Hi all!
So recently I have become more aware of little reading pet peeves that make it hard to enjoy or finish the book that I’m on because I become so focused on them.
The first time I noticed it was while I was reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It felt like you couldn’t go more than 2 pages without being told how “grey and covered in ash” or “dark and covered in ash” everything was. It felt like I had read that same descriptor 20x but I got over it, chalking it up to that not enjoying *that* book.
Then, a few months ago I was reading another book and the author REPEATEDLY described the “syrupy glow” of the overhead lights. No other descriptor. It was a **syrupy glow** all throughout the story. So I became stuck on that and it was hard to focus, like does the whole city only sell one type of lightbulb?? lol
I have also become painfully aware of how much I like sticking to “the rule of 3” thing, and not a bit more. The book I picked up last night starts by describing the beaten down town that everything takes place in but the author uses almost 3 pages to list the different types of people in the town. “The people who do this. And the people who do that. And the people who like this. And like that. And there’s those people. And these people. And these and these and these and these aND **THESE AND THESE AND THESE** and it just kept going so long that I started to crawl out of my skin and just skimmed the rest of the way. And they seem to be keeping the theme any time they have to list or describe or give an example of anything at all!
So I’m just wondering if you guys have any little peeves of your own that maybe take you out of the book you’re reading!
by CandiedLemonWedge
5 Comments
You’re going to run into an author’s idiosyncrasies and quirks in any novel you read. It’s not something you can really get away from.
Seems like we both have the same issue! Although mine is more towards the pacing of the story.
I get really tired about reading what every other irrelevant character in the same town/scene/place as the main character is doing, their background etc.
I mean move along with the story already!
World-building is nice only when it’s relevant..
I wouldn’t know if it counts as a peeve, but the classic “men writing women” made me put a book down.
I’m from Seattle, so I get a little annoyed when I read books that are supposedly set here that talk about how it’s always cold, gloomy and rainy.
I notice those pet phrases too. in authors I really like I just tolerate them.
– John Irving: the word “witless”. it’s a great word though.
– Mordecai Richler: the adjectival phrase “with appetite.”
– Sue Grafton: the “Alphabet” PI series seems to have someone getting in a car and taking off “with a chirp” from their tires against the blacktop, at least once per book. it’s such a great little perception though, I have to forgive her for it.
more generally, I get maddened by narrative insertions of “s/he said” or its equivalents when they’re not necessary. I don’t care if 80 billion other users can’t keep track of a dialogue without constant crutches like this. it really bugs me and breaks up the flow.