By Tessa @TessaTalksBooks Posted on

#BookBloggerHop | Least Favorite Types of Characters

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to their own blog.

What is your least favorite type of character to read about?

(submitted by Julie @ JadeSky)

My favorite characters are a strong, sassy females, determined and true-of-heart sidekicks, and characters that overcome the odds.

But this post is about least favorite types of characters. So which ones don’t I like:

1. The reluctant hero – they are usually so whiny that they totally annoy me. Think Frodo Baggins. If it weren’t for Sam Wise, LOTR would not have been the epic story that it is for me.

2. Angsty teenage girls – even just typing the words makes me roll my eyes. Again, this is another type of character that tends to be whiny and totally detached from a reality that does not revolve around them.

3. The woe-is-me character. You know, the character that you just want to tell to, “Suck it up, Buttercup.” Life has dealt them a bucket of lemons and instead of making lemonade they just sit there and suck on each individual lemon.

4. The damsel in distress – I’m sure that’s of no surprise if you read all that came before this.

What types of characters do you like the least?

32 Replies to “#BookBloggerHop | Least Favorite Types of Characters”

  1. Kelly says:

    I can’t stand whiny characters either 😄 I’ve never really thought about my least favourite characters but now that I am, whiny ones fit the bill best.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Staci Troilo says:

    I hate the Bella Swans of literature. The girl who is presumably plain and clumsy, yet every boy wants to date her, and the two most eligible in the book want to fight to the death over her. And, despite being “perfectly ordinary,” she’s somehow the center of every problem and the savior of the world. Gag. I really wish authors would stop writing her. She’s not a hero. She’s an unrealistic trainwreck. I’m glad my daughter never idolized that stereotype.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Teri Polen says:

    I’m usually drawn toward morally gray characters, but as you said, this is about the least favorite. And you nailed all of mine with your list. I hate characters that want to whine or complain all the time, but take no actions to help themselves. They’re the ones who should be sacrificed to the zombies, serial killers, werewolves, etc. to give the other more complex characters time to escape, lol.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      ROFL!!! That’s what I should have titled the post – 🧟‍♀️ Characters I Want to Sacrifice to the Zombies 🧟‍♀️

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Mischenko says:

    I agree with all the annoying characters you have here, Tessa. I hate to admit it, but Frodo was one of my least favorite characters in LOTR. I try to keep my mind on the fact that the ring caused him great burden, but when he started going against Sam, it killed me!!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Jonetta (Ejaygirl) | Blue Mood Café says:

    Oh how I love your responses💜 I can’t even read angsty teens and damsels in distress make me roll my eyes.

    Interesting question as I don’t spend much time thinking about them…just know them when I read them😏 But, what came up for men was cruelty. They can be cold and remote after being burned but I seem to not be able to give them a pass when they cross the line into deliberately hurting someone, emotionally or physically. It’s such a turnoff and I rarely accept their “redemption.”

    For women, I hate when they become wish-washy and I have to spend 75% of the book with them going back and forth in their heads about commitment, for whatever reason. It’s tiresome and I get to the point where I no longer care much.

    That’s what popped into my head, which typically means they’re my top choices!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I totally agree with both. I started to put something about wish-washy women, so I get it.

      Like

  9. Louise says:

    I would answer this exactly the same! Whiney, angsty teenagers who think everything is so hard and everything is against them! Ugh!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Mae Clair says:

    For some reason the recovering alcoholic has always annoyed me. That’s not to say I haven’t read some great books that play off that character trope, but normally I choose to avoid them. I’m also not a fan of the woman escaping an abusive relationship. Maybe I’ve just read too many books along those lines.

    I must admit, however, that Frodo was my favorite character in LOTR. I read that book in 10th grade and was immediately sucked in by his mixture of angst, reluctance and bravado 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I’m glad that Frodo is liked by you and I’m sure others. Every book hero should have that. But Sam Wise is my guy 😉
      I can see what your saying about recovering alcoholics and women escaping abuse. Those kind of characters have me subconsciously moving to Counselor mode, so I end of in a detached state of mind that’s analyzing all the nuances, as I would with real people in those situations. Consequence of the profession, I guess. ❤️

      Like

  12. WendyW says:

    Oh, this is a very thought-provoking question! I just read a book where the main characters were self-absorbed and very materialistic, and that was very annoying. I like your choices here. Whiney is the worst!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. BonnieReadsAndWrites says:

    I agree about the woe is me characters. I don’t like that in real life either. In fact the people I know who actually been through horribly horribly hard times are more positive and upbeat than the woe is me people I know.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. writerravenclaw says:

    I’m like you, I prefer strong female leads, who overcome all the odds. It is why I like drama’s in the second world war. They are strong, and protect their family with laughter and strength. My least favourite – Anyone that has to rely on someone to save them. I tend to avoid those types of books.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.