Happy Tuesday everyone! It is the second day of the week already but I hope everyone is doing well and is safe. Oh well, Tuesday also means one thing, a Top Ten Tuesday update! Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s given topic is Bookish Pet Peeves

toptentuesday

When I lend my books and they are not returned in the same condition I lent them.

When I was younger, I used to lend my books to my friends. However, some of the books I lent weren’t returned in their original state. It is an unspoken rule that I expect my books to be returned in the same condition I lent them. But that is sometimes not the case, and it frustrated me. Some of my new books no longer looked new. The worst I have experienced, however, was that some of my books were never returned. Is it too much to expect that you be careful with what I lent you? Since then, I rarely let anyone borrow my books.

Writing on the margin of books or highlighting certain passages.

As you might have surmised from my first pet peeve, I want to keep my books spick and span. Except for my university textbooks, I have never written on any of the books I own. I do understand that some prefer to write on their books for it somehow establishes their ownership. But I guess it is not for me. Which reminds me. Over the past few years, I have been scavenging the collections of online booksellers. I do prefer them as they sell books at a bargain and they have titles that are not available in the local bookstores. My reading horizon would have not expanded the way it did in the past few years had it not been for them. However, it does irk me when the books I bought are riddled with notes and highlights. It is the prize I have to pay I guess.

The book features a movie cover.

Over the past few years, more and more books are getting adapted into films of television series. The Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and The Song of Fire and Ice series are just some of the popular examples. As such, some books are replacing their old covers with the movie posters, which I do find annoying especially because I am not much of a movie person. I find movie tie-in covers superficial and I try, as much as possible, to avoid these books. Ironically, I did previously buy one, David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. Unfortunately, I lost it; I guess it was never meant to be. HAHA. Oh I remember, I also have Shusako Endo’s Silence. But I guess it is an exception for it was a book I have been looking forward to for the longest time.

A book series with different sizes and printed in different versions.

I do prefer reading standalone books but every now and then, I buy and read book series. It does, however, annoy me when, in eagerness, I buy different versions of the books in the series. An example is Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I have already completed reading the first book even though I don’t have copies of the succeeding books. Because I badly wanted to complete the series, I bought the first available copies. Funnily enough, I haven’t resumed reading the rest of the series! (Face palm). Another situation of different versions is Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking Trilogy. The third book, although still with a white cover, was different from the first two books. I am taking note to avoid these situations in the future.

People dog-earing pages.

This is something I share with many book readers. I mean, why can’t they just reach out for any available book mark material instead of folding the pages?

Overly hyped books don’t live up to the hype.

With the vast reach of social media, it is no surprise that many books are getting as much mileage as they can. The presence of Goodreads have also bridged readers and writers, and generate hype, sometimes too much hype. I am guilty in jumping into these bandwagons. Some books managed to live up to the hype but it especially irks me when I realize that the book is not as good as many say. I guess this can be a matter of preference but these experiences have taught me to be precautious. And sometimes I get too overly precautious that I nearly miss out on good books.

When a book started well but crashed and burned towards the end.

Imagine reading a good book. It started off very well that you are carried off into cloud nine. This is every reader’s dream. And then images of how the story is going to end up fills the mind. But then the promise, the potential, and those grand images that started forming in your mind are quashed by blunders. I guess the writer has run out of gas. Nevertheless, it is all annoying and I’ve had my fair share of these books. I just can’t help but shake my head after closing the last page.

When the plot is sacrificed for a beautiful language.

As a reader, I am more of the plot-centric type. It is one of the facets of a good narrative that I often scrutinize although I can always make concessions. However, what really irks me is when a writer sugarcoats everything, when he or she slathers you with honey and in the process, starts forgetting the story. I appreciate the beauty of the language but that is not the primary point of writing. It is about telling a story.

Stickers on the book.

Again, this is related to the part where I want to keep my books as immaculate as possible. However, there are times when a book I bought (especially from online booksellers) are riddled with stickers. It is annoying for, most of the times, they leave residues and marks even when you clean them up. When I buy a new book, one of the first things I do is remove the price tags. The longer stickers and price tags are kept on the book cover, the more difficult it is to remove.

Poorly and loosely edited books.

When I was younger, I never thought about the key role that editing plays in the publication of books. They can also make or break books. Sure, there are some errors that they overlook and it is forgivable. However, when these errors are all over the book, it really gets irritating. However, what really annoys me is when a book is fattened with too many unnecessary details and plot devices that do not move the story forward. It makes me ask where the editor was when the book was being finalized.

And that’s it for my bookish peeves. I hope you enjoyed it or were able to relate to some of my peeves. How about you fellow reader? What are your bookish peeves? I hope you can share it as well. For now, have a great day and week ahead! Stay safe and happy reading!

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