DISCUSSION: Bookish Pet Peeves

Hello everyone! Today we’re going to talk about pet peeves. I know that it’s hard to write a book (I myself have tried on an occasion or two and it is no simple task). That being said, there are some things that I just read and a small part of my soul dies. Why did the author have to include that? What does it add to the story? JUST WHY???

I’ll split my pet peeves into two categories: Things Authors Do and Things People Around Me Do.

Things Authors Do

1) The Weepy “Tough” Girl – I don’t mind when girls cry in books or when they have a weak moment, but I cannot stand when a female character is portrayed as being super tough and then proceeds to cry/break-down at every plot twist/fight with her romantic interest. Too many times have I read “I never cry” and then two pages later…crying. It’s just not consistent. That’s my real issue. The consistency.

2) Unexplained Skills That Happen to Save the Day – Katniss has an awesome skill–she’s super deadly with a bow and arrow. It is explained to the reader that she was taught to hunt by her dad and that her skill with a bow and arrow had been necessary to keep herself and her family alive. This is a skill that makes sense. But there are a lot of times when a character has a seemingly “learned skill” with no explanation of how they learned it. I don’t know about you guys, but I actually wasn’t born being able to fix all things mechanical. That’s something that I’d have to learn and do a lot of to become good at. Apparently, that rule doesn’t hold for some fictional characters…

3) “This boy is so beautiful” x One Billion – Just…no. Repeatedly exclaiming over the beauty/hotness of a boy does not move the story along. I don’t care if that thought actually goes through the mind of a teenage girl twenty times a chapter–the reader does not need to read it that many times. Just edit it out. Please. It’s like when you read through a paper and realize that you start every paragraph with the same word. No good. You need to mix it up, right? Same goes here. MIX IT UP.

Things People Around Me Do

1) Dog-Eared/Folded Pages – Why do people do this? Bookmarks can literally be made out of ANYTHING. Dog-eared pages are bad enough, but I have legitimately seen people fold pages in half to mark their spot. Can I please supply you with a post-it instead?

2) Constant Interruptions – I’m reading. Like, obviously reading. My book is out and I am dead to the world. I haven’t been responding to anyone for at least half an hour. This is NOT the time to ask me how my job is going! Okay, in reality I can usually stand for one or two interruptions. If you want to talk, that’s fine, I’ll set my book aside and we can talk. But it’s the interruptions that come every five minutes and only last about thirty seconds–just enough time to yank me out of the book. Then, once I’ve finally gotten back into it, I’m yanked out again! So if you want to talk, just tell me and I’ll talk with you. I’m more than happy to set my book aside (actually, some times I might not be, but I’ll still do it to be polite).

3) Damaged Book Covers – Cover might not be the right word for this…maybe book sleeves? Whatever, you know what I’m talking about. It’s the cover that comes around hardback books. Personally, if I am reading a hardback, I remove the cover and leave it on my bookcase until I’m done with the book. This prevents the cover from receiving any wear or tear. Also, if I happen to spill something on my book (not that I’ve ever accidentally done something like that…okay, but rarely) then I have a nice cover to…you know, COVER any damage. I just don’t understand when I see book covers that are completely mangled. It could have been prevented so easily!

Do you guys agree with my pet peeves? Disagree? What other bookish pet peeves do you have?