Let’s Talk Bookish – Overused Book Tropes

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well! As it is once again Friday, it is time for another Let’s Talk Bookish edition. Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic is a follow up from last week’s one, Cut and Paste Characters (if you have not checked out my thoughts yet, you can click on the title and it will take you there). 

I have quite a few thoughts on this topic because I don’t believe that tropes can ever be overused as lots of people have different interpretations of them, but if you keep seeing the same version, it can become boring.

What are some tropes that you are bored of? Conversely, what are some tropes that you love?

I wouldn’t say that I am bored of tropes, but I am undoubtedly bored of the same interpretation of them. For example, I am sick of reading books that have the chosen one trope where the main character is a straight white male. I also think it comes down to your specific tropes, as there are some books that I will never pick up because I know that the tropes in the book do not line up with my reading taste. For example, I hate the tropes of miscommunication and Insta-love, so I will not pick up books with it in.

But there are certain tropes that I absolutely love to read, so I will always gravitate to reading books with them. So no matter how many books I read with these tropes, I will never find them overused. I absolutely love character-based tropes, e.g., the book’s characters doing something or generally being supportive. So, my favourite tropes are ‘found family’ and ‘here comes the cavalry’; there is just something brilliant about these tropes and how all the characters come to support the main character. I absolutely adore books that have a soulmate or fated mates’ element when it comes to romance tropes. I just love the idea that there is someone out there who is perfect for everyone.

Why do you think this has happened?

I think that the book market became saturated with a specific type of book, based on what was being published and consumed, and eventually, some readers became bored of them. But I think it is wrong to generally say that any trope is overused because new interpretations of them come around and they seem as if they are perfectly new. In addition, every author has a different way of telling their story, and this then means that while it may mean on the surface, the same trope is being used, in the actual book, it is entirely different to any other version you have read.

There you have it, my thoughts of overused book tropes! What do you think about this topic? Let me know in the comments below!