sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

October 5, 2021


top ten bookish pet peeves
posted by soe 1:56 am

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is all about the things that annoy us about books:

  1. Bad editing
  2. Unhappy endings, particularly ones that sneak up on me (This is often what nets books a single star on Goodreads.)
  3. Surprise sequels (I’m looking at you, Miss Peregrine.)
  4. A lack of description anywhere on a cover (It’s great that other people love it; I’ll need to know what it’s about first.)
  5. Bad descriptions of D.C. (I stopped reading a book once based on its description of the fountain in Dupont Circle.)
  6. Mysteries where the bad guy is obvious from the start.
  7. Mysteries where the person dies of an accident and the person who witnessed it left town (I stopped reading the Aunt Dimity books after that.)
  8. Endings that seem rushed (See #1.)
  9. Self-help books (The only ones I’ve tried have focused on creativity, and usually it’s the author’s tone that makes me want to throw the book into traffic.)
  10. Traditional gender roles reinforced in sneaky ways (The ones that are overbearing I’ve usually abandoned early on, so it’s usually a stupid remark after a couple has gotten together that makes me resent having spent any time with them at all.)

How about you? What pisses you off about books?

Category: books. There is/are 4 Comments.



Bad editing and poorly written mysteries are some of mine as well. Here is my link if you’d like to stop by: https://cindysbookcorner.blogspot.com/2021/10/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-pet-peeves.html

Comment by Cindy Davis 10.05.21 @ 2:24 pm

Yes on the lack of description on the cover! This really annoys me with hardcovers especially, because they nearly always put the blurb on the inside cover flap, and I’m like, it would be so much easier if this was on the back instead of all those author blurbs.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2021/10/05/top-ten-tuesday-336/

Comment by Jo 10.05.21 @ 4:25 pm

I agree with both of your pet peeves concerning mysteries. I don’t want to know who did it at the beginning. I don’t mind having suspicions, but I don’t want to be right!

Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/going-to-the-dogs-12-books-with-dogs-on-the-cover/

Comment by Pam @ Read! Bake! Create! 10.05.21 @ 7:13 pm

Your example in #5 is simultaneously so petty and so understandable, I love it. (not that I know D.C., but I’m defensive of places I do know)

Comment by RS @ The Idealistic Daydream 10.05.21 @ 10:44 pm