I have no idea if this will be a recurring post or not, but I found the title of the post amusing because I do have a lot of pet peeves when it comes to books. I started reading, Five Broken Blades today. I have high hopes for this book. It has received a lot of praise in the last few months. But, it hit a few of my pet peeves and I feel like ranting a bit about it. You can check out this book HERE, Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
Peeve #1: Trigger Warnings
I can’t begin to tell you how much I hate this fad of putting trigger warnings in books. As someone who has enough of my own trauma to write several books on the subject, I certainly understand the idea that certain topics and things that happen in a book could be triggering to people’s trauma. I am sensitive to that, but honestly, that’s what book reviews are for. That’s what Google is for. That’s not what the first page of the book is for. If I am concerned about a book’s content, I Google it and I read reviews to see if there’s something in there I might prefer to avoid. But I hate being “forewarned” about the book’s content. It feels like a spoiler. Oh gee, thanks author for telling me all these things that are going to happen! So, with that said, I bring you the trigger warning that peeved me:
Again, I perfectly understand that some of these ideas and topics may trigger people, a few of them trigger me too. But….thanks for spoiling so many elements of your plot? I would have preferred to discover those parts of the story naturally. Can we at least put it at the end? Where I don’t happen upon it immediately after opening. Probably not a popular opinion, but it gets on my nerves.
Peeve #2: The obvious sequel announcement
One of my favorite things to do when I start a new book is to read the first line and the last line. Just something I picked up in a creative writing class a long time ago that I’ve never given up. I like the idea of seeing where we begin, seeing how we end and discovering the story in between. And I stumbled across another thing that I absolutely hate about books.
Ugh. I am a fairly intelligent reader. I can usually put the pieces together while reading a book and determine if the author intends to write a sequel. If you have given me a sufficient buy-in during the book then I will seek out that information. Several books I’ve finished this year, I eagerly Googled as soon as I closed them to see if there was a sequel in the works. I dislike being told as if it’s a big carrot on a stick. I probably already surmised that there will be a sequel before I got to the ending. I don’t need an incentive. Just end the book. This might just be me, who knows?
Okay, now that I’ve expressed my pet peeves, I will say this about the book….it has a spectacular binding. I really love painted pages. Especially when it’s this pretty.
Written Among The Stars 
I use something much more simple: a PG-13 rating which I mention at the end of the book description once, lightly.
The details you quote are the triggers – just reading them makes me think the author is reaching for ‘Game of Thrones.’ Most people don’t do what you do, check a book out externally – and they will leave scathing reviews when it’s really their own fault for not vetting something better.
This is true. From the perspective of the author, and the current times we live in, authors probably feel much safer adding in the details. But personal responsibility is always best in my opinion.
Since PG-13 isn’t given if ANY of the parameters are not suitable, I figure it’s enough for me. Sometimes the detailed stuff written for a book sounds more like advertising.
My biggest bookish pet peeve is when the book blurb spoils the whole plot of the novel!
I can take or leave trigger warnings, on some occasions I appreciate the heads-up, but if I don’t want to know what they are, I just don’t read the disclosure page.
But I never read the last line of a book! Spoilers! I like to keep myself in suspense for the ending, it helps gauge my overall feelings when deciding what to write in my reviews.
Also I like knowing if there is a sequel or not. If some of the plot points are left hanging, and I know there’s a sequel, I’m less likely to point out bad writing in a review.
Oh yes! I hate that about a blurb too! It’s like a movie trailer that shows you all the good parts. So annoying!
The interesting thing about the last line is that sometimes it’s a big spoiler, but sometimes it makes no sense until later in the story. It’s a fun adventure.
I definitely see your other two points. Trigger warnings are sometimes appreciated by me too, but some of them are way too detailed and give away too much. Keep it to simpler umbrella categories: gory violence, war/genocide, sexual assault. That keeps the actual plot secure but still gives the warning. That’s the thing about readers, all of us are different. What gets on my nerves is an important piece to someone else. And both of us can be right! It puts authors in a difficult place admittedly.