January 07, 2014

Book Blogger New Year's Challenge Day 7: Top Ten Book Blogger Pet Peeves

Hi everyone!
I decided to start 2014 doing something completely new to me, blog-wise - that is, joining a challenge. This one is hosted by Parajunkee. And what I like about it is, it deals with blogging and bloggers, not with a mere list of books to read as fast as possible.
And here is her introduction to the challenge...

Hey everyone, it is that time of year again. The time when we get all excited for a NEW YEAR, plan our goals, set our resolutions and just straight-up get motivated. Guess what? I’m here to help you get a little more motivated about your blogging, with 14 writing posts for the New Year.

The Book Blogger New Year’s Challenge will begin on January 1st and run 14 days. It is going to be fun, it is going to be easy and hopefully it will get you motivated in 2014.  Each day I will post my own prompts and at the bottom I will add a linky so you can add your own posts. Here are the topics:

 

Before I proceed with the new topic, I want to apologize in advance for skipping Round 8, 9 and 10. I'm still too new (in a sense) for having a really great blog moment to share, and I can't attend events and such because I'm in Italy. As for new things, I might be repeating some of my blogger resolutions...But I will read your posts and live vicariously ;D.

January 7 Question: Top ten book blogger pet peeves.

Well, since Parajunkee gave us free hand, I thought I'd do a double list: the first one deals with my pet peeves about books, while in the second list I will (respectfully) point out some things about blogs I'm not particularly fond of. So here we go...

Book Pet Peeves

1) The ominous Love Triangle (or Heavy Romance)

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Now, please don't bite my head off. I'm just sayin'. But those are not for me, really. Though I can occasionally tolerate a love triangle of sorts if done smartly. E.g., All Our Yesterdays - where the girl in the present and the one from the future are virtually two separate individuals. And even if Em still cares from James (past James) while being with Finn, it's understandable.
As for romance, I prefer it to be minimal *people stare at her in horror*. It's one of the reasons why I don't read many contemporary books...unless they mainly focus on something else than pure romance.

2) Creature overflow

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Maybe it's not really about creatures so much (though me and fairies or angels don't get along very well...oh, Castiel from the Supernatural series being the necessary exception LOL. He's, well, fun. But I digress). Maybe it's more about the fact that they come two dimes a dozen these days. Don't get me wrong, if you like vampires or zombies or whatever, there's nothing wrong with it (or with you). It's just that I tend to get annoyed with any kind of stuff that's everywhere. And even if I do read a book with creatures in it, I want to read a different take on them. That's why, despite what I said, I am enjoying/have enjoyed both the Last Vampire/Thirst saga by Christopher Pike (Pike, duh. But I don't necessarily love everything he writes) and Jeri Smith-Ready's WVMP Radio series. So, should the right creatures come along...I'm taking the bait. Or bite ;P.

 3) In which the Unpopular Girl suddenly displays unusual and frightening powers, while falling for the New Boy At School who may end up being her ally in saving the world - or not (but usually yes)

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(the bubbles content is my own)

Nuff said LOL. Again, too many of them. If I read such a synopsis, I usually split.

4) Flat writing

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No amount of awesomeness provided by a book will ever make me overlook that. Though I can occasionally tolerate - or even enjoy - simple or dry writing, if it's congenial to the story. E.g., Mike Lancaster's duology Point 4.

5) Disembodied books (i.e. reading on a screen) 

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I know. I'm hopelessly old-fashioned. But I have a hard time reading books on a screen - though I did it before and I'm willing to do it again for review purposes (on my PC), since I can't reasonably expect anyone sending a printed ARC to me (at least at this point). But I don't have an eReader and I don't plan on buying one. I preferably need to sit on my bed and turn actual pages. Sorry for the forests :(.

***

Blog Pet Peeves

1) OK, so you commented on my blog. Big deal, dude...

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I can honestly say I always try my best to encourage and give props to other bloggers when I like what they do/write. On the other hand, I sometimes come across these, um, dégagé people who apparently don't give a damn about someone liking their blog, commenting on it, or even following it. Mind you - I'm not talking about follow-for-a-follow. I'm not saying they owe you something. I'm just saying that maybe you poured your heart out in a comment, or took the time to actually follow them, and they don't even seem to care. Besides not visiting your blog themselves just to say hi. I understand that replying to comments and blog-hopping takes time, and it's not like one can always do it right away. But come on, there are bloggers who started like, yesterday, and have a grand total of three or four followers, one of which is you. I don't think they are so impossibly busy, are they? Nevertheless, maybe they reply with a bored-sounding "thanks" (if they do) and go on with their own business. What did they even start a blog for?
When I was a newbie, I used to get so excited and grateful when someone visited me. And you know, I still do. I don't think it will ever go away. Otherwise, maybe I should quit and switch on to writing a private diary...

2) Spelling 2.0
 
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So, here is where I'm basically dipping myself in scalding water O_o. And what about being a non-native English speaker who is bound to make the occasional mistake even if she checks everything she writes maniacally? I don't mean to criticize mistakes (even if I were sure I never make one). I don't mean to criticize writing styles, goodness forbid. But this confusion between "your" and "you're" and the like, and the occasional "anywho" (meaning what?!?) for "anyhow", tend to irk me. Sorry for accidentally irking anyone myself by saying this :(. And hey, at the end of the day, I still get your meaning like you get mine despite my bloopers :). I hope...

3) Clashing colours (or patterns)
 
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IRL, I'm a fan of strong colours (especially red) and black. But on blogs, I like just about everything that makes sense together. Heck, even grey is OK, though I'd never actually wear it. As long as the writing is readable, I can appreciate all kinds of different backgrounds and designs and styles. But clashing colours are a big no-no. Bright or not, colours have to match. (No matter what a guy called Marc Jacobs thinks about that...).

4) Very small fonts

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Just, no. I'm beginning to experiment some minor vision disturbances, but even before...why should I squint to read your contents? why should anyone? I even hate my own captions, but that's Blogger's fault - because you can't seem to enlarge them just a little. Only too much.

5) Lack of archives

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I have friends that haven't set up archives yet...and I still love them. But it's handy when you can peruse an archive of sorts and search for past articles or reviews you have missed. Also, I assume it helps with blog traffic ;).

I did it my way, because according to Parajunkee's reply to a specific question, you can actually list anything in any field that is book-blogging related! So please feel free to talk just about anything :). And of course...no offense meant to anyone. At the end of the day, I love you all!

25 comments:

  1. Haha, I don't know what I love more, all the cool graphics, or all your list in general. You did make me think more about how much slang I use when blogging. I tend to, sometimes, write like I talk, which includes phrases and words not grammatically correct (my favorite word to use? Shiz. Because other than hell or ass, I usually don't like to swear on my blog, so I use shiz). Or smexy, I use the word smexy in place of sexy, which is actually kind of stupid. I'm 36 years old, I can use the word sexy without blushing, right? So, yeah, you made me think about toning down my slang. Except for the word shiz, because that stays.

    I agree completely with 1 & 3! Number 5, to a degree. I hate reading on my PC, but love my ereaders. I'm always reading both a physical book and an ebook, plus an audiobook. But I don't have the attention span to sit reading a book on my computer screen.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks! But don't worry about your slang, because slang is definitely all right in my book. In fact, it's often a ton of fun. It's just the incorrect usage of words that bothers me. Which is probably preposterous, coming from someone who doesn't even speak English as her first language ;).
      Haha, yes, you're totally entitled to use "sexy" without actually blushing. I'm older than you, so I give you permission ;P.

      Delete
  2. Great ideas. I really appreciate archives too. Thanks for visiting!

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  3. That reminds me I need to update my archive o.o cor that's going to take a while...

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  4. Great lists! I get annoyed at love triangles too, as I don't remember a single person I've ever met who was involved in a love triangle! Ever! Maybe I just hang out with boring people, but triangles never ring true for me. And I always try to stop by someone else's blog to say hi when they've been nice enough to leave me a comment (waves hello!), so get discouraged when others don't. Especially when they're a new blogger and I make it a point to support them!

    Really like your header! Very cute! Thanks for stopping by my blog, and it was really nice to "meet" you! :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Good point about love triangles not being that common IRL...

      About the blog-hopping issue...my sentiments exactly. I do appreciate you stopping by, even if you very likely are a much busier blogger than me!
      And I like your header too...it's very confy :).

      Delete
    2. Oh, gosh...I meant "comfy" of course...

      Delete
  5. Nice points all the way around. I'm horrible at keeping my archive up to date and my search bar on blogger seems to have stopped working too.

    I solved my small font problem by writing everything in Google docs first and then copying it into my blogger post because bloggers normal font size is 11 not 12.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All our built-in search bars have indeed stopped working - I was made aware of this by a post I read on another blog a few days ago. The blogger in question also posted a fixing code, but I haven't gotten round to try it yet. I'm still waiting for the people in charge to fix the problem themselves - which, according to said blogger, they were going to do.

      I've never used Google Docs - thanks for the tip!

      Delete
  6. I love that your list comes with images :) It makes it look way more interesting than mine that's for sure!

    I'm definitely one of those people staring at you in horror about liking only minimal romance. I'm a hopeless romantic most of the time (sometimes I'm a complete realist haha) so it's always shocking when people don't like too much romance!

    I use 'anywho' instead of 'anyhow' in day-to-day speech, but not in my blog posts. Woops. I think this post is going to be in my head the next time I use the word!

    - Farhana @ Digesting The Words

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    1. Haha, I hope I'm not going to haunt you!

      Images...I learned that trick from most experienced bloggers. Finding the right ones can be time-consuming, but it indeed adds a flavour to posts...and gets more attention.

      And about romance...maybe I'm a hopeless cynic instead! ;P

      Delete
  7. First let me say I enjoyed reading your post. Second I prefer an actual book in my hands as well. I have a kindle and like it due to if I am out with it and finish a book I can go on to another on if I have that time. I do not like reading on my computer thou it is just not the same.

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    1. I know what you mean. I begin to feel restless after a while.
      And thank you! :)

      Delete
  8. Great lists, Roberta.
    Love triangles seem almost avoidable nowadays especially in YA literature. I guess teens like options when it comes to love? Maybe I was a boring teen, I only ever dated one guy in high school!

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    1. Boring teen? I never even dated anybody back then!
      And thank you :).

      Delete
  9. You've picked a few of my peeves. Definitely the love triangle although I do like some romance.

    I also don't like when the formally plain girl all of sudden has every Hottie McHottie scrambling for her affections because she's some sort of magical creature or has powers (kind of what you touched on)

    For blogger peeves - I hate loud music that scares the crap out if me when I click on a blog, unreadable font and messy blogs. Like uneven ads/pics on the sidebar. In general I try to be laid back about design if their personality shines through because that's more important to me but sometimes I get a headache.

    Also CAPTCHA!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I have my PC connected to my stereo, so that, unless it is turned on, I can avoid such shockes ;). Anyway, I honestly can't get what music is good for on a book blog...maybe someone who uses/likes it can enlighten me.
      Messy sidebars, yes, I hear you. I'm such a picky old girl when it comes to mine. I try to deal with other people's, but I can't help getting moderately irked by the uneven ones...Also because it's not that hard to fix sidebars. Or so it seems to me?

      Delete
  10. Your book per peeves are almost exactly like mine. Especially the heavy romance complaint! I hate that. It seems to pop up most in paranormal, which is why I have been getting sick of the genre lately.

    I laughed when I saw the small font part, because my blog has smaller font and even I am annoyed by it, but if I make the font any bigger, all my side gadgets get pushed to the bottom. This is one thing I really hate about Blogger!

    Great post!

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    1. Yes, I don't read much paranormal myself. They tend to be so much alike!
      Oh, but your font is not that small. Believe me, I've seen smaller ones. And yes, Blogger can be annoying...Maybe you can try and change the width of your sidebar? I know, it's tricky as well...been there, done that...O_o

      And thank you!

      Delete
  11. So I've been following along and I just HAVE to comment on this one. I LOVE it. The bookish ones had me nodding (ugh, love triangles and dull writing are the worst), but then the blogging peeves had me screaming, "YES!" I know sometimes it takes a bit for me to comment back on my blog because I might be gone or if they commented on a post from LAST week then yeah, I might forget. But I see bloggers who NEVER comment back and I second guess about commenting on their blog. I know some blogs don't notify the commenters (like mine), but you should still CARE. And spelling, ugh.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you! I can even see you screaming now (since you actually posted your pic LOL).

      If one isn't able to reply straight away, or to each and every comment, is understandable. You may have a lot of traffic, and not every comment actually requires a reply. But like you said, one should care...

      You're not guilty of spelling issues - good girl! ;)

      Delete

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