Follow Me Friday is a fun book meme hosted by the fabulous Parajunkee & Allison Can Read. Each week a new question is asked and it's a lot of fun! And this week's edition is a little interesting . . . let's check it out!

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books? Maybe you don’t like love triangles or thin plots? Tell us about it!
Hmm . . . tricky question, many answers. But as the saying goes: there can only be one! haha points to anyone who got that quote! Just kidding about only having one . . . so here goes nothing!

Pet peeves about books? I think I don't like it when the cover has nothing to do with the book. It's very misleading, because I'm an aesthetically (i.e. - visual) person. So the cover is also a key factor in getting me to read a book. The reason for this is I'm an artistic person, so the first thing we artisty people notice is how everything is as a whole. If something is off, it won't sit well. I'm about how the colors flow, the shapes, the sound imagery in the title, etc . . . covers are my major selling point, besides a great plot. Think of it like marketing 101 at a PR firm: you have to be able to sell it to the group it's aimed at or they won't buy it.

My second pet peeve? I can't stand it when not even one back story is added to the story! If there isn't one I kind of feel let down. But if the story is amazing, I can let it slide just once and hope a mini story in between the next sequel will fill in some blanks or a prequel back story is good too! I'm all for those!!!

And my final P.P.? Authors that have been around for years, that are jumping on the YA bandwagon and producing material that isn't even geared toward a YA audience; just slaps on an excerpt and cover that looks YA, but isn't a YA book. I feel like authors should immerse themselves in the culture a little if they want to write YA. A lot has changed even in the last five years when it comes to YA novels. Not only have the covers become amazing in graphic design, but the issues that this audience deals with is not so "childish" anymore. If it's like a "Sweet Valley" novel, it won't fly anymore. A good example for pop-culture for authors to look at is "Degrassi". Something about that show, no matter what, always seems to stay popular with each and every generation that grows up watching it. They always recycle the same plot lines, but they change up some of the lingo, the clothing, the music, and add on some stuff to the original ideas. It's about keeping it classic but making it modern at the exact same time.