Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish pet peeves.
The first time I answered these questions I was a working librarian. My answers have changed a bit since I've retired. Check out my 2011 original list here.
Pet peeves about the care of books:
1. Dogeared pages. What is wrong with using a bookmark? My daughter uses post-it notes if she wants to "highlight" a quote, or sometimes as the bookmark itself.
2. Bending back a paperback so far that it breaks the book's spine
so that it can be held in one hand. I'm always shocked when I see books in used book stores with broken spines. Ugh.
3. Marking one's place by laying the book face down and open. If I ever see this when I'm visiting someone, I find a bookmark and close the poor book.
4. Using a book as a coaster. Water damage is a serious issue for books in the Northwest where mold grows so easily.
Pet peeves related to the writing:
1. Not following typical literary conventions! I get really irritated when an author does not use proper punctuation, grammar, spelling and so forth. Quotation marks! I especially hate it when speech isn't identified by quotation marks.
2. Repeating facts or statements throughout the book. I often feel like an author insults my intelligence when they repeat facts already introduced earlier in the text.
3. Characters with similar or hard to pronounce names. I hate it when I can't seem to keep track of characters or have to stumble over their names each time I see them.
Pet peeves about the plot:
1. Stereotypes. (Dumb blondes; Geeks wearing glasses; etc.)
2. Derogatory comments made about minorities, women, races, religion, etc.
3. When the action description is cut short because the main character faints or is removed for some reason. This was especially true in Mockingjay. I want all the gory details of battle rather than a glossing over of them.
Pet peeves about covers and book promotions:
1. When publishers plug their book by saying it is just like some other famous book. And it isn't even close. You know what I mean?
2. Switching book cover mid series. I even hate it when the covers in a series are switched between hardcover and paperbacks.
What is a bookish pet peeve you have?
-Anne
I am with you on all of these! Especially dog-earing pages; it just feels so wrong.
ReplyDelete"close the poor book" Right??? the outrage! :):)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of weird names just for the sake of weirdness either...
The whole cover switch is always ANNOYING! :D I like unique names because I feel like I remember them better, but if they're hard to pronounce that's no fun. Thanks for visiting Finding Wonderland.
ReplyDeleteI hate repeated facts as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of strange or unusual names, especially if it's just because the author could. If it's something connected to the character's family heritage, and thus a reason for the character to be the way they are, it's ok.
ReplyDeletePam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/going-to-the-dogs-12-books-with-dogs-on-the-cover/
I also had mid series cover changes on my list, it annoys me so much!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/10/05/top-ten-tuesday-336/
Dogeared pages always make me cringe, I'm definitely not somebody who can do that :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on some of these, certainly! Though I'm afraid I used to be guilty of #3 on occasion, in my younger years. (Not anymore; I take good care of my books.) I don't mind unusual names, maybe because I started reading fantasy at such a young age. When you grew up wrapping your mind and tongue around names like Luthien Tinuviel and Celebrimbor and Eilonwy and Fflewddur Fflam, even unpronounceable names like A'stv!lk aren't that bad. (I made that last one up - but I've seen similar ones.) I do pity the audiobook reader in those cases, though. Speaking of audiobook readers, that's another peeve I forgot to add to my list: Audiobook readers who mispronounce words or names. First of all, they should check all name pronunciations with the author. And second, they should check words they think they know. I'm still not over the narrator of the Lady Darby books saying "skuh-LEE-tle" instead of "skeletal" multiple times within one book.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, I agree with ALL of these! Excellent list! Here is mine: https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2021/10/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-pet-peeves.html
ReplyDeleteI do #3 sometimes if it's my copy of the book. I'm not bothered by a lack of quotation marks and think it sometimes allows the story to flow better. I agree with you on everything else. How much do they pay those famous writers to laud books that are worse than one I could write? Ugh.
ReplyDeleteMid-series cover changes are the worst. I wonder if it really has an impact on sales...
ReplyDeleteAppreciate you categorizing these into all the different sections. I find myself agreeing with most of them. Happy reading! My TTT https://readwithstefani.com/my-middle-grade-book-recommendations/
ReplyDeleteAgreed with all of these!
ReplyDeleteCheck out my TTT
I really hate when authors don't use quotation marks, too!
ReplyDelete