Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

A meme from the Broke and the Bookish.

Today’s topic: Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

1. Dragons – This has been a thing for a very long time. Vampires used to be up there but certain books took that away, but dragons stay. I tie them in a weird way because of the story I wrote in middle school that had both. I hadn’t really thought about it but I have a hard time thinking of a dragon book that I haven’t bought or that isn’t at least on my current wish list.

2. Unwanted Responsibility – You know that novel where suddenly the fate of the family, kingdom, world, etc. rests on a pair of particularly young shoulders. Everything from finding out you are royalty to being born with a great and valuable power.

3. Based on Fairy Tale – There are certain fairy tales that I gravitate more towards. For a long time I avoided retellings expecting the worst. Now I’ve learned that putting an interesting twist can make something familiar but new at the same time. I don’t like too bizarre though, then it feels forced.

4. Humor and Magic – I like things with quirk. Zombie humor, magicians who fumble their spells, soldiers with snark, talking animals, dragons with a sense of humor. Some fantasy tries to take itself too seriously.

5. Rebellious Princesses – Princesses that go fight dragons and wear paper bags. They don’t want to be royalty or they want to be more than they are. They break the rules and then have to deal with the repercussions of their actions.

6. Outcasts Finding Their Place – I have a weakness for people who feel out of place in their lives. I love to see characters discover themselves. They make friends and sometimes enemies but I like watching characters come of age.

7. Warrior Women – Especially in patriarchal societies. I tend to more intrigued by a few unique fighting women then a culture of them as strange as that is. Though I like them to have their flaws, not too powerful, not too perfect.

8. Based on Mythology – This might seem terribly similar to fairy tales but I think it is pretty different. Mythology gives a wider world to experiment within. I especially like it when I am not that familiar with the mythology. It has an almost deja vu effect.

9. Thieves – Ironically I have not had many female thieves. I just have always had a thing for thieves in general. I also really like them in video games. I think it is partially because I like good people in untraditional good roles.

10. Unlikely Romances – Cross cultural romances are some of the more obvious but there are also the ones that I consider the Darcy romances, two people who don’t initially see each other in that manner but then something changes and there is a click.