I have a friend who will not buy a book if there's a map in the front.  She opens a book, looks through the first few pages, and if she sees a map, that's it. She looks at me, says, "Theres a map," and the book is back on the shelf, or table.  If I'm farther away from her, she holds the book up, with the map showing, while shaking her head in disgust.

I don't like maps either, but I am able to ignore them.  My friend, believes the author doesn't know how to write because if s/he did, s/he should be able to tell her where things were, and not make her look stuff up.  I can understand that.  Maps freak her out.  And she hates looking stuff up.

I won't buy books with a cowboy, a pirate, or a half naked male model with a woman throwing herself at him.  In other words, I don't read romance novels.

What I do love:  Thick paper and deckled edges.  Sigh...deckled edges.