thoughtfulBy page two, I was ready to fling the book across the room. Why? Because the author had chosen to scramble the spelling of a common-to-the-genre word in a way that made it look not only pretentious, but difficult to read. This is a personal bug-a-boo of mine, since I really do feel that spelling was standardized for a reason, and while I managed to soldier through, it colored my ability to sink into the text for several chapters.
(As an aside, seriously: not all words become more interesting and mysterious when spelled with a vestigial "y." The worst example I've ever seen was in a YA series full of "mermyds," and the fact that I made it through all three volumes is a testament to the power of raw stubborn.)
One reader of Rosemary and Rue posted a lengthy, positive review, more than half of which was taken up by complaints about the pronunciation guide. Specifically, I didn't write down the correct pronunciation of "Kitsune." It's a fair cop—if you pronounce the word as written in the pronunciation guide, you'll be saying it wrong—and it's been corrected for A Local Habitation, but it was, for this person, as bad as if I'd spelled Toby's name "Aughtcober" and then claimed it was pronounced just like the month. Bug-a-boos for all!
Kate recently delivered a long and eloquent diatribe on "back cover buzz-word bingo," which I really wish I'd had a video camera running for, because it was awesome. The summation is that she watches the back covers of books for certain "buzz-words," and, if the book works up to a magical bingo score, she doesn't read it. I do something similar with bad horror movies, since there are specific buzz-words that mean "soft core porn" and "gratuitous torture," and those really aren't what I'm watching the movie to see.
So what are your bug-a-boos? Terribly twisted spelling? Pronunciations that you don't agree with? Buzz-words oozing off the back cover and getting all over your shoes? How about heroines with ruby hair and emerald eyes who aren't appearing in an Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld fanfic epic? Inquiring blondes want to know!
November 3 2009, 17:21:06 UTC 7 years ago Edited: November 3 2009, 17:24:07 UTC
Spelling errors. I mean come on -- the book got published but not edited?
Needlessly convoluted language. I mean, I understand "show not tell", and that an author wants to paint a vivid image in a reader's mind, but sometimes economy of words less klunky. "She gathered her skirts in one hand, looked imperiously about, inspected the cushion for tacks, dust mites, imperfections of upholstery, and then, satisfied, she settled regally into the chair" could just as easily be "She inspected the chair; it met with her approval and she sat."
And the *Fever books right now are getting on my nerves. The heroine is a cutesy blonde forced to dye her hair black, and wear black when she'd prefer pastels. There's this whole sub-sub-sub plot about how she and her sister used made-up words in place of curse words, and she reiterates it at least a couple times a book. It was cute in the first book. I don't need that much recappage in the second book, so don't tell me how you're struggling to get past "Shut the frog up or I'll kick your petunia" so the big bad people you meet in Ireland will take you seriously.
That thing about exclamation points in another comment though -- I will remember that. I have tells in movie trailers that let me know whether to go see it or wait for it to hit cable. Quarantine showed (Dexter's sister) getting dragged into the dark in the trailer. I declared that the final shot of the movie at that point and it turned out to be right. If I can call it that accurately, they didn't put enough effort into the storytelling, IMO.
November 3 2009, 19:25:24 UTC 7 years ago
What the hell are these *Fever books of which you speak?
November 4 2009, 01:24:57 UTC 7 years ago
These, I believe....
November 4 2009, 12:26:27 UTC 7 years ago
As for the *Fever books, they'e about this cute little blonde bartender from GA who goes to Ireland because her sister was murdered and she wants to make sure the police do all they can. She finds out she has fae-fighting powers which is great, because the fae are slowly taking over Ireland.
The first one was Darkfever, I think, and the second Bloodfever. Once the author gets past the whininess of the main character, though, they're not bad reads.
November 4 2009, 15:01:29 UTC 7 years ago