Thread: Things in books that annoy you
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Old 01-24-2018, 10:10 PM   #188
FizzyWater
You kids get off my lawn!
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I have a huge problem reading books written in first person, present tense. It just sounds too much like a couple of kids talking at the mall.

"So, I go into the lunchroom and you know what happens next? She tells me..." blah blah blah. I got through The Time-Traveler's Wife, but nowadays, if I pick up a book and it's first person, present tense, I just put it back. Usually, that means returning it on Overdrive.

Quote:
Originally Posted by icallaci View Post
I know, and I have no problem with anyone else enjoying them. It's just that I had to look at some horrifying photos and listen to some heart-rending testimony, and it affects how I look at "fun" murder mysteries now. They just don't work for me anymore.
At one point I read a lot of True Crime, but had to stop for years after 9/11. Same idea, I think - I just couldn't use tragedy as entertainment until I could get some emotional distance. Then (and sadly, this is true), one of my dearest friend's daughter was murdered by her boyfriend...I do not *ever* want to see her story on a true crime show. I think I would literally throw up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by theducks View Post
Personally, using ANY product model or brand, quickly 'dates' a (non-period) story.
Stories that drop too many names (celebrities, products, movies, etc.) annoy me. And if they happen to drop a lot of cultural references that I don't know (didn't read the book, watch the TV series, whatever), then I lose the context. It's a lazy choice.

In romance novels, I've seen authors describe the "hero" as looking like some celebrity or sports guy. Well, if that guy gives me the creeps or reminds of my little brother - ick!

Quote:
Originally Posted by 4691mls View Post
Speaking of technology, authors don't seem to know about the change in over-the-air TV from analog to digital that happened in 2009 (I know because I had to get a converter box for my old TV). But authors wanting to make a point about how poor a character is or what a dump they are living in will say the character has an ancient TV with rabbit ears with no mention of it having a converter box, which is the only way such a TV could be used now.
This kind of thing always makes me doublecheck the copyright date. Too many 30-year-old reissues that don't tell you their not actually new releases.
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