One word is ruining my book

[Lifenov86]

I’m reading the new cj Tudor book “serenity falls”. Really enjoying the story. My problem! No one walks anywhere they “pad”. It’s so jarring once you notice it

Jaws that work.
Coaches/sofas are overstuffed.
Liking coffee as a interesting character trait, so having to hear the details of the 6 cups of coffee they drink daily.

I read a horror book set in a cave recently where there was a LOT of crawling (probably every page) - and every single time, they didn't just crawl, they crawled "on all fours". It drove me mad. Also, whenever a character walked through an archway or stopped in one, they "eddied". Overall the book needed a better editor.

I’ve just finished a book that is everywhere in the booktok world and the characters constantly “grind out” words. In less than 300 pages, the characters grind out words 20 times (yes i counted - and that doesn’t include the number of times their bodies “grind together”). Drives me mad.

Also, during the (very unsexy) sex scenes, the female keeps whimpering, mewling, and becomes undone. everything is described as being “devastating” (devastating facade, devastating love, devastating stroke etc.).

i just want to send the author a thesaurus.

Can I add characters who “could care less”

I have reported these as typos on my Kindle.

In Martina Cole books if a character was pregnant the phrase 'a belly full of arms and legs' was always used.

That's awful!
I've never read any of her books and you've just put me right off.
It actually made me feel sick.

It put me off too, horrible phrase

Oh i hated hated this. Sure it’s not a phrase that was ever used in real life

I noticed this recently in a JD Kirk book. Every single character was wiping away tears by wiping with their sleeve cross their face. Not much but it got annoying!

And then there’s the author who shoe horns 80’s songs into every detective book, multiple times. Paragraphs of talking about them. I love the books but this grates on me so much!

I cannot abide the use of “somehow” - “somehow, she was able to …”.

I hate the term ‘heels of their fist’ - I see it all the time in books now and I ALWAYS think about it too much - every single time.

I have another irk but doubt it’ll come back to me any time soon 🤦‍♀️

Surely the only time you'd need to scramble out of a lift would be when it's stuck between floors.

@Grumpymiddleagedwoman43 and @bunnypenny also "rasped". Sara J Maas is a repeat offender, I just searched in a court of mist and fury - people "rasp" 18 times!!!

Jane Green's characters used to "pad" a lot.

Set atop. Once was fine but using it repeatedly just made me put the book down and never pick it up again.

Gawd I only ever saw this once in year 7 and I remember having to read it out to the class, knowing everyone would burst into hysterics on hearing that word used. Especially as it was a male character. I think at least it was '...ejaculated Henry' rather than 'Henry ejaculated...'?!

I want your dancing eyebrows. If I try to raise just one of mine, nope it's always both, and if I contortion my forehead to raise just one I automatically close the other eye. I look like someone just making faces. So I don't bother and now give a wry smile and pad back to my chair in silence.

I've had to give up fantasy books, everything is too obsidian

Hot drinks are far too frequently referred to as steaming mugs,
I’ve only ever heard people IRL say laptop or computer but in books it’s often laptop computer,
in some of the police crime books I listen to people are always getting hit in the solar plexus, and one of the main characters never smiles but his lips twitch.

I can't stand 'headed' - as in she headed to the car. Ditto 'prepare' for meals and 'apply' for make up. I'm with the PP who hates 'grab' e.g. grab a coffee. Also 'chuck on' or 'fling on' for items of clothing - she flung on a jumper. Sounds like parkour!

In the Harry Potter books, characters are often described as saying things "thickly" when they are eating or upset.
It drives me around the bend!

I had to stop trying to listen to audio books becaues too often the words didn't match the narrator. eg

'"I'm sorry I'm such a terrible mother" she said softly.' But the narrator has bellowed it.

Infuriating.

The pad thing also jars for me, but mostly because I can't work out exactly what it is. when do you pad? I can maybe sort of imagine it in a room with very thick carpet and bare feet? MAYBE?

Padding has been annoying for decades, my two current bugbears that seem to be in every book I read are that someone at some time has roiling in their stomach or is banging their hands down on something

I know it's partly reticular activation but still annoying

Nibbling. Characters (usually female) lean against the table or something, nibbling a croissant. Like a mouse? Using only her front teeth?
Also muscles working in jaws (usually men). Literally never seen this happen.