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November 28, 2014

BookBlogWriMo | Book Pet Peeves


Welcome to Day 28 of BookBlogWriMo!

Everyone has pet peeves. This is a broad spectrum that covers everything from biting your nails to texting during dinner. As a slightly OCD book lover, my list of pet peeves is longer than most people's.

Today's (fun) topic is...

Book Pet Peeves

1. When someone borrows a book and gives it back in terrible condition. 
2. Dog earring pages. This is an irreversible sin in my book, because once that crease is on the page, you cannot get rid of it (Did I mention that I am "slightly" OCD?) Is it really that hard to find a piece of paper to mark your spot in the book?
3. People who are obnoxious in libraries. For some reason, people believe that libraries are social hangouts. I do not mind book discussion and stuff like that, but anything that I also believe that parents should actually watch their children while they are in the library.

Now, on to my peeves about books.

1.  Love triangles. I hate it when books stop focusing on the actual story and create unnecessary drama by adding a love triangle. Most of the time, it is obvious who the character is going to end up with anyway, so why even make the stupid thing in the first place? There are some exceptions, like in the Throne of Glass series, and The Hunger Game series. Personally, I think that readers get too caught up in the Edward versus Jacob rivalry that they do not pay attention to the plot.
2. Dead/absent parents. In YA, there is an abundance of characters without parents. Kat, from the Lux series, Harry Potter, almost everyone in the Percy Jackson series, and on it goes. Basically, if characters have their parents at the beginning of the series, they end up dying, becoming lost, or getting sick somewhere throughout the series.
3. Manic Pixie Syndrome. Sometimes called "Manic Pixie Dream Girl," this is my least favorite kind of character. She (normally a girl, but in some cases is used with males) is practically perfect-- she is beautiful, smart, funny, kind, etc. The main character develops a creepy obsession crush on the Pixie Girl. But, this girl always remains aloof and unattainable. The reason that this character exists is to teach the main character "valuable life lessons." Unfortunately, the first example that comes to mind is Margo from Paper Towns by John Green. I have tried reading this book, but I truly did not really care about Margo. Sorry John Green.
4. Insta-love


The only thing that I can think of when it comes to insta-love is this song (and I am not even a Carly Rae Jepsen fan!). I knew that this is harsh, but I think that insta-love is a way for authors to avoid trying to write a meaningful relationship between characters. Authors need to realize that there is a difference between love and attraction. I believe that real love is made over time. I understand that most authors do not have books that are long enough to sustain a relationship like that. I have found that my favorite character relationships are from longer series, like the Divergent trilogy and The Mortal Instruments series. My favorite relationship that was made in one book, is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I believe that he makes up for Margo with this book. Even though it is not a long span of time, the relationship between Hazel and Gus is real.

Thank you for patiently reading my rant! What are your most annoying book pet peeves?

6 comments:

  1. Quote:
    "I think that insta-love is a way for authors to avoid trying to write a meaningful relationship between characters...I understand that most authors do not have books that are long enough to sustain a relationship like that."
    LOL. I had never thought of that before, but yes, it makes sense. On the other hand, the handsome-new-boy-in-town-making-the-girl-go-head-over-heels-for-him is SO overused a trope. Makes me reject a book even before I know what it's about.
    *nods to the list*

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  2. Insta-love is really the only trope that will make me stop reading a book, which is probably obvious from my passionate rant.
    Thanks for your opinion!

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  3. YES, thank you! I loathe insta-love and love triangles. If they're done right, then I can forgive their sins, but they're almost never done right. It's just one of those things that sold so well during the Twilight age and now everyone's doing it.. STOP IT PLEASE.

    Also, yes on the dog-earing thing. When you borrow things, you're supposed to return them in the same state. Not in a dog-eared state.

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    Replies
    1. I totally understand! I have not read Twilight yet (I am still scared that someone will find out and hunt me down) but I think that the love triangle was actually done well. The problem is that too many other books copied the same idea.

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    2. Oh, I don't find any shame in liking Twilight. They were the books that got me into reading in the first place, so I owe them a lot. I just don't like the fact that so many people copied that in order to sell books, 'cause most of the time, it's really not well done.

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  4. Ooh, I know what you mean about the dead parent! The amount of times where there is one is crazy. I don't mind love triangles as long as they are written well and aren't pointless to the story. I also hate when I lend books and get them in terrible condition back.

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