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40 Annoying Literary Moments That Drive Readers Up The Wall: As Shared By The Bored Panda Community
Most of us enjoy cuddling up with our favorite book in the evening and immersing ourselves in the author's imaginative or actual world with a goal to learn, entertain and relax.
However, from time to time, when reading a book, we notice things that seem to spoil our entire appetite for reading! This is where our community members share the biggest literary pet peeves they've noticed!
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Where did putting the number of the series on the spine go? Huh??? SOMEBODY TELL ME!!!
To add to this, changing the style, writing direction/size, size and or picture style of a series of books so people can never have a pleasing set. Looking at you discworld. Slowly buying my way through the editions specifically made to stop this issue that people had to scream for years for.
Women characters written by men. Especially when everything they do has to do with their breasts. Or when it’s an adventure/action novel and the woman has to be portrayed as emotionless, fully badass, and completely misogynistic to other women because god forbid a girl with stereotypically feminine qualities is also tough and powerful.
Oh, yes, yes, yes. I tried a few novels with women as the central characters written by men. Now I don't care what the book is. If it's about a woman and written by a man, I will not read it!
Typos, misspellings, inaccurate changes in later scenes (in the first, he ordered a burger, but later in the same meal he cuts his steak), using the wrong name. Where the hell are the editors?
How every single book that exists is a New York Times Bestseller or is written by a New York Times Bestselling Author... That's like the participation award for writers at this point.
When you're reading a really good book/series, but its quality starts to go down slowly.
Something that drives me crazy is those fantasy series in which there's a little magical person who has to save everyone. We're almost at the end and none of her magic powers are working. Suddenly, she remembers an old power that she hasn't used in years and everyone is saved!
If you're kidnapped, but fall 'in love' with your kidnapper, it's not love. It's Stockholm syndrome.
Lending a book to someone and it coming back dogeared, or otherwise messed up.
Why do people do this? I guesss they view books as disposable? Read once and toss? I have books that I bought years ago.
Look to be honest...Books are not read and used as often as they should. A well worn book borrowed and returned with an observable "read" having taken place is no sin in my world.
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I don't really mind this. I feel like a book is there for reading and a few creases or coffee drips means it is being read (and hopefully enjoyed). The only exception I have is my nice hard covers, in particular a Jane Austen collection that had gold edged pages that my sister scratched her name into (and still denies).
I'm the opposite here. Someone lent me a book which she said she read but you could barely tell it had even been opened. I just couldn't read it. I was afraid to open it. I know there are a lot of people who like to take care of their books. But I like to enjoy my books without worrying I'm going to spill something and if the author says something stupid, I want to feel free to tell him off in margin. No, books aren't disposable but they do like to be read.
Your answer makes sense of a behavior and attitude I didn't understand. Thanks for explaining it.
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If I give you a book that I OWN, it is not for your enjoyment. It is a test for my TRUST.
Or not coming back at all. I never loan books that I can't replace!
I get annoyed when a library book I've borrowed has been marked up. I assume it's because a student used it as a a resource for a school project. Most of the time, thank goodness, the marks are in pencil. I'm the person who erases all those marks as I read. 😒
The same here. And i've noticed that all library books have had the corner of the pages folded. Why the f**k can't people use bookmarks?
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Saaaaaame. Had a friend borrow a brand new book. Got it back with a torn cover, dog eared probably 20 pages, spine completely jacked up, and other forms of damage. She had it for 1 week, and I had to replace the book. I borrowed 2 books from her for a year when I moved out of state, and brought them back in the same condition.
I understand how that feels. But even though I don't like to mess up other people's books, and I do like to mess up my own, I never lend my books because I don't like someone else's messing up on them--and I want to get the books back.
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Never never ever lend out a book. I did and it somehow went missing when I asked for it back. Out of print too. I still hate that person and strongly believe they lied to me. They're on my sh#t list forever. I had that book from being 10 years old and I'm 78 in March.
That's why I never loan books to anyone. I don't care if you are family or friend, you can get your own copy from the library or buy it. Even my partner would never get to borrow a copy without following a couple rules. You may read this in the glorious sanctuary that is my personal library. If you leave the room, the book stays behind. Once you are finished, put the book back in its special case.
I lent a book on a non-fiction subject to an acquaintance, and he highlighted all through it. When he brought it back, I asked him why he did that, and he said that the highlights were the important parts. He didn't get it that it was my book. I never lent him another book. He kept asking, and I'd say no, and he'd ask why, and I said because he didn't respect other people's property, and he'd say, but those were the important parts, Clueless.
I dog-ear books because I've lost almost every single bookmark I've ever used. This is a genuine question, I am confused, why do people hate dog-earing books? Does it wear the book out quicker?
I collect hardbacks and am VERY picky about who I lend them to.
I'm very choosy about whom I lend to. It's pretty much only my Mom & stepmom. I know my Mother and my stepmother always treat my books with the utmost respect (upon fear of maiming), but should something happen I have not a doubt they will replace that book. I loaned my stepmom my copy of "The Book Thief" that my Mom had loaned me (sssshhh) and she loaned it to someone else. Apparently it came back just hammered - AND DOG EARED!!! She not only bought ME a new book, but one for my Mom as well. That's a really good book friend!
A common problem in the library, unfortunately :( I just don't get how someone can treat someone else's property with so little respect...
this. lent my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE book to my friend. returned it mangled, spine broken, scotch tape hanging on for bare life. "sorry, i just loved it so much I wore it!" BRUH I LOVED IT TOO AND I DIDN'T GO SAVAGE ON IT LIKE THOSE CRITTERS IN ZOOTOPIA
One person I knew (coworker from LONG ago...) saw I'd come back from my break with a new book - and was laughing at the way I was reading it (aka: carefully, don't crack the spine) - and I said flat out that I like my books to be in good condition and will try not to crack the spine. This person GRABBED my book from me and said "Oh, like THIS???" and just.. cracked it open beyond 180-flat ... I yelped in surprise and THEN he says "oh, you were serious?" like... WTF - YES, you d***head! Did he offer to buy me a new book? of course not... just went "Oh, well, geez, sorry." like... pardon me?
And then being told you have given it to them in that condition. You’re too oblivious to notice I’m referring to you, Mrs. Trafficante.
Oh I love it when someone I care about leaves traces in a book! It's like a little bit of their presence is now associated with the book. I love it when books are bent and worn and well loved, just like a favorite stuffed animal.
I have books that I had as a child and they still look lovely. As a primary school teacher, I had a huge amount of my own books in the classroom and I spent time teaching children how to care for these correctly so that they stayed in good condition. The books lasted really well and were enjoyed by children over many years. A head teacher I worked for said she would rather the books looked dog-eared/bent/torn etc as it showed "they had been well loved"...!?! I pointed out that they were my books, so my rules!
In most cases, the paper, cover, type, etc., are chosen without author input. What is considered the book in this context is the pretty wrapping, not the gift. I like secondhand books, I like loved books with signs of wear. Unless it's a signed first edition, the physical book is there as a symbol of what's printed inside.
My friend let me borrow her copy of Goblet of Fire when it first came out, because I couldn't afford hardback and it wasn't in paperback yet. My toddler managed to get hold of a pen and scribble in the blank pages at the beginning, the title page, and a few others. I saved money and bought my friend a replacement, because THAT'S WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU MESS UP SOMEONE ELSE'S STUFF!
The same kind of people who use dynamite for archeology. And they never understand why you're angry at them.
I don’t loan books. They never seem to make it back. Yay for Kindle. Sorry, it’s on my Kindle.
I love my books...also having to literally beg the person to give me back what I lent...why make a library out of someone else's books?!
This! This is why I have a Kindle. I also have my favorite books in hard copy, but since my physical library is smaller no one usually asks to borrow them.
Dad worked a blue collar job thatched a lot of down time, so he would read between jobs. I learned very quickly to only lend him a book on a weekend because if he took it to work, it would come back absolutely filthy
I don't lend books anymore because they either come back ruin or you don't get the back at all.
When I buy a new book, the first thing I do is break the spine so it will lay flat. Then I tend to dog ear pages if I'm reading more than a few books at once. I will not accept books on loan as I can't read a book without making it mine. If I lend you a book, I really don't care how I get it back. If it's rare, I'd like to get it back, but if not, you can keep it. You're welcome to keep a copy of a Harry Potter book. I can buy another. If I loan you a copy of "The Cloven Foot of Popery" from 1855, I'm going to need that back.
Lent a book to a friend who was having a rough time. i thought she'd read it and take some of the advice in it, and have a better life as a result. When she left her last place and I helped her move out, I found the book under piles of junk with phone numbers scribbled in it. She'd used it as a notepad.
I actually love when books look read - dog eared and all! It's just marks of affection. 💖
Yeah! When I was 16, I had an ah friend who treated CDs people had lend him unacceptabe - they were just thrown on the floor. A lot didn't work anymore, some of mine, too ... and that shidhead had the audacity to be pissed when I claimed all my CDs, immediately, and never again left anything at his place. SOB, he's the reason I refer to selfish, entitled and stupid people - gotta be all three to qualify - as "Kampmänner", well, you might guess his last name. "Bang Boom Bang" also features the late Diether Krebs playing a real Kampmann, who also bears the right name ... imagine that guy, just dumber and younger. SOB!
Gave my little sister a book and a couple days later, it had a dog eared cover in two corners and parts of the cover design have been almost chipped off
A series that revolves around a "Chosen One" who is often a whiny impetuous brat.
There have been a lot of those lately, a lot of them "young adult" series (or is the phrase 'new adult' now?). I love Urban Fantasy and can't just pick up a new book, I have to research the author and make sure it's not another paranormal romance. Can't I just have modern era supernatural beings interacting with humans?
Incorrectness. Just they are straight-up wrong somewhere in the book. I also can't stand authors that like to sound smart (or just are smart....) and they use way too many words.
For example:
The quick brown fox jumped over the log.
The expeditious mahogany Vulpes vulpes (the scientific name for fox, had to look it up) ascended into the amalgamation of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, etc. Thereupon, the creature plunged to the earth on the far periphery of the length of the limb of a deceased large plant enclosed in the bark.
I'm all for describing things and using details, but there is indeed such a thing as 'too many words'.
This goes back to Highschool. Having a book you loved as subject matter in English, and after the teacher and class have analysed it thoroughly, you can't even look at anymore.
I hate it when I think I'm being a good little reader by reading the introduction to a novel before reading the novel and then they tell me the ending of the story in the introduction. I don't care if the book was first published a hundred years ago!!!
In books when the "villain's" problems could have been solved by rational thinking, and the main characters are the actual jerks.
Female "characters" with zero personality that are simply a love interest or damsel in distress.
When an author is great at building suspense and creating a creepy atmosphere, and then, the silly and disappointing climax comes. (Looking at you, Stephen King!)
Literally. He can write a good general story but cannot finish a book to save his life.
When you fall in love with a series, and it has some form of impact on your life - but the author turns out to be a douchebag. Separating art from the artist can be difficult.
Why does the fate of the whole world usually lie on a hormonal 16-year-old who can duel, hack and invent at level par to a 30-year-old sucked-of-life adult? Oh, and they usually are portrayed as social outcasts who will eventually marry their crush happily ever after.
I mean, that happens a lot in YA because those books are written for teenagers
When a story starts off as a mystery, but suddenly gets a big portion of romance right in the middle of the investigation. With many pages spent wondering if the feelings are mutual. Ugh... I want to know who the killer is and how they did it, not if the main character gets a mate.
We (my family) have the same problem with movies. We'll search and search for a long time, finally find something that seems to be interesting, start watching it, then it'll slowly turn into a cheesy romance to the point where it isn't worth watching any more.
Generic villains. Let's make them dark, menacing, sinister, pointed, and ugly, and they must always be dressed in black and alternating between a sneer and a maniacal cackle. The kind where you can just take one glance at them and know with all certainty that "that's the bad guy."
The actual biggest threats in life are undetectable - take notes!
Well according to hollywood, you can tell who the villain is by whether or not they are using an apple product. If they are using one, they're not the villain.
When writing a series, authors often do a bit of recap to tie in the new book to the previous book. I become annoyed when the author does this by having one character monologue the back story to a second character who already knows said back story.
I also dislike discontinuity. If a character has black hair and brown eyes, she shouldn't suddenly become auburn with green eyes in the next chapter.
Books for teenagers and young adults that romanticize violent behavior.
This wouldn't be so bad if it was occasional, but I feel it's very common in books targeting those age groups. Sometimes, perhaps even often, that character is eventually ousted by a "better" character and the reader is supposed to see how terrible the abusive character's behaviour was. Unfortunately, it mostly serves to normalise that behaviour.
I came across a book in a family member of my wife's which was part of a of a 20 volume series on projectile vomiting. Why romanticise that?
Reading the first book of a series, then waiting for ages for the second one because the author has decided to start a completely different one... I want to know how the story will end!
It gets to me when I'm reading a novel with a character smokes three packs of cigarettes a day and never coughs once in the whole book.
And then there are the scenes in which three or four people have a serious discussion which lasts for four or five pages, and everybody's coffee stays hot until the last line.
I get most of my books from an online website, Quotev. You can write and publish books there. I sure have my fair share of books on there. I hate it when I find a book I'm interested in, but the grammar is terrible! Run-on sentences, the paragraphs aren't separated, incorrect spelling, and no punctuation! It's physically painful to read.
I don't like when any novel starts to be focused on romance more than the actual story. Romance is an okay aspect, but that doesn't mean it should take over the plot of book that isn't under the category of romance.
When a famous writer has a book published only because they are a famous writer, not because the book is good or worth reading. Far too many examples to mention.
In a multi-book series, taking up most of a chapter catching readers up on the last 20 or so books. You can't get to the new story for having to reread the old one. Again.
When stories just stop. There’s no proper ending to the book, it’s like the author just got bored and gave up. The amount of times I’ve read a book that I’ve been really enjoying and at the end, the writer has just thrown anything together to end it. It’s incredibly unfulfilling and frustrating.
One of my beloved writers is Samuel Clemens. His book "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". It was written as a perennial. He set it aside for some time and was forced by publishers to finish it. So he did, and I am sure it was not at his literary mindful leisure. But he did finish it, and the ending does seem forced, but it does not negate the pure joy it ensues. Sometimes it is not the authors fault, I just enjoy the entirety if it merits enjoyment.
When the author changes something that was kind of major. For example, say the main character was in a fight, and it mentions that he/she gets a bad cut in the side, yet three paragraphs later, the author goes on describing a nasty cut on his leg - never even mentioning his/her side cut.
I work at a library, and if a book's author's name is larger than or above the title on the spine, know that I personally want to hunt down and punch whoever at the publishing house made that decision
When the author uses the character's name a lot instead of using pronouns. I just read a book that used the name at least 7 times in a 5 line paragraph instead of using pronouns.
I read a book where the author mentioned two male names in the start of the chapter and from that moment on, the names were no longer used. I had lost track of which guy did what after half a page. It was almost as if the editor had objected to slight too many names and the author was like, "Then I will get rid of ALL THE NAMES! Happy now?"
When the "hero" refuses to kill the villain or wait too long and they escape. Like, really!?
I hate it when I read a story and the author writes: "this is relevant later." Yeah, no way, duh! If it's irrelevant to the story, it should be edited out.
I think what the author conveys when they include that is: 'I am the only smart person, and everyone else is an idiot that I have to tediously explain everything to'.
When characters all have similar names and descriptions, I keep getting confused. Or when they have a male hero whose personality is about being buff, female characters who are just there to look pretty.
I always have thought this about "Sauron" vs "Saruman" in LOTR. So confusing the first time I read it.
Not giving a reader all the clues needed to solve a mystery. Don't cheat, you can write a good mystery or you can't.
I had to stop reading P. D. James because of this, holding back information from the reader, in a Mystery Novel. Specifically, "The Lighthouse", when they find the criminal, who they had never suspected, threatening a hostage, at the top of the lighthouse, screaming psychotic, misogynistic profanities out across the ocean. There had not been a single hint that this character was so overwhelming mentally ill anywhere in the book. I was done with the writer, at this point.
When the author loses track of where what is. This is usually hands, arms, feet, background items, anything really, etc. It happens a lot, more than it should, and I know things get edited, but you need to keep track of continuity. I've read a book where they lost a whole dang character between two paragraphs.
They were sitting on the far left couch laughing silently at so-and-so, then two paragraphs later, they're climbing in the window with people welcoming them like they just got there and no mention of the person on the couch because it was the same person.
It is also a big issue in steamy books I've found. You lose track of what is where, and some things just aren't possible. I've checked the Kama Sutra - it agreed with me.
Yep lol, steamy books especially. One minute person #1 is on the back of person #2, and the next, person #2 has their neck twisted like an owl's to kiss person #1, or person #1's lips are stretching half a foot to reach person #2's.
Changing the look, style, size, colouring, text direction, font size part way through a series.
One of the first books I read was from a series called 'ranger's apprentice'. I hated when the cover art in book 4 featured the characters. The first 3 books had nothing but the title on the cover. So when I saw the designs in book 4, they looked nothing like what I invisioned them in my brain. I hated that!
Unnecessary details. Imagery and figurative language adds depth to the whole novel, but when it’s goes on and on and doesn’t end up contributing to the plot, that’s when I start getting bored of the book.
I've ended a few series over that. And given up on a few books and authors who do that, seemingly because they're trying to turn a 120 page book into 200
Using glasses as props. I hate it in books, movies, and real life because people have enough problems without a necessity being treated like a piece of decoration.
The glasses thing that really annoys me is how a character who wears them will at some point lose them for some reason. Yet said character just continues to function as normal. Like, they wear glasses for a reason and that reason is they NEED them. I wear glasses/ contacts and without them I certainly couldn't take part in some frenetic fight or drive a car in a high speed chase. Just because the sh*t has hit the fan doesn't then mean your eyes suddenly go "don't worry, here's some 20/20 vision to see you through to the end I've been holding back on".
I don’t like when authors of fantasy novels feel the need to describe the qualities of a certain race every time that character appears. Like, you don’t have to mention that the elf is “fleet of foot” every time they do something.
I was forced to read Ann Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" because my niece had to do a book report on it and was so sick with the measles she couldn't eat, let alone do her school work so I'm the nice Aunt. :) I was ready to claw my face off at the number of times Rice used the word "Preternatural" to describe anything the Vampire did. Like, 4.298 times. At least. It got cloying and boring. You get it - he's a vampire. It was as if she'd just read that word on the "Learn-A-Word-A-Day" calendar and was determined to use it in a sentence.
Novels written in the present tense. So annoying. First thing I check for when browsing books in the library or bookshop.
What happened to actual chapters? Current fiction seems to have chapters of 2-3 pages. I grew up reading Dickens, Dumas and other classic writers. The chapters were dense and long but worth the read. I feel this is pandering to the "short attention span" of the current generations, maybe it makes people feel good about themselves that they read 5 chapters ???? I just feel like the current best-selling authors are phoning it in, some writers have series where the sex scenes between the hero/heroine are exactly the same from one book to the next (I'm talking about you, J D Robb) If you can't come up with something interesting and different, just skip it. That's what I do.
Note: this post originally had 89 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
My pet peeve is when I start reading something and realise it's a straight-up repost of an article a year old.
Introducing a pet or other animal to the story for the sole purpose of killing it later on for a big emotional affect. One of the things I loved about "Corelli's Mandolin" was that the adorable pine marten survived the whole ordeal.
Pandas, if you’re reading this and you don’t know what a Pine Martin is (Like I didn’t until just now), look it up. Your mind will thank you for being graced with their existence.
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If you’re going to use a specific book for your inspiration (in the context of these pet peeves) Tell Us What It Is! Stand by your trash talk with real references.
How sad is it that this was dragged up from a year ago? C'mon, BP. *Try*. Just *try*.
My annoyance is when they author has a character driving somewhere and they are literally giving us the route they are taking - I don't live in that place, and even if I did, I don't care which roads they took to drive there- it makes no difference to the story - it is just page filler!!
You probably never red a book that was not translated well, right? Because that should be on the first place. Probably because a lot of English speaking people here can't speak any foreign language and have no idea that books in their original language are way more complex and understandable. As a friend of mine said, every translation is a rewriting. She was right.
For me, it's authors having to make smart characters dumb to make a plot point, or entire story work. I had to stop reading Kathy Reich's, because of this. Her 'Temperance Brennan' novels (TV show 'Bones), where Temperance kept being stupid, just to drive the story on. I first noticed this trope in Star Trek Next Generation, the episode where they hosted a group of Betazoids... telepaths...and people start getting mind-raped. As a teenager I was going, "It's the telepaths!". Instead I had to watch these smart, intelligent characters discuss viruses, parasites, microwaves, and sub-space anomalies for 40 minutes...as they stood next to telepaths!
LOL. Marina Sirtis once said she was baffled about how her outfits on ST:TNG dictated her intelligence level. When she was scantily clad she was dumb, but when she was dressed like a crewmember with a real outfit she was suddenly explaining things to Geordi & Data!
Load More Replies... My pet peeve is getting all excited about novels prior to 1920-ish. Most novels I've read - and yes I've read most of the famous english novel corpus before 1930 - are extremely tedious. My biggest disappointment was Dorian Gray. Not nearly as decadent as I'd hoped. It just referred to the protagonists doing decadent things, and alluded to wasting money on artworks and eating food. Meh. I think only DH Lawrence might escape this criticism. And possibly the vile racist Stoker, because of the novelty of his stories (yes, he did more than just THAT story). The rest, really tough to get through them. They spend way too much time on description and too little on dialogue. I guess it was just the style at the time.
Serial killers. This seems to be the lazy go to for just about all writers of thrillers.
Books that are written in the hopes of becoming a movie/video game/TV show one day when it grows up. But the story doesn't lend itself well to that kind of visualization.
There are two things that will put an author on my never read again list. One is to interrupt a story to lecture/preach at me and the other is to assume I'm an idiot who needs every little thing pointed out.
1. When an author releases a series and touts it as a trilogy, only to get to the end of the third book and there is a cliff hanger with a note from the author stating they have decided to write 2 more books. The last two books were garbage and it should have ended at 3. I'm looking at you Sylvia Day 2. I am so tired of reading "I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding".
Characters' order a meal, have a three sentence dialog and the meal arrives. Also Overuse of ! ! ! s----"He ran down the hall ! " "He looked around the corner ! " "He saw....! ! ! You get the idea !
It's Not nicotine stained. Only tar from tobacco stains anything. Nicotine stained teeth, nope. Nicotine stained fingers, nope. Nicotine stained anything, nope. Nicotine is odorless and colorless.
Ohhhh you mean like when they use the phrase "nicotine-stained" in novels. I get it.
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No one mentioned how much it sucks when you are reading a series and the author dies with multiple books to go before the end. The ghost writer for the wheel of time was good but you can tell they cannibalized the author's notes to cram five books into the last two they published after his death.
I have a pet peeve myself about writing. When people use "the blond" or "the brunette" by itself it drives me insane. It should be followed by identity, for example, "the blond man" or however they identify.
It would be nice if there were ratings for books, like PG, R, Mature, etc. I hate it when I'm getting involved in an interesting story and then, bam! They're ripping clothes off throbbing members. Or torture scenes. I like to avoid them if possible. Also it's embarrassing to carry around a book and then find out later it's x-rated.
I once checked out a book from the library, thinking it was a fairy tale re-telling. It was basically smut. Also, it was written in like all three tenses. I didn't get past the first chapter, and idk what part was more annoying
Having multiple names for a character. Two is fine if you want to give a key character a nickname but three, four, five... Please no.
Why does no one ever need the loo? And why are female characters never on their period? If authors want realistic characters, this should be normalised in books
I have one: Characters having no common sense/not planning ahead. A book which avoids this is Throne of Glass. The main character, Celaena, is regularly having ✨fun times✨ with a character called Chaol, and she gets a contraceptive potion thingy made to stop any ✨accidents✨. Also, characters ending up with the first character they f*ck. Again, ToG series avoids this very well. (I would recommend, 13+ definitely tho)
I don't read a terribly large number of novels, but I like to think of myself as pretty well-read (despite never reading a book for English class at any point during High School). I guess what I don't read is pulp fiction. Is bad writing like this really so common? So many of these seem more like problems for poorly written movies. I can't imagine any series-writing authors I've read much of (C.S. Lewis, Rick Riordan, J.R.R. Tolkein, Isaac Asimov, J.K. Rowling, Don Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke) making just about ANY of these crimes. Let alone stand-alone authors like Stephen Crane, Rad Bradbury, William DaFoe, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allen Poe.
If I may be so cheeky as to judge (objections are fun!), some crimes by otherwise great authors: incredibly long and really unnecessary backstories (Carl Sagan, James Michener). Abusively long monologues (Ayn Rand, a fantastically vivid author despite her horrifyingly evil ideology). Unnecessary verbosity (Stephen King, Carl Sagan, Ayn Rand). Unlikeable protagonists* (James Joyce, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Oscar Wilde, Ursula K. LeGuin). Need to get over their own issues* (Walter M Miller, Jr., Ayn Rand, James Joyce). [*Moreso than I believe was intended]
Load More Replies... My pet peeve is when I start reading something and realise it's a straight-up repost of an article a year old.
Introducing a pet or other animal to the story for the sole purpose of killing it later on for a big emotional affect. One of the things I loved about "Corelli's Mandolin" was that the adorable pine marten survived the whole ordeal.
Pandas, if you’re reading this and you don’t know what a Pine Martin is (Like I didn’t until just now), look it up. Your mind will thank you for being graced with their existence.
Load More Replies... If you’re going to use a specific book for your inspiration (in the context of these pet peeves) Tell Us What It Is! Stand by your trash talk with real references.
How sad is it that this was dragged up from a year ago? C'mon, BP. *Try*. Just *try*.
My annoyance is when they author has a character driving somewhere and they are literally giving us the route they are taking - I don't live in that place, and even if I did, I don't care which roads they took to drive there- it makes no difference to the story - it is just page filler!!
You probably never red a book that was not translated well, right? Because that should be on the first place. Probably because a lot of English speaking people here can't speak any foreign language and have no idea that books in their original language are way more complex and understandable. As a friend of mine said, every translation is a rewriting. She was right.
For me, it's authors having to make smart characters dumb to make a plot point, or entire story work. I had to stop reading Kathy Reich's, because of this. Her 'Temperance Brennan' novels (TV show 'Bones), where Temperance kept being stupid, just to drive the story on. I first noticed this trope in Star Trek Next Generation, the episode where they hosted a group of Betazoids... telepaths...and people start getting mind-raped. As a teenager I was going, "It's the telepaths!". Instead I had to watch these smart, intelligent characters discuss viruses, parasites, microwaves, and sub-space anomalies for 40 minutes...as they stood next to telepaths!
LOL. Marina Sirtis once said she was baffled about how her outfits on ST:TNG dictated her intelligence level. When she was scantily clad she was dumb, but when she was dressed like a crewmember with a real outfit she was suddenly explaining things to Geordi & Data!
Load More Replies... My pet peeve is getting all excited about novels prior to 1920-ish. Most novels I've read - and yes I've read most of the famous english novel corpus before 1930 - are extremely tedious. My biggest disappointment was Dorian Gray. Not nearly as decadent as I'd hoped. It just referred to the protagonists doing decadent things, and alluded to wasting money on artworks and eating food. Meh. I think only DH Lawrence might escape this criticism. And possibly the vile racist Stoker, because of the novelty of his stories (yes, he did more than just THAT story). The rest, really tough to get through them. They spend way too much time on description and too little on dialogue. I guess it was just the style at the time.
Serial killers. This seems to be the lazy go to for just about all writers of thrillers.
Books that are written in the hopes of becoming a movie/video game/TV show one day when it grows up. But the story doesn't lend itself well to that kind of visualization.
There are two things that will put an author on my never read again list. One is to interrupt a story to lecture/preach at me and the other is to assume I'm an idiot who needs every little thing pointed out.
1. When an author releases a series and touts it as a trilogy, only to get to the end of the third book and there is a cliff hanger with a note from the author stating they have decided to write 2 more books. The last two books were garbage and it should have ended at 3. I'm looking at you Sylvia Day 2. I am so tired of reading "I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding".
Characters' order a meal, have a three sentence dialog and the meal arrives. Also Overuse of ! ! ! s----"He ran down the hall ! " "He looked around the corner ! " "He saw....! ! ! You get the idea !
It's Not nicotine stained. Only tar from tobacco stains anything. Nicotine stained teeth, nope. Nicotine stained fingers, nope. Nicotine stained anything, nope. Nicotine is odorless and colorless.
Ohhhh you mean like when they use the phrase "nicotine-stained" in novels. I get it.
Load More Replies... No one mentioned how much it sucks when you are reading a series and the author dies with multiple books to go before the end. The ghost writer for the wheel of time was good but you can tell they cannibalized the author's notes to cram five books into the last two they published after his death.
I have a pet peeve myself about writing. When people use "the blond" or "the brunette" by itself it drives me insane. It should be followed by identity, for example, "the blond man" or however they identify.
It would be nice if there were ratings for books, like PG, R, Mature, etc. I hate it when I'm getting involved in an interesting story and then, bam! They're ripping clothes off throbbing members. Or torture scenes. I like to avoid them if possible. Also it's embarrassing to carry around a book and then find out later it's x-rated.
I once checked out a book from the library, thinking it was a fairy tale re-telling. It was basically smut. Also, it was written in like all three tenses. I didn't get past the first chapter, and idk what part was more annoying
Having multiple names for a character. Two is fine if you want to give a key character a nickname but three, four, five... Please no.
Why does no one ever need the loo? And why are female characters never on their period? If authors want realistic characters, this should be normalised in books
I have one: Characters having no common sense/not planning ahead. A book which avoids this is Throne of Glass. The main character, Celaena, is regularly having ✨fun times✨ with a character called Chaol, and she gets a contraceptive potion thingy made to stop any ✨accidents✨. Also, characters ending up with the first character they f*ck. Again, ToG series avoids this very well. (I would recommend, 13+ definitely tho)
I don't read a terribly large number of novels, but I like to think of myself as pretty well-read (despite never reading a book for English class at any point during High School). I guess what I don't read is pulp fiction. Is bad writing like this really so common? So many of these seem more like problems for poorly written movies. I can't imagine any series-writing authors I've read much of (C.S. Lewis, Rick Riordan, J.R.R. Tolkein, Isaac Asimov, J.K. Rowling, Don Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke) making just about ANY of these crimes. Let alone stand-alone authors like Stephen Crane, Rad Bradbury, William DaFoe, Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allen Poe.
If I may be so cheeky as to judge (objections are fun!), some crimes by otherwise great authors: incredibly long and really unnecessary backstories (Carl Sagan, James Michener). Abusively long monologues (Ayn Rand, a fantastically vivid author despite her horrifyingly evil ideology). Unnecessary verbosity (Stephen King, Carl Sagan, Ayn Rand). Unlikeable protagonists* (James Joyce, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, Oscar Wilde, Ursula K. LeGuin). Need to get over their own issues* (Walter M Miller, Jr., Ayn Rand, James Joyce). [*Moreso than I believe was intended]
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