Books - pet peeves

Soz · 11-13-2004, 05:36 PM

I realized I went way off topic in one thread with some pet peeves about books and publishing, so I thought I'd start a thread about them here.

Here are two of mine:
I know a lot of people complain about re-prints, but I'd rather have that than books going out of print. Some people don't even like the omnibus printings that a lot of companies are doing now, but the thing is, the books contained within are out of print, usually. And all of the ones I have say on the covers what they contain too. My pet peeve are all of the re-writes. But then, I don't particularly like George Lucas constantly re-writing film history by changing the Star Wars movies either.

I realize authors grow and change and want that novel back so they can improve it so it isn't cringe-worthy to them, but I'd rather see them create something new.

There's a used bookstore in my area that I would love to shop at more because they specialize in science fiction and fantasy, but the owner charges way too much for beat up books. I passed up some books I really wanted because they were about $12 each for 200 page paperbacks in horrible condition! On theo ther hand, the one used bookstore right up the road charges great prices- which is both good and bad. It's good that his books are so affordable, but I have no willpower, so books are filling my apartment.

Kimberly · 11-13-2004, 10:16 PM

Great thread Soz!! Ok.. well here are some of mine.

I use to work in a bookstore and there are strict guidelines of when you can realize a book (street dates). There are huge fines and if your company disobeys the rules enough the publisher stops sending you books. That being said I can't tell you how many times places like Walmart put books out early

It always pissed me off when I knew the book wasn't suppose to come out for 3 or 4 more days and they had it out. I took pictures a few times of them and reported those stores.

Soz the thing I hate about all the re-prints is when they slightly change a title and try to pass the book off as new. Nora Roberts is always doing this. You have to look at the inside cover to see if it has been published before. I always look now because there is nothing worse then thinking you are getting a new book just to realize that you have read it already.

Not putting description on the book back or slip cover. I hate that! WTF how am I suppose to know if this is the kind of story I would be interested in if they won't tell me what the book is about.

Oprah.. argh! I can't tell you how many times people would want to read something just because she suggested it. Half the time people couldn't even remember the title of the book.. So annoying.

That is all for now

*Maxi* · 11-14-2004, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by k46
Soz the thing I hate about all the re-prints is when they slightly change a title and try to pass the book off as new. Nora Roberts is always doing this. You have to look at the inside cover to see if it has been published before. I always look now because there is nothing worse then thinking you are getting a new book just to realize that you have read it already.

Changing titles slightly bugs me too. Especially if they change a title of a book to reflect a movie title of a book. Gah!

I don't like it when books I want are out of print and I can't find them anywhere, not even used book stores.

Sometimes I discover an author/book/series when it's out of print and even if I can borrow them in the library I feel like buying things I like.

StellaSlight · 11-14-2004, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by k46

Not putting description on the book back or slip cover. I hate that! WTF how am I suppose to know if this is the kind of story I would be interested in if they won't tell me what the book is about.

This would be my main pet peeve. I hate that, especially when I purchase a book on the net.
The second worse thing for me would be quite the opposite, that's to say when there are too many details in the description on the book back. I feel like I've stumbled on big spoilers and it makes me really angry.

Soz · 11-14-2004, 05:58 PM

Most of the re-prints and the omnibus re-prints I have say somewhere on the front or back that they are previously published material. The omnibuses generally have a new title, but at least they have special notes on them to let people know the books have been released before.

I also hate books with no descriptions.

Out of print books are probably my biggest difficulty. If I do find them, they are outrageously expensive. I'm still looking for 5 old Sheri S. Tepper books and I've never seen them under $12. I noticed that one of them was reprinted this year though, so maybe the rest will follow. I've found something even worse though. There are some series in which only some of the books are out of print, but the rest are still in print. And it's not always the oldest books that have gone out of print. Tepper has one trilogy in which the first book is available, but the second and third have gone out of print. For Jane S. Fancher's Dance of the Rings Trilogy, books one and three are in print, but book two is out of print! She said book two will be re-issued when book four comes out, but that won't be anytime soon because she's currently re-writing her first trilogy. So, two pet peeves in one there.

thescoobygang · 11-14-2004, 09:30 PM

The "no description" thing bugs me too. I'd rather have a story blurb instead of a full page photo of the author.

Other general pet peeves...

Pre-ordering a book online and not having it delivered on time. I can't tell you how many times I've pre-ordered a book months in advance and had to wait days/weeks beyond the publishing date just to get a confirmation email. I usually end up cancelling the order and picking it up from the store.

People who sit on floors to read in the store. I hate that! How am I supposed to look for books if people are sitting in front of the shelves blocking everything?

Men at magazine racks. I personally cannot understand this one. At EVERY bookstore(or department store) I go to there is always a group of men standing by the magazine racks reading. They never buy anything. They just stand there and read. Occasionally I will see a woman, but they usually grab a magazine and leave. Men just stand there and block everyone. Weird.

pacifierrocks · 11-14-2004, 11:31 PM

Yeah that no description thing really gets to me too. Just because the author looks nice does not mean that i'm going to buy the book without knowing that its about.

I hate it when they say a movie is from a book but its nothing like the book at all. It doesn't really bug me they change things in movies from a book because i'm pretty good about keeping them separate. But like Starship Troopers the only thing same from the movie and the book is that there's a war between humans and bugs.

Kimberly · 11-15-2004, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by thescoobygang

Pre-ordering a book online and not having it delivered on time. I can't tell you how many times I've pre-ordered a book months in advance and had to wait days/weeks beyond the publishing date just to get a confirmation email. I usually end up cancelling the order and picking it up from the store.

Companies are not allowed to ship it before the "street date" so you will always have it after the book comes out. Like I said before there are huge fines if you let consumers have the book before the official street date. That is why I always order books from books and go and pick it up that day from the store. Hope that helps explain it

Soz · 11-15-2004, 08:42 AM

Some of my other pet peeves include: cliffhanger endings for books with no sequels, predictability (or authors who keep writing the same story with only names of places and characters being changed), the never-ending series, romances with jerky heroes, and bad world-building.

Another big one has more to do with fellow readers than with the books themselves. If I don't like a book, I expect people to respect my right not to like it instead of either trying to convert me or resorting to insults and name-calling. Thankfully, that's something I've never experienced here.

Crossbow · 11-15-2004, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pacifierrocks
I hate it when they say a movie is from a book but its nothing like the book at all.

Case in point: "Blade Runner." The movie was based on a book called "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Phillip K Dick. Things that bug me about this one:

1. The movie has nothing whatsoever to do with the booke beyond the fact that they both have androids, so why did they bother saying it was based on the book? They could have just given the hero a new name and called it an original story.

2. And then they republished the book with the title "Blade Runner."

3. There was ALREADY a science fiction book by William S Burroughs with the title "Blade Runner." WTF, people???

Blade Runner by Burroughs

Do ANdroids Dream of Electric Sheep

thescoobygang · 11-15-2004, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by k46
Companies are not allowed to ship it before the "street date" so you will always have it after the book comes out. Like I said before there are huge fines if you let consumers have the book before the official street date. That is why I always order books from books and go and pick it up that day from the store. Hope that helps explain it

That's perfectly understandable, and usually Amazon will mail out the books on the street date and I will get it in a few days. But the company I was secretly referring to(Chapters.Indigo) has this nasty habit of stocking their physical stores with 40 copies each and then telling their online pre-order customers "we are out of stock. temporary delay" . That's the part I get miffed about.

AlexEvans · 11-16-2004, 01:29 AM

Definitely I have to agree with the no description thing! Very annoying. Even worse is when there is a description, but it has nothing to do with the book. There have been a few times when I've read a book and the description on the back cover is so out of whack it had to have been written by someone who hadn't read the book in question!

Profaine Angel · 11-16-2004, 08:50 AM

Ditto on no blurb. I hate turning over a book, or opening the dust jacket, to find: profile of author, blurbs of their OTHER books, or random quotes from newspapers. OK so it's "wonderful" and "a sure-fire bestseller" but what's it ABOUT??

22 Umbrellas · 11-17-2004, 01:47 AM

A lot of paperback novels don't have descriptions these days. Very annoying.

My biggest pet peeve is people who fold over the front cover of the book to the back and continue to fold over the pages as they read. It ruins the book and it drives me crazy, which is unfortunate because my dad does it all the time. Everytime I see a book lying around the house like that I have to find a bookmark and put something heavy on the book so the cover won't stick up. I'm also not a big fan of dog-earing pages.

Another thing I don't like is when they don't say what font the cover artist used on the cover. I'm kind of a font junkie and I seeing a font I like and not being able to find it. This just makes me upset because they usually say what font the actual story of the book is set to, but they don't bother with the stuff on the cover.

Carrie99 · 02-19-2005, 02:04 AM

I hate it when the spine of a book cracks. I know it will usually eventually happen but I can't stand it. I don't know why

With every new book I get I always try to be so careful not to crack it.