authors. Nice and friendly, all book lovers together (saying this because one or two of these could get me blocked!!😂 ).

1. I do not DNF books
You can count on one hand the number of books I have DNF’d over the years. I don’t like to do it. It’s absolutely the very, very, very last resort. Even if I’m hating a book, I will still plough through to the bitter end. You never know, the story may pick up….?

2. The Classics don’t interest me
I know I should love the classics – EVERYONE loves the classics, right? – and if not ‘love’ then at least have a fondness for the classics. But I just don’t. A lovely author recently published a retelling which featured a well-known Dickensian character. It’s a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but afterwards, I thought I should probably find out what the original was about! So I watched the BBC adaptation rather than read the book 🙈

3. I don’t like romance in crime fiction/thrillers/mysteries
Regular visitors to the blog may be aware of this already seeing as I do tend to harp on about it fairly often but I’m really not a fan of romance in crime novels. I know, I’m sorry. There are the odd exceptions; Caroline Mitchell’s Detective Ruby Mitchell series, Clare Mackintosh’s DC Ffion Morgan series….erm, oooh, nope. No others spring to mind! It’s strange as I am looking to try a few different genres this year, romance being one of them 🤷‍♀️

4. I like to keep book spines intact and pristine (i.e. no creases, do not break the spine!)
I will struggle through a book, angling it so it catches the light just right rather than break the spine. Yes, sometimes it’s difficult, sometimes nigh-on impossible to read the words closest to the spine. But I still won’t break that spine. A colleague was reading a brand new, recently purchased book on a plane next to me once. She bent the cover and first few pages completely round so the front cover was physically touching the back cover. I was a little sick in my own mouth.

5. I don’t tend to re-read books
I’ve seen people say that by re-reading a book you gain a new perspective from the writing, more depth. Fair enough. Not for me though. Life’s too short to be reading the same story and meeting the same characters for a second/third/fourth time. There are so many other amazing books out there to discover.

6. Cartoon Covers
Hear me out! I work in a library. I love books and I love my job. The amount of confusion though that cartoon-y style covers cause when shelving would surprise you. Is this book adult fiction, teen or children’s? You CAN’T get it wrong. There is no wiggle room. Particularly if it’s a spicy romance!

7. Bookstagram
I have always struggled with bookstagram. I want to have an aesthetic grid but in truth, it all looks a bit pants! And with the new update, I find it even more difficult to get my photos looking right (all lined up and looking equally spaced). And reels? I have no idea what I’m doing there. I think I need to master the grid first. Just thinking about bookstagram exhausts me!

8. Digital vs Paperbacks vs Hardcovers vs Audiobooks!
If you had asked me a few years ago what the best book format is I would have said, without a doubt, paperback followed by hardcover. It took years for my family to convince me to try an eReader. I was so late to the party! But now, with all of the shoulder issues I’ve had in the last few years, I find digital books easier to read. There’s nothing quite like book post though. Particularly when it’s surprise book post!!

9. Needing Likeable Characters
I don’t expect to go into a novel and find a cast of relatable, likeable characters within its pages. I wonder if this is because I tend to read crime fiction more than anything else and often, the characters have a darker edge to them. I’ve seen reviews though where the reader gives the book one star because they didn’t like the lead character. And…….? What else? Surely there has to be more to it for you to give a one star review? I like an unlikeable, unreliable, deeply flawed character. For me, they’re often the best ones.

10. Rating a Book You Didn’t Finish
If I read a book and I don’t enjoy it, I won’t give it a rating or a review it. I don’t tend to review anything lower than three stars on the blog. So I struggle to understand the reasoning behind rating a DNF book, particularly when the reviewer states they only got to 15%. Perhaps, again, this is because I don’t tend to DNF books.

So there you have it, my unpopular bookish opinions. It was a lot harder to write this list than I initially thought it would be. The first couple were easy. After that, it was difficult to come up with things that would be considered ‘unpopular’.

What unpopular bookish opinions do you have? Do we have any in common? Are you taking part in Top Ten Tuesday this week? Let me know in the comments.

So there we have it! If you fancy joining in next week then head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl’s blog to find out what the next topic is!

27 thoughts on “#TopTenTuesday | 15th April 2025: My Unpopular Bookish Opinions #Top10Tuesday #bookblogger #bookish #amreading #TTT #BookTwitter #booktwt #BookX #BookSky #damppebbles”

  8. I mostly read speculative fiction, but I totally understand #3 because it’s happening in my preferred genre, too, and often isn’t even noted in the blurb.

    No offence intended to romance fans, by the way. I just wish that genre wasn’t included in other genres so often. It’s not something I want in big doses, and if I do want to read it I’d like to know about it ahead of time.

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  10. I have started to DNF books more in recent years. There are too many books and not enough time in the world to read them all. If I’m not enjoying it, I will stop reading it. But I don’t rate them or review them either. I will put a comment on Goodreads stating it was a DNF, at what point and why. The comments are more for me than anyone else. I also don’t count them towards my yearly reading. If I don’t finish it, I don’t count it.

    Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
    https://readbakecreate.com/books-that-dont-deserve-the-hype-my-unpopular-opinon/

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  12. I agree with you on many of these – especially ‘not every book needs a romantic interest’!!!

    I felt the same about ‘has to be an actual book’ when Kindles first came out, but now I read everything on it. Just so much more convenient in every way. The way I see it is that it’s the words that matter, not the medium. Having said that, I love my book cases – but there are rarely any new ones on it, which is a shame.

    Perhaps I should just buy both…!

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  14. Great list! I don’t really DNF books either, sadly the story rarely picks up! I feel the same way about creasing the spine! I’m a master at angling books and opening them carefully to the point that others ask me if it’s still fun to read. The only point I disagree with you on is that I am a re-reader through and through especially if it’s a book I’ve bought, I’m a little frugal when it comes to buying books so not re-reading them is something I’ve never considered 🙂

    If you’d like to visit, here’s my TTT: https://thebooklorefairyreads.wordpress.com/2025/04/15/top-ten-tuesday-unpopular-bookish-opinions/

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  15. I love your list Emma. I could add my two cents to most of them, but I won’t because then this reply would be too long. I will say, the unlikable character issue is one that I struggle with. I have to connect in some way with a character, I don’t have to like them though. Some of them, I just don’t care about and will rate the book lower in that case. I also won’t rate a book if I DNF it, but I will comment about why I didn’t finish it. Lots of good stuff here to discuss. I love this week’s TTT.

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  16. My library solves the shelving problem by the colour of the sticker that the three letters of the author’s last name is printed on: white for adult, red for teen, bright orange for children.

    I’ve read books I enjoy when I haven’t liked the main characters. But there are some books that rely so heavily on the main characters to carry it that if you don’t like them you’re not really left with anything else

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  17. I love a resolute DNF (hides behind hands). Maybe because I’m predominantly a library only reader? That beings said, I’ll also happily DNF books I’ve purchased if they aren’t hitting the spot. Too little time, too many books or something like that. I never rate my DNFs, though. That has to count for something right??

    I agree with romance in crime fiction. I also love Leo and Ffion, definitely concur that they can be an exception to the rule. I am just about to head to the library to pick up a hold copy of Other People’s Houses. The perfect almost last weekend of summer (otherwise known as Easter) read.

    Speaking of summer, I don’t have a blog but if I did it would definitely document that one of my unpopular bookish opinions is that winter is not the ideal time for reading. I read so much more during summer. I am grateful that I live in northern Australia where summers are hot and long so I get more reading weather than not. Winter gives me the most intense sads and I tend to abandon all the good things in life and just slog it out. (Meanwhile appreciating that living somewhere where the average winter daytime temperature is around 20°C might not feel wintery to the rest of the world but I am a weather wimp and the cold drives me bonkers and that is that).

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