Sign in with Facebook
15 of Your Biggest Book Pet Peeves
Last week we asked on Facebook and on Twitter: What's your biggest book pet peeve?* Check out the top answers below!
1. "Peeps who leave crumbs behind between pages!! #ew" (Joyce B)
2. "When publishers change book covers mid-series! Biggest book pet peeve EVER…"(Amanda White)
3. "My Kindle battery dying!" (Hannah DesWonn)
4. "Seeing someone turn a book inside out by folding it in half while they read. The front and back should never meet!" (Mopsy Prewett)
5. "People who forget that they borrowed a book from you." (Nadia Malik)
6. "When someone rips out the pages of a book. How is the book supposed to make any sense when there are missing pages in it?" (Trish Welsh)
7. "Those strange mystery stains that are usually found between the pages of library books. Did someone spill coffee? Or slash their fingers open with a paper cut? Who knows?" (Traci Mccarty)
8. "Highlighting! Who are these savages?" (Anna Moloney)
9. "Library books last read by a nose picker." (Grace Minnick Hickox)
10. "Paperback covers that delaminate and warped hardcovers." (Paul Wichert)
11. "Dropping books in the toilet. Not that it's ever happened to me…" (Devyn Price)
12. "Broken spines are okay, unless it's a SINGLE crack right in the middle of the spine. That's the WORST." (Charlie)
13. "Dog-eared pages drive me crazy." (Elizabeth Newby)
14. "Sand stuck between pages from reading on the beach." (Ellen)
15. "Movie edition book covers…shudder." (Hollie Ruthless)
Did your book pet peeve not make the list? Then share it with us in the comments!
*And for those of you who have zero pet peeves, maybe Chhandra Bewtra can speak for you: "None. A book is precious, even with disfigurements."
Comments Showing 1-50 of 497 (497 new)
message 1:
by
Claudia the Night Owl
(new)
Aug 22, 2015 08:01AM
When all the books in a series aren't the same size or even worse when they switch from paperback to hardcover mid series D:
reply
|
flag
"7. "Those strange mystery stains that are usually found between the pages of library books. Did someone spill coffee? Or slash their fingers open with a paper cut? Who knows?" (Traci Mccarty)"Those are not so much of a mystery if someone is reading Fifty Shades... xD (yuck!)
Mismatched series covers are the WORST -- why do publishers even do that? Also, books that are HUGE with ginormous print (without being large print editions) for no reason, because that makes them take up more space and cost more money. Like the large paperback of City Of Heavenly Fire. Plus: WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH LARGE PAPERBACKS. Just bring it out in hardback or in normal paperback? It makes no sense.
But yeah, a single crack in the spine is also sad. :( I am guilty of writing in lots of books though.
When I check out a library book and can tell the person who had the book before me was a heavy smoker -- as soon as I open the book. Yuck!
"7. "Those strange mystery stains that are usually found between the pages of library books. Did someone spill coffee? Or slash their fingers open with a paper cut? Who knows?" (Traci Mccarty)"Those are not so much of a mystery if someone is reading Fifty Shades... xD (yuck!)
Stickers on books bugs the crap out of me as well
15. "Movie edition book covers…shudder." (Hollie Ruthless)I absolutely refuse to buy books with movie covers on them. If I want the movie cover, I buy the movie. I want the original cover the book originally came out with. That is my Number 1 biggest pet peeve ever with books.
Can't bring myself to read books where the protagonists name is Tad, Chad, Tear or any other weird names
Print that is so small it makes the eyes hurt and induces a headache.
Emily wrote: "Stickers on books bugs the crap out of me as well"Agreed!
I totally agree with you on this. It doesn't bother me if I have it from the library, but if I'm buying it to keep it, they need to be consistent!
Who rips pages out of books? Introductions. I don't want to read a book report on the book before reading it. A lot of them give away major plot points of the book.
Hollie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Stickers on books bugs the crap out of me as well"Agreed!"
And then when you try to take it off it rips the book.
Emily wrote: "Hollie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Stickers on books bugs the crap out of me as well"Agreed!"
And then when you try to take it off it rips the book. "
They always use the stickiest of stickers, too. The top tears off and leaves a sticky, papery circle.
13. "Dog-eared pages drive me crazy." Absolutely drives me nuts! I've stuck my mobile phone between pages during emergency close-book-and-attend-stuff periods when there are no bookmarks nearby. Even a coin. ANYTHING but dog-eared pages!
I was recently asked to sign a copy of my paperback novel. The lovely gentleman licked his fingers, found the page he wanted me to sign, then proceeded to flattened the book - squashed it- absolutely flat! I wanted to cry at such a crime, but I didn't. I smiled, signed, and handed the mangled book back to him. I can always cry later.
When someone borrows a book in perfect condition and returns it looking like it survived seven years as a prescribed text in a high school.
What's wrong with highlighting? If it's my own book and I know I'm going to keep the book for a long time and it's one of my favorites (i.e., Harry Potter), I don't see why it's bad to underline or highlight your favorite lines or passages.
People who 'edit' library books; crossing out words to insert one they think is better; underlining long words (to look up later?) etc. Hello! It is a public library book! "Edit" your own personal books!
Mass market paperbacks. Movie covers. Dog eared pages.
Smokers who borrow library books, dog eared pages, and mystery stains.
1. Misleading titles2. Books are increasingly full of spelling and grammatical errors, misused words and sentences that don't make sense. Where was the proofreader/editor?! It's distracting and makes me inclined to distrust the author and what s/he is trying to say.
I'd add boring covers, mostly with people with no emotion on their faces and wind in their hair. I love me some pretty cover and I always hesitate a lot before buying a book with an uninteresting one, even if I know that the story is good :c
I don't mean smokers shouldn't borrow books from the library, but please don't smoke while you read. The smell is terribly offensive to non-smokers.
Deckled edges, format mismatch in a series (for example, when the author publishes two books that come in hardback or paperback but the publish another that only comes in paperback but they're all part of the same series), and, of course, cover mismatch for editions (like the Shatter Me trilogy, the new cover is only available in the paperback for book 1 but is available in all formats for the rest of the books).
Especially stickers that block information on the cover.
I have refused to lend books to anyone anymore because there have been too many times that I haven't gotten them back. Also I hate dog eared pages, broken spines,and movie edition book covers, my husband thinks I am absolutely insane for refusing to buy them, so I'm really glad to know I am not the only one!
I had to "unbind" a college text so that I could take chapters with me to work. I could not take the whole book. I'd bought it, so didn't feel too bad, but thought if my professor saw it she'd have had a stroke.
Emily wrote: "Hollie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Stickers on books bugs the crap out of me as well"Agreed!"
And then when you try to take it off it rips the book. "
I hate it when it's the store's sticker or barcode that rips from the book. It's a lose-lose situation.
When my husband would pickup a "new" book that he knew I wanted to read and I could tell that it had been read by someone previously.
Amen to changing book covers/format mid-series and the annoyance of stickers on books!
Hollie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Hollie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Stickers on books bugs the crap out of me as well"Agreed!"
And then when you try to take it off it rips the book. "
They always use the stickiest of s..."
When that happens i take a damp paper towel and eith scrub the rest of the sticker off, or just wet it enough to scratch it off with my finger nails. Stickers on books are annoying.
I can't stand when the pages are not the same width - you have to peel and peel carefully every time you need to turn the page and make sure you're not skipping one. It looks pretty when it's closed, but I'll take function over style!
Terry wrote: "When I check out a library book and can tell the person who had the book before me was a heavy smoker -- as soon as I open the book. Yuck!"Yeah , happened to me recently
seeing someone fold a book in half when they read makes me shudder. or leaving the book open upside down on a desk. Use a freaking bookmark instead of cracking the spine.
MOVIE COVERS ARE THE WORST! Someone also mentioned stickers, which also drive me crazy. Here's another one: when the book is very thick, but the pages are too small to hold the book open with one hand.
when you lend a book to a friend that looks brand new even though you have read it a few times and they sit in front of you and crack the spine until the book can lay open for them to read...when you get it back pages are falling out
Cynthia wrote: "People who 'edit' library books; crossing out words to insert one they think is better; underlining long words (to look up later?) etc. Hello! It is a public library book! "Edit" your own person..."One time I checked a book out that took place in the 18th century. A previous reader thought that word order was wrong in some places and drew arrows trying to rearrange them. Of course they were wrong and the book was right.
Buying the book with the horrible cover because there is no isn't available with the cover you want and you want to read the book soooo badly.
Possible Spoiler! Spoilers on the back cover where the teaser is actually a summary of the book!!
"When Tina finds out that the house she bought is actually haunted she calls ghostbuster G.H. Mersey, who is also a..." STOP, that's enough!
Also spoilers without warning in the introduction of a 'major classic'. i.e. "Turn of the Screw" ending line in the second paragraph of the introduction. I naively read the introduction first.
"...When the governess and the boy spot a ghost at the window, and the child dies in her arms." Thanks a lot!!!
Spoiler from Collins Classics edition
Karen Floyd wrote: "1. Misleading titles2. Books are increasingly full of spelling and grammatical errors, misused words and sentences that don't make sense. Where was the proofreader/editor?! It's distracting and ..."
I just finished reading "Go Set A Watchman". I couldn't believe some of the mistakes in there. I am very surprised at the poor editing of some of the latest books that I've read.
Luckily wrote: "When someone borrows a book in perfect condition and returns it looking like it survived seven years as a prescribed text in a high school."Yes! That drives me crazy and I am reluctant to let anyone borrow my books. Savages!
Broken binding, Dog-eared pages, writing in books (I mean really?!?), dirty fingers while reading (because that can leave Anything behind), covers that don't match the book: blond, long & curly for a character that is dark, straight & short! My Biggest pet peeve is bending a book in half or really ANYTHING that will break the binding!!! Hmmmm that was the first thing I wrote, guess it's a biggy. Before getting my Kindle I went to the Library. It's amazing what some people do to a book that ISN'T THEIRS!!! How can you be so disrespectful???? That I just don't understand. I've been guilty of not being 'kind' to a borrowed book, I just gave the person a new book in return. Started putting books into bags to protect them from being inside my bag. In & out of a bag all the time is rough on a cover.
On a personal note, I quit smoking 17 months ago. (Go me!) I always thought I was a polite smoker. I never in a million years thought about my smoking effecting the Library books. So, to everyone who read a book after me please accept my apologies.
Wow we really Love Books don't we! :-D
I don't lend (unless it's to someone I trust 100%). Someone wants to borrow a book, I point them to the nearest library. That's what their there for. :)
Cheap paper, poor editing, and no hardcover edition available.
My biggest pet peeve is when the font changes (italics or smaller) for different voices in the book. For those of us with vision correction it can be impossible to see the smaller print!
I will admit that I'm one of those people that dog ear books. I only do it when I don't have a bookmark handy but yeah....
Laurie wrote: "Hollie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Hollie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Stickers on books bugs the crap out of me as well"Agreed!"
And then when you try to take it off it rips the book. "
They always use the..."
Stickers on the cover drive me CRAZY I just keep picking and get so annoyed that I have to stop reading and remove the sticker and then get out the rubbing alcohol and remove the stickiness. Then I can continue to enjoy the read.
Then I am a savage because I highlight MY nonfiction books.
I agree with the person who said that switching from paperback to hardback is the worst. I have a whole author - Sherrilyn Kenyon - who is like that on my shelf. And now I have a new section - kindle! Gah!
