Everyone has bookish turn-offs.
You know that one thing that always gets your goat and has you fuming quietly or squalling loudly about the injustices of humanity? Ugh. Hate those. I have 2% tolerance for several bookish plot devices. And you, my lucky blogglings, are about to hear all about them (aren’t you extraordinarily lucky?!).
Ready for this?
1. Stupidity.
I’m not talking about, “oops I left the iron on” stupid. I’m talking “oops I spilt my life secrets to the boy I just met but he had trustworthy eyes”.
Let me headdesk in shame over book characters when they make completely ridiculous mistakes. Like:
- Being a spy and not noticing they’re being followed.
- Going out with their ex’s boy/girlfriend.
- Having a love-life crisis in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
- Doing exactly the OPPOSITE of what their mentors/parents/older-wiser-people have said.
- Sticking with unhealthy and abusive friendships in school.
- Stabbing a dragon with a butter knife without a backup plan.
2. Love triangles.
Okay, wait! I have seen these written exceptionally well where I have loved all corners of the pointy triangle of doom and not even known who to ship. (Basically just Throne of Glass.)
But mostly I find love-triangles are written purely to add angst to the story. One side of the triangle won’t even be developed (which makes it furiously easy to tell who will get the guy/girl). And the protagonist will waste CHAPTERS fussing about who to love. Maybe this is just me…but if you can’t pick between two people, then you probably don’t love either of them enough.
If I see a triangle indicated in a blurb, I mostly run.
3. Characters who throw a tantrum when someone lies to protect them.
I get it. Honesty is good and wonderful. But is it really surprising when someone lies? A lot of books take lying to a whole new level of Biblical punishment. If a liar is caught, relationships and friendships burn with fire and brimstone People are never spoken to again. Trust is forever gone. And HALF THE TIME it’s because parent/sibling/friend/love-interest lied to protect the protgaonist in the first place. I’m not saying lying is ever okay. (It’s bad. Don’t do that.) But I get so frustrated when characters act like they’ve never been lied to before.
4. Conveniently absent parents.
Apparently it is impossible to have an adventure if you have parents. They must either a) die in a horrific and traumatic accident, b) work all the time, c) or really just not care about you.
It particularly annoys me when parents disappear right before a teenager is planning A Really Bad Idea. It’s so ridiculously convenient it makes me grind my teeth.
5. Red heads.
WAIT! I have nothing against read heads. I think red hair is absolutely glorious. But, according to statistics, only 2% of the population as red hair.
I think 98% of YA heroines have red hair.
- Merida from Brave
- Clary from The Mortal Instruments
- Hazel from The Darkest Part of the Forest
- Anne from Anne of Green Gables
- All the Weasleys from Harry Potter
- Eleanor from Eleanor And Park
- America Singer from The Selection
- Eliza from Fury
- Need I go on?
6. Arenas.
The Hunger Games did it. It did it extremely well. LET US LET THE ARENA REST NOW, OKAY?
I also would like to say quietly, and mildly firmly, that most people don’t enjoy watching malicious torture and bloodshed. Where do they get these crowds of bloodthirsty hooligans from?*
* Most people scream at toads. Okay fine I scream at toads.
7. Best friends who are used, abused, and under appreciated.
Why they are “best friends” is usually beyond me. I hate it when the Awesome Protagonist is so deep in their own agenda that they only hang out with their “best friend” when they need something.
It’s not okay to use friends. It’s not okay for friendship to be one sided. Half the time I don’t even feel books address this. They just have the friends forgive and forget at the end. But you don’t have to be friends with people who are mean to you!
8. Zlich diversity
Maybe it’s because I live in Australia where (nearly) everyone is from another country…but it still shocks me when books don’t embrace a diverse cast.
9. When mental illness ends up being a joke.
This is so very unokay. I understand that mental illness can be a difficult subject to tackle, especially if you don’t have experience. But, books where mental illness is suddenly “cured” or a boyfriend fixes everything or there’s clearly a problem and it’s never addressed…they just frustrate me no end.
10. When girls are mocked for liking pretty things.
GIRLS CAN LIKE PRETTY THINGS, OKAY?! I hate it when the protagonist scorns girls who like sparkles or doing their hair or makeup or who are very interested in boys. It’s not right. It’s not okay to condescend someone’s interests. And, by the way, reading books doesn’t make you better than everyone else. I’m pretty sure you can punch a zombie and do your hair nicely, okay? Okay.
what about you?! what are your bookish turn-offs? what makes you twitch when reading? do you relate to any of mine?
Cait is in the middle of making mini books. It’s a very delicate process involving putting books in the wash with special soap to — KABOOM — they are mini. You can see her handiwork on instagram. Currently she’s reading Avenger comics and thinking about brownie cheesecake.
My major turn offs are making bad decisions. As in, sometimes I will stop reading because a character has done something spectacularly stupid or predictable. Oh, and I hate love triangles where everyone gets their happy ending. Because people do not wait their turn like that in real life (and I’m a shy British girl, which makes me QUEEN of waiting and queuing!). I have a feeling Ensnared is going to end like that, so I’m not sure what to do now… Do I risk it based on the fact that I loved Splintered and Unhinged, or do I save my frustrations and move on to something more satisfying???
Gah! I do not know!!
Beth x
Beth recently posted…Chasing Fitness: A Few Things I’ve Learned About Running
Ergggh bad decisions always get my goat. I JUST GET RIDICULOUSLY FRUSTRATED, YES. I DO. I\’m scared of Ensnared, but, *gulps* I will be reading it as soon as it (finally) arrives on my doorstep. Mail is slow in Australia. x)
Love triangles. Uh. The really annoying thing is that dating advice columns tend to say that, if you think you’re in love with two boys, you aren’t really in love with EITHER of them. Make of that what you will. I also dislike it when a long lost twin is introduced and the writer puts tonnes of emphasis on their different backgrounds and how different they’re going to be… and then they act EXACTLY the same, or, even worse, sometimes act like we’ve been told they will and sometimes act like their twin, it’s just… Shall we just say I hate it when characters aren’t well developed? Okay? Okay.
I actually like red hair. My heroine in my current WIP has it, and so does her mother and two other characters. Stuff statistics. I have the most average hair and eye colours in the world, so they rarely feature in my stories. …This is probably the wrong attitude…
YES THAT\’S WHAT I THINK TOO. I don\’t think it\’s really love. It\’s just indecision and flattery that two people are paying a lot of attention to you. >.> Omg, yes, I totally do understand that with twins, too. *nods* Characters NEED to be well developed. It ought to be like #1 requirement for writing a book.
I LIKE RED HAIR, DON\’T GET ME WRONG. I just find it\’s super common in YA atm, and it\’s kind of odd. I have brown hair/brown eyes. 😉 I\’m boring.
Ugh, love triangles. The only one I have liked was in the Splintered series, but it was so odd and quirky, and it drove the story forward in a good way, oh, and the Hunger Games because it was so classically dramatic. I also hate insta-love with the mysterious new boy in school. Unless they were lovers in a previous life. Lol. My biggest pet peeve is overly coincidental coincidences. She was looking for a doorknob and accidentally tripped over a cat that happened to be the reincarnation of her great great great grandmother’s arch enemy, and the cats dna, from the scratch it gave her, awoke a special dragon tickling power within her. Blerg.
La La in the Library recently posted…TELL ME TUESDAY #29
ME TOO. Splintered did it so so well because it developed both the sides (though pfft, I really do believe Jeb can fall off a wall for all that it\’ll matter to me). And I DO love The Hunger Games, but it was really the first triangle I\’d ever experienced. I always wonder how I\’d feel about it if I started now??
Ugh, YES to those silly coincidences. I believe in a few, but when the book is entirely full of them it\’s just unrealistic.
But is it okay that I have red hair?? Well, okay, strawberry blond. Because I’m cool like that.
Thankfully I think love triangles are getting less common – maybe people are listening to us! Although I’m still worried about Ensnared…I think my biggest bookish pet peeve is where you don’t find out ANY ANSWERS WHATSOEVER. And you have to read the next 100 books or whatever to find out. Grr.
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WHAT?!! you call that red?! I CALL THAT BLONDE. ahem. Okay, I am no authority on your hair. 😉 But please! Don\’t get me wrong! I love red hair, I just think it\’s insanely popular in YA at the moment and I find it odd. x)
Yaaaay they ARE getting less common! Well, with the famous-er (totally a word) authors. I just read another totally cliche triangle today. -_-
Ahh stupidity is one of my biggest pet peeves in books. Why do so many people trust a person with all their secrets when they just met. I don’t trust most people with my secrets let alone people I’ve just met. Who thought that was a good idea? And insta-love. I don’t know if it bothers anyone else, but I find it annoying when people fall in love at once without even knowing the person’s name. I also definitely relate to disliking love triangles and throwing hissy fits about people lying to protect them. Unless it really was a stupid reason for lying, to be angry with them for protecting you seems like a silly idea. I think these heroes haven’t thought things through properly sometimes.
It doesn\’t make seeeense and it bothers me that it\’s so common in books. Insta-love does bother me, but I don\’t actually think it\’s unrealistic. So I left it off my list for that reason. *nods* Especially between teens.
HOLY CAIT!!!!!!!!!!! YOU’VE HAD BLOG POSTS AND I HAVEN’T SEEN THEM BECAUSE NOT SHOWING UP ON MY FEED!! HOW DARE TECHNOLOGY DO THIS HOW DARE. OMG SORRY I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS OKK
For me, the biggest turn off is TOES FEET FOOT STUFF. GROSS. That turns me off SO MUCH.
I FEEL YOU WITH ALL OF THESE. ESP POINT NUMBER 10. OH THAT GETS ME SO ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY. I remember writing a long piece about that in the comment section of Larissa’s post hahaha
Jess @My Reading Dress recently posted…Seeking Saturday’s Read #22: Marrying Mime Order, Abandoning Books and Becoming a Scheduling Queen
BLOGLOVIN\’ IS HATING ON ME AND I DON\’T KNOW WHY. I kind of tweeted them, but someone else told me this happened to them and it fixed itself. So so so hopefully it does.
Foot stuff?!! Okay, I admit! I haven\’t read any foot stuff. x)
Oh, I totally agree with your bookish-turn-offs, Cait 🙂
So true!
Many of the points made me smile. . . stupidity, and when young characters do all the bad stuff because their parents aren’t around. Bleh. Love-Triangles are foreign, uncomfortable things. I don’t hate them, always. . . but they can be SO ANNOYING!
“When girls are mocked for liking pretty things” Oh yes! Why is always so okay to make them tomboyish and hate the idea of marriage and kids? It is just plain silly, in fact, because half the girls in the world. . . actually daydream of those sort of things from the time they were in their cribs.
I think friendships and its complexities should be more addressed in modern literature.
There, I said it. Give me a friendship like Frodo and Sam’s any day, Alan and Davie, or Gimli and Legolas. Haha, the Thorin and Bilbo friendship was definitely not an ideal one but it is touching all the same . . .
Red-heads. I have two or three red-headed friends, so I don’t mind stories about red-heads, but yes, such heroines tend to be overrated in fiction, especially when the majority are all brunettes or dark-haired, or blondes. I am breaking sterotypes a little with my story, because my main character is blonde, while she’s got one friend (a victim of the war) who is red-headed, and the antagonist is likewise red-headed. It’s fun!
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Love triangles have just become so cliche, in my opinion. I see them EVERYWHERE. I believe it can be an interesting plot device if it\’s done well, but so often it\’s noooot and it just give me a headache.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with girly girls. I, personally, am not a girly girl and I probably won\’t even ever get married because I\’m just not interested, hahaa, but I still don\’t think girls who like boys and hair should EVER be deemed as lesser beings. It\’s so callous and it\’s so cruel. Grrr…
I don\’t mind red-heads. I probably didn\’t word it very well because everyone is assuming I don\’t like red heads. XD haha! I just think they\’re in books a LOT for how many is supposedly in the world (according to statistics).
What annoys me most about the large amount of fictional red heads (having red hair myself) is that they seem to always have green eyes. All the red heads I know have blue eyes.
One huge bookish turn-off for me is when a boyfriend/girlfriend suddenly fixes all the problems (mental or not). Relationships are work, and just because you’re in one doesn’t mean all your problems are suddenly solved. And characters that enter a relationship because they are lonely just frustrate me because before you know it, they are spilling all their dark, deep secrets.
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I think red hair is awesome, I just wonder why almost every heroine has red hair…. Omg, but too true!
Gah, YES. I hate it when \”Love has suddenly fixed all our issues! hurrah!\” No. Maybe I\’m just grumpy cat, but if you just use girl/boyfriend to put a bandaid on a serious problem, it\’s just going to come out again later. And uglier.
As a red head, I find that a big percentage of books have blonde heroines. And considering most of them struggle with tying shoelaces. I kid *looks around nervously*
Imagine how many books would be over before the first few chapters if they had smarter characters. I think a lot of authors use a typically bad decision making character as a ploy to milk the lack of storyline out. Oh yes, I went there.
What is this brownie cheesecake you speak of? And where can I find one of my own?
Mini books? Like shrinkie dinkies. Remember those? Your mum probably would. How is Mrs Fury? (previously Mrs Notebooker).
Kelly recently posted…Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard ARC Review
YOU ARE A RED HEAD! OOOH. Next thing we know, we\’ll be seeing a selfie of you, Kelly. Watch out. x)
Ah, I have nothing against red heads! HONSET. I love red hair, it\’s beautiful. I just personally find it\’s more common than statistics indicate. Although, heh, blonde is highly popular too. WHERE ARE THE BROWN HEADS?! COME NOW.
No. I am eating the cheesecake myself. Although there actually is NONE. I\’m just sadly dreaming.
Mrs. Fury is fantastic and currently sitting on my dog so I don\’t have to. Isn\’t she wonderful?
your 4th one can relate to Colleen Houck’s tiger saga, it’s like her parents were never there!!! They didm;t give a shit about her traveling with a bunch of tigers and getting herself almost killed!!!
Chyna @ Lite-Rate-Ture recently posted…21 books to Read Before The Big Screen
WHAT?!! TRAVELLING WITH TIGERS?! That doesn\’t seem safe at all. Like, I know there are some seriously lousy parents out there…but usually they care. Right? RIGHT?!
Well, I hear that dragons are very afraid of butter knives. But Tris in Insurgent was SO dumb. And love triangles annoy me no end. I was thinking of doing a post about that actually. AND WHY DO RED HEADS ALWAYS HAVE QUICK TEMPERS? I am sure that there are plenty of calm and sensible-side character red heads (I have, however, yet to encounter one) And diversity is so important. I go to an international school, but you don’t see much of that in contemporaries (let alone any speculative fiction) Its like all contemporaries are either American High School (and all accompanying stereotypes) or American High Schoolers during Summer. And unfortunately, when I say American, I mean the US. And historical fiction, which is one of my favourite genres, is all set in English speaking countries.
#weneeddiverse books
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Silver butterknives?
Love triangles just seem endlessly cliche to me (which is actually a reason I loved Divergent because there were no triangles, haha). I have brown hair and I have a quick temper so I DON\’T KNOW. IT SEEMS LIKE A STEREOTYPE TO ME. We absolutely need diverse books and readers have been shouting it for years so I wish writers would pay attention. *sigh*
The red headed thing had never occurred to me until now. And now it’s going to drive me nuts. And YES TIMES INFINITY to the diversity thing. Especially in fantasy books. Like, you created this entire fantasy world but everyone is white and straight? Um, NO.
Melbourne on my Mind recently posted…Did you just call me a ho?
Ahhh, I\’ve ruined it for you. 😉 It\’s like seeing something and then not being able to unsee it right?!!
I\’m very very tired of everyone being the same. It PARTICULARLY doesn\’t make sense in fantasies. But then I hate it how fantasies usually are seriously sexist too. Why do we need our world problems in a fantasy world? Where is the imagination?!
I just have to say: “Stabbing a dragon with a butter knife without a backup plan.” This. This is perfect. I agree with so many of the points! (and on red hair, INDEED. Even some of my fav books are guilty of this. Well, I’m often guilty of this unless I’m writing an Asian-based work.) And on diversity – it nags at me so much that there are SO. FEW. books set in Asia/China. And so few fantasies with Asian counterparts! I mean, even A Song of Ice and Fire’s massive world seems lacking in that aspect. How. Is this. Possible? It’s SO HUGE. But no, we’re going to mention Yi Ti and pretend we crossed off China, the most populous country of the world. Yay!
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NO MORE DRAGON BUTTER KNIFE STABBING. It\’s not that hard. *stomps foot*
*whispers* Okay, I actually have a fair few red heads. Actually, 2 main ones, but one I\’m thinking of changing. *nods*
Yes yes yes yes to all of these! Especially #1 and #5. Those are my biggest pet peeves. I’ve probably got too many things that I wish YA books wouldn’t do, haha. Especially relating with love interests: I hate how they have to be bad and dark and mysterious most of the time (but I’m a nice guy kind of person, haha) and I hate when villainous guys are portrayed as attractive and ok anyway (this is NOT okay) and any time anyone feels ‘instantly attracted’ to someone else, unless they have a really, really good reason. Ugh. YA love interests. xD
Oh, and I totally agree with #10, too! I’m not a pretty-things person myself (I’d rather stay in sweatpants xD) but I’m getting kind of tired of all the heroines who have to be fiercely independant and not needing a man and not liking dresses ALL THE TIME. I mean, there’s totally nothing wrong with being a more romantic person, unless of course you’re running after jerks all the time and throwing yourself at boys’ feet. There’s nothing wrong with needing help, or even liking to wear dresses! Which is why I’m such a huge fan of Cress in particular from The Lunar Chronicles, because she’s allowed to be like that and still seriously take care of herself. Basically, I take issue with any female MC who thinks it’s okay to look down on and shame other girls like that. That’s a turn-off.
AND THE STUPIDITY. AHHHH. NO MORE STUPID CHARACTERS I BEG OF YOU.
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*quietly hides pile of villainously attractive books that loves* AHEM. Yes, yes, good guys ftw. *coughs*
*cuddles bad boys*
BUT ANYWAY. I\’m never really sold on YA love stories anyway because half the time I find them hilarious. Am I getting old? GASP. I just think it\’s kind of funny when a 16 year old finds the love of their life and cannot survive without him/her. But then I\’m not a very empathetic person so I should be quiet. sHH, CAIT, SHHH.
Hey, I\’m a very not-girly-girl too, but I HATE when they\’re picked on. That\’s a reason I love Throne of Glass so much because Celaena kicks butt and likes clothes.
I agree with all the things ESPECIALLY the last. I LOVE girly things and I really like talking about boys but that does not make me soulless or unintelligent.
I would love to see more stories where all the relationships are healthy. People can be in danger and all that but I think it would be nice if one of the reasons you’re rooting for it all to work is because they were so happy before. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a whim of mine.
Anne girl recently posted…The infamous Wilber does it again…
EXACTLY! I\’m so frustrated that girly girls are looked down upon. It\’s wrong and I\’m tired of it. Romances in books are often weird and awkward, but then, if they made sense I guess there wouldn\’t be much story to tell?
Hey, if you’re going to think about brownie cheesecake, you have to make enough to share some with me. 😛 Also, you should totally IM me your thoughts/flailings/sad fangirl tears as soon as you’ve finished Mortal Coil.
AGREED. All these things frustrate me, and then there are some others that aren’t on this list, like authors who are afraid of using the word “said.” I totally understand not wanting to use it all the time, but every other word-that-should-be-said DOESN’T need to be “exclaimed,” “remarked,” “quipped,” et cetera.
Ooh, yes, books that make fun of mental illness… that’s kind of a touchy spot for me, because I probably have OCD (undiagnosed, though) and characters who go “lol I’m so OCD because I don’t like wearing mismatching socks” or something similarly ridiculous irritate me beyond belief.
Skulduggery Pleasant is totally guilty of Curiously Absent Parents, though, isn’t it? xD That’s one of my very very VERY minor pet peeves with the series… although the Edgleys gradually become more important again towards the end of the series, so I suppose that’s not as annoying as it could have been.
Well, you already know that I’m a big fan of diversity. And I feel like I’ve been talking about V for Vendetta too much lately, but I’m gonna mention it again because… like, if a book isn’t very diverse but there’s an actual REASON for that, it’s all good then. V for Vendetta has like no diversity at all until about 1/2 through and then it’s explained that the government rounded up everyone who didn’t meet their ideal and killed them… gotta love dystopians, right? xD But that was a case in which not having diversity actually made SENSE.
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WordPress ate the last part of my comment, which was, “But that was a case in which not having diversity actually made SENSE. It was a critique of not having diversity, basically.”
nevillegirl recently posted…Beautiful People: The Author Edition
I WILL. Although I\’m scared to start Mortal Coil because a) The book will probably fall apart on me, the spine is so broken, and b) IT\’S SO BIG I\’M SCAAAARED. *ahem* But I will read it shortly. And duuuuh I will message you. XD
Oh my gosh, I completely agree. I am a strong believer in SAID and only SAID.
*whispers* I understand being undiagnosed OCD. I\’m not sure if I am but I have a lot of tendencies. It\’s annoying and frustrating when mental illness just becomes a joke or can be fixed by a snap of the fingers. -_-
I think I\’d be more glaring of Skulduggery Pleasant if Val was an orphan. That would probably be MORE cliche. I like her parents. x) But yes, it is guilty. hehe.
OMG STAAAHP. I just want to read V for Vendetta RIGHT NOW EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TO READ LIKE A FEW ARCS FIRST BUT JFADKLFASD I AM EXCITED FOR IT.
I totally agree with everything you said, especially #10. It’s as if the author is trying to say that liking girly things makes you weaker than tomboyish girls.
And adding to number #8’s point of diversity, I also hate when stereotypes are used to develop a character.
Great post!
Precious @ Clockwork Desires recently posted…TWCT January Blog Chain: The Good and Bad in Fiction
Girly girls are NOT less cool than tough girls (I also really think the phrase \”tomboy\” is odd… a bit sexist??). Stereotypes are no good either. Like the sidekick being the Asian friend who\’s just smart and has, literally, no other personality. It\’s sad and kind of unfair.
YES!!! Absent parents are something I do not like. And something i have to work on in my own writing…eep
Also, I totally agree with you on the “girls can’t like girly stuff”. I like girly stuff. I like wearing dresses. Why can’t a few female protagonists enjoy stuff like that, when they’re not saving the world? *sigh*
I also am really, really bothered when the guys in the book are purposely made to look stupid or goofy so that the girls looks more epic/sassy/heroic (pretty all the guys in the movie Brave are like this…). I have nothing against epic/sassy ladies in fiction, but can’t the guys be epic too?
Yup…i have a few bookish turnoffs. 😛
Emma Clifton recently posted…A Reader’s Unsung Heroes
I am guilty of absent parents in some of my first books… *winces* But these days I try to make sure the DOESN\’T HAPPEN. It feels cliche. I like books were girls dress snappily and wear high heels to save the world.
😉
Oh YES. I agree with your turn-off too!!
Yes to the love triangles!! I hate those!! And why, oh why, are the choices ALWAYS between one girl and two guys. And she is always trying to choose between her best friend and some guy she instantly fell in love with after five minutes. And she rarely chooses her best friend. Ugh. I also hate insta-love. Sure it can be sweet sometimes. But every single author is doing it with YA books.
Cynthia recently posted…Book Beginnings Friday!
I\’ve read a few books were there\’s two girls and one guy. But you\’re right: it\’s totally MORE COMMON to have 2 guys and 1 girl. Gah. I\’m not a fan of insta-love but that saying *squints at it* it\’s not actually that unrealistic In Real Life.
I feel the same about love triangles, it’s true, that usually one side of the triangle is really underdeveloped. But I wouldn’t blame the characters therefor, rather the author…
Red Heads are probably too many, because most authors don’t want to write about people that look similar to them without realizing that it would really be okay to write about people with brown hair and brown eyes, because everybody has them… probably they just want to make their characters special and so they make their hair red… and oops, one of my main characters has red hair too 😀
By the way, I used to think that Clary from The Mortal Instrument had regular brown hair for a long time, because I accidentally read City of Glass at first and there are less descriptions of her in the sequels…
If ALL sides of the love-triangle were better developed, I think I\’d be more okay with them?
OH. I agree. I think red hair feels so special and unique and it\’s tempting just to make ALL THE CHARACTERS have it. HEhe. Shhh, but I have some red-head characters too. 😉
I thought Clary had brown hair because I saw the movie first and she was brown-headed in there. xD
Oh gosh, YEP to #1, #4 and #5! LOL, I often have a giggle when another red-head MC shows up! It’d be nice to see a few more blonde, brunette and black haired characters. Oh, and I totally agree with more diversity, it’s so strange not to see more of it. It makes things feel very… well, fake. But #9 and #10!! Oh my gosh, both bother me so much! Being judgmental is just plain not ok on ANY level, yet the holier-than-thou attitude crops up so often! With love triangles… if they’re done really well, they can be so much fun! But it’s the frequency and the bad ones that make me so apprehensive to read them. Throne of Glass is just all round awesomeness, and I did enjoy the one in the Splintered trilogy, too 😀 Shame it’s over though!!
(PS, Cait?? Has something happened your Bloglovin’ feed?? It wasn’t like you not to be posting at all during week, so I popped over to have a check, and I MISSED AN ENTIRE WEEK OF POSTS! *Sobs* Must be a bug/glitch on their end? BL has been a bit screwy for me for a couple months now, though, urgh! I shall be stalking you the old fashioned way until it’s fixed! (But not in a creepy stalker way, that’s, just, NO!))
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Oh agreed! I like a love-triangle to be done well and I DO have some favourites. (Splintered and Throne of Glass for suuuure…although I ship Morpheus and Alyssa so much that I could basically not care less if Jeb fell through Wonderland and landed on his head. ALTHOUGH. I think he\’s wonderfully written. XD)
*whispers* I thiiiiink my bloglovin\’ feed might be fixed now?? I don\’t know what happened it was WEIRD. I emailed bloglovin\’ and it appears to be fixed but DO let me know if it keeps not showing up. I SHALL WAIL TO BLOGLOVIN LOUDLY.
I identify with most of your peeves here. Stupid characters? Get out of my life. Plot devices such as Arenas, love triangles, absent parents, and girls who think that they have to turn in their girly card in order to be awesome (and then condemn the rest of the female race because we choose to keep ours). No. Just no.
However, I don’t really notice things like diversity and redheads in my reading. I like diversity when it happens, but redheads? I actually kinda like them. In moderation. I much prefer brunettes, personally.
Some peeves of my own. Stupid adults who are SUPPOSED to know what they’re doing. I read a MG sci-fi mystery a couple years ago, and it just annoyed the socks off of me, because most of the adults were just there for comedy or to try to stand in the MC’s way while she tried to solve the mystery (which she should have left to the investigator who was hired, because that’s what she was TRAINED to do. Nope, she’s stupid, too.) The handyman kept getting caught in machinery, and I’m not sure the leader of the moonbase knew anything about leadership.
Speaking of the handyman getting caught in machinery – that leads me to another peeve. Characters whose pain is meant to be funny. It isn’t. It’s sick.
Direct rebellion. You mentioned this under stupid characters, but it annoys me so bad, I can’t help but state it again. Characters who directly defy their (stupid) parents orders and then at the end of the book, all is better, and the now wiser parent admits that they’d been “too strict” with their kid. It worked with Nemo, because the rebellion was never condoned, and it showed how bad the consequences were, but with most books? Kids, do me a favor and listen to your parents. (Governments, not so much, I don’t mind rebellion there, but parents need to be listened to. Even if you think they are absolutely wrong, at least try to see their reasoning, and feel some remorse when you sneak out of of the house to start your rebellion against the government.)
Kendra E. Ardnek recently posted…The Last Son of Camelot
Oh YES YES. I hate with fiery passion when books make us want to laugh at pain or death. I never do. I don\’t like that kind of \”Humour\”. It\’s so distasteful.
I just hate it when the teens/kids go against what there parents say PURELY for spite. Like sometimes it makes sense or there\’s accidents or the kid has no choice. But, yeah, it feels old to me. That saying, I\’m NOT a fan of super strict parents either who make dumber decisions than the kids. *headdesk* Or just (like you said) adults who are purely there to be dumb and annoying. It\’s really offensive! I don\’t think it\’s a good message to send to young readers either.
Yes!! Stupid protagonists bother me so much!! And a lot of times they know it’s a bad idea, but they do it anyways! Like, if someone who is much wiser than you and that you know you can trust (aka your parents) tells you specifically to not do something, don’t just go and do it anyways! Especially not without actually, I don’t know, thinking it over first! Ugh! Okay, rant now over. XD
Katheline Hansen recently posted…Beautiful People Linkup
IT\’S NOT THAT HARD TO USE GOD-GIVEN BRAINS IS ALL I CAN SAY. *calms self*
First off, I must address the brownie cheesecake. I NEED SOME!!!!!!!!
Now, I agree with most of your pet peeves! And Jo Harvelle in Supernatural is living proof that a girl can look pretty AND kick butt at the same time! Love triangles have to put me in a position where I absolutely don’t know who to love more for the protagonist for me to even consider thinking it’s ok. They were just too worn out for me. Stupidity: yes! It makes me want to thrown the book and shout at the character! When it comes to the lying to the protagonist it depends on how it’s done for me. Like, at the end of Catching Fire when Katniss finds out about Peeta and Haymitch’s plan she freaks and attacks Haymitch, but then in Mockingjay she doesn’t absolutely loathe Haymitch for his lies. They actually grow closer. I like how Suzanne Collins did that. Katniss was mad for maybe a day, but then they worked through it. I agree 100% with the mental illness thing. If you’re going to have an autistic character make sure you get all the elements of autism right. And don’t make it magically go away so the protagonist can have a “normal” friend/sibling/etc. for a little while. That’s not ok. Autism doesn’t magically go away. It never goes away. And don’t totally write off the idea of the mentally ill character getting the girl/guy. I love to see it when a character chooses the mentally ill character. Sorry, I tend to rant on that subjectXD It’s probably one of my most hated bookish pet peeves.
Jordan @ Dream Big. Dream Out Loud recently posted…Things To Come In 2015
I NEED SOME TOO. I\’m dreaming of it, but I don\’t have any. #sadness
HA. Yes. Jo totally is. Also have perfect hair and punch monsters. 😉 That\’s why I really love Isabelle Lightwood out of The Mortal Instruments, because she always was snappy nice clothes and takes care and time about how she looks, but she is the most fierce and kick-butt girl I\’ve read about. (Also Celaena who loves clothes and cake and is also an assassin.) x)
Oh it\’s one of my most hated pet peeves too. My most FRUSTRATED one is when depression is magically \”fixed\” by a boy/girlfriend. No. Depression is something that you have to learn to manage and you will probably always have it. It just doesn\’t GO AWAY. *growls in the corner*
Brownie Cheesecake… Great. Every time I visit your site you mention cake, and then I desire cake. And then I go to my own site, and I see cake on every page in the banner so obviously I want more cake. BASICALLY STOP MAKING ME EAT CAKE ALL THE TIME. (But not really, I love cake.)
Ahem. Where were we? Right, bookish pet peeves. I HATE love triangles. I hate them SO MUCH. One of the major reasons I couldn’t stand Crossed was because I thought the love triangle had been resolved in Matched (it was okay in that book because it was part of the premise and the premise was fun) and then it just goes ON AND ON AND ON AND GRRR. And then OF COURSE we need ten pages that elaborate on the pain that is your lovesick heart because you can’t decide between the two guys rather than the actually INTERESTING things happening all around you. Yeah, I’m sure you reaaaaally love that guy. Or the other one. Whatever.
Hahaha the parent thing is completely true. Not only in books, but in TV Shows or movies as well. It doesn’t really annoy me, but a little variation wouldn’t hurt. You’re spot on when it comes to red hair too, but I LOVE ME SOME GINGER so I don’t care. 😀 Awesome list, some really good points on there!
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HEY BUT YOUR WHOLE BLOG MAKES ME WANT CAKE. Every time I go to your blog I\’m reminded of how awesome you are just by your title. *thinks lovingly about cake* I neeeeed some.
Oh yes. Back to bookish turn offs for sure. *nods* I\’ve got nothing against red heads, don\’t get me wrong! I just think they\’re highly common in books and it\’s getting a liiiiiiittle cliche.
UGHHH I totally agree with many of these points! The arena thing..no, just no. I’ve read so many Hunger Games knock-offs it just pisses me off now! And the thing about how the girl protagonist is too good to like sparkly, girly things. Stop! It’s like the author is just trying to make her more unique and stand out from all other girls so we see how “special” she really is. You don’t have to do that by making her hate all girly things! Anyway, done with my rant now. Bookish turnoffs are the ultimate turnoffs!
I could literally have an entire SHELF of Hunger Games rip-offs and I\’ve hated almost all of them. (The only exception is Red Rising, which dabbles very very close to THG but I still love that book.)
Love triangles are the worst. I didn’t even really like it in Throne of Glass. I still read stories with them, though, so they’re not a total turn off for me. I’ve seen a lot of examples of 1! I don’t mind stupid characters, as long as the narrator doesn’t call them “smart” or “intelligent” – like, what? Most of the time, it doesn’t look that way.
One of my top bookish pet peeves is when a character refuses to have a relationship with someone who obviously loves him/her because he/she is “not worthy” of the other person or “too dangerous”. I’ve read this sooo much and it’s annoying! I guess I understand. I might feel that way if I had a “dark past”. But in that case, just end the whole relationship and stop leading the other person on. It feels sometimes like authors just add this to create conflict.
Ahem. I’m not usually that picky a reader but those three really irritate me. And I agree 9 is terrible. Luckily, I haven’t read many books with that.
Tara (T. T. Kesley) recently posted…Authorly Bucket List Tag
Hmm. I just realised my first sentences are kind of contradictory. Hmmm …
Tara (T. T. Kesley) recently posted…Authorly Bucket List Tag
Ergh, I really really hate when a character is supposed to be REALLY good at something but instead they suck at it. Like they\’re supposed to be this amazing thief and yet they\’re always getting caught. >.> It just makes me doubt everything the writer says, tbh.
Right. I am DEFINITELY bookmarking this post. Your pet peeves are SOOOO sooo much like mine. Basically the same. Some of them drive me CRAZY, especially 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10. O_O
But Caitoki… *tugs your sleeve.* I want to know about the mini books. TELL ME ABOUT THE MINI BOOKS. Are they edible? c: They are very pretty necklaces, but edible ones would be useful, if you were say, being chased by zombies and needed a snack. Because who knows when you’d next stop to eat?
Ashana Lian . recently posted…Tag: My Life In Books
Did you just call me Caitoki? I don\’t know what it means, BUT I LIKE IT.
I promise I will tell you all about my mini books and I\’m quite sure they\’re edible because my dog likes to swallow them and I like to fish them out of his mouth. Okay, no. I don\’t like to fish them out of his mouth, but I do so frequently BECAUSE HE IS A LITTLE MINI BOOK THIEF. omg. I should\’ve named him Liesel from The Book Thief!
Lmao!! Aw but Atticus Bean is adorable! Caitoki – Cait Loki. Or I could call you BatCait – Batman Cait. Or I could call you, Overlord Cait, but I much prefer Caitoki and everybody knows Loki is awesome.
It’s soo great you’re able to put so much into the blog, and reading, and crafting. I just get so tired, all the time, then I don’t do anything. >:-( Eh. Oh well.
Ashana Lian . recently posted…Tag: My Life In Books
YOu Don’T EVEN KNOW!!!!!! Ok, so I just finished reading The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall and I swear two of the things you hated, which I also hate (stupidity & character who have tantrums over lies) was in this book and I hated. Something I’ve been seeing recently, is MC’s who barely have any family and finding out that they do and precede to make stupid decision after stupid decision. WHY?!!?!?1 why are they so stupid. It doesn’t make since. It’s so sad because I liked both of the stories I just hated the MC. I don’t like making fun of girls who are girly, there’s nothing wrong with that and they can still be epicly awesome. I mostly hate it when they make stupid choices, smh.
*hi fives* You and me both for STUPID CHOICES. I just. No. I cannot handle it anymore. And I don\’t think I\’m going to read The Conspiracy of Us. You have warned me and I WILL LISTEN.
I HATE NUMBER THREE. I HATE IT.
And number four’s ridiculous. Like come on, SOMEONE in this novel HAS to have a parent somewhere.
Aw, no way do 98% of YA heroines have red hair. In defense of Merida, that takes place over in Scotland, they tend to have red hair there. I believe. Same with Harry Potter, sort of, Europe… As for the others, eh….Anne’s a classic. And while there are seven YA heroines (listed) with red hair, I’m sure we could both name 20 others that have blonde or brunette hair. 🙂 Sorry, totally went off on a ramble there.
I have to say I enjoy malicious torture and bloodshed….if it’s supposed to be that kind of book. That’s why I was disappointed (just a little) with The Hunger Games (the first two, haven’t read the third), it wasn’t as violent as I’d hope. (I hope that doesn’t sound as awful as it sounds to me).
Number seven reminds me of Wallace on Veronica Mars. (Thanks for stopping by my post, by the way. <3).
Eight. And that's why I love The Walled City, an all Chinese cast.
9. I've never come across this one, so throw an example at me to be weary of. 🙂
10. I don't know about this one, I've never come across it really.
Oh my gosh, I must find out more about these "mini books". I've seen bracelets with them, I'd love to make one…..
Amber recently posted…What Is Veronica Mars?
Pfft. Who needs parents? Actually this is the BIGGEST thing that bothers me about Percy Jackson is just purely the lack of parental influences. I know they\’ve all got family issues, but still. NO ONE is watching the 12 year olds and then wonder why they die and get turned into trees. Maybe I\’m just getting too old for those sorts of books, but it does bother me.
I\’m going to do a mini book tutorial. xD
Yes! That’s so weird. It’s like “You don’t wonder where your kid is?”. Gosh parents, go watch that “It’s 10 at night, do you know where YOUR kid is?” xD Or whatever it says. Ha.
Ooh! You should do a tutorial!
Amber recently posted…Weekly Recap (#11)
Absent parents… yep. That one really bugs me. It’s not realistic. At least, it’s not my experience of being a teenager. If I was about to go off and slay a horde of zombies or save the world with my ninja skills, I would have at least been expected to tell my mom where I was going and what time I’d be home.
Clinomorphisms are one of my biggest pet peeves in the mental illness category. I’ve actually DNFed books because of that.
La Coccinelle @ The Ladybug Reads… recently posted…New to the TBR Pile (15)
And you\’d probably expect your mum to…you know…NOTICE IF YOU WERE GONE FOR NINE YEARS OR WHATNOT. *sigh*
I breathed a sigh of relief because after reading this, I’m like you know what? Throne of Glass is PERFECTION because it did all these things WELL! Except for the Red Head thing. I totally agree with the annoying love triangle trope and the useless best friend! Noooo!
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence recently posted…Chatterbox: Spread Love, Not War
YES IT IS. Celeana likes clothes and cakes and kills people. Aaaaaand I actually like that love-triangle. XD BASICALLY SJM IS QUEEN OF WRITING AND I BOW TO HER.
Okay, I have to say I LOVED this. Every single point I agree with. It’s like you took it out of my head, Cait! Thanks for this post, it really needed to be said, and you did a great (and funny) job!
Natalie J. Williams recently posted…THAW Series Launch
WE ARE BOOKISH TURN OFF TWINS. *hi fives for epic book tastes*
The absent parents bothers me sometimes, too. I think in my earlier stories the parents were absent mainly because I wanted to focus on the protagonist and it’s kind of difficult to weave parents into the story, but I’ve gotten better with acknowledging the fact that there are parents in this world. This is especially obvious in my second novel, where the parents have a major role. And it’s not like cliche evil parents/guardians that screw everything up. Instead, they actually do a lot to help the protagonist. She doesn’t think so yet, but she’ll learn soon enough. Also, I really hate when best friends are under appreciated or tossed away because the other friend is in a relationship and doesn’t have time for their friends anymore unless that friend has the word “boy” or “girl” in front of it. It annoys me to no end. Friendship is important, people! Also, NUMBER 10 = YES! People need to understand that girls can like wearing dresses and being girly girls and yet still be strong at the same time. Dresses and skirts aren’t a sign of weakness. Instead, I think they are a sign of strength because it shows that you aren’t afraid to wear a dress even though some people might judge you for it.
Wow…that was a long rant…
Ana @ Butterflies of the Imagination recently posted…Book Buying Habits
LONG RANTS ARE WELCOME HERE.
And I\’m guilty of absent parents too, although I really really try not to in my later books. I\’m always frustrated with friends getting walked on and there being NO repercussions for it, because I think it sends an awful message to readers. No one deserves to be treated badly. NEVER EVER. Friendship is so incredibly important. I\’d rather read a book about a tight friendship than a squishy romance. But that could be just me too. 😉
ME LIKEY POST.
I agree with some, and… I oddly can’t think of any of my particular unfavorites right now. (Unfavorites is totally a word!!)
“I have loved all corners of the pointy triangle of doom and not even known who to ship” — You are a wonderful specimen of the writing part of humanity.
What you said about lying made me think of White Cat. XD EVERYONE lied to poor Cassel. o.o And I think he’s justified in being mad about it. XD But yes, not allll the time does this make sense…
Deborah O’Carroll @ The Road of a Writer recently posted…Beautiful People – Author Edition
Unfavourites IS totally a word.
*bows* WHY THANK YOU. *trips over cape and faceplants* I am still wonderful…for sure.
HEY GUESS WHAT I HAVE!!! BLACK HEART!! I\’M SO EXCITED!! It was on the library shelf and I admit I made a bit of a run and snatch and cuddle it. The library was empty at the time and I was the only contender but it made me feel epic.
OH MY GOODNESS THAT’S SO AWESOME! I HOPE YOU LIKE BLACK HEART! 😀 …Now I just need the second so *I* can read that one… XD
Deborah O’Carroll @ The Road of a Writer recently posted…Beautiful People – Author Edition
Agreed. Agreed. Agree. Need I say more? I relate 100% to each of these points.
Like, OK, girls can like pretty things, right? Since when was that considered a shame? It’s fine. It’s normal. get over it, people.
And red hair. RED HAIR. Personally I think it’s very beautiful and it is a nice shade of hair. But does a character in every single book need one?
Lastly, I seriously don’t understand why people spill their life story to the next random stranger down the street in books. Perhaps not like that, but it’s definitely pretty stupid. It’s really a book turn-off.
Autumn recently posted…inspired #01
It should NOT be shameful for a girl to like pretty things. I like pretty things a lot and it scares me that I would be sneered at in a lot of books. IT IS NOT RIGHT.
Red hair is totally beautiful and I love it but but but SO MANY CHARACTERS HAVE IT IT\’S NEARLY A CLICHE NOW.
Aah, bookish pet peeves! I’d have to say my pet peeves are rather subjective; for instance, I might say I dislike love triangles, but then I’ll pick up a book with a well-written one that I don’t mind. Or I think I don’t like reading about dysfunctional families, but then I’ll start reading a book where the family’s struggles are portrayed so well I don’t even mind that they don’t get along because I understand why they don’t, and I’m just rooting for them to work it out. Much of the time, it really seems to depend on the book for me!
There ARE some things from your list I typically do agree with, though; like, I think mental illness should always be treated tactfully, because it’s a very serious and difficult struggle for so many people. And diversity is definitely important to include–not everyone is straight, white, and able-bodied, and books should reflect that! It’s something I’m working on including more in my own writing as best I can, too.
And as to absentee parents–I feel like I’ve been seeing this trend fading a bit, and noticing more involved parents appearing in the world of YA lit. Which is awesome, because I absolutely LOVE books where the parental units are competent parents who get along with their kids or are even just AROUND and a part of their kids’ lives! I’m thinking of Hazel’s parents in TFiOS; Maggie’s parents in The Vanishing Season; Ellie’s mom in This is What Happy Looks Like; Blue’s mom, Maura, in the Raven Cycle (except for most of BLLB, haha); Cath’s dad in Fangirl (who isn’t always around because she’s at college, but is at least an important part of her life); or Elise’s parents in This Song Will Save Your Life. YAY FOR GOOD BOOK PARENTS!!
Taylor Lynn recently posted…On Priorities, College, Blogging, & Balance
It IS true. I think a really really awesome and fabulous author has the potential to turn something I hate into something I love. eheheh. x)
The absentee parent trend IS fading! Thankfully…although I\’ve noticed it\’s just being replaced with parents who give the OK for their kids to run around in near-death situations (like, um, Percy Jackson). Gah. I really really love when parents are awesome in books. Maybe I\’m biased because I have quite awesome parents though. 😉 But it\’s so refreshing and I always mark books higher for having cool parents! WELL. Maura fails in BLLB. XD Cath\’s dad was just awesome. I really love the grandma in Half Bad and Mo, of course, from Inkheart. X)
Haha, I’m probably biased, too, because like you I have supremely awesome parents. 😉 And *gasp* I FORGOT about Mo! You’re right, he’s fantastic. *nods*
Thank you for pointing out these ridiculously repetitive annoyances. Thank you, thank you, merci, danke, many thanks. Thank you.
May many writers read your post and take note.
(as for me, I think people should ride less dragons, and ride more phoenixes. The fire issue can be solved with some negotiations.)
XD Glad you enjoyed it! Dude, YES. Why don\’t people run around on phoenixes more? Maybe because they\’re harder to spell? And they could always wear fire-man fireproof out-fits. It\’d make an excellent book.
I agree with you on 1 (STUPIDITY, AGH-NO), 2 (LOVE TRIANGLES, AGH-NO), 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The conveniently absent parents used to irritate me, but not as much anymore–although I am always overjoyed whenever parents do play a larger, more important role in books. I also don’t mind the huge population of redheads in novels. Fun list, Cait! Love your choice of GIFs, too! 😀
Mallory @ The Leaning Tower of Tomes recently posted…Review — The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark
I always end up marking books higher when the parents are awesome. It just seems rare! And I wish it wasn\’t rare!
This is, in equal measures, very well addressed and amusing.
WELL. That I like to hear.
Number 4 is called “Parent-in-YA Syndrome”. I have named it thusly. Go forth and use it. It was one of my bookish sins too, because it is annoying! I agree with all of these, except the love triangle, sometimes I can do a love triangle, if it is done well. The redhead thing is funny because it is really quite true! I am sure all these dystopian settings, and kingdoms, and the moon and stuff do not have hair dye, so you are right, not that many people should have red hair. Especially when, like you said, diversity isn’t exactly well represented. But redheads are. It doesn’t make any sense!
Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight recently posted…This Week At Midnight (45)
If a love-triangle is done well I CAN like it. Like…well, Throne of Glass and Splintered. And I\’ve read a few others that I haven\’t minded. But I\’ve read MORE awful ones then good and it\’s just turned me off.
Ahahah i love everything in your post and is so well done 🙂 i just read Alice Kuipers “Lost for words” and it was annoying! The message in the book is great but the author created a terrible teen: immature, selfish, with stupid friends, makes stupid decisions,…and it made me hate her and altough i read it all, it was aburd that people’s problems were easily solved, serious things included in the menthal illness spectrum. I’ve seen that some people in goodreads really enjoyed the book, and that’s great for them…for me it was a waste of time *a bookish turn-off*
Vera recently posted…2015: Os meus desejos
Erkkkk, I HATE characters like that. It makes it really hard to review the book nicely. I always want to rant. 🙁
My personal no-go or however you’d like to call it are annoying main characters who are so obviously flawed written, even though you are SO SURE they are the personification of a Mary Sue. Like, embrace the truth, authors. You didn’t get it this time.
I’m really struggle at reading books in which I love the secondary characters but hate the main.
I also don’t like the I-love-you-I’d-sacrifice-myself-for-you-please-ignore-the-fact-that-we-don’t-really-know-each-other-relationships as well as romantic novels in which the love interests don’t know each other and don’t get to know each other but find each other OH-SO-HOT. (I’m looking at you, Twilight and *shudders* 50 Shades of Grey.)
Also, sometimes, there is no need for romance. Please leave out unnecessary romantic stuff. I don’t like it.
Nadja 🙂
Nadja recently posted…Currently in Recovery
OH I HEAR YA. It\’s really frustrating when I couldn\’t care less about the main character but the secondaries?! Omg, I would die for them. *flails*
I love this post! And I HATE love triangles. It is so not okay when girl strings two boys along in love triangle. Why should I respect and root for such heroine? There is no single book with real love triangle that I would enjoy.
Also number 3 on your list. Such behaviour only indicates how immature character is. Which kinds of leads to your number 1. Also my big bookish turn off for me.
Lucia @Reading Is My Breathing recently posted…BLOGOVERSARY GIVEAWAY!
Exactly. Although sometimes I feel like the boys are doing a LOT of chasing and the girl is trying not to rise to it, and I understand that\’s hard because often it\’s very flattering to have attention and I DO get why girls wouldn\’t immediately punch that.
Hear, hear!
That’s kind of all I have to say about this really. I just completely agree with you! Especially stupidity. Stupidity is THE WORST. Ever seen Pretty Little Liars? I watch it with a friend of mine, and all we ever do is yell at the screen and say “I HATE THIS SHOW” over and over again because everyone is SO STUPID (“hey, let’s go walk through the woods at night, while we know there’s some murderous asshat out there”). It makes me want to throw things. Also, the mental illness thing. That makes me want to throw things, too.
Anne @ booksbakingandblogging recently posted…The Reader Problems Tag
HAHA! I haven\’t seen Pretty Little Liars, but I\’ve seen enough shows where YES the characters just make stupid decision after stupid decision and you really wonder if they\’re using their God-given brains or not. Probably not. GAH. It\’s so frustrating. -_-
Oh I love this post! I hate when the main characters take time to have some kind of epic romantic event in the middle of a life or death situation. I don’t read many zombie books but I’ve read countless books where they’re being chased by a serial killer and yet they have time to sit down and really discuss their feelings. Really?? Oh and the tantrum throwers. I want to slap them. The only one I don’t agree with is the redhead thing because I have red hair so I always like red hair on my heroines! I do know what you mean though. It’s very in though in Anne of Green Gables part of the plot depended on her hating it and being made fun of for it. Great post!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…This Week in Reading – January 25
Or when the book absolutely PAUSES all battles for a moment of love-angsty. It just…gah. It\’s not realistic. >.> I feel like romance does belong in a book but it needs to not be the centre when the book\’s about action adventures.
YES. ALL OF THESE THINGS.
Also, when characters don’t *learn* from their mistakes. It’s one thing to be stupid and impulsive at the start of the start and get yourself into trouble at every left turn, but if by the end of the story you’re *still* making the *same* decisions that have gone so badly for you throughout the book, don’t you think it might be time to grow a brain and use it?! Or at the very least, time for the sidekick character to step up and slap the MC with a shoe and force them into making some better decisions. What else are the sidekick characters there for?
YES. When they continually make the same stupid mistake…it\’s rather frustrating. >.>
I definitely relate to ALL of yours. ALL OF THEM. Especially number one. I cannot stand it when a character is supposed to really knowledgeable in a certain field and then CONTINUALLY STUFFS UP IN THAT FIELD. Like, what even? I thought you were good with this stuff? Obviously not, you LIAR.
I love red hair, but am not really a fan of characters with red hair. Unless they are Scottish! Like Merida. (I LOVE BRAVE SO MUCH). But when it’s that glossy non-ginger perfect Ariel red *glares*
My #1 turn-off, though, which will likely make me stop reading and want to burn the book is animal cruelty. I cannot handle it in any way or form, especially if it’s made light of in any way. No. NO. Animal cruelty = I will not read. Also unnecessary animal deaths for feels. It’s not gonna happen. Don’t kill off the animal to make the storyline more “painful”. Animals aren’t plot devices.
Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity recently posted…Review: Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block
OBVIOUSLY THEY ARE NOT KNOWLEDGABLE. *growls* That actually came out of the fact I just read a book about a grifter who was \”the best grifter\” but sucked at grifting. -_- What is even with that.
I LOVE RED HAIR TOO. It\’s just…everyone seems to have it. >.>
Animal cruelty does suck but I don\’t actually feel like I\’ve read a lot of books about it. o.O I read lots of books about human cruelty. #everyfantasybookever
OMG. This post speaks to me on a deep personal level. I completely and utterly agree with everything on your list. Here are some of mine:
1. When there are a pair of best friends, one has to be the prude and one has to be the slut. And depending on who the protagonist is, makes snide comments about her supposedly best friend’s virtue or lack there of. Which brings me to…
2. Slut shaming in general. Especially when the protagonist likes a guy, who takes an interest in another girl and that girl is immediate branding as a whore or slut. Or god forbid you kiss more than one guy in your life.
3. I’m tired of protagonists be THE ONE who will save us all. Over it.
4. Overly convenient plot devices. I can handle a little bit of a suspension of disbelief, but when the characters are constantly getting in and out of impossible situations because of it – dumb. *cough*Red Queen*cough*
5. Overly “sassy” characters. Calm down, cupcake.
6. Not talking to each other! OMG, I feel like we could solve all the YA world problems if we could just get the frickin’ characters to talk to each other instead of taking someone’s word for something, or making rash decisions, or “protecting” another character.
Also, I needed to add when people who are smart and like “nerdy things” get looked down on. C’mon people, it’s 2015. It’s similar to girls not being able to like pretty things. Like that makes them better than other girls. That’s why I like Celaena so much. She loves dresses and killing people! LOL
Also, as a redhead, I totally get what you are saying. And they always have Merida hair! Like a mass of curly unruly, but amazing red hair. And green eyes! How do so many people have green eyes (with little gold flecks too)? Only 1-2% of the population has green eyes. I’ve only known one person with actual green eyes. It’s ok to not have amazing hair or amazing eyes! /rant over.
Shannon N. recently posted…Hero by Alethea Kontis [Review]
THAT\’S WHY I LOVED CELANEA TOO!!! She loved cake and clothes aaaand she could kick butt. She is probably the most perfect heroine (or villain, I don\’t even know what she is half the time. XD I love her more for that) of all time.
I completely completely agree with the slut-shaming. It\’s wrong, it\’s old and it\’s just…ergh. Can we not move on, books?! PLEASE?! I hate it when friends secretly hate each other in books. It\’s really awful and sad. I get that it happens in real life, but why aren\’t there more books with tight and awesome relationships and friendships?
ERGH. YES I AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT RED QUEEN.
Yes! I agree with you on allll of those points. Why are there no parents in YA? I would hate to be a parent in a YA novel because if I’m not already dead I definitely would be by the end of the book. I’d die in some horrific manner that would spur the protagonist on and they would then claim they were doing everything to avenge me and the world would all go to poop and there’d be riots and death all because I got shot.
I’d like to add one to the list and it’s a specific line that pops up so much in YA: ‘I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.’ I groan outloud when I read lines like that and from then onwards I can’t take the book seriously.
Rosie recently posted…Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse
Especially if you\’re a parent in the Divergent series. Survival rate is abominable for adults. x)
HA. Yes. Why is that so common??? I always know when I\’m holding my breath. o.O
YES. YES. YES. YOU ARE SO SPOT ON WITH ALL OF THESE. While some don’t turn me off completely, they all annoy me. ESPECIALLY LACK OF DIVERSITY. Like, it’s 2015 already, step it up, authors.
Ebony @ Daring Damsels recently posted…On 2015 Planning, Slacking and Rediscovering Old(ish) Music
None of these necessarily make me DNF a book or anything, but I do groan inwardly. >_< WHY IS THERE SUCH A LACK OF DIVERSITY?! WHYYYYY.
You’ve hit the nail on the head with SO many of my bookish pet peeves (particularly with the protagonists who can’t be feminine or mock/disdain “girly girls”…I happen to read a lot of books and also have an extensive makeup collection/obsession. You can be both!) It’s really funny that you pointed out the redhead trend too, because I was just noticing that myself when the past few books I’ve read have ALL had red haired protagonists (The Selection Series, Trial by Fire, Eleanor & Park…). While I have nothing against anyone of any particular hair color (I myself am brunette, the most common and arguably boring hair color) I think it lends to a lack of diversity (when everyone is “special” then no one is type mentality…if all of the YA protagonists as archery-masters/tomboys/redheads then it really diminishes those qualities as being cool and unique).
YOU CAN BE BOTH!! I don\’t understand why it\’s so taboo. It\’s like \”girly girls\” are portrayed as less intelligent and it\’s offensive and such an awful stereotype. I wish books would move past it. *sigh*
OH! I forgot to put Trial by Fire on my list, but yes yes, that one too. Eeeeveryone basically these days. -_-
YES TO EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID. YESSSS. All of those bother me too! Especially the stupidity part. I mean people and teens are WAAAAYYYY smarter than adult writers assume they are. Ugh.
Amanda P. recently posted…Review: Noggin by John Corey Whaley
Stupidity is just NOT OKAY. It\’s so so frustrating to read. *Sigh*
I totally agree with these, especially #10. I happen to love painting my nails and also love reading AND think I could quite handle going toe to toe with a zombie. Why can’t be a bunch of different things put together?
(mutters angrily) Love triangles. Oh, and insta-love. Or any kind of love that results because a character is so, so gorgeous. Blech.
Martha @ I’d Rather Be Reading recently posted…Thought Questions, #225-231
Exactly! Stereotypes need to be crushed. I\’m really frustrated that they don\’t get crushed more these days, although, to be fair, I think authors are TRYING and it may take a while. *Sigh*
Love the post,Cait!Another thing that bothers me in books is insta love.I hate it when the MCs fall in love with each other in first sight or in a few pages.Ugh.
I also hate the stereotypes in YA.The beautiful-but-doesn’t-know-it heroine,the handsome-mysterious-protective-and-often-new-to-school hero,the more-amazing-than-the-MC-best friend and the gorgeous-blonde-rival-of-the-MC.
From what you’ve listed above,I really hate love triangles-unless they are well written.Unfortunately love triangles have become an essential part of urban fantasy novels nowadays,and I hate that since I love the genre.
Absent parents bother me a lot!Come on,where are they at crucial moments?
Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales recently posted…Surviving and getting over reading slumps
YES! ALL THESE THINGS!
Except I often don’t get bothered by the red-head thing…maybe because I am a red-head, but it’s only when I think about how many characters really have red hair that I’m like…hang on.
One of my peeves is that whenever a musician is present in a book, they always want to make a career out of their music.
While this is fine and all, I have played the flute for over 10 years and I have not once considered playing professionally. It is something I do for fun, because I love it. I also find that wind instrument players are quite rare. They always play guitar/piano/cello/sing and almost always end up going to fancy music school/make a CD/etc.
WHERE ARE THE CASUAL MUSICIANS??? The people who did music in high school, who took lessons, who were in the band, but have no intention of making a living out of their instrument?
Another peeve of mine is where not enough people die. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen often, but one time there was this massive battle coming (they had a psychic predict it) and it looked like every single one of the characters were going to die, but in the end not a single named character died. Actually, one did, but he died before the major battle and was a creepy pervert, so killing him was really a convenience.
And then, the main character was going on and on about how it was so horrible that they had lost so many people, but not one of the 20 or so named characters were killed.
It just really irritated me. But, like I said, it doesn’t happen often.
Ok, last one: when characters are cryptic. Like, when the main character needs to get somewhere, and the character telling them the way is all mysterious about giving directions.
It’s one thing when it’s legendary place and the other character doesn’t actually know how to get there, but when the character has actually BEEN THERE BEFORE and HAS TIME TO DRAW A MAP you would think they’d be able to give more specific directions…
GOD YES THIS POST IS PERFECT. Especially the last one! Authors think it’s absolutely amazing to make their characters everything other than basic. It comes to the point where all the female characters just hate everything basic. I mean, I’m not completely basic but I don’t think basic things should be belittled you know? Wow, I just the word basic a lot. 😛
I also know what you mean about red heads! I’m all for diversity but sometimes it’s a little overboard. And stupid people. Gah, I could go on forever about stupid characters.
Laura Plus Books recently posted…Top 10: Books I’d Love to Read with Others
Stupidity, oh god, yes. This bothers me often in mystery books, where the murderer is practically screaming in their face they did it and they are like ‘but who could have done this??’ Or those typical stupid scenes, like hiding in a closet with no way to escape, announcing you are there by yelling ‘hellooo?’ when it’s best to just keep your mouth shut. Gosh. Don’t get me started, haha.
Love-triangles have two ways: they are either PERFECT and amazing or downright annoying and stupid. Sometimes they can really work for a storyline *looks admirably at Sarah Maas* Sometimes I think they are only there to fill in some space and to add some drama, without really mattering for the story. I HATE THOSE. Stop pushing romance in my face, it’s not always necessarily.
The absent parents *sigh* I don’t need to see them every page, but sometimes it’s a good idea to show that the main character didn’t drop from the sky.
And yes, when girls are ridiculed for things, especially by the main character who thinks she is so much better than ‘THOSE’ girls. Ugh. We get enough pressure from the media already, so cut the crap indeed; you can be a kick-ass girl who likes nice clothes *looks at Celaena*
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…TBR pile tag.
I AGREEE SO MUCH! These are things that when I read them in a book, I stop reading, because I get so annoyed. It’s the reason I stay away from YA, because there’s so much of that. I hate being talked down to by the books I read.
– Love, Felicia
Haha this post made me laugh so much. I agree with just about everything you’ve mentioned. Particularly #1. I’ve read a few books where the protagonist just makes such awful decisions that I want to jump into the book to shake her and just ask WHY???? I also don’t like love triangles but I just read Throne of Glass (and nearly died at the sheer awesomeness of it) and that is a love triangle that I can get behind.
One thing that also bothers me to no ends in books is insta-love. I just… I can’t with it. It’s almost a subcategory of Stupidity. It’s all like ‘Ooohh s/he’s pretty’ then – BAM!! – soul mates for life even though they just met two seconds ago and know absolutely nothing about each other and the apocalypse is upon them! Okay maybe not exactly like that but pretty darned close. =P
Jazzie @ The Book Dancer recently posted…Throne of Glass Review
I RELATE TO THEM ALL. Especially the stupidity part, that makes me really annoyed. Also, I do understand lying to protect, but I cannot tolerate lying actually harms the MC. Example: this one book, everyone was lying so that said main character wouldn’t know her fear was due to her curse. HOWEVER, they made her 1) take drugs for it and 2) the whole lying thing just caused her to explore more AND GET HURT.
Valerie recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #41
Oh wow I think I relate to ALL of your bookish turn offs! You know another bookish turn off? When the whiny protagonist just is so in love with their new found love that they can’t focus on anything else and then they start backing everything they do up with the new boyfriend/girlfriend or whatever.
And another one is when THE CHAPTER TITLES OR SYNOPSIS RUIN PART OF OR ALL OF THE CHAPTER/NOVEL!!!!! LIKE, NO ONE ASKED FOR YOU TO TELL US THE WHOLE THING THAT’S WHY WE WANT TO READ THE BOOK!!!! (sorry, mini rant there)
And happy endings for everyone turn me off because it feels unrealistic. THERE MUST BE CONSEQUENCES!!!! THERE IS NO RIDING OFF INTO THE SUNSET WITH THE WIND IN MY CURLY RED HAIR LIKE MERIDA!!!!!
And that is about it actually. 🙂 I like all the other things.
Renee Bookboyfriends recently posted…four colours → red
One, two, three and ten I totally agree. Especially stupidity, I swear sometimes someone need a slap.
Then we have blatant bad decisions, which is close to stupidity I admit. If everyone and the reader is thinking the “hero” of the story is an idiot, that’s a very big clue to the fact that you probably shouldn’t do it! I usually have to put down the book for a few minutes and think about why I’m reading it.
Another thing is super-powers overload. He sneezes and suddenly have the power to control the world. That escalated quickly. And then a new evil rises and BAM, the solution is “look inside yourself for the power”. Where is the old work your ass off?
Eithne on the Moon recently posted…365days tracker | Free printable
I can totally punch zombies and have pretty hair. Also, stupid characters include when something is so obvious to the reader and the character doesn’t see it. That drives me CRAZY! Because I have to keep reading about them being blind and stupid about the whole thing and then it’s this big *revelation* even though it’s been obvious for ages.
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The biggest book turn-offs for me are when the protagonist narrates every single thing that she does. I’m literally like, “We get the idea now please PLEASE progress the plot with something besides your breakfast.”
I also don’t like cheating. No. I can’t deal with cheating relationships. It’s just such a crappy thing to do that I don’t want to read about it.
Hypocritical characters. I can’t force myself to like them at all.
I find it ironic that I read about your red hair pet peeve three days after on of my friends mentions how he hates it XD
Kelly @ Dancing Through the Pages recently posted…E-books vs. Print Books
I don’t mind seeing red haired protagonists, but that’s probably because I’m surrounded by red heads in real life. Seriously. Surrounded. My aunt, my sister, my husband, my sister-in-law, my son. Way too many gingers!
Sarah recently posted…Review: They Call Me Crazy + Giveaway
Oooh, you’ve touched on several of mine. Stupidity, the throwing of tantrums over stupid shit (totally agree that the whole “you lied so now I can’t trust you” thing gets blown way out of proportion), the absent parents thing gets me too, and I HATE when the “best friend” has, like, one line in the book (uhh, clearly not a best friend if you forget about them for 200+ pages).
Stupidity is DEFINITELY the worst, and in that similar vein, I HATE HATE HATE it when characters just say something that doesn’t make any sense in the context of everything else (like, they say something about themselves that hasn’t been demonstrated), or when they just do something just cause and THAT is what conveniently solves the problem (or causes it). PEOPLE HAVE MOTIVATIONS!
I want it on the record that I don’t normally utilize quite so many all caps words in my comments/posts … You bring out the worst in me 😉
Liza Barrett recently posted…The Black Swan Inheritance by Marigold Deidre Dicer
Oh, yes! Definitely 1, 2, and 4. I mean seriously?! Love triangles can be so irritating, and I actually wrote a post about them recently. Sometimes, I really wish I could go into a book and yell at a character. I mean, why would you think that getting a boyfriend solves everything? Why do you not understand that your parents probably know what they’re talking about and they love you and want what’s best for you. I mean come on (hits head on desk)!
Another think that sometimes turns me away from a book is insta love, I mean some insta love just isn’t right.
Lakin recently posted…January Recap
Spot on again, Cait. Why do you have to be right all the time?!?!?!
“Having a love-life crisis in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.” – This reminded me of The 5th Wave. Not exactly zombie apocalypse but alien invasion. I love romance but the one in this book was totally inappropriate.
Love triangles don’t always turn me off but I could do without it. The love triangle in A Thousand Pieces of You was tolerable and properly executed.
I didn’t know only 2% of the population has red hair! I should add Isla from Isla and the Happily Ever After. Another red-haired heroine…
And best friends. Hmm… I don’t know if this counts but Stiles from Teen Wolf is definitely under appreciated. Which is why I love him more than Scott.
Great, awesome list, Cait! 🙂
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