We're a weird and wonderful species, us bookworms, and there are certain things that annoy some of us. And it's good to know you're not alone, so I thought I would share my bookish pet peeves.
You will notice I have not included anything about love triangles and the like, which also greatly annoy me, as I have written a whole post about that before called Romance In Books and Why It Sometimes Bugs Me, so if you'd like to see a rant about that, there it is.
Now, on to the pet peeves!
You will notice I have not included anything about love triangles and the like, which also greatly annoy me, as I have written a whole post about that before called Romance In Books and Why It Sometimes Bugs Me, so if you'd like to see a rant about that, there it is.
Now, on to the pet peeves!
Cover changes
I'm a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to certain things, especially my books. I care very much about how a book looks, and I like things to match on my bookshelf.
So when I'm reading a series, and a new book comes out... in a different cover... I nearly lose my mind. Especially if they change a really cool cover into a less cool cover. It's so goddamn annoying!
An example of this something that will be a problem very soon: The Diviners series by Libba Bray. The first book, I have in this gorgeous hardback edition. I bought this because I preferred it over the paperback cover. But... the next book? It's coming out in hardback in the same type of cover as the paperback, and NOT in the one I like the best. It's just... AGH.
However, those covers aren't awful, so it's okay(ish).
Also... I've had the experience where the covers do match but they're in different heights. Which is just... why.
Spoilers in descriptions
I like going into books blind. I don't even need to read a description if I've heard somewhere that a book is good, but sometimes, you just want to buy a book you've never heard of. And then, you'll probably read the description.
I don't need to know a lot. Just tell me vaguely what it's about. I'll know if I'm interested. You don't have to tell me something that happens in the last 50 pages, because I'll read the book, only waiting for what I already know is going to happen. It'll ruin the whole thing.
Spoilers are evil.
Just tell me it's in a series
I feel like publishers have gotten better at this, as I found this to be a much bigger problem before, but if a book is in a series, just tell me. Just write "this is the second book in the blah-blah series". It's not that hard. Just tell me. It's not a dirty secret.
Also, it's good to know it's in a series before I read the back, because it's really not that great when you read something like "now that this really important character in the first book is dead, this other really important character has to go on to these really important mountains without them". If you'd just told me this wasn't the first book or didn't put SPOILERS IN THE DESCRIPTION, we would not have this problem.
Everything is trilogies
This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Everything these days, especially in young adult fantasy/dystopian, everything is trilogies. And though sometimes that's fine, you can really tell when it's wasn't first written that way.
I don't even know why someone would prefer to write three average books instead of one really good one. Less is more, people!
Stickers
Price tags are fine, because I can get them off. But the stickers you can't get off... SIGH.
An example of this is my version of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. The cover is really nice, but then it has like FOUR CIRCULAR PERMANENT STICKERS on it and it takes up like one fourth of the entire cover!
It's great that this book won a bunch of awards. You can put the stickers on the back. Thanks.
You'd think after years and years of publishing books, we'd have perfected the art, but no. Oh well, books are still great!
Do tell me some of your pet peeves and if you agree with me or not!
