Books I've had to put down and why

[Margaret]

So glad to hear that Paul. Thank you!

[Heather]

I have been active on GoodReads for around a year, but I've always read. As I have had more exposer to tons of book, it was an eye-opener to see how much 'explicit' themes are written about and available.

[Tonie]

I had a very uncomfortable experience with the novel The Martian which I thought I should mention! My cousin and I are both Christians, and she recommended this book to me. I innocently agreed to read it because she claimed to share my values on things like profanity and graphic adult content, but to my dismay, I discovered that The Martian is riddled with the F-word and the S-word! Yuck!! :( I did a speed read purely out of politeness (my brother had bought the book for me as a surprise), but it was not enjoyable and I would NEVER read it again. I'm so disappointed in my cousin sometimes. She also heartily recommended a Netflix movie to me that was heavily laden with the F-word (I stopped watching it, of course). I don't listen to her entertainment suggestions anymore, and I really wish that she would stop having double standards by claiming to hate content like that while still approving of it without a thought. And she's not a teenager. She's middle-aged and old enough to be my mom--She really ought to know better! She's setting a bad example as a Christian for other people. :/

Anyway, just thought I should recommend adding The Martian to your not-to-read lists if you dislike foul language!!

[Robyn]

The Air You Breathe
I put this down when it started with the "girl-school" sex stuff. I thought it would just probably get worse from there. Darn it! It was pretty good up to that point. :(

[Rae]

Loralee wrote: "I could not finish "The Time Traveler's Wife." The language was strong and the sexual content made me very uncomfortable. "

Yep, me too....and I love the idea. That is the problem is that a lot of books with great stories have too much TMI.

[Robyn]

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock About 6 chapters in, the prostitution was starting to get to me. Lost interest.

[Rae]

I am tired of reading 3/4 of book then the author for no other reason it seems throws in vulgarity. Irritating.

[C.]

Tonie wrote: "I had a very uncomfortable experience with the novel The Martian which I thought I should mention! My cousin and I are both Christians, and she recommended this book to me. I innocently agreed to r..."


I totally agree about "The Martian" which I quit reading, because I found it disgusting, besides all the profanity, was his obsession with his bowel movements which were disgustingly descriptive!

[C.]

Rae wrote: "Loralee wrote: "I could not finish "The Time Traveler's Wife." The language was strong and the sexual content made me very uncomfortable. "

Yep, me too....and I love the idea. That is the problem ..."

Thank you for the warning, about this very popular book! It is really sad that so many readers make books like this and The Martian and Fifty Shades of Grey and The Outlander so successful!

I appreciate so much, the reviewers who warn potential readers about a book's TRASHY elements! That's what I look for in the one and two star reviews.

I had to stop reading~ Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror, #1) by Karina Halle, because it was non-stop "F" bombs!

[Tonie]

C. wrote: "Rae wrote: "Loralee wrote: "I could not finish "The Time Traveler's Wife." The language was strong and the sexual content made me very uncomfortable. "

Yep, me too....and I love the idea. That is ..."

That's precisely how I feel, C!! It was such a shame because The Martian WOULD have been smart and funny if it hadn't been so gross. I hate that so many authors feel the need to do that to otherwise enjoyable books, but unfortunately, this is why my reading is limited almost exclusively to Christian fiction, children's fiction, clean manga, and non-fiction. Finding a clean secular adult fiction novel is so challenging!! Anyway, happy to help out!

[Hannah]

I actually have friends who passed around an "edited" copy of the Martian after someone in their circle went through and blacked out all the language!

I'm a huge vintage fiction addict as well. Sometimes even Christian fiction has way too much TMI with kisses on every page. I'm not looking for physical romance in every single book I read!

[Tonie]

Hannah wrote: "I actually have friends who passed around an "edited" copy of the Martian after someone in their circle went through and blacked out all the language!

I'm a huge vintage fiction addict as well. So..."

I wish I could have read THAT Martian! :) I felt so bad about hating it because my brother thought I would love it. He was so sweet to surprise me with it and knew nothing about the profanity.

Yes, that's why I tend to read a lot of older fiction as well! Things like the old Sherlock Holmes books and Agatha Christie are a lot of fun! And you're right; sometimes even Christian fiction can get a little too risque. It's sad!!

[Hannah]

I'm on a Mary Roberts Rinehart streak at the moment...I love old mysteries, but I actually haven't read a Christie yet.

[Tonie]

Hannah wrote: "I'm on a Mary Roberts Rinehart streak at the moment...I love old mysteries, but I actually haven't read a Christie yet."

I've never heard of Ms. Rineheart, but I'd probably enjoy her if she's clean. Is there a particular book you'd recommend? :)

Ooh, you should read "Murder on the Orient Express" as your first immersion into Agatha Christie's work, if you're interested! I read that for the first time when I was 15 and just couldn't put it down! I finished it in 3 days. It's a classic for good reason. :)

[Hannah]

The Man in Lower Ten is the one I just finished. I’m reading The Window at the White Cat now. Generally there are one or two swears and that’s it. I also enjoyed her humorous mystery without a murder, When a Man Marries.

Yes...I’m definitely starting Christie in the near future, and that one’s on my short list.

[Tonie]

Those sound wonderful!! They sort of remind me of the vintage radio dramas I like to listen to on YouTube. I'm only 27, but I have a bit of an "old soul," LOL. I love old movies and such. I'll definitely check those out, thanks!! :)

[C.]

Tonie wrote: "C. wrote: "Rae wrote: "Loralee wrote: "I could not finish "The Time Traveler's Wife." The language was strong and the sexual content made me very uncomfortable. "

Yep, me too....and I love the ide..."


I read most of the genres you do to avoid offensive elements. However, as an ex-Christian, I try to avoid Christian books with too much god-talk/religious proselytizing. After many years as a Christian, and loving Christian fiction, I am pretty familiar with which authors are too preachy, though, lol! I do enjoy Amish-themed fiction and cozy mysteries, as well.

[Christin]

No One Knows by J.T. Ellison is full of f-words and sex

[[deleted user]]

The 5th Wave Series

I Bought The Third Book and Came Across The First F Bomb. Since I Was Still at The Bookstore- I Actually Took The Book Back and Got My Money Back.

The Movie is Cleaner Then The Books Actually

[Hannah]

Good for you, Ginny. A friend read the first in the series this year and encountered quite a bit of content.

[[deleted user]]

Hannah wrote: "Good for you, Ginny. A friend read the first in the series this year and encountered quite a bit of content."

Thanks!

I Remember Buying The First Book as Well. I Also Took That One Back

I Know Right????

[Pam]

The Immortalists I found the very first sentence vulgar, referring to a character’s self description of her private parts. I read on a bit more, and there was another reference to what another character liked sexually. I shut the book. It’s a disappointment because I read that the plot is good, however the content is off putting to me.

[Karen]

Paul wrote: "I want to thank all of you for bringing to light the vulgarities in these books. This is very helpful. I wish there were a rating system in Goodreads that could easily be accessed for every book. A..."

Wondered the same. If movies can have a rating, why not books?

[C.]

Only made it to page 85/28% 2 graphic sex scenes and several 'F' Bombs, before deciding no way would I go further! The main couple being unlikeable didn't help!

[Jenny]

Pam wrote: "The Immortalists I found the very first sentence vulgar, referring to a character’s self description of her private parts. I read on a bit more, and there was another reference to w..."

Would love for books to have ratings. I just had to return a book that was made into a film I saw first. The film was stellar and I thought the book would be too. Unfortunately, there were several language moments I was unprepared for. Ugh!

[Karen]

Just put down "Now She's Gone" by Alison James due to frequent f-bombs which tend to turn me off very quickly,

[Kim]

I had to put down “Before the Fall” by Noah Hawley. Way too much swearing including using the F word- a lot. I kept listening hoping it would get better. It didn’t. I’m so bummed because I was really interested in the story. I wish I could get a “clean” version like you can on songs.

[Kim]

I put down the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Yuck yuck yuck. It’s dystopian which I normally love, but this society is very oppressive to women. Of course that’s supposed to not sit well with the reader, but it’s just gross. I’d explain but if you’re on this group, you don’t want to know. And the F word came out of nowhere- about 7 times in 2 paragraphs. No thank you.

[C.]

Kim wrote: "I put down the Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Yuck yuck yuck. It’s dystopian which I normally love, but this society is very oppressive to women. Of course that’s supposed to not sit well with..."

Appreciate the heads up about this very popular title. I will skip it

[Linda]

The Girl With The Pearl Earring was interesting and I was absorbed into it but it kept having sexual tension, then groping, and the whole story was a bad feeling. I put it down because of the overall feeling the book gave me.

[Tami]

I had to put this one down because of the f-word and an inappropriate scene. However, in general what drew me in was the author's clever use of detail or rather what she chose to leave out. Too much detail (his hair was brown, with sharp yet soft eyes...) and I'm bored to tears, not enough and we have a vague feeling of being stuck on the outer boundaries of the made-up universe. She got something right, if only she could have gotten it all right.

The Word Exchange

[Karen]

Really wanted to read The Silent Patient but quickly put it down. After the first f-bomb I checked my ereader to see if this was going to be a frequent occurrence and it was. Back to the library it went and it had sounded like a good story.

[[deleted user]]

at Least 3 That I Won in Goodreads Giveaways and a Third Book That I Do Not Remember The Name of

All 3 Books Had F Bombs in Them. I Stopped Reading Them Immediately

[[deleted user]]

I Also Put Down Because of The F Bomb

[Sassa]

The Heart’s Invisible Furies. The handling of Scripture was a step too far.

[Crystal]

My senior book club is reading The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared.

The majority of my readers will not finish the book. The language is bad. There is a lot of drinking. There is violence. I am honestly only a few chapters in but hearing their comments and with what I have read so far, I do not know if I will finish it either. Very disappointing. The description made us think it would be a lighthearted, fun read, but it is not for us.

[Hannah]

Crystal wrote: "My senior book club is reading The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared.

The majority of my readers will not finish the book. The language is bad. There is a lot of drinking..."

Ugh. I'd even had several folks say that one was "clean."

[Crystal]

Hannah wrote: "Crystal wrote: "My senior book club is reading The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared.

The majority of my readers will not finish the book. The language is bad. There is a..."

Same here. And the description looked good.

[Marilyn]

Kenneth B Alger wrote: "Me:) Started reading - more than one - a great book, then ran into a string of profane and or vulgar language; quit reading and deleted it from my Kindle. Figure the author, with a little thought, ..."

Very well stated!

[[deleted user]]

There is a Sex Scene in The Book. Not Explicit.. Also This is The Same Publisher That Published The Awful Fifty Shades of Gross

I Ended Up Taking The Book Back to The Bookstore and Got My Money Back

[Marlene]

“The Hate You Give” is a fantastic book but there’s an f-bomb every other word.

[Maryann]

There are so many books I have had to put down. Sometimes it's hard because I am engrossed in the story, BUT I just don't want those sordid scenes clouding my mind. One thing I have learned---if it starts out with vulgar language or bad scenes, you can be pretty sure it will continue. Just bite the bullet, put it down, and start on another book. I usually bring home a ton of library books with the knowledge that I will probably need to weed out some of them because of content. One reason Clean Reads is such a great idea for us to help one another!

[Karen]

Maryann wrote: "There are so many books I have had to put down. Sometimes it's hard because I am engrossed in the story, BUT I just don't want those sordid scenes clouding my mind. One thing I have learned---if it..."

I have often wished there were redacted versions to buy!

[Sassa]

Karen wrote: "Maryann wrote: "There are so many books I have had to put down. Sometimes it's hard because I am engrossed in the story, BUT I just don't want those sordid scenes clouding my mind. One thing I have..."

I have, too!

[Amanda]

I just tried a book by Jenny Colgan and there was a lot of content I was not comfortable reading. I won't be reading any more of hers.

[Krista]

I had a few books I had edited for friends - by putting washi tape over the bad words - and I had thought about selling some of them online but didn’t really know if that would be something people would be interested in buying.

[Amanda]

For me, it's not simply the presence of a bad word, it's the spirit of the work. I don't mind reading a curse word here or there, if it makes sense with the story and characters and doesn't distract from the quality of the book. Does that make sense? If an author constantly interjects curse words into dialogue in an effort to sound modern, or just because it reflects that author's own language, I find it super distracting and it comes off sounding more ignorant, like they can't express themselves without those words. So, for me, washi tape wouldn't help. It can't make the story any better, and superfluous swearing, in my opinion, tends to be a symptom of poor writing in the first place.

[Gale]

My sentiments exactly. I so wish more authors would understand this.

[C.S.]

As a "clean reads" reader and author, I'm so happy to read these comments. Sometimes I feel alone in thinking that bad language and sex is "filler" and totally unnecessary to move the plot of the story along. No everyone in the world talks that way so the argument that it's how people say things doesn't hold water. I use heavy ink or a marker over words in my nonfiction books. I don't mind censoring them and usually don't read any more books by that author. The fiction books get thrown in the trash or dumped from my Kindle.

[Karen]

C.S. wrote: "As a "clean reads" reader and author, I'm so happy to read these comments. Sometimes I feel alone in thinking that bad language and sex is "filler" and totally unnecessary to move the plot of the s..."
I think many authors feel "grown up" and in the big leagues when they can use liberal sprinklings of the f-bomb. For me it shows a lack of vocabulary and education.