Dynamics

When I approach a book, here's some tropes or setups I really latch onto. Since most modern "realism" drek has polluted things.

• A main protagonist duo of men and women. Since so many books have everyone at each other's throats. IE: Those evil Bastard mens! Those Thot/Bitchy Womens. Otherwise known as Wheel of Time taken to Hellscape 11 with gender relations. Men and women bring different stuff to the table, so I like seeing that setup in a more positive light.
• IF its gritty, please have hope infused somewhere to offset the craptastic world.
• What most "literary" fart huffers think is boring: Good vs Evil
• Have fun! Pulp Rev remembers fun! 
• Escapism! Pure simple joys of adventure.

I do wonder if that's why most readership levels have declined over the years. If the buffet is only offering x, y or z since corporations or editors see it as the most commercially viable, it would also explain the feeling of "cookie cutter popular" hitting everything. So here's a spreadsheet of books that are constantly pulling me back into reading.

Which also slow me down in reading other things because I keep going back to these books. Like a well worn cup of coffee on a cold day.

At the heart of all these books, traditional good vs evil. All my favorite shows had this as well. The external forces were such that men and women had to work together to survive. The evil has no care for the character's physicality. IT wanted to break their spirits. So most books that have this. Have the characters go through and act heroic in-spite of evil. That is what ultimately grabs me.