Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Bookish Pet Peeves

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish featuring a new top ten list each week. Everyone can participate- head on over to their blog and sign up.

This week’s topic is Top 10 Bookish Pet Peeves. This includes all those things that annoy you in a story, with book covers, bookstores, etc. I seem to have many bookish pet peeves and had no problem making this list. Here is my top 10 in no particular order:

1. Inconsistent pricing between paper books and e-books – I have an e-reader and due to space and convenience would prefer to purchase e-books. However, I’ve noticed many times that new release hardcover books will be priced cheaper than the e-book. Wish that the e-book price could match the paper version or if the paper version would include a link for an e-copy.

2. Inconsistent book formats within a series (books change from paperback format to hardcover) – I understand that this is to make more money when the series gains popularity. However, now the books don’t match on my shelves.

3. Cover art style change in the middle of the series – This was brought up recently with the Nightshade series, and I also noticed it with Vampire Academy. It seems silly, but in the case of Nightshade the cover drew me to the book initially and I grew attached to the style.

4. Too many books in a series / Unnecessary sequels– Some series books go on a little too long, and some of the installments are not as fulfilling as others.  Also, it’s OK to have a standalone book. When I was a kid I used to wish that certain books I read would continue with sequels. Now it is uncommon to find standalone books.

5. E-books availability in libraries / legal e-book sharing – It would be nice to check out e-books from libraries, or find more of a selection. I just found out about Booklending and ebookfling for legal e-book sharing. I’m going to offer to lend some of my books and see how it works.

6. Dog-eared pages or dirty, torn pages in library books – The condition of some of the library books is pretty bad. I generally stick to new releases, but I really notice the condition in older books I borrow.

7. Book blurbs that give too much away or are misleading – I like to know just enough about the story in the book blurb, and try to avoid spoilers. Strangely, in some cases the blurb does not match up well with the book at all.

8. Quotation marks left off of dialogue in books – I can’t recall the book, but there was a book I read recently where it was difficult to figure out which character was speaking due to the missing quotation marks. It was confusing and distracting to read.

9. Love triangles – In many YA books I read chances are there is a love triangle. Wish that this device were used a bit less frequently.

10. Typos – I’m noticing a lot more typos in books lately. I don’t mind if there are one or two, but I’m noticing them more and more. I usually read books when they are first out, so maybe they are fixed in later editions. My daughter likes to spot and correct typos in her books.

Speaking of which, I polled my husband and daughter and they have a few bonus pet peeves to share.

Husband’s pet peeves:

  • Expensive books bought online that are poorly packaged for shipping and arrive dented and bent
  • Buying a used book and finding pages torn out
  • Large format books with a lot of text that are too heavy to read in bed

Daughter’s pet peeves:

  • Typos
  • Books that do not use standard spacing
  • No blank pages in the back, no author photo on book.
  • Book doesn’t end the way I want it to.

What are your bookish pet peeves? Feel free to share your links below so I can comment on your list.

Ornament

13 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Bookish Pet Peeves

  1. I think I agree with every point on your list! Especially pricing, changing covers mid-series and no speech marks!!! That one really bugs me.

  2. Bonnie says:

    I don’t think it’s silly about the covers. So many book lovers I know go on about the covers. I think it might be because for a lot of us it’s the whole package and not just between the covers, or at least when it comes to a series that takes time to come together and you spend so much time reading. It’s one of my pet peeves too, but I already filled up the list!

    I’m interested to know how you go with the ebooks and lending. I’ve gotten an ebook in the last month and am currently looking into elibraries and websites.

  3. Geosi Reads says:

    I love your list especially that of your husband.

  4. I’m seeing a lot of similar peeves as I float around the blogosphere. Love triangles. Book blurbs that give away too much. Typos.

    Hope the Powers That Be are reading these, too.

    Here’s my list of ten bookish peeves.

  5. Laura says:

    Yes! I hate misleading blurbs, makes me want to take a big black marker and change them all in the shop!

  6. […] Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Bookish Pet Peeves (thereadingdate.wordpress.com) […]

  7. Book Nympho says:

    I totally agree with any kind of technical errors or oddities like typos or strange formatting, spacing and fonts. Anything that makes the reading experience harder puts me off immediately. Fortunately I haven’t had any books with missing pages except the occasional library book with a picture torn out, usually a celeb bio where someone stole a bikini picture which is kind of creepy!

  8. Maggie says:

    I agree with you on #10 – it really does feel like books have way more typos than they used to. I have problems with #8 as well; I end up reading the same sentence over a few times, then realize that they left off quotes… urg!

  9. Great answers, I agree.

  10. Good Ones!

    Yara @ Once Upon a Twilight!
    Here is my Top Ten Tues
    And check out my eReader Blogoversary Giveaway Ends 3/30

  11. Holly says:

    I forgot about misleading book blurbs. I’ve been left wondering on more than one occasion if the person who wrote the blurb even read the book or made an effort at all to know what it was about. Great list!

  12. bookzilla says:

    I’ve noticed several people listing “inconsistent binding across the series.” I have the entire Harry Potter and Twilight series’ in hardcover, but it really doesn’t bother me if some books are paperback and others are hardcover. I imagine it would annoy me if I organized by bookshelves differently, but I kind of like having “disorganized” shelves. It gives my apartment a pleasant lived-in feel. Nice list!

  13. cmcraig says:

    I’ve been noticing a lot more typos too. Also, I totally agree. I’m always looking for good standalones these days and it can be tough. I’ll reach the end and discover, oh there’s a sequel!

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