Unpopular Bookish Opinions and Pet Peeves

Posted on by Annie Earnshaw

Time to get controversial, y’all.

Last summer, I posted the original unpopular opinions post, and today I’m reviving a classic Annie Likes Words favorite to talk about things that boil my blood.  I love a good rant and that’s what I’ve got in store for you today.  Here are some unpopular opinions and pet peeves.

 

I prefer used copies.  When I have a brand-new book, I’m so afraid of water damage (read: damage from tears) and dog-earing the pages and screwing the copy up that I don’t take it out of my house for fear of ruining it.  With used books, I don’t have this anxiety.  Plus used books are much cheaper, especially if they’re a few years old.  I buy used books here and have been known to scour a Goodwill or two in search of their 99 cent paperbacks.  Last week, I found practically new hardcover copies of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire at my local Goodwill for $1.39 each.  If that’s not reason enough to convert to used copies, I don’t know what is.

Rainbow shelves stress me out.  They’re aesthetically pleasing, don’t get me wrong, but what if you need to find a certain book in a pinch?  My bookshelves are alphabetized by the author’s last name because I’m weirdly good at remembering author names and the concept of not having my books alphabetized makes me super uncomfortable.

I write in Microsoft Word.  This is so strange, but I feel like someone’s watching over my shoulder when I write in Google Docs because you can share documents on Docs.  I know how weird and unfounded this is (unless you’re one of those who believes FBI agents are watching us through our computer cameras) but I feel like Word provides a sense of solitude.

I hate unhauling books.  This is another weird and unfounded tendency, but I dream of having a library in my future house and building a collection large enough to fill an entire room takes years of commitment.

I don’t like the enemies-to-lovers trope.  Probably one of my most controversial opinions, but I can’t hide the truth anymore.  I know so many people would cut off their thumbs for enemies-to-lovers romance, but I find it quite overdone.  The only good thing that comes from enemies-to-lovers is banter; all the mushy-gushy stuff that replaces wittiness bores me.

Cassandra Clare’s writing isn’t for me.  I tried to phrase that as nicely as possible, but I don’t like The Mortal Instruments or any of its subsequent series.  I think her writing style is forced and the character interactions feel almost stiff and unnatural.  Her ability to worldbuild is second to none, but everything about the characters and stories doesn’t appeal to me.  I still plan to finish The Mortal Instruments because I think I’ll enjoy The Dark Artifices, but I’m not eager to read any of her work at the moment.

I don’t mind spoilers.  Sometimes when reading a book I don’t really care about, I’ll read spoilers online so I know what happens and can get through the book faster.  If I’m invested in a book though, I wouldn’t be caught dead reading a spoiler.

I will never write a fantasy book.  I know writing fantasy and reading fantasy and literally anything involving fantasy is so popular on this platform, but my strengths as a writer and the strengths required to write a good fantasy novel don’t match up.  I work well with character development and description and while these things are necessary for a successful fantasy, the genre requires more worldbuilding and plot than I’m willing to give.

I’m totally cool with instalove.  As long as it makes sense why the characters fell in love so quickly, I’m down with it.  It’s a story, not real life, and who says people can’t fall in love with a glance?

I hate when characters have conflicting traits.  Props to you for trying to make your character ~special~ but I have a hard time believing your angsty female protagonist, who owns a closet full of black leather, also loves painting her nails and doing her makeup.

I have no qualms about DNFing a book.  If I know that I’m not going to remotely enjoy anything about a book, I’m totally fine putting it back on the shelf and never picking it up again.  Sometimes I’ll keep reading if I want to think about how I would write it better so I can learn about writing as a craft, but if I know I’m not going to get anything but irritated from reading a book, I sleep just fine at night knowing that I quit.

Frustrating books are my favorite.  Is a character in love with someone who’s in love with someone else?  Is a character facing certain death with no hope of salvation?  Does someone know a vital, life-saving piece of information only to die before that information is delivered?  That’s the good stuff.

 

What are your unpopular opinions and pet peeves?  Do you agree/disagree with any of my opinions?

Related Post // Popular Books that I Disliked

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Published by Annie Earnshaw

Writer // College student // Blogger // Dog enthusiast

27 thoughts on “Unpopular Bookish Opinions and Pet Peeves”

  2. Ugh, Rainbow Shelves freak me out too! Why would you do anything other than alphabetize?? For a picture, maybe. For all the time? Heck to the no!

    I’m also not a Cassandra Clare fan. I find her characters boring.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I’d totally buy more used copies if there actually were any good ones where I live! I guess the people in this country aren’t that keen on selling/buying used books, haha.

    And I’d actually never thought about sorting my shelves alphabetically, but now that I think about it it makes so much sense…. Thanks for the inspiration! c:

    BUT HOW DO YOU NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH INSTALOVE? I even talked about it on my blog recently… Even after experiencing it irl I can’t stand reading it…. “I’ll believe it when I’ll see it” does not apply here 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I actually disagree with a lot of those opinions, but rainbow shelves are stressing me out as well. I can’t have my series separated. I would go insane!

    One of my unpopular opinion is probably the fact that I think that Maggie Stiefvater’s books are boring. The writing is beautiful, but the stories are just so… bland.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. I find myself agreeing with you on a few of these, the others don’t relate to me, LOL.

    My debut novel has characters falling in love quickly, for a reason or two, and I got told it was “unrealistic”, especially since I wrote in “realistic fiction”. I also have the “frustrating book”, yup, that’s my debut. I had one reader who got angry about my book. I don’t find that it was THAT frustrating, but to each their own.

    I don’t like cookie cutter, predicitable stories. If I can guess the ending, it’s not for me.

    Great post!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much for reading!! I feel like if instalove is justified (like it sounds in your novel) then I’m totally cool with it!! Kind of the same with frustrating books: I don’t like being constantly mad at a story but I love impossible situations.

      Like

  9. I prefer used copies too! I buy them in bulk at our annual rotary book fair and they last me a few weeks/months. Some are in great condition anyway 🙂 I only buy a book new if it’s one I’ve been waiting for or it’s an indie book I can’t buy anywhere else. I also love spoilers! Never stops me from reading a book or watching a movie – which is the hallmark of a good story I believe! Oh and I totally hate rainbow shelves, I actually don’t think they look aesthetically pleasing at all – more so jarring, but that’s just me lol

    Liked by 1 person

  10. I dnf without mercy too 😂

    Rainbow shelves are pretty but i only have a few books (50ish) arranged like that. The rest is arranged by genre and within that, author.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Used copies are my heart’s blood. I’m a fan of Thriftbooks.com. And local library sales. Hardcovers for $3.59? Yes please!

    Agree with your DNF-ing thing 100%.

    FRUSTRATING BOOKS! ❤ ❤ ❤ Speaking of which, I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora and there was SO MUCH PERIL and I am in love, omg, more please. Frustrating books are the BESTBESTBEST.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Such a great post!! ❤
    I love reading unpopular opinions posts, they are so much fun to read! I agree with you about Clare, used books (though there aren't many ways to get them here, unless we're talking online sites and I don't trust those very much because the used books can be very damaged and yeah, not a fan), spoilers. Probably the only thing I don't agree with is the enemies-to-lovers trope, it's a soft spot for me because of the banter and the tension and the angst.
    Lovely post! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for reading!! Used book sites have been hit-or-miss for me—I love Thriftbooks but have had a few come without dust jackets etc. One of the books I bought was missing the first 42 pages 😅 but when I spoke to Thriftbooks customer service in both cases they gave me a full refund!

      Like

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