Things in books that annoy you

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by lotuzzdiabetes

Is there anything that irritates you when you come across it in books? Somthing in the title, plot, cover, method of writing, character trait, or anything else? For me it is love triangles. I hate them with a passion. I am a big believer in polyamoury and seeing a pointless stupid love triangle can ruin a story for me. I will still read it but I am never happy about the added useless drama. They are way too common since the "success" of twilight and a lazy writing gimmick. And they are always with a straight woman in a middle. Never with LGBT characters. Also, It would still be dumb even with that but at least they would get points for originality. And it isn't realistic. The attraction for someone in real life is only very seldom split between two people equally. The characters typically have so many more important things to worry about. So what irritates you?

The thing that always annoys me in fiction is characters falling in love at first sight, be it in romance novels or in any other genre. I know it happens in real life, but in fiction it just seems like lazy writing, like the author didn't want to bother with developing the relationship. It doesn't matter if the characters falling in love are straight or gay or bi, it's always equally irritating.

In movies it's less annoying than in books, but somewhat still.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

It happens, sometimes. My father-in-law and mother-in-law got back together again after being divorced for 25-30 years.

Did they stay together the second time? If so that is fabulous.

[icallaci]

I used to enjoy cozy mysteries until I served on a jury for a murder case. After that, I couldn't get past the thought that murder is not entertainment.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by icallaci

I used to enjoy cozy mysteries until I served on a jury for a murder case. After that, I couldn't get past the thought that murder is not entertainment.

Well, it's not actually murder itself that's meant to entertain in mysteries; it's the who-did-it process.

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, it's not actually murder itself that's meant to entertain in mysteries; it's the who-did-it process.

Hence the genius of Columbo, which showed you the perpetrator in the first scene and inverted the formula from “whodunit” to “howcatchem”.

[jj2me]

A non-ending ending, like the Sopranos HBO show. Two I can remember that weren't spelled out enough for me were "A Dangerous Man" by Charlie Huston and "The Handmaid's Tale". I realize many people like those type of endings; I feel hoodwinked. Give me something. Artistic, I suppose those authors think. I think lazy and unimaginative.

Trivial and personal, but I go nuts when I read a car model that never existed. Two examples I've seen of cars never made/sold in the U.S. but were in U.S. stories:
- Toyota Supra station wagon
- Chrysler Town Car
Both made me stop reading, and I almost never do that.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The thing that always annoys me in fiction is characters falling in love at first sight, be it in romance novels or in any other genre. I know it happens in real life, but in fiction it just seems like lazy writing, like the author didn't want to bother with developing the relationship. It doesn't matter if the characters falling in love are straight or gay or bi, it's always equally irritating.

In movies it's less annoying than in books, but somewhat still.

I like mysteries so at one time I tried a few romantic suspense books. Maybe I just happened to pick the wrong ones (can't remember what authors I read, it's been a while) but the characters always met under stressful circumstances, resisted each other briefly, got together, and by the end of the book were engaged or married, and the total time period that had passed in the book was only two or three weeks. Probably about the same amount of time it took me to realize romantic suspense was not for me!

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by jj2me

A non-ending ending, like the Sopranos HBO show. Two I can remember that weren't spelled out enough for me were "A Dangerous Man" by Charlie Huston and "The Handmaid's Tale". I realize many people like those type of endings; I feel hoodwinked. Give me something. Artistic, I suppose those authors think. I think lazy and unimaginative.

Trivial and personal, but I go nuts when I read a car model that never existed. Two examples I've seen of cars never made/sold in the U.S. but were in U.S. stories:
- Toyota Supra station wagon
- Chrysler Town Car
Both made me stop reading, and I almost never do that.

I thought I saw some Town cars in the 1970's. Oh wait, you are right. They were Lincoln Town Cars.
The Supras were sports cars of a sort not a station wagon.

[crossi]

I do not like being in the head of sadistic killers or their victims. Some of J.D. Robb's books did that and I hated those particular books though on the whole I like the series.

[Witty Username]

Lazy authors who have no idea how to end the story so they just kill everyone off.

Yes, W.Shakespeare, I'm talking to you. Did you just get bored with Hamlet?


(And to my high school English literature teacher - I still maintain that was a cop-out by Shakespeare. I now know I'm not alone in this opinion.)

[icallaci]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, it's not actually murder itself that's meant to entertain in mysteries; it's the who-did-it process.

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.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by jj2me

A non-ending ending, like the Sopranos HBO show. Two I can remember that weren't spelled out enough for me were "A Dangerous Man" by Charlie Huston and "The Handmaid's Tale". I realize many people like those type of endings; I feel hoodwinked. Give me something. Artistic, I suppose those authors think. I think lazy and unimaginative.

Trivial and personal, but I go nuts when I read a car model that never existed. Two examples I've seen of cars never made/sold in the U.S. but were in U.S. stories:
- Toyota Supra station wagon
- Chrysler Town Car
Both made me stop reading, and I almost never do that.

I have a Toyota Supra station wagon parked right next to my Tartan Prancer

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I like mysteries so at one time I tried a few romantic suspense books. Maybe I just happened to pick the wrong ones (can't remember what authors I read, it's been a while) but the characters always met under stressful circumstances, resisted each other briefly, got together, and by the end of the book were engaged or married, and the total time period that had passed in the book was only two or three weeks. Probably about the same amount of time it took me to realize romantic suspense was not for me!

I always say I love romantic suspense, but I really mean only a few old-time authors: Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Dorothy Eden. If you ever decide to give the genre another look, try one of them. I avoid the newer books that call themselves romantic suspense because they seem to have too much romance/sex and not enough suspense.

[dwig]

While many of my pet annoyances have already been mentioned, there is one that doesn't seem to have been given the light of day, the Idiot Plot as formally defined by Siskel & Ebert.

The Idiot Plot refers to plots where the action and suspense can't proceed unless the characters chose to make the one decision at each and every juncture that is the worst, only only bad, choice. If they, even once, made the better, often only intelligent, choice there would be no story.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by jj2me

A non-ending ending, like the Sopranos HBO show. Two I can remember that weren't spelled out enough for me were "A Dangerous Man" by Charlie Huston and "The Handmaid's Tale". I realize many people like those type of endings; I feel hoodwinked. Give me something. Artistic, I suppose those authors think. I think lazy and unimaginative.

Trivial and personal, but I go nuts when I read a car model that never existed. Two examples I've seen of cars never made/sold in the U.S. but were in U.S. stories:
- Toyota Supra station wagon
- Chrysler Town Car
Both made me stop reading, and I almost never do that.

But people do import personal vehicles.
I did a check drive of a RH drive Datsun 1600 roadster ( I had the US model) for the boss.
Sometimes, it is just the badge that varies.

But point taken, the exceptions need to be explained away.
Personally, using ANY product model or brand, quickly 'dates' a (non-period) story.