Booking Through Thursday #4 - Literary Pet Peeves (read: 'rants')

 

What are your literary “pet peeves”? 

 

What's that? You want me to rant about things I irrationally dislike? Well, as much as I hate doing that... go on then.

 

1) Sneaky vampires (or aliens/angels/zombie-tigers)

 

It seems I can barely go a post without complaining about this, but hey - Do Not Annoy Me, And I Shall Not Rant.

 

By this, I mean creatures that pop up in the middle of books when the blurb didn't even hint that they were invited to the party. Vampires are the most common offenders, and it was actually Black Swan Rising that kicked off my rant a few weeks ago, in a post kind of similar to this one.   

However, it's not just vampires. It happens all the time. I admit sometimes it's my own fault, like when I manage to completely ignore the informative subtitle and photo (*cough* Bound *cough*), but more often than not I'm innocent.

 

It's not just paranormal fiction either, oh no! Even classic fiction has its offenders. I recently picked up Slaughterhouse 5, expecting a fairly standard anti-war historical fiction. And what did I find? Aliens.

 

I rest my case. 

2) Angsty melodrama

 

Please dear God, just stop crying!

 

I can't stand books where the characters do nothing but wail, sob and desperately wring their hands. It's usually a teenage thing, all the more frequently where one half of the partnership is a vampire/werewolf/demon and he loves a human girl but he's too dangerous for her, and blah blah blah...

 

In Mercy by Rebecca Lim, I don't think any character utters a sentence that isn't sobbed or accompanied by some form of desperate wailing.

 

If you can't stop whining, I swear I'll give you something to cry about. 

 

3) Unnecessary love triangles 

 

I don't hate love triangles per se, although I do admit it's the kind of thing I normally would. Instead, it just annoys me when romance is shovelled in to a book when the plot would be perfectly fine without. Better, even.

 

It irritates me further when the ridiculous heroine makes the blatantly wrong choice. I know a lot of the time it's subjective, which is where the whole 'Team This' and 'Team That' thing comes from, but sometimes it's just... not. Take The Killables, by Gemma Malley. Yeah, I actually quite liked it. But... wrong boy. Seriously. Without Any Form Of Doubt. 

4) Insta-Love

 

In the real world, people don't usually suddenly catch sight of their childhood friend and realise they R in Luv 4Eva. In a lot of books, the couple declare their undying devotion after about five minutes of intense dislike.

 

It just doesn't work like that! I just think that it might be giving young teenage girls slightly unrealistic expectations - I've overheard a few that don't understand why their boyfriend won't act like Edward or Daniel from Fallen. Answer: They don't act like that, because people don't act like that.

 

It's also annoying when girls 'fall in love' with boys with no actual knowledge of said boy, just because they're told not to. Sigh. Hello there, Matched.  

 

 

I got a little carried away, I know. For the record, I do actually like books :) 

Booking Through Thursday #3 - What is the one book you'd recommend without a second thought?

If someone asked you for a book recommendation, what is the FIRST book you’d think to recommend (without extra thought)?

Okay, so obviously it depends on the person in question - you'd have to take into account what they read and what they've already read. That said, I really do think everybody should read Pride and Prejudice. I haven't met a single person who doesn't like it. The only people who say it's 'a women's book' and that nothing happens, are pretty much always the ones who haven't read it.

And the best thing? I have 37 copies they could borrow! It's true, sadly enough. I collect different editions. Look - 

 

And since I know you're all dying to know more about my obsessiveness, here are some closer photos :)

 

 So yes. As you may have gathered, this is my favourite book and without doubt, the one I'd recommend to anybody.

 

Booking Through Thursday #2 - Ever read a book you thought you could write better yourself?

Ever read a book you thought you could have written better yourself?

This has actually been the topic of a few Hanna rants lately, which one or two of you have been on the receiving end of. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I could write better, because I do know how difficult writing can be. I just think that a lot of weakly written books have been slipping through the publisher filters recently and it does irritate me.

Some books have amazing plot ideas - interesting, unique and have brilliant plot and characters. Unfortunately, and I am referring mainly (but not exclusively) to YA books, their awful, awful writing lets them down. 

If I had my way, any book that fits this bill would be accepted by the publisher, but then tidied up by a more professional, experienced author. The original writer would be published on the cover, but perhaps with the editor in smaller font underneath. Or if the author wishes to retain the authenticity of their book, the publishers could send a conditional acceptance - they'll publish the book, but only if another, better written, manuscript is sent in.

I know, I know - most of my readers are going to throw rocks at me for this one and never return to Booking in Heels. I just can't help it though - it's honestly how I feel about too many of the books I've read lately.

But could I write them better? Nope, absolutely not :)    

 

Booking Through Thursday Survey

What do you mean 'it's Saturday?' No it's not, I don't believe you! And even if I did, I would still post this survey today, simply because I can. It's not like I saw it on Musings of a Bookshop Girl and any potential restraint was overshadowed by my pathological need to fill out surveys or anything.

1. What’s your favorite time of day to read?

All the time! I know that's a bit of a cop-out answer, but it's pretty much true. I'm not good at reading right after I've just got up, but any other time is fair game. I don't work, so you can pretty much find me with a book in my hand at any given time. I do especially like reading in the early evening though, or maybe just after tea.

 

2. Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.)

No, it's the only time of day when I don't. I can't really. I have ME so most days I wake up fairly ill. Imagine your most groggy morning of the last month and multiply it by about four and then pretend you have a sheet of clingfilm across your vision. I do carry my book about with me though, ready for when I'm read to act like a normal person!

 

3. What’s your favorite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.)

Again, I wake up too ill to eat actual breakfast. The combination of ME and IBS mean that I tend to automatically throw up anything I eat too soon after I wake up. Wow, this is turning into quite a woe-is-me post, isn't it? I do love sausage sandwiches with red sauce though - those are definitely my favourite breakfast food.

 

4. How many hours a day would you say you read?

It varies. I spend half my time at my parents house in Bradford, and the other half with my boyfriend in Sheffield, so it depends where I am, really. I tend to read less when I'm staying at Lewis' because I'm more likely to watch a film with him. Probably only about an hour and a half a day, unless he's obsessed with a particular x-box game, in which case it will be more.

At home it's easily three or four hours a day, simply because I have a short attention span for anything else. 

5. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago?

More, but only because I have more spare time. I've always been a huge reader. I was a little more into TV back then though whilst now I hardly ever turn the damn thing on, so that probably makes a difference.

 

6. Do you consider yourself a speed reader?

I don't know, what's a speed reader? And no, that isn't as stupid a question as it sounds! I don't skim read, but I do read quickly.

7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

How odd, I had this conversation just yesterday! I'd want to be able to freeze time. There are so many practical applications! You could sit on the floor of Waterstones and read forever, without ever having to buy a book or move out of the way. You could avoid people you don't like and you'd never be late for classes. This is always my 100% convinced answer to this question.

Failing that, because it doesn't really count, I'd like to jump into books like Thursday Next. 

8. Do you carry a book with you everywhere you go?

Yes. More out of habit than anything else. I trail my book about everywhere in the damn house, so it's a logical progression to shove it in my handbook before I go out. It used to annoy me in the Sixth Form Common room when I'd take out my book to read when I was alone, and someone would come over and say "Oh, I saw you were bored so I thought I'd come over!" No. I'm not bored, I'm reading. GO AWAY.

9. What KIND of book?

Big books, little books, cardboard book? All kinds!

 

10. How old were you when you got your first library card?

I don't remember. Very young. I remember they were basically just pieces of laminated white paper with printed black text. You could get six books out at a time, and I remember being so excited when I turned ten and my limit increased to twelve books! It was great because the library is literally a five minute walk from our house.

 

11. What’s the oldest book you have in your collection? (Oldest physical copy? Longest in the collection? Oldest copyright?)

Oh god knows. I have my Mum's old copy of Little Woman, so probably that. It's hardback and the binding is falling apart, but I love it.

I have a lot of classic books, so I have no idea about the oldest copyright. I have a collection of Euripedes' plays, so that's probably the one. Not that they had copyright 2000BC, but you get the idea.

 

12. Do you read in bed?

Every single night when I'm at home. I spend a large portion of the day reading on the bed too, because both The Boy and I live with our parents, so it's the only place to get privacy.

 

13. Do you write in your books?

No, never. I don't have a problem with reading or buying books that have been written in; sometimes I find it quite interesting. But I don't even like breaking the spines, so writing in them really goes against the grain!

14. If you had one piece of advice to a new reader, what would it be?

Surely if they're already a reader, the hard part is done? They've already decided to give a books a go and found reading to their liking! I guess I'd remind them that if they aren't getting alone with a book, it's perfectly acceptable to put it down and choose another.