We read and sh*t: What Irks Me...



I have read some great books and definitely some bad books.  Some I half expected to be bad, and some were huge let downs that made me extremely upset that I wasted the tine and/or money.  I realized in these bad books there was a common vein in them that lent to their lameness.  Here's a short list:

  • Nonsensical story lines and characters permeate the world of bad "literature."  I have read books where none of the characters are realistic; they just kind of do whatever was in the authors head after a cocaine bender.  I like twists and turns in books, but make it believable and make it have a point.

  • Underdeveloped characters are just as bad as the contrived ones.  I have read books where I couldn't tell you more than one or two things about the main characters.  What part of the game is that?  Isn't a big part of the point of a story about the characters themselves?  I want to build an emotional bond with character(s) in a book, it helps me get lost in the story or sometimes feel like I am part of a story.  I read to get that emotional experience, it's what makes it fun or meaningful.  

  • Overuse of slang/patois/foreign language irks me to no end.  I understand that some stories require slang in the dialogue, but I am not talking about in the dialogue.  I am talking authors who write the entire narrative in that way.  It is distracting, bad writing, and will make me put a book down tout de suite (immediately/quickly).

  • Overly simplistic writing..... I feel my side-eye flaring up.  I have read books, particularly "urban literature," that read like a remedial English class project.  Now keep in mind, I don't feel an author has to use overly colorful language and complicated indecipherable metaphors, but please give me something that makes me think past a 2nd grade level. 

  • BAD F*CKING GRAMMAR and misspellings. Here comes my pesky side-eye again....  Have you heard of an editor?  Was your editor taking shots while reading your book?  There is nothing worse than reading a book and finding excessive amounts of errors.  I should be thinking about a character's unrequited love and not the proper use of there, their, they're , noun/verb agreement, or how you say irregardless 4 times in the first chapter.  Not a good look.  Not a good look at all.

This is just a short list, what are some things that irk you and make a book unreadable?

6 comment(s) thus far...:

ChiChi said...

Bad grammar is one thing that drives me up a wall! I shouldn't be reading your book and counting each mistake as I go.

Another thing that gets me is repeated details/background story. Especially, when you keep repeating the same shit, but trying to reword it so no one notices.

Unknown said...

I think you pretty much summed it up. I stopped reading the 'urban literature' genre as a teen. I can't give all the hustlers who bought write a novel in 30 days my money.

amymay said...

"Irregardless" is my personal pet peeve. I about got thrown out of AP English in the 11th grade for goin' toe to toe with my teacher over that non-word. Grrrrrrr.....

Nappybrain said...

I'm struggling through Casanegra. OH! Who publishes these books? Will they give me a book deal?

Nappy Brain said...

I don't like authors who don't take their time to describe scenery and develop characters or the story. It's almost like they don't respect their readers. x-(

suga said...

I absolutely hate nonsensical storylines and ridiculous, unbelievable responses to situations. I won't put the book down, but I will curse out the author from start to finish if he or she has characters do things that make no sense and would never happen in real life.

I also hate writers who are OVERLY descriptive. Like I said in a review of "Pleasure", I'm not too keen on knowing the entire route driving from Atlanta to N. Carolina. If I wanted to know that, I'd hit up Google maps...not a novel. lol

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