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This Week's Question
Is there anything that drives
you bonkers when you're
reading a book that makes you
want to tell the author
a thing or two?
(Submitted by C. Lee @
My Answer
One of my pet peeves is one I've referred to before in another post, and I noticed that Billy also mentioned it in his own answer to this week's question. Here it is: I just don't understand why an author would kill off a beloved character, one that most readers have overwhelmingly grown to love. This happened with a character in the Harry Potter series, and I don't think I've forgiven -- or will EVER forgive -- J.K. Rowling for this! Because of this tragic event, I have not finished reading the series. I stopped halfway through Book 6....... I would like to finish this book, and then move on to Book 7, but I don't know if I can get past that very sad point.....
I know that writers will often kill off characters because they feel this "literary murder" is necessary to the plot, but it's still hard for a reader who loves said characters to accept this......
Another pet peeve I have is when a writer makes a character act inconsistently. If a writer has already established a character's personality as being a certain way, and then, later on in the novel (or short story) makes this character do or say something that, according to his/her already established personality traits, would be totally inconsistent behavior for this character, I just gnash my teeth.....and don't finish the book.
I had this problem with Sarah J. Maas's series, A Court of Thorns and Roses. I only read, but never finished, the first book. Even though the writing was luscious, and I initially liked the main character, Feyre, I HATED what Maas did with her toward the end of the first book in the series, and then, the second book. I never read the second book, though. I did look up the plot on Wikipedia. Ha, ha!! What I read made my blood boil!! I won't reveal what it is in case whoever reads this post has not read any of the books in this series. It's a very popular series, too -- the first book has nearly 300,000 ratings on Goodreads, and nearly 34,000 reviews! I can't FOR THE LIFE OF ME understand why....
One book I started a couple of years ago, and never finished, either, got me VERY upset at the author, Elyse Douglas (this is actually a husband and wife team of writers using a pen name made up of part of each of their own names). The book is titled The Christmas Bridge. I feel I SHOULD give spoilers for this one.
(WARNING: Spoilers ahead!)
The story seems very straightforward at first -- a story of second chances, in which a forty-year-old widow is going to reconnect with the college boyfriend she had betrayed and abandoned 20 years before. The problem is that, on the eve of her reunion with the ex-boyfriend, she meets ANOTHER guy, and starts a relationship with HIM. So she actually ends up hurting the poor ex ALL OVER AGAIN. Oh, I was FURIOUS!! I actually donated this book to Goodwill, and gave it ONE star on Goodreads. (Nice, unintentional pun, too -- Goodwill and Goodreads. Lol.)
This book actually should have been split into TWO books -- one would have been the story of the widow reconnecting with her old love, and rekindling their romance, and the other, a story of another widow, still mourning her husband, who meets an exciting new man on a day that she's feeling especially depressed, since the holidays are approaching, and she really misses her husband.
(End of spoilers for this book.)
Once again, I was puzzled by all the five-star reviews of this book on Goodreads, although it doesn't have as many as A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Both of these books -- the Sarah J. Maas books (Numbers 1 and 2) and the one by Elyse Douglas -- also had one thing in common that totally IRRITATED me: I was expecting the plot to go one way, which seemed to be logical and consistent according to what had already been established, only to have the author take it down ANOTHER path that just made NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.
Yet another pet peeve is when an author lets a villain -- who seems to be a GOOD person -- literally GET AWAY WITH MURDER.
(WARNING: A LOT of spoilers ahead!)
This was the problem I had with Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. One of the main characters, Max De Winter, was a very wealthy man who had married a woman named Rebecca, who was a very manipulative, totally heartless, B---H. She dies in a rather mysterious manner, and he later marries a very young, inexperienced woman who is never named in the novel. Well, it turns out that De Winter actually KILLED Rebecca, whom he loathed. The police are investigating, and are on the verge of discovering the truth. De Winter ends up admitting to the murder. To whom? HIS SECOND WIFE. And guess what? SHE HELPS HIM TO COVER UP THIS MURDER. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Yes, this is a classic. Yes, the prose style is absolutely BRILLIANT. Yes, the suspense is excellently handled. BUT. MAX DE WINTER GOT AWAY WITH MURDER. End of story. End of my interest in this book!!!
(End of spoilers for this book.)
As you can all see (if you read the spoilers), I have some rather strong feelings regarding things that authors have done with their novels. Interestingly, these pet peeves all have something to do with the way characters are portrayed. They also have a lot to do with the way a plot is developed.
What I find pretty funny, as well as fascinating, and yet, altogether appropriate, is that I've gotten SO MAD at these authors, given the fact that these characters and plots are FICTIONAL. These are not real people, nor real events. Yet, I've been passionately involved with them! This goes to show just how POWERFUL the written word is. Not only do novels and short stories have the power to transport us to different worlds and time periods, they also have the IMMENSE power to move us, to provoke us to actual disappointment and anger, which are really feelings of......yes, I have to say it: BETRAYAL. I have felt betrayed by these authors.
So these things that "drive me bonkers" tell me that I am totally invested in reading, that books and reading are a PASSION for me, and that, when an author's work clicks with me, I will feel a glorious bliss, whereas, when it doesn't, I will feel.....well, everything I've already described.
As the saying goes, "A reader lives a thousand lives....." And when one of them just doesn't work for said reader, the book is history! Lol.
There. I'm off my soapbox now!! :)
I know that writers will often kill off characters because they feel this "literary murder" is necessary to the plot, but it's still hard for a reader who loves said characters to accept this......
Another pet peeve I have is when a writer makes a character act inconsistently. If a writer has already established a character's personality as being a certain way, and then, later on in the novel (or short story) makes this character do or say something that, according to his/her already established personality traits, would be totally inconsistent behavior for this character, I just gnash my teeth.....and don't finish the book.
I had this problem with Sarah J. Maas's series, A Court of Thorns and Roses. I only read, but never finished, the first book. Even though the writing was luscious, and I initially liked the main character, Feyre, I HATED what Maas did with her toward the end of the first book in the series, and then, the second book. I never read the second book, though. I did look up the plot on Wikipedia. Ha, ha!! What I read made my blood boil!! I won't reveal what it is in case whoever reads this post has not read any of the books in this series. It's a very popular series, too -- the first book has nearly 300,000 ratings on Goodreads, and nearly 34,000 reviews! I can't FOR THE LIFE OF ME understand why....
One book I started a couple of years ago, and never finished, either, got me VERY upset at the author, Elyse Douglas (this is actually a husband and wife team of writers using a pen name made up of part of each of their own names). The book is titled The Christmas Bridge. I feel I SHOULD give spoilers for this one.
(WARNING: Spoilers ahead!)
The story seems very straightforward at first -- a story of second chances, in which a forty-year-old widow is going to reconnect with the college boyfriend she had betrayed and abandoned 20 years before. The problem is that, on the eve of her reunion with the ex-boyfriend, she meets ANOTHER guy, and starts a relationship with HIM. So she actually ends up hurting the poor ex ALL OVER AGAIN. Oh, I was FURIOUS!! I actually donated this book to Goodwill, and gave it ONE star on Goodreads. (Nice, unintentional pun, too -- Goodwill and Goodreads. Lol.)
This book actually should have been split into TWO books -- one would have been the story of the widow reconnecting with her old love, and rekindling their romance, and the other, a story of another widow, still mourning her husband, who meets an exciting new man on a day that she's feeling especially depressed, since the holidays are approaching, and she really misses her husband.
(End of spoilers for this book.)
Once again, I was puzzled by all the five-star reviews of this book on Goodreads, although it doesn't have as many as A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Both of these books -- the Sarah J. Maas books (Numbers 1 and 2) and the one by Elyse Douglas -- also had one thing in common that totally IRRITATED me: I was expecting the plot to go one way, which seemed to be logical and consistent according to what had already been established, only to have the author take it down ANOTHER path that just made NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.
Yet another pet peeve is when an author lets a villain -- who seems to be a GOOD person -- literally GET AWAY WITH MURDER.
(WARNING: A LOT of spoilers ahead!)
This was the problem I had with Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. One of the main characters, Max De Winter, was a very wealthy man who had married a woman named Rebecca, who was a very manipulative, totally heartless, B---H. She dies in a rather mysterious manner, and he later marries a very young, inexperienced woman who is never named in the novel. Well, it turns out that De Winter actually KILLED Rebecca, whom he loathed. The police are investigating, and are on the verge of discovering the truth. De Winter ends up admitting to the murder. To whom? HIS SECOND WIFE. And guess what? SHE HELPS HIM TO COVER UP THIS MURDER. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Yes, this is a classic. Yes, the prose style is absolutely BRILLIANT. Yes, the suspense is excellently handled. BUT. MAX DE WINTER GOT AWAY WITH MURDER. End of story. End of my interest in this book!!!
(End of spoilers for this book.)
As you can all see (if you read the spoilers), I have some rather strong feelings regarding things that authors have done with their novels. Interestingly, these pet peeves all have something to do with the way characters are portrayed. They also have a lot to do with the way a plot is developed.
What I find pretty funny, as well as fascinating, and yet, altogether appropriate, is that I've gotten SO MAD at these authors, given the fact that these characters and plots are FICTIONAL. These are not real people, nor real events. Yet, I've been passionately involved with them! This goes to show just how POWERFUL the written word is. Not only do novels and short stories have the power to transport us to different worlds and time periods, they also have the IMMENSE power to move us, to provoke us to actual disappointment and anger, which are really feelings of......yes, I have to say it: BETRAYAL. I have felt betrayed by these authors.
So these things that "drive me bonkers" tell me that I am totally invested in reading, that books and reading are a PASSION for me, and that, when an author's work clicks with me, I will feel a glorious bliss, whereas, when it doesn't, I will feel.....well, everything I've already described.
As the saying goes, "A reader lives a thousand lives....." And when one of them just doesn't work for said reader, the book is history! Lol.
There. I'm off my soapbox now!! :)
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