The Mock Turtle

I really hate it when each chapter starts with a couple of lines from a poem/other story, as if you’re meant to figure out a clue from it.

Yeah, guess what I’m reading?

I hate that too and always skip them.

I hate books written in the present tense. It seemed to become popular in chick lit a while ago and it's so irritating. I refuse to read any book written that way.

Also overuse of foreign words in italics.

I really hate overly long descriptions of things, especially lots of flowery words to describe the scenery or what someone is wearing. Just get to the dialogue already!!

Like croissant? It drives me mad.

I hate big chunks of poetry. I always skip it, sorry.

In Where The Crawdads Sing, I skipped all the poetry except the last bit because it was clearly quite crucial. But it was all dreadful.

Ella77 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:22 pm Like croissant? It drives me mad.

Yes and also general language, like maybe putting a Spanish job title when "receptionist" would do just fine.

Dream sequences too, I never read them. I'm quite grumpy about books actually.

Panda wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:21 pm I really hate overly long descriptions of things, especially lots of flowery words to describe the scenery or what someone is wearing. Just get to the dialogue already!!

Yes, but I hate having to go back over dialogue to check who said what!

I hate dialect/slang (in normal books). The woman in Elizabeth George’s books always says “c’n” instead of “can” and I hate it.

Agreed with lots of this - Daisy Jones and the Six, why put all the lyrics and no melody?

Heebie Jeebie wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:27 pm

Ella77 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:22 pm Like croissant? It drives me mad.

Yes and also general language, like maybe putting a Spanish job title when "receptionist" would do just fine.

Dream sequences too, I never read them. I'm quite grumpy about books actually.

Yes to all of this!

There’s a thing Lionel Shriver does- I think it’s called an ablative absolute?- where she writes “Absent any [plans for the weekend/food in the fridge, she ...” Once you’ve noticed it you see that she does this about 50 times per book .

Chicky wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:33 pm I hate dialect/slang (in normal books). The woman in Elizabeth George’s books always says “c’n” instead of “can” and I hate it.

This too.

Ooh yes, and also when they don’t include who is saying what in the dialogue. I

I also struggle a lot with symbolism in books - I read Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit at college and there was lots of knowing looks and enthusiastic nods in class about how this symbolised that and that represented this, and how it was just rife with sex and naughtiness. I just nodded along and then had to ask a friend afterward to explain what the hell it all meant. I am as deep as a puddle though

My mum had to have Animal Farm explained to her. She really thought it was about pigs.

Pippedydeadeye wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:02 pm My mum had to have Animal Farm explained to her. She really thought it was about pigs.

That's amazing - and I thought I was literal

She’s really special. She also fell out of a yoga class.

Open endings. It always feels like a cop- out to me and it’s so frustrating coming to the end of a book and not having a proper ending.

I also dislike the going on about the scenery for too long and unnecessary foreign words or sentences in particular if it’s a language I’m not familiar with and I’m having to find a translation

Yes to foreign language in general. Even if I understand it, it brings me right out of the story to wonder what the author is trying to prove.

Heebie Jeebie wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:27 pm Dream sequences too, I never read them.

YES At least 10 years ago I stopped reading (or watching - TV and movies) them altogether. It is SUCH lazy storytelling.*

This isn’t books, but before I stopped reading gofugyourself I got so annoyed by the “not for nothing” phrase, they had it in at least every other post.

In actual books, much like dream sequences I don’t read fight sequences either. Game of Thrones was utterly dull for this. Pages and pages of oh it looks like he’s winning but surprise it’s actually the other one. YAWN. I lost absolutely nothing skipping to the end.

*And as an accomplished writer of a bajillion terrible short stories when I was 14, all of which are basically dream sequences and saved on a now-corrupt Zip drive, you know I am the person who gets to judge this.

Roma wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:12 pm Open endings. It always feels like a cop- out to me and it’s so frustrating coming to the end of a book and not having a proper ending.

Oh my God this! I read a book a couple of years ago that had two female names in the title - a mother and daughter I think and it ended so abruptly. I was left wondering if the last chapter had fallen out or something.

I also always skip poetry. It’s always a bit earnest and cringes me out.

Roma wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:12 pm Open endings. It always feels like a cop- out to me and it’s so frustrating coming to the end of a book and not having a proper ending.

I love an open ending!!i just decide what should happen, or accept that there aren’t many definitive endings in real life.