Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today:
Sandra Cox http://sandracox.blogspot.com/
Louise - Fundy Blue http://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com/
Ronel Janse van Vuuren http://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/blog/
J Lenni Dorner YOU ARE HERE!!! 😎
Gwen Gardner http://gwengardner.blogspot.com/
Be sure to check out the IWSG feature on Operation Awesome.
https://operationawesome6.blogspot.com/2021/01/oa-recommends-insecure-writers-support.html
January 6 question -
Being a writer, when you're reading someone else's work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people's books?
What most often stops me is basic spelling errors. There are dozens of free ways to check spelling. Anyone who can figure out how to upload an ebook can figure out how to run a spellcheck. I'll grant you that there are dialect variations of words, homophones trip everyone up from time to time, and typos do happen. But if I've spotted five simple errors in the first two pages, I'm done.
Offensive works are my next big issue. I returned a Kindle book for the first time ever in 2020. I couldn't make it past the first few pages. The way POC were being described made me want to vomit. 🤮 It was a YA book published in the last three years. In a rare move for me, I didn't even leave a review. I probably should have, to warn others, but I didn't. (It was 2020 and I had enough on my plate.)
There's a Steampunk book I actually did enjoy, but not until I found out what Steampunk is. I was thrown out of the book at first because I didn't understand why certain things would co-exist in a world. I'm still not part of the fandom, but once I understood what was going on and why, I was able to enjoy the book.
(I vote yes.)
Check out the IWSG book club on Goodreads!
I'm honored to have written the writing craft book that's being read for Dec/Jan/Feb.
Hi J Lenni Dorner and a Happy New Year to you. Thank you for hosting the blog hop this month. I am looking forward to reading Writing Book Reviews as an Author. Like you, spelling errors are my absolute no no, I'm a teacher so I see enough of those and have to grit my teeth and remember that the main aim of the exercise was not the spelling. I wish I had thought of that second and most disturbing point - the way POC are described. It makes me very uncomfortable, specially older books that have that flaw and I find myself wondering if I should continue to read it because it is historically accurate or if I should just put it away. I usually wait until the author's stance is clear to me, when I decide whether to read it or junk it.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
ReplyDeleteDescriptions and world building are somewhat essential, at least that's what I believe, to get the reader involved. I agree with spelling errors. I admit, those dreaded typos seem to haunt me. The ones that get overlooked, even after the 3rd draft, by me and my editor. Lately, I have even found typos in NYT Best Sellers.
Thank you for co-hosting.
Thank you for hosting this month. Typos are tough. I admit to a fair few of my own, even after many drafts. I type too fast, but worse, I read to fast and miss my own errors. It's a weakness that really worries me.
ReplyDeleteA book for young adults should not be littered with offensive words.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting today!
I'm a horrible speller! I was taught to spell by memory, not phonics. Now I live in Mexico and often the words are similar, but the vowels are pronounced differently. Between the two languages I'm a mess. I do agree, we all have access to spell checkers and I depend on them. I'm amazed when best sellers contain spelling errors. Where are the editors?
ReplyDeleteThank you for co-hosting this month.
Lynn La Vita blog: Writers Supporting Writers
Thank you for co-hosting! I am excited to read your book in the book club.
ReplyDeleteHi and Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThank you for co-hosting and have a great year.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Thanks for co-hosting. That's too bad that you found a book too offensive to read and had to return it. And awesome we're reading your craft book this month for the book club.
ReplyDeleteLove the DNF definition. Exactly! I don't want to feel guilty or like I'm a quitter. There's way too much excellent prose out there waiting for me to pick it up and LOVE it! Thanks for co-hosting this month!!
ReplyDeleteSeveral spelling errors in the first few pages would stop me reading too. If the writer hasn't taken care to avoid easily fixed mistakes, I'm not going to trust them to have created a plot that holds water.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year, and thanks for co-hosting! Too bad the author of your DNF YA book didn't use a sensitivity reader before publishing.
ReplyDeleteI love the quote. What an awesome way to look at life. I'm borrowing it. Hope that's okay. Happy New Year and thanks for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteI've had a few DNF against me. I know some of my stuff has mature content so it's hardly surprising. Maybe I need bigger warnings.
ReplyDeleteIn any published work it's really almost inexcusable that there would be many if any misspelled words. I would probably not notice them, but if it were blatantly ongoing I would get pretty annoyed. When it comes to a work being offensive for me it's mostly a matter of excessive use of profanity. Otherwise, not much offends me unless it's something that goes against my sense of values, and even then I have a high threshold of tolerance for such things.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I try to read everything. The good and the bad. It's rare I give up on a book, but sometimes I just have to. If it's uber graphic content I'll usually just read the reviews. It's like looking around the sun without looking directly at it. Happy IWSG day. Thank you for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteWhile I read widely, I do find I'm more likely to stop reading in some genres than others when something rubs me the wrong way. Another blogger mentioned that she didn't like being mislead by the book description, and I so agree with that. I rely on blurbs when I'm choosing a book to buy.
ReplyDeleteHope 2021 doesn't let us down like 2020 did. I feel like someone who has been locked up for a crime she didn't commit. Here's to a (hopefully) happy new year.
🤣 Feeling... "Not Guilty"? You should write a book about that... wait a minute... 😄😂
DeleteI adore you.
Thanks for co-hosting this month. I'm looking forward to reading your craft book.
ReplyDeleteMary at Play off the Page
Yeah, minor (and easily correctable) errors like spelling and simple grammar can be hard to take if they occur often in a book. For the most part, I can overlook those. I always give an honest try when I first pick up a book. I feel the author wrote it, so I should give it my best to read. But there have been a few books where I just couldn't do it. Those were mostly because of lack of depth in the setting/world, which made the story feel so plain and, honestly, implausible. Thank you for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteYeah, multiple spelling errors is a big flag. It's like, if you couldn't take the time to make this book the best possible book for me to read, why should I take the time to read this book?
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting!
Spelling errors are inexcusable, I agree. MS Word has a good spell check. Turn it on, and you're OK. Homophones are another matter. They creep up in my writing now and again, and it takes persistence to check each occurrence and make sure the spelling is right for the meaning I want.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I so agree! Multiple spelling errors in a published novel is frustrating!
ReplyDeleteDef get a proof reader!! It's unacceptable. Do it right.
ReplyDeleteIt is off-putting when basic proofreading is ignored. If the author doesn't care about putting out a good, readable product, it makes you wonder if they put any effort in on character development or plot points either. @samanthabwriter from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
How exciting to have your book being the one for the IWSG book club! Congratulations! And thank you for co-hosting this month. Happy new year :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your book being chosen for the book club, J Lenni! That's awesome. And thanks for co-hosting today. I hope that you are enjoying visiting around. Happy writing in 2021!
ReplyDeleteGreat that your book was chosen for Book Club. Thanks for visiting my blog and co-hosting this month. All the best for 2021.
ReplyDeleteBlogger ate my last comment. Probably just as well... it was all about how I'm a language snob.
ReplyDeleteI won't repeat my rant. Instead I'll just say - Great post!
Congrats on your book being chosen for book club. I'm with you about grammar errors. They throw me out of the story. When there are too many, I DNF the book. Thanks for cohosting.
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteI did not know you could return a Kindle book! I experienced the same thing with Steampunk ;-) I can skip over a couple of grammar errors, but the story has to have a consistent flow. Congratulations on your book, and thanks for co-hosting!
Hi J Lenni!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on having your book picked for the IWSG Book Club! I’m with you on simple typos and mistakes being a turn-off when reading books.
Of course, double-edged sword, I had to make sure that my own debut book didn’t belong in that category. That’s when I learned just how hard it is to make a book error-free! I hired a professional editor for two rounds of edits (including the copy edit), utilized two proofreaders and a couple of ARC readers with keen eyes and, still, after publication, three errors have been detected in my 88K book. Sigh! I’m sure this is not what will put readers off, though. :-)
Thanks for co-hosting this month! I’m looking forward to collaborating later this month.
It takes a lot for me to put a book down unfinished, but it's something I try to do more quickly now. I have too little time to read.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenni for cohosting and putting your book on settings out there for the Book Club discussion. Wishing you a creative 2021.
ReplyDeleteJ
DeleteLenni
Thanks for stopping in.
I think you should have reviewed the returned book. Plenty of people review clothes they've returned....
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting this month, J. Looking forward to reading your book in the next few weeks :)
Happy new year!
The review would be easier now. "This author was probably with those who invaded the Capitol building on January 6, 2021..."
DeleteThe thing is, I've experienced quite a bit of violence over the years. And the last four years have been especially bad. So writing the review... with enough effort, a person could track myself or my family down. And, honestly, this seemed like the sort of person who might. No book review is worth myself or my family being put in danger.
I'd put a book down for racial bias too. It has no place in the world when we're all brothers and sisters.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and thanks for co-hosting!
Yeah, any excessive use of filthy words and any at all racist crap, pfft. See ya.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting:)
ReplyDeleteI echo Pat.
Happy New Year, may your muse be dancing on your shoulder.
Typos are off putting for me too. Happy New Year 2021 and hoping we all have a productive year.
ReplyDeleteIf a writer really wants to put out a quality product, there are inexpensive ways to do it. It just takes time and effort. Even homophones (usage errors) can be caught. I freelance edit, and I have a list of over 100 words I do a document check for during every edit job.
ReplyDeleteIn my list of words cheat sheet, I have brief reminders of each word's definition. I doc-check all 100+ words, one at a time, and make sure the usage is correct. It's actually the fastest part of the edit job, as most of the words don't return any uses when I search. Pair that with MS Word's spellcheck and at least one CP who is good at grammar, and you have it made.
Thanks for co-hosting. I'm tardy because I was helping my mom move last week.
I don't think I've ever read a Steampunk book. Hmm. I should look into that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting this month!
ReplyDeleteSpelling mistakes and beyond annoying characters will bring me out of a story. If either gets worse, it's a guarantee DNF for me.
I need to read more steampunk. I don't really have a handle on the genre yet, but I think I have a basic idea what it is. It's not like I go out thinking I must read a steampunk book. It's just whatever grabs my interest. But yes, excessive spelling errors are a no-no. Anything that distracts me and takes me out of the story is.
ReplyDeleteOof. The grammatical and spelling errors will really grate on me. The past couple years, I've definitely put down books with bad representation of POC. I've left Goodread reviews to say so, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm late, but thanks for co-hosting!
Most of my money (such as it is) comes from doing book reviews for the Online Book Club (onlinebookclub.org) I'm astounded at the number of authors who release a book that's chock-a-block with basic errors. It doesn't really get under my skin so much as it puzzles me. Even a program like Grammarly, which has a free version, will correct the glaring errors that some folks leave in.
ReplyDelete