Things I hate in books
- Pippedydeadeye
- Directory Pipquiries
- Posts: 90920
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:15 pm
Things I hate in books
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?
Yeah, guess what I’m reading?
- Heebie Jeebie
- Posts: 15934
- Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:41 am
Re: Things I hate in books
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.
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.
- Heebie Jeebie
- Posts: 15934
- Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:41 am
Re: Things I hate in books
Also overuse of foreign words in italics.
- Panda
- Posts: 1046
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 5:27 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
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!!
-
- Posts: 97841
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:55 am
Re: Things I hate in books
Like croissant? It drives me mad.
I hate big chunks of poetry. I always skip it, sorry.
I hate big chunks of poetry. I always skip it, sorry.
- Pippedydeadeye
- Directory Pipquiries
- Posts: 90920
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:15 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
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.
- Heebie Jeebie
- Posts: 15934
- Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:41 am
- Pippedydeadeye
- Directory Pipquiries
- Posts: 90920
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:15 pm
- Chicky
- Posts: 18148
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 7:35 pm
- Location: Narnia
Re: Things I hate in books
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.
-
- Posts: 4954
- Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2008 12:16 am
Re: Things I hate in books
Agreed with lots of this - Daisy Jones and the Six, why put all the lyrics and no melody?
-
- Posts: 97841
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:55 am
Re: Things I hate in books
Yes to all of this!Heebie Jeebie wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 9:27 pmYes 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.
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 .
-
- Posts: 97841
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:55 am
- Panda
- Posts: 1046
- Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2005 5:27 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
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
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
- Pippedydeadeye
- Directory Pipquiries
- Posts: 90920
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:15 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
My mum had to have Animal Farm explained to her. She really thought it was about pigs.
-
- Posts: 29940
- Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:59 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
That's amazing - and I thought I was literalPippedydeadeye 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.
- Pippedydeadeye
- Directory Pipquiries
- Posts: 90920
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:15 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
She’s really special. She also fell out of a yoga class.
- Roma
- Posts: 2118
- Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 7:50 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
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
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
- Leap
- Glitz 'n' Glam
- Posts: 5748
- Joined: Fri Feb 18, 2005 6:13 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
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.
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.
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.
-
- Really Creepy
- Posts: 21810
- Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:06 pm
Re: Things I hate in books
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.
Last edited by olive on Tue Sep 15, 2020 11:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- Pippedydeadeye
- Directory Pipquiries
- Posts: 90920
- Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2005 4:15 pm