Lets talk what about bookish things that make us peevish. No, I don’t have a lisp. (Haha) I just wanted to write a little bit about bookish things that bother me. I’m wondering if I’m a complete nerd psycho that has the most ridiculous bookish pet peeves. Why is it called a pet peeve anyway? No seriously.. why?
Q: Where does the phrase “pet peeve” come from?
A: “Pet peeve,” an alliterative expression referring to something that bugs you, is relatively recent in origin and dates to about 1919. Here’s the entry from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
The noun “peeve” isn’t much older, going back to only 1908, according to The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology. It comes from the much older word “peevish,” an adjective from the 1300s. The derivation of “peevish” is unknown, but the Barnhart dictionary suggests that it might be linked to perversus, the Latin word for perverse.
Interestingly, one of the oldest meanings of the noun “pet” is a fit of peevishness. (The Oxford English Dictionary has published references going back to the late 16th century.) As an adjective, “pet” can mean “favorite,” as in “pet project” or “pet topic” or, getting back to the subject at hand, “pet peeve.” (The Grammarphobia Blog: The pedigree of “pet peeve”)
According to my finding the word ‘pet’ can mean favorite. That’s interesting. Lets see if I can narrow it down to my “favorite” peeve and see which one I’m the most peevish about! I think I am feeling this way because lately I have read quite a few books that are ALMOST really good. I liked them but I could have loved them if it wasn’t for this or that. Which is weird for me because I am the girl that likes to just go on the journey and see where I end up. Lately I have found myself disappointed. I know it must really hard for a writer. You have all these ideas and your inner genius is wanting to put it out there. I commend your work! Heaven knows I could never write a novel. This post isn’t going to be about the inner workings of a novel that bug me.. like lets say a really slow beginning. It’s hard to keep reading when your not interested. Sometimes it takes until you are half way before you really get into it. No this is just going to be about basic, bookish things that hopefully bother others too. .(I really hope I’m not some lonely, nerdy psycho).
Let’s start with just the physical things about books that make me peevish. Now remember these are things that bother me. Peeve means that it may bother me but not you.
Dog eared corners. Check. I used to.. back in the day.. bend the corners down to keep my place. Now I will use almost anything as a bookmark. Luckily I have quite a few on hand. (wink, wink) This doesn’t bother lots of people but I just feel like I’m hurting the book somehow.
Stickers on the cover. Check. I hate buying a brand new book and it has stickers all over it. 20% off. Best Seller. Ugh. If I could handle keeping the stickers on but I can’t. I have to peel them off. You guys.. I. HAVE. TO. It always leaves sticky mark and even if I can get the sticky off sometimes you can still tell where the sticker was. Very frustrating.
Shelving your books with the spines on the inside. Check. This can be pretty for pictures. I’ll give it that. That is it. I see on pinterest everyone doing this and it makes me so sad. The spines are pretty. I love looking at my books and knowing what I have. They really are like old friends. How would you ever find anything? You would be pulling everything out trying to find whatever specific book you were looking for and it would be chaos. No thanks. I’m convinced the people that do this must not actually read those books.
Writing or marking books with pen. Check. Pencil can be erased. I had a semester of school where the professor whole heartedly encouraged us to mark up our books. To write notes in the margins. Highlight everything. I get it. Lots of people do this. My experience was me cringing as I marked up this beautiful brand new book. Then later not remembering why in the world I marked that particular passage. Either I was doing it wrong or maybe I missed the whole purpose but now days I find sticky notes are the bomb. If I want to write something then it is there and can be taken out. I use tabs all over for quotes and marking particular things. Suits me much better.
Changing the cover halfway through the series? Check. Why does this happen? I can understand anniversary editions. I don’t understand why when the series isn’t even completely out yet they decide to go with a whole new look? Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas. I love the covers. I luckily came in late to the game because I didn’t know that her first published was different (even tho now I wish I had every edition ever printed). Or when they start a series out in paperback and then 3 or 4 books in they come out with hardbacks? I like all mine to be the same. Bookish peeve right there! I want all my beautiful books that are together in a set to be the same. Whether they be paper back or hard back copies.. they need to match. I know. OCD.
Books reprinted with the movie cover. Check. This one doesn’t bother as bad BUT if I am given the option to buy the orginal vs. movie cover, I am always going to pick the original. I like to use the books description on the characters. I like reading the book FIRST and THEN seeing the movie. I always kick myself when the movie screws it up. I expect it now but back in the day I was REALLY disappointed with the Twilight series. I LOVED that series and couldn’t wait for the movies. Total bummer. In the end they turned out okay but now I have those character stuck in my head and that changed the books. Not cool.
Book jackets. I usually like book jackets on my books. I even read with them on. I have been reconsidering this lately. I have noticed that they slide all over the place. The get torn or damaged from sliding around and me trying to keep it in place while I’m reading. I might have to start taking them off from now on. Everyone likes naked books, right? I guess this one isn’t quite a peeve of mine yet but I thought I would mention it since it has started to bother me.
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On my Instagram Friday I did a fun follow train and asked you all to tell me what your biggest peeves were. There were so many good ones that I hadn’t thought of! Peeves that definitely bother me but I didn’t put in my original post! (slapping myself .. !)
I want to add a few of the really good ones that it seems we all really get peeved by.
- When you order online and you think you are ordering one version and it comes in and it is a completely different edition. This has happened to me a few times. I don’t know if it is because I am viewing a paperback and then I buy a hardback copy and the edition changes and I just don’t realize, or if they just send you whatever they can find!
- Bent spine, especially on a not so well made paperback and all the pages fall out. I have a book I just ADORE. I have read it multiple times and there is a huge section that falls out. Completely falls out.
- Ebook prices. I do think authors deserve their money for their ebooks, BUT it is ridiculous how much a digital copy costs sometimes! Almost as much as a book! I have honestly wanted an ebook and the paperback was cheaper so I bought the paperback! Why can’t there be some agreement that if you buy the physical copy you get the digital copy free? DREAMING. I know. At least cheap. *LIGHTBULB* They should do something like “Buy the physical copy and get the digital copy for $1!” I would do it. I love being able to pick up on my kindle if I didn’t bring my actual copy with me. .. Why does it cost so much for a digital copy?
- When your trying to read and people want to talk to you. It’s honestly like, “Really? Can you not see I am trying to READ!
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My biggest pet peeve really might be the stickers. I just absolutely hate it. All these things bother me but that might be the winner. They can put a sign up that says Best Seller, or Discounted. It’s such pain to ruin the covers with that blasted sticky mark the sticker leaves. .. because yes. It leaves a mark. Drives me nuts. Obviously.. I can tell I’m ranting. Do any of these bother you as well or am I really the only nerdy psycho getting worked up over nothing? Is there a peeve that I missed? I would love to hear it! What is YOUR BOOKISH PET PEEVE?
As always happy reading dear friends! I try and post a new review every Friday but I have been so crazy busy! I will get back on schedule soon. A special thank you to all of those that subscribe to my blog! It means the world to me to have support in doing something that I love so much. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!
Hugs,
Whit
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