Yay or Nay Book Tag!

Got tagged by Riddhi B. over at Whispering Stories! Thank you so much for the tag—it’s been far too long since I’ve done one of these, and honestly? I miss it. I love feeling connected to the broader blogging world, so today we’re diving into a little game of “Yay or Nay” with some popular bookish trends.

This trend was originally created by Becky over on her blog, so definitely check out her post if you want to see where it all started!

With the intro out of the way… let’s jump in.

Bookish Tropes

I’m very on the fence here. Tropes can be fun and comforting…like that warm blanket you’ve wrapped yourself in a thousand times sitting on the corner of your couch (And may look a little ratty) but still love. But sometimes they feel exhausted (Much like aforementioned couch blanket). (And yes, I’m looking straight at you, enemies-to-lovers. I’ve read so many versions that my eyes roll on instinct now.)

The real issue is when publishing leans too heavily on whatever trope BookTok is obsessed with that month. It can feel like creativity gets shoved into a garbage can and quickly forgotten: “Write this trope, this way, with these beats, or it won’t sell.” So tropes are a Half Yay, Half Nay for me.

Alternating POV

Yay! When authors do this well, it’s incredibly engaging. You get different layers of the story, different emotional angles, and sometimes even dramatically different interpretations of the same event.

But when it’s done badly? It’s torture. You’re stuck slogging through a POV you don’t care about, flipping pages praying to get back to the character who actually has something interesting going on. So maybe technically another half yay and half nay, thinking on it now.

Ambiguous Endings

Mostly Yay from me. I love when an ambiguous ending feels intentional. I like when the author is almost asking you at the end to imagine where they go. Use that brain of yours!

What I don’t love is when it feels like the author simply… ran out of ideas. Or panicked. Or thought, “What if I just… stopped here?” Ambiguity should fit the story, not be a last-minute escape hatch.

Non-Fiction

Yay! Shocking to my high-school self, who would’ve voted “Nay” with her whole chest. But I’ve grown to love nonfiction of all sorts… memoirs, nature writing, cultural commentary, even the occasional self-help (ok, a lot of self help). Sometimes real life is intriguing.

Historical Fiction

A personal Nay for me. I’ve tried! I really have! Something about the pacing or the tone or the dusty-old-period-piece vibes doesn’t click for me. Maybe I just haven’t met the right historical fiction book yet, but until then… nay. I am so far from a Jane Austen girl too.

Morally Grey Characters

Another split vote. Truly morally grey characters? A Yay. Give me complex motivations, ethical dilemmas, conflicted loyalties! It can be chef’s kiss.

But a lot of “morally grey” characters in romance are really just… rude. Or emotionally unavailable. Or hot with trauma. That’s not morally grey, that’s a red flag. Go get therapy. So: Half Yay, Half Nay.

First Person POV

Big Yay. My favorite POV, honestly. I just love being inside a character’s brain and hearing their inner monologue, watching them rationalize questionable decisions, and getting that close, personal connection. When it’s done well, it feels like borrowing someone else’s brain for a few hundred pages.

Audiobooks

Nay! I’ve tried but it simply doesn’t work for me. My brain wanders unless I’m physically turning pages. Plus, I feel like I retain the story so much better when reading visually. There’s something about the tactile act of reading that makes the story stick.

Re-Reading

Yay! If it was good the first time, why not revisit it? I love catching details I missed or rediscovering lines that hit harder now that I’m older… or just more tired.

Classic Novels

Mostly Nay. I struggle to read a lot of classics without feeling like I’m decoding something. But I do have my favorites: The Princess Bride (forever iconic), Sherlock Holmes (so witty), Little House on the Prairie, and Animal Farm (simple and brutal).

Annotating

Nay. I wish I could be that aesthetic cottagecore annotator with all the colorful tabs but I can’t bring myself to write in my books. It feels like vandalism. My brain screams “crime!” every time.

Cracking Book Spines

Depends. A beautiful special edition? Absolutely not, I treat it like a museum artifact. A beat-up, well-loved personal copy? Crack away. That’s character development.

Character-Driven Books

BIG FAT YAY. My beloved. Give me deep and flawed characters, emotional journeys, growth arcs…yes, please. Plot is great, but characters are what keep me thinking about a book weeks later.

Past/Present Split Timeline

Mostly Nay. I can admire the skill required to weave two timelines together, but it’s not my favorite reading experience. There’s a lot of hopping around, and sometimes I feel like I’m doing mental gymnastics just to keep track of who knows what and when.

Heavy World Building

Yay! Build your world! Flesh it out! Let me smell the air and know the currency system! I love when an author actually commits to making their universe feel real. It shows care.

Signed,
Me (your local fantasy enthusiast)

In conclusion…

That’s all for this round of Yay or Nay! Thanks so much for reading and thanks again to Riddhi for tagging me. I’ll drop my own tags below as I have already put together my list of victims… I mean, fellow bloggers and friends.

Stay cozy and keep reading! 📚✨

I tag:

1. Forest Stories aka Feather&Pen
2. Deborah O’ Carroll
3. Reflections and Reads
4. Lillian Keith
5. The Texas Lass