Follow Friday (15)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Rachel at Parajunkee’sView and Alison at Alison Can Read. It is great way for bloggers to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Go to either blog, follow ALL the instructions and then add your link to the list. It's just that easy!

This week's question:

Question: What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don't like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!

Wow, where to start?

A plot I can walk through:  I cannot handle an unbelievable plot. Now, I'm not saying I don't like science fiction, paranormal, dystopian books or such. What I don't like is the forced, "please-believe-that-I-am-plausible" plots that are practically begging you to believe in them. The ones that give you so much back story you could wallpaper a large room with it, because the author figures if they drown you in information, you will digest any swill they put in front of you. But the plot is still unbelievable. There are no amount of words that can change that. A wet-paper bag plot is still a wet paper-bag plot.

The blatant rip-off books:  You know the ones I am talking about. The ones that took Twilight or Hunger Games and changed a few key things (like the setting or the character names) and then tried to pass it off as an original book. Ummm, yeah, I already read that book, thank you very much. Guess what?  Your readers are more intelligent than you are giving them credit for and they know a rip-off when they see it.

Punctuation and editing issues:  I have no problem with these in an ARC, but I do have an issue with it in a book put out in the marketplace. There is a popular author I read whose books often have multiple editing errors and she very rarely puts question marks at the end of her questions. And it is sooo noticeable! It drives me nuts! First time I noticed it, I waved it off. But after the fifteenth or twentieth time I noticed it, I realized it was her writing style. But a question is a question. And sometimes the English teacher in me can't help but notice it.

Lack of follow-through in a story:  I think probably my biggest pet peeve is the author that begins a story line in a book, pulls the reader in with it and then drops it, leaving the reader wanting more. This is most often seen in books with multiple plot lines flowing at one time. I understand that sometimes stories drift from their original intent, but I hate to be left hanging. 

I bet I could think of a hundred more (sometimes I can be unforgiving) but these are probably my biggest pet peeves. What are yours? Leave a link to your Follow Friday post in the comments and I will hope by and check it out!