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

His mouth formed the perfect 'O'

I think both my examples were this writer too!

Interesting. I believe this is an Americanism. (I see it a lot in low-rent US fan fiction.) Smirking in the UK is bad. Not over the pond, apparently.

I recently read Trad Wife by Sarah Langan. I was really enjoying it up to the last few chapters, where she started repeatedly saying that everyone was herking and jerking.
The children were herking and jerking.
The husband was herking and jerking.
The horse was herking and jerking.
Just herking and jerking all over the bloody place.

Padding is normally done by female characters who are wearing just their pants and a man’s shirt. Boke.

I’d like to see more galumphing in that scenario.

Munch. I can't bear it

There's a lot of smirking in the books I read.

Oh I see someone else has been reading the same books!

I’ve been listening to the Rivers of London series on audiobook and the last few have been peppered with “proper” after a noun, as in “London proper”, “archeology proper”… I think it’s because I’m hearing it out loud but it’s becoming slightly annoying!

'drank greedily' when thirsty - can't stand it!

The women are always 'padding' across the floor in Frieda McFadden books. I know not the height of sophisticated reading but yes it is annoying

I think she’s stolen that from Paddington Bear!

All you need to know is she bites her lip, rolls her eyes, then orgasms…every third page.

Gilbert & Sullivan's Princess Ida has a chorus where the women have to sing

this is our duty plain towards our princess all immaculate:
we ought to bless her brothers' swords and piously ejaculate
"oh Hungary! oh Hungary! oh doughty sons of Hungary!
may all success attend and bless your warlike ironmongery"

(wanders off murmuring Hil-AR-ion)

Oh lord yes. I seem to remember reading that out loud in The Hound of the Baskervilles to a mirthful class of year 9s.

and on the subject of repetition, it's a bad idea to read too much Heinlein at once. If the feisty redheaded mathematicians don't get you, it'll be the difficulties of leading a group of rugged individualists

Is it good? I bought a copy years ago and my useless ex boyfriend took it and lost it. Worth me buying again?

Omg yes i get what you are saying op.
I was reading a romantic book a few month ago i could not finish it, the words that sent the book in the bin are as follows, his heat, her heat, grit chested, lower smile she sent him, he side grinned with harshness eyes etc.
I could not make any sense of it by chapter 5.

I cringed so much thinking can anyone write a book with real words anymore.

Now I want to read some Paddington! I loved Olga da Polga as a kid, but only watched the TV programme of Paddington.
Never too old.

I have words that give me the heebie jeebies as well.

There is a cookery book I really like the look of, but I can't buy it because it's called SCRAN.

Referring to your meals and food in general as 'scran' just feels really common and a bit seedy. Urrgh. Like sarnies and sandos. I can't cope.

The more annoying thing in those books is when the protagonist (can’t remember his name) says, “oh, that’s kilometres away”. I mean, no Londoner would say anything other than miles in that sentence.

I read it a while ago and enjoyed the first part where they are having to walk everywhere but then it turned into a bit of a manual of how to set up a shoe making factory. Lots of tedious descriptions of how much things cost and how they built or altered buildings; things like that.

I was going to say “pads”!

I really hate grinning too!! '"Me too" he grinned' for example.
I imagine side gurning smiles. I have stopped reading several books because of it.

I also hate things like 'grab a coffee' and (in the context of Zoom etc) 'jump on/off a call'. Why is everyone in such a hurry?!?

This is quite minor but Rose Tremain has a habit of using 'this' and 'these' in a way that annoys me: things like 'She picked up the tea things and took these'. It recurs in all her novels and I do a lot of gritting my teeth!