Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Pet Peeves


This list, as promoted at The Broke and the Bookish today, may look a bit like the list I made yesterday, only listing the negatives. Well, yes, maybe so, but instead this list instead of being about general bookish things, is about the books and stories themselves. Make sense? And I'm rarely negative around here, I think, so maybe you might find this rant of sorts a bit refreshing? I guess we'll see.

Top Ten Book Pet Peeves

1. What I really hate in a book is that unnecessary F word. Yeah, that one. I feel, usually, like it's thrown in there for shock factor, which bugs me. If it is truly part of the character, then I can handle a few, just to let me know that's what that character is like. But tons? I don't need that, thanks.

2. I also am bugged by over preachiness or a book with an obvious agenda to push. Turns me off in an instant and makes my eyes glaze over and I'm gone. Yucky yucky yucky.

3. Cliffhangers are freaking frustrating! Granted, sometimes they make a book very memorable, but usually they just make you crazy in the end.

4. Okay, so footnotes are sometimes quite helpful, especially in classic books. But if they are at the end of the story, and I have to flip back and forth and back and forth, I'll usually skip them. I wish they were at the bottom of the page instead. Because I do find that stuff interesting, but not enough for all that flipping.

5. Books that are degrading to a certain group of people, just for the "fun" of it, where it has nothing to do with the story, make me crazy.

6. I hate books that are in tiny print, especially where that print ends up lost in the binding! I'm having this issue right now with my Lord of Chaos book and it's not fun at all.

7. Books that have a printing flaw.. such as the time I was reading along in a book and suddenly discovered there were 30 pages missing! Yeah, that's just not cool.

8. Another thing that bugs me is when one genre thinks it's better than another genre. Okay, so books themselves don't really think this, but readers do. And I wish they wouldn't. All genres are created equal. Some writing is better than others, some stories are better than other, some characters are better than others. But not genres. What say you?

9. Along that same vein, I hate it when we all suddenly decide to bash certain books. And I've talked about this before, so I'm guessing you'll know exactly what I mean. First they are popular and everyone likes them, suddenly we find it it's not cool to like them anymore, so then we bash mercilessly. Bugs me.

10. But what I hate most of all is when people say either of these two things.... "I don't have time to read" or "There's nothing good to read."  Oh boy. Yes, both of these things will get me going in a heartbeat!

So how about you? Anything you'd like to vent about book-wise? What are YOUR book pet peeves?

11 comments:

  1. I really agree with numbers 1, 2, 6, and 7.
    I'll take some swearing if it defines the character, but if everyone in the book is using the F word, it's too much for me (like The Slap).
    I also do not handle obvious agendas well at all.
    Tiny print drives me crazy.
    I will never forget getting a just released hardcover that I had been looking forward to reading for months and discovering that the copy was messed up and missing pages. (Thankfully, I was able to exchange it for a complete copy, but, of course, that meant waiting to finish the book.)

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  2. I agree with everything you said--especially use of the "F" word. I also hate notes in the books I read. I suppose that's my fault for buying used books, but someone else's comments just don't contribute to the story for me.

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  3. I especially agree with 8 and 10, I hate it when people are snobbish about the genres they read! So I enjoy YA and romance novels, that doesn't make me a lesser being. I also read classics when I feel like it and even if I didn't, at least I'm reading.

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  4. Your number 1 and 6 made my list too. :)

    I'm glad I've never told you that I don't have time to read. Honestly, though, I do have time to read. I just wish I read faster. How's that? Is that a pet peeve too?

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  5. Lori: Sounds like I will want to avoid The Slap? :)

    Cindi: Sometimes I enjoy other people's notes, but I can't seem to add to them!

    Daisy: Exactly!

    Jenni: I know my comment about not finding time to read sounds all encompassing, but I really do GET that sometimes there ISN'T time! :) But lots of people, even during their busiest craziest life moments, find time to do what they love, reading or otherwise, which is the main point here I think. And reading faster? Sounds good to me!

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  6. I don't know what it says about me but unless there are LITERALLY hundreds of F words per page I'm not really bothered by them.

    I totally agree about footnotes. I love reading them at the bottom but I will NOT flip to the back of the book.

    What's with the genre thing? I agree a hundred percent. It's all about story and character to me. I could care less about the genre.

    Ah, the book bashing. Well I'm guilty of it, I suppose. Personally I think it's the only way some people have to fight back. You just get so sick of EVERYONE talking about how great and wonderful something is and eventually you start bashing because, well, they're forcing their opinion on you so...what can you do?

    Anywho, this was all very long winded sorry. I love these list posts you do.

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  7. Jenny: It says you are immune to F words. I'm getting there I'm afraid. Pretty soon, they won't be able to shock us no matter what! :) And I don't think you do the bashing thing like I think of it. You didn't like Twilight when everyone else was liking it. But now, it seems like everyone else doesn't like it either, because suddenly it went from cool to uncool. I don't get it.

    Glad you like the list posts. I'm thinking I need to do something different for the next few posts! :)

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  8. Missing pages drive me nuts. Luckily it's only happened to me a few times. But once I spent quite a bit of money on an expensive book, only to discover when I read it weeks later that the last few pages were gone! It was so frustrating.

    On the other hand, I used to have a book where the first twenty pages were duplicated. Printed in there twice. It was really strange.

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  9. In all honesty , I have been guilty of #8 and #9. I have no excuse , so I wont make one up.

    #10 is my biggest pet peeve. I wish I had a nickle for every time I heard "I dont have time to read".......

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  10. I love your list but number 10 is by far the one I agree with the most!

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  11. Yes, the footnotes! I know they're supposed to be helpful, but I just find them distracting. It interrupts the flow of the story.

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