This business of book publishing is so so subjective. Something could be complete crap to one person and amazing to another. As authors and writers we know how it feels to be on the receiving end of that. And sometimes it can really suck. Countless rejections letters I've received reading: "It just wasn't for me." Nothing wrong...they just didn't like it.
But as a reader, I am also on the giving end of that too. I know what it's like, and I find myself giving books many more chances than I used to. But sometimes I just have to put one down. But usually it takes several offenses to get to that point.
This most recent book, a romance, had a few offenses that I let slide...one in particular was a part in the hero's POV where he describes in great detail the shoes the heroine was wearing when he met her- as far as to say the exact style-peep-toe platform, also with a Cuban heel (I didn't even know what a Cuban heel was...had to Google it. I thought it was part of the shoe, but apparently it's a kind of stocking.) No guy knows that much about shoes and hosiery...at least not straight men. It was just not authentic to me at all. He could have just said "sexy blue heels" or something...and if the author really wanted the specifics of the shoes and pantyhose for the reader to get the picture in their head, they need to be described in great detail in the heroine's POV.
There were a few more instances like that, but the line that really got me...the one that made me cringe and put the book down (or rather close it out on my eReader):
"He wrapped his lips around her finger and sucked hard as he slowly pulled the digit free, and that secret entrance deep between her thighs clenched like the mouth of a drawstring purse."
Seriously???? A draw-string purse?? There has to be some other way to describe lady parts. And the word "digit" is completely distracting to me. Both of these instances combined completely pulled me out of the sensuality of the scene.
So I moved on to something else...and so far I am quite enjoying it....a romance where the hero is a NASCAR driver.....soooooooooooooooooo not my thing at all.
So what about you....what makes you put a book down?? Or are you one of those who finishes no matter what???
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Stuff like that, as well as when I watch movies and TV shows, really drives me mad! What makes me put a book down is pages and pages and pages of narrative and NO POINT. Enormous blocks of description...SKIP. I read a book that I thought would be great if it were half as long. Just too many words! Shut up and get on with the story! LOL.
ReplyDeleteLOL Miss M Jones!! I know what you mean! In my own writing, I tend to move scenes along pretty fast...in editing I usually have to go back and add in the details that I skipped.
ReplyDeleteThe tone of this post seemed like a rant/vent post, but it made me lol, literally. That has to be one of the worst lines I've heard. :)
ReplyDeleteI've put down books before (and from authors that I are pretty amazing), sometimes the style isn't right for me, the voice feels wrong, I'm uninterested, etc etc. I'm honestly not that hard to please. If I have to put it down, I'll usually skip to the end to find out what happened just to know.
No matter how much I may not be enjoying a particular book, I'm the type of person who has to read to the end. I need to stop this but so far, I'm unable to.
ReplyDeleteLOL Kindros...it kind of was a rant, but I also just had to share that ridiculous line with everyone!!
ReplyDeletefunny - i *try* to finish everything. even if it takes me ages. sometimes, i find that by just plugging away, i get to a turning point of the story and the writing picks up. although, i do enjoy a book that grabs my attention from the get go and takes off!!
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