Saturday, February 8, 2025

Readers' Pet Peeves by J. S. Marlo

 



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I'm working on a new story, tentatively titled Misleading Truth. It's a mystery in the heart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains amid the preparation of a wedding.

As I was browsing the Internet for original Pet Peeves, I stumbled on Readers' Pet Peeves. What annoys a reader the most when reading a book?

The list isn't in any particular order, but these are the pet peeves that appear the most often:



     - Two dimensional characters, like perfect men with no flaws who always make the right decision and save the day, or gorgeous women with no personalities.

     - Same description repeated multiple times throughout the book.

     - Long scenic descriptions that add nothing to story.

     - Cliché or predictable storylines.

     - Characters with similar names, or names that are hard to pronounce or remember.

     - Long paragraphs or substantial difference in length of paragraphs, like three very short paragraphs followed by an extra long one.

     - Cliffhanger at the end of a book. The annoyance intensifies if the next book isn't readily available.

     - Series in which books are not numbered.

     - Books of different sizes, especially if part of a series.

     - Misleading blurbs or blurbs with spoilers.

     - Bad editing, bad formatting, bad translation.

     - Small or uneven font size.

     - Poor book cover design.

     - Stickers on books.

     - And last but not least, readers don't like to be bothered when they read.

Personally, I cannot stand excessive and pointless profanity in books. I was once asked to review a book with a supposedly "strong" heroine. In the first chapter, she used the f*** word in almost every sentence that came out of her mouth. I don't know if it was the author's way to make her sound like a strong woman, but to me, she just sounded vulgar and rude. I stopped reading right there.

Happy Reading & Stay Warm! 



1 comment:

  1. Nice peeves. I share most of them with you. There are a few that belong to the publisher. The use of the F word is occasionally okay, but continyeally is awful.

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