Hello readers! It’s Friday again and time for another Let’s Talk Bookish post. This week we are discussing bookish cliches and whether they are good or bad.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was created by Eternity Books and is currently hosted by Book Nook Bits. They also created the thumbnail I used. Every Friday, bloggers write posts discussing the topic of the week.
Prompts: There are lots of clichés that can be found in books, from love triangles to the chosen one to the boy next door. What makes a cliché a cliché? Is a cliché inherently bad to have in a book? Or can an overused storyline or theme be done well? What are your least favorites? Are there any cliches you will tolerate, or even enjoy reading?
I personally think a cliche is a cliche when it’s used so much that the reader/watcher can predict what will happen just by identifying the cliche at hand.
I don’t think a cliche is necessarily a bad thing all the time. To say having cliches are bad is to say predictability is bad. Sure, predictability in a thriller or mystery might suck. However, there are a ton of other genres that are predictable and people just keep coming back. You most certainly know going into a romance book that the main characters will find something to fight about in the third act, but will end up together by the last page. Does that make the entire romance genre bad and unreadable? No way!
Call me crazy, but I LOVE the love triangle trope. When it comes to reading, I love chaos and drama. Nothing brings more drama than two people fighting over the same person. I know most people would not agree with me, but that’s okay.
The only kind of cliches I hate are the character ones that are kind of racist or prejudiced in some way. I’m talking about the overly sexual gay character, the genius Asian, the dumb blonde, the funny fat friend, the slutty mean girl, and so on. Not all character tropes are bad at all, but some need to die!
What is a popular bookish cliche that you love? The best reason to keep writing cliches is that someone out there will love them!
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Alli the Book Giraffe 
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