What things really irritate you about certain books?

[StealthPolarBear]

I read the usual crime/thriller trash and I was thinking the other day there are two cliches that really wind me up and put me off a book.

1. The characters in the book all have to be "super special" for something in particular, the most intelligent, the most beautiful, the best shot...there was a book in particular I was reading that was so bad for this that I had to stop reading it, but I can't remember what it was.

2. In most thrillers the main character is usually described fairly early on. If the main character is a man, he's described in terms of his intelligence, professionalism and personality. If a woman, looks.

What winds you up?

bump, i can't be the only one!

Books with a lot of dialect in.

I had the same thought as you yesterday SPB. Join us here

The worst case of the super special character for me, is bloody Lucy-child genius- niece of Kay Scarpetta. From the novels by Patricia Cornwell.

I haven't read any of her books for years now but as soon as I read this, she popped into my mind.

not keen on PC but have read a few - why is she so irritating
But if she's a prodigy, well yes, that's a fairly common cliche
Child prodigy that was walking and talking by 6 months, solving complicated equations by 2 and of course saves their lives by the end of the book. But they just want him/her to have a normal childhood

I hate it when you can sense the writer thinking how clever he/she is. Ian McEwan and Jasper Fffffffffforde especially bad for this.

And I hate Tony Parsons because he is a twat.

That'll do for starters but I'm sure I'll think of many more!

Not so much about cliches or certain styles of book but it really annoys me when the 1st chapter of the next book has been added on to the end of the current book.

It has tricked me so many times into thinking I have a whole chapter left and enough book to read in the bath

I hate when they get medical details wrong.

"The nurse slipped a needle into his artery."

Errrr NO!!!! IV needles go in veins!!!! Yes you can put a needle in an artery but I can tell you that placing an arterial line is 1) a bit of a challenge and 2) not done by a nurse!

Repetition of the same word in a paragraph/page.

I'm looking at you, DH Lawrence.

And when male authors write from a female point of view but omit any of the unattractive necessities of existence, thus creating a fantasy.

I hate. Really short. Sentences.

Barbara Taylor Bradford does this thing where her characters repeat and rephrase whatever they're talking about, in the same sentence, makes me mental.

Oh and when the author seems to have forgotten (or never knew) what punctuation marks are for. Step forward 'Daphne' by Justine Picardie.

I hate the way Lucy Bagshawe is constantly mentioning brand names. FFS is she getting paid for the sponsorship??

"Cheryl got into the shower and washed her hair with her L'occitane seaweed shampoo and used her Chanel 5 shower gel. She then dried herself off with her Harrods towels and smoothed on Estee Lauder body souffle".

I notice that her heroine's never use VO5 and Asda Shower gel lol

Oi everyone, on to wukter's thread, I can't keep up with two