What ticks you off when reading a book/story?

[eyez0nme]

Absurd wordy descriptions really piss me off. I don't give a damn about the rug the character's staring at! I don't give a shit about the curtains or the furniture! I don't give a **** about that car! unless it advances the story! Tell me about something that matters! Life is to short for me to devote any time to such things.

 

[blurricus]

I agree on the ridiculous descriptions. It irks me. I only enjoy it when it's a homeric simile. It ticks me off when a book isn't clear about who's speaking.

 

[abecedarian]

I agree with Eyez0neme-needlessly wordy descriptions are tedious.. But I also hate it when important details or people are left out or worse, dropped at some point..
First example: Firestorm by Nevada Barr- Anna Pigeon's team of park ranger/firefighters are battling this terrible forest fire while bringing a murder vic's body down this mountain...all the while Anna is worried about perserving evidence for the murder case...as soon as they reach safety, all mention of the body and whatever evidence contained is dropped... I read and read and never did see what happened to the body!

Second Example..the title escapes me, but the leading lady spends the first three quarters of the book working up to spending a romantic weekend with her handsome neighbor...when the moment of truth arrives and they're all alone.. she gets cold feet and changes her mind. He totally changes character, becomes a mean nasty so and so and leaves...NEVER to be seen or heard from again.. no resolution to the crisis. I won't read more of this writer's work..it would help me avoid her if I could remember names and titles

 

[Zolipara]

It depends on how its done.
One of my favourite books is "Against the grain" and it can be seen as just one very long description of a house. Yet its never dull. Descritions can say a lot about the story and characters.

 

[saliotthomas]

you should read Theophil gaultier -the momie,pages after pages of descriptions.
I don't mind if it well done,not to much so.And the "life is to short for such",sorry but,practicality does not make life more interresting .

The real killer is went everything is expected,you know what's going to happen and it still takes pages for the guy to spit it out.The ready made,the things you see coming for miles,clichées,...
I'd rather have a page of description,with is often needed than one "10 times read before" sentences or idea.
Some people like it,make then feels like home,not to surprising....

 

[sparkchaser]

It ticks me off when a book isn't clear about who's speaking.

Amen brother blurricus!

I also hate abrupt changes in scenes with no transition at all. As much as I enjoyed it, Master & Commander was guilty of this. Action would switch so quickly that I thought I had missed a page or two. Can't stand that.

 

[LoeMa]

Sometimes it's strenuous to read such books but I love this description of details (e.g. Proust). It creates a whole new world or an authentic picture of a time.

 

[dele]

I don't like stories about perfect people. Michael Crichton's bad for it - I usually end up rooting for the bad guy just because the good guy is too irritating.

 

[Jez]

I don't like it when an author keeps repeating the same phrases over and over throughout the book.

Also, when authors give their characters really stupid or ridiculous to pronounce names.

 

[bethanyr32]

I agree, I don't like excessive description that seems to just fill space or show off the author's wordiness. Little bits are okay, but paragraphs full of pointless description tend to put me to sleep!
I hate when an author drags the ending of a book out FOREVER... I understand a complex plot can take a while to wrap up all the loose ends, but when you know the basics of where the ending is going and you still have a hundred or more pages left, that gets frustrating. For an example, if anyone else has read Tad Williams' Otherland series, you'll know what I mean. It's a good series, good plot, but the entire last book is the "ending" of the story. It shouldn't take 400 pages to climax and resolve!

 

[angerball]

I don't like it when an author keeps repeating the same phrases over and over throughout the book.

That's just what I was going to say. I read something recently, and the author said several times, something along the lines of: "She shivered, but it wasn't from the cold". I think the author (can't remember who, or the book) was so impressed with this phrase, he/she just felt compelled to show off by repeating it over and over.

I can't stand corny characters or dialogue, either - think Dean Koontz, which is why I stopped reading him.

Long descriptions don't bother me, as long as I like the way they are written. I mean, I loved Atonement (Ian McEwan), and a lot of people criticised that book for being long-winded and wordy.

 

[Fantasy Moon]

I hate it when things seemed to be thrown in as an after thought. It's like the author doesn't even want to go back and build up the foundation for whatever it is they want to add.

 

[sparkchaser]

I hate abrupt endings. Yes, I'm talking to you Neal Stephenson.

 

[HPMelmoth]

I don't like it when an author keeps repeating the same phrases over and over throughout the book.

Yep, that irritates me too. For example, I love the world created in Brian Lumley's Necroscope series, but it really irritates me how often he uses the phrase "there are ______s and there are _______s" <---same word inserted into both blanks

It's a fine enough phrase I suppose, so it's fine that the narrator use it occasionally, but when he has characters use it as well, it gives everyone a similarity in voice that hurts characterization and just gets generally annoying.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

I have to disagree with all you people here. I think description is a very important part of any novel, and not just to set the setting, but as a stylistic thing. For example, I remember that the descriptions in Madame Bovary, simply the way they're written, both the fact that they're extremely descriptive and what they're describing, set the tone for the story. In fact, in some books, describing the setting, etc...is a way to describe, say, the person who owns the rug.

 

[Jez]

I hate when an author drags the ending of a book out FOREVER... I understand a complex plot can take a while to wrap up all the loose ends, but when you know the basics of where the ending is going and you still have a hundred or more pages left, that gets frustrating. For an example, if anyone else has read Tad Williams' Otherland series, you'll know what I mean. It's a good series, good plot, but the entire last book is the "ending" of the story. It shouldn't take 400 pages to climax and resolve!

I haven't read his Otherland series, but the first thing that came to my mind after reading your first sentence I quoted was Williams' Memory, Sorry, and Thorn trilogy.

That's just what I was going to say. I read something recently, and the author said several times, something along the lines of: "She shivered, but it wasn't from the cold". I think the author (can't remember who, or the book) was so impressed with this phrase, he/she just felt compelled to show off by repeating it over and over.

It's even worse when the phrase isn't even a good one the first time you hear it (like the one you mention).

 

[Jez]

I hate abrupt endings. Yes, I'm talking to you Neal Stephenson.

Maybe if Neil Stephenson and Tad Williams get together they can both figure out how to write an appropriate length ending

 

[saliotthomas]

I don't like stories about perfect people. Michael Crichton's bad for it - I usually end up rooting for the bad guy just because the good guy is too irritating.

i agree ,the probleme is the bad guy doesn't often win!

I have to disagree with all you people here. I think description is a very important part of any novel, and not just to set the setting, but as a stylistic thing. For example, I remember that the descriptions in Madame Bovary, simply the way they're written, both the fact that they're extremely descriptive and what they're describing, set the tone for the story. In fact, in some books, describing the setting, etc...is a way to describe, say, the person who owns the rug.

I don't think we all agreed with Eyeonme?

 

[eyez0nme]

I have to disagree with all you people here. I think description is a very important part of any novel, and not just to set the setting, but as a stylistic thing. For example, I remember that the descriptions in Madame Bovary, simply the way they're written, both the fact that they're extremely descriptive and what they're describing, set the tone for the story. In fact, in some books, describing the setting, etc...is a way to describe, say, the person who owns the rug.

The problem we have, Hermoine, is over-describing.

There's a difference.

 

[dele]

I agree with Jez about ridiculous character names. It's a huge turn-off, especially in the sci-fi and fantasy world.

I can't stand reading sequels to a classic written by a different author. A notable example is Mrs De Winter, a sequel to Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca. If you liked the original, do yourself a favour and skip the "sequel".