What truly ANNOYS you in books? And not in a good way.

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magicalwhatever

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I absolutely hate it when characters simply don't speak like real people. This was why I didn't like The Fault In Our Stars. I don't care how well read and wise you are thanks to your illness. You don't have ready made philosophical dialogs that elaborate at your ages. Stop it.

The second one is when everyone just loves the main character for no real reason and we're constantly told how loveable they are.

Thank you for the being the only other person in the world that seems to agree with me on that! A lot of people found the dialogue in TFIOS charming, but it really bothered me! John Green is a talented writer, but I've never liked his characters because of that reason.

Ah, the old Molly Sue. Aren't they just the bees knees?
 

scifi_boy2002

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When I call customer service, I tend to hope the conversation will remain reasonably confidential rather than being splattered all over the internet with my name still attached. If celebrities deserve less privacy, who gets to decide who counts as a celebrity?

A polite customer-service representative will also address customers as they ask to be addressed; repeated "insistence" should not be necessary.

Sir Roger's behavior may have been iffy, but he does not seem to be the one who deserves the most blame here.

Well, I should have not mentioned his name and just said it was "someone famous". But, and you'd have to hear it the way my friend describes it, but Sir Roger was being a butt about it. But, you have to understand from my friend's point of view. He was not forgetting Sir Roger's "Sir" on purpose. It isn't every day that you talk to a true Sir. I think Sir Roger would have realized that. Knowing my friend, he was very respectful toward Sir Roger. It was a situation where when Sir Roger refused to speak until my friend said sir. True, Sir Roger should be addressed in any manner he wishes. But he should expect that people are not used to that and that if they forget it is no disrespect to them.

Oh, my friend has spoken to may "famous people". One in particular, a well-know music artist, was very nice.

While we're at it. I will mention another performer by name, but this is a good report. My cousin is a session musician and has played with every body under the rainbow (he is currently playing keyboard for Hank William, Jr-oops, another name) but he worked with Sir Mick Jaggar on one of his solo albums and I asked him how it was to work with him. My cousin said he was a gentleman. Nicest guy he had ever work for. And he never once insisted on being called sir.
 

benluby

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On the issue of being called by a Title, it would also depend on how long ago he had it. Sir Roger is obviously a fan of the Royals, so to him being Knighted is a big thing. I'd give him a pass for that.

On to one of my pet peeves that I mentioned in another topic, that I just realized I had. Writers trying to impress us with their intelligence.
Tossing in what I call two dollar words just so they can show us that their verbiage is so impressive and they know a multitude of obscure words drives me nuts. To the point I'll stop reading the book.
I don't mind it when it's a character that uses them. That's their persona, and I fully expect them to stay true to who that character is, but when a writer decides to do so? It's almost like they're letting their ego dictate what they are writing, and instead of telling us a story, they are suddenly seeking our awe.
Only awe I give in that situation is an 'aw shit' as I shelve it when they make it too annoying.
If I have to put the book down to determine the accurate definition of their writing, again, outside of the characters frame, I will take a break from the book. There are a couple that I am still on break from.
 

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I really hate it when complex conflicts are portrayed too simply. A war over beliefs or political strife is not a simple issue. Socio-political strife is complex and dangerous, and any character in that environment has to be wise and avoid judgmentalism. The worst part is, many times when this happens in a story, it's because the writer is trying to say his judgmental opinion on a culture or political group. I hate that.

That said, I think that reading the Gulag Archipelago has made me a really strict reader. I love complex villains and situations, but hate shallow ones -- I'm always comparing them to Stalin.
 

BookmarkUnicorn

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Books without quotation marks around dialogue. I think this is my number one pet peeve of all writing. A few years ago it seemed really in fashion to do this and I came across a book totally without quotation marks thanks to Oprah's book club. I really wanted to read the book, I did, but I was never able to tell when someone was saying or thinking something, and the MC thought about things a lot. Many times the dialogue also didn't have tags, so I couldn't tell where talking parts ended and the story started up again, or who was talking...It was just a big mess and I had to give the book away. (Again this could just be because my dialexia naturally makes even normal reading a bit harder, so taking away a way that I rely on a lot to make reading more clear, throws me for a loop.)
 
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thedark

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Books without quotation marks around dialogue. I think this is my number one pet peeve of all writing. A few years ago it seemed really in fashion to do this and I came across a book totally without quotation marks thanks to Oprah's book club. I really wanted to read the book, I did, but I was never able to tell when someone was saying or thinking something, and the MC thought about things a lot. Many times the dialogue also didn't have tags, so I couldn't tell where talking parts ended and the story started up again, or who was talking...It was just a big mess and I had to give the book away. (Again this could just be because my dialexia naturally makes even normal reading a bit harder, so taking away a way that I rely on a lot to make reading more clear, throws me for a loop.)

That's.. horrible.

I'm wincing just thinking about reading such a book.
 

cwschizzy

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When obvious story elements are explained to me like I'm five.
 

rwm4768

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Books without quotation marks around dialogue. I think this is my number one pet peeve of all writing. A few years ago it seemed really in fashion to do this and I came across a book totally without quotation marks thanks to Oprah's book club. I really wanted to read the book, I did, but I was never able to tell when someone was saying or thinking something, and the MC thought about things a lot. Many times the dialogue also didn't have tags, so I couldn't tell where talking parts ended and the story started up again, or who was talking...It was just a big mess and I had to give the book away. (Again this could just be because my dialexia naturally makes even normal reading a bit harder, so taking away a way that I rely on a lot to make reading more clear, throws me for a loop.)

I'm pretty sure I would stop reading that very quickly. That kind of thing breaks one of the most important rules of writing: don't confuse the reader.
 

warofthesparks

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Books without quotation marks around dialogue. I think this is my number one pet peeve of all writing. A few years ago it seemed really in fashion to do this and I came across a book totally without quotation marks thanks to Oprah's book club. I really wanted to read the book, I did, but I was never able to tell when someone was saying or thinking something, and the MC thought about things a lot. Many times the dialogue also didn't have tags, so I couldn't tell where talking parts ended and the story started up again, or who was talking...It was just a big mess and I had to give the book away. (Again this could just be because my dialexia naturally makes even normal reading a bit harder, so taking away a way that I rely on a lot to make reading more clear, throws me for a loop.)


I believe Alice Walker's The Color Purple does this successfully. For example:

Where yall see each other? I ast. I see her in church, he say. She see me outdoors.

Of course, this could be the very Oprah Book Club pick you're talking about. If so, never mind. :D
 
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BookmarkUnicorn

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I believe Alice Walker's The Color Purple does this successfully. For example:

Where yall see each other? I ast. I see her in church, he say. She see me outdoors.

Of course, this could be the very Oprah Book Club pick you're talking about. If so, never mind. :D

Oh no, that looks like one I could understand, it at least has speech tags (and I did really like the movie). The book that gave me so much trouble was The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. I really did want to read it to :e2bummed:.
 

Devil Ledbetter

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Here are a couple I forgot to include when I posted in this thread in January:

1. I hate when a character's eye color, hair color or some other pointless feature that the author is far too enamored of gets mentioned in every scene. It's not that you can only mention those features once in the novel (twice might be OK, maybe, if it's a romance, I guess), just don't have his gray eyes flashing and her blond hair shimmering every time that character comes into a scene. These are not even good character details, they're generic.

Think about the last person you interacted with. Were you really thinking about hair and eye color? Or were you thinking about what they actually said, or wondering why they hadn't bothered to shower this morning? My boss came in and handed me an article I was looking for, and I wondered why on earth the magazine he handed me was warm. That weird detail stood out far more than his eye color, which I suppose I see so often that I never bother to think about it.

2. I hate when authors fawn over their characters by writing their names over and over like a middle schooler scribbling the name of a crush on the cover of a notebook. I read a book where the main character was a Marysue named Baby Hunnicutt (crikey, I know) and it was Baby this and Baby that in every single line and everyone who spoke to her said "Baby, bla bla bla bla bla bla dee bla bla, Baby," and when the author got inured to that she started having the characters make up saccharine nicknames for the Marysue like "Sweet Baby Blondie-locks." *searches in vain for vomiting emoticon*

By halfway through that book I was thinking about writing a fanfic where Baby is stalked by a gum chewing serial killer.

Wait, what were we talking about?
 

Scribhneoir

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just don't have his gray eyes flashing

You've hit on one of my pet peeves -- gray eyes. Are gray eyes common in the UK? It seems like every British author I've ever read has given at least one character gray eyes. One book I read recently described every single character as having gray eyes and curly hair (and, no, the characters were not related).

I have never, ever seen anyone with gray eyes. Blue-gray, yes. But straight up gray? Never. Do I just live in the wrong geographic area for such a thing?
 

Wilde_at_heart

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On twitter the other day I saw an agent comment that she's never come across as many people in real life with grey eyes as in fiction.

I've a close relative with grey eyes, the colour of concrete. Not sure how common an eye colour it is, though; can't say I've noticed. One of her kids is blue-eyed and the other two, I can't remember right now.

As for whether I think about it or not with those I interact with ... I'll admit I have a 'thing' for green or green-brown eyes. Which are quite rare. Grey eyes or light blue eyes I find a little too stark to be attractive, but that's just my taste, and don't tend to notice them as much.
 
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I see so often that people mention "too much description" and then head off on a rant about how smart they are and can fill in those details themselves thank you very much. But there is such a think as "too little description" too. Description helps to set the scene and I don't just mean the physical setting but the emotional setting as well.

I like character descriptions. Enough to get a mental image even if that means some clothing details. I don't need to know the color of every thread, but that description tells me a lot about the character. Reminders every so often add flavor to the reading as well even if it's just the hair color. Mannerisms fall into that bucket just like the looks.

What I don't like about some stories is how afraid the author is to describe anything, and I have to imagine they've been browbeat so often by the vocal minority that they caved in. I want the author to take me on a journey. I don't want him leaving it up to me to stow my own bags and get my own meal. Pamper me.

Another sour note, even though plot-driven books have their place, is how authors get so browbeat about plot this and plot that, they forget to concentrate on the story. They cut everything not plot-related. The story is the most important part, and the plot is part of the story ... not vice versa. Sometimes the plot isn't present in the scene; it's about the characters.

"Come on, Robin, the commissioner just called on the plot-phone. We have to check the plot-computer with the latest clues, and jump in the plot-mobile to get to the scene of the crime. Have your plot-device ready when we get there, it's the Scribbler and he captured the book plot. Let's go."
 

Mr Flibble

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Were you really thinking about hair and eye color?

Depends

Is it that really smoking hot guy who comes in my shop?

Cos, the answer would then be HELL YES

Although, er, not just those things.....I'd be thinking about the abs he shows of with no t shirt too.

And the pecs

ETA And the glaze of sweat...


BRB cold shower


In other words, yes people do actually notice those things, especially if they are attracted to a person. So NOt mentioning it (if they are attracted) would be weird?
 
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BookmarkUnicorn

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Oh I agree, the first thing I notice about people is their eyes, guys eyes most of all. Maybe it's just a personality thing but I'd feel weird if there wasn't some mention of eye color in a book if one character liked another.
I'm kind of surprised hazel isn't a more popular eye color. Having hazel eyes myself I guess people do sort of lump us in as having brown eyes\ or green when really it's a mix. They don't really change color like the myth says though.
 

Andrea Rittschof

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So talking about things I don't like in books are stories where the authors leaves you with a cliff hanger leaving it obvious you need to buy the next book to finish the story. I like sequels but I like the ones where at least one major plot point is completed at the end. Move the story forward using some of the dangling threads you write throughout the story.
 

BethS

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You've hit on one of my pet peeves -- gray eyes. Are gray eyes common in the UK? It seems like every British author I've ever read has given at least one character gray eyes. One book I read recently described every single character as having gray eyes and curly hair (and, no, the characters were not related).

I have never, ever seen anyone with gray eyes. Blue-gray, yes. But straight up gray? Never. Do I just live in the wrong geographic area for such a thing?

I read somewhere recently that gray eyes are most common in Russia and possibly Nordic regions. Probably not too far-fetched to find them in the UK as well.

When I was a child (living in Colorado at the time), a little girl who lived across the street from me had copper-red hair and pale gray eyes. There was not a speck of blue in them. They were bright, clear gray. They were the most remarkable, beautiful eyes I had ever seen and I still remember them. I gave them to one of my characters.
 

BethS

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I want the author to take me on a journey. I don't want him leaving it up to me to stow my own bags and get my own meal. Pamper me.

Amen to that.

I thought of another annoyance. Continuity errors. Once I notice them, I can't un-notice them, and they really distract me from the story. It's like watching a magic show and suddenly magician makes a mistake and you see the wires. Same for TV. Can't tell you how many times I've noticed a character's hair changing between shots in the same scene. Once I saw some show where a guy starts out on horseback to rescue someone and a moment later arrives riding a completely different horse.
 

Devil Ledbetter

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In other words, yes people do actually notice those things, especially if they are attracted to a person. So NOt mentioning it (if they are attracted) would be weird?
Please note that I didn't say "Do not ever mention eye color. Do not ever describe your characters." I only said it's annoying to have their eye color and/or hair described every time they appear in a scene.

Oh I agree, the first thing I notice about people is their eyes, guys eyes most of all. Maybe it's just a personality thing but I'd feel weird if there wasn't some mention of eye color in a book if one character liked another.
See above.

I like some physical description, I just don't want the same information regurgitated in every scene.
 

gingerwoman

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Well if a book starts annoying me, I stop reading it. Life is too short. It really is. Even if you're only fifteen or thirty or forty. You never know when
This. But at the moment I'm reading a new adult romance where the heroine is rejecting the hero what feels like 72 times, and it's getting tedious. There is some deep painful sexual abuse reason that has only been hinted at, but still it's getting dull, however there is enough mystery set up, that I'm still reading, plus this book apparently hit number one on Amazon hmmm.
 

gingerwoman

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I read a book where the main character was a Marysue named Baby Hunnicutt (crikey, I know) and it was Baby this and Baby that in every single line and everyone who spoke to her said "Baby, bla bla bla bla bla bla dee bla bla, Baby," and when the author got inured to that she started having the characters make up saccharine nicknames for the Marysue like "Sweet Baby Blondie-locks." *searches in vain for vomiting emoticon*
ccb36aa74b600613303d2ab308138ac44c4d5853.gif

?
I don't understand how any editor could allow all that to go on.
 

Reziac

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Books without quotation marks around dialogue.

I've run into this more than once with translations from Spanish. Is there some antique convention about this?? (I think the first time I saw it was in my very old copy of Blood and Sand. The original didn't use quote marks either.)
 

Devil Ledbetter

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I'm getting tired of characters smirking. Especially if the author seems to think "smirk" is the same as "smile" and therefore has the hero constantly smirking at the heroine. It's not romantic or cute. It makes me think of poorly written fanfics.
Heh, I just watch a video about street harassment and unwanted groping on public transit, and several of the victims said that when they objected their attackers smirked at them.

Yes, definitely don't use "smirk" when you mean smile. More importantly, don't have your characters smiling and grinning like idiots all the time. They're supposed to have problems.:tongue
 
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