It’s funny that this is a topic for Top Ten Tuesday because I just did my own post of my “Bookish Turn-Offs” and coincidentally, that’s the topic for next week. I probably won’t do next week’s TTT link-up since I did that one already, but I can at least do this one since I hadn’t gotten to it yet. Obviously, this week’s is “what makes you want to read a book?”

Some of these are common reasons that anyone wants to read a book, but I do have a few weird ones. At least, I consider them weird.

10 of my Bookish “Turn-Ons”

The Plot

I mean, obviously this is why anyone would want to read a book. This is my number one reason for wanting to read any book – I don’t care how pretty the cover is, if I’m not interested in what the story is about, then I won’t bother.

The plot given in the synopsis is very important, so it annoys me when the synopsis isn’t on the back of the book or right inside the front cover of a dust-jacket. It’s not uncommon to not find one in those locations, but sometimes the author blurbs on the back take over and just ruin everything. Stephen King or Danielle Steel’s opinions mean nothing to me.

Genre

I mean, this basically goes with the plot, but I will say that you’ll hardly ever find me in the science-fiction section of a bookstore, or fantasy. If I am there, it’s because I’m looking for a specific book that I saw on bookstagram or Goodreads and want to read it (because of the plot, ha). And you’ll never find me in the horror section. Ever.

I’m generally into contemporary and romance stories, and as far as age-category goes, I typically read YA/New Adult. I’m also a fan of mysteries/thriller books, but nothing that’s real disturbing.

Favorite Authors

I recently did a post of my “auto-read” authors. I don’t say “auto-buy” because sometimes even my favorite authors’ books are one-and-done reads. Anyway, if I see one of these authors (such as Karen McManus or Richard Paul Evans) release a new book, it automatically goes to my TBR.

Setting

Where a story takes place has a big influence on me wanting to read a book. The main setting is in Paris, or anywhere in France, because I’m a Francophile and love the French culture and language despite never having been there. I’m also partial to Ireland, Italy, and England for settings. So whenever I see a book titled “The Paris/French ‘something’,” I’m very likely to at least pick it up and see what it’s about. This has gotten me to read some historical fiction, which is a genre I’m not big on.

I’m also a fan of campus settings, such as boarding school or college. I never stayed on a college campus, so campus life is especially intriguing to me.

Tropes

Just like with my turn-offs in books, there are tropes that I really enjoy. This includes: enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, second chances, the one where an old friends who moved away comes back, love triangles (if they’re done well), found family, grumpy/sunshine pairing, and more.

Character Names

This is my weird one, but sometimes I’ll want to read a book just because of the character names, especially rare ones. Of course, like anyone else I have favorite names for people, or I just find some to be interesting. But a recent book that I want to read because of a character name is Mastering the Art of French Murder, a new release where the character’s name is Tabitha… my name! I never see my own name in fiction unless it’s a very minor character, so that was a reason I want to read that book, as well as the plot, haha.

Creative Characters

I love a main (or secondary) character who is a creative of some kind. Artists and writers are my favorite creatives, along with photographers/filmmakers, so any story that features these types of creative major characters will have my attention.

Twins

I don’t know why, but I’m fascinated by twins, so when I see that a book involves twins in one way or another, I’m very likely to give it a shot. It’s one of my oddball ‘likes’ in a book, but it is what it is.

Stand Alone Books

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good series, but it feels like there are more series out there than stand-alone books now and it’s getting a little annoying. Especially when it comes to fantasy books, why can’t there be just a stand-alone once in a while? I get that world-building makes it more worth it to write a series, but I don’t always want to get involved in a series. This is why I’m more of a contemporary/romance reader… it’s one book and done (with a few exceptions).

Spin-Offs

If I loved a side character in a book, I go nuts when I find out that the author is writing/wrote a spin-off featuring that (former) side character. This happens a lot in YA books, and some New Adult ones. Two spin-offs that I loved, probably more than the first books, were Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch, and Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey. Addie and Chloe are two of my all-time favorite side characters in romance books.

I sort of struggled at the end there to figure out what else I like in books that isn’t a trope (since I included that as its own thing), but I got ten! For the most part they’re not too weird; just a couple of them are, haha.

What are some of your bookish turn-ons?

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out her blog for upcoming Top Ten Tuesday topics!