Breakfast with the Bookie - Bookie’s Ultimate Pet Peeve: Greedy, Jealous Bloggers

Breakfast with the Bookie is a “regular feature here at Badass Bookie taking place every Wednesday. It’s a discussion that you can read along with your morning cup of coffee! I haven’t done one of these in a while, sorry! Life’s gotten in the way but they should be back now!

This Week’s Topic – Bookie’s Ultimate Pet Peeve: Greedy, Jealous Bloggers

I’m fairly tolerant about most things but I can’t stand greedy, jealous bloggers. It’s my ultimate pet peeve, usually I like to keep quiet about my negative opinions because the blogging community is really great and I’ve made some really friends in this community but this is really getting on my nerves.

What’s a greedy, jealous blogger?

1) Review Copies: Requesting More than You can Review – This really gets on my nerve, bloggers who request dozens of review copies when they only review one book every few weeks or so. I feel bad for Kristi over at The Story Siren, some authors and bloggers had some really mean things to say to her about In My Mailbox, according to them it’s just some feature where bloggers flaunt all their books (“oh look my review pile is bigger than yours”). What started as a good intention is now being looked down on because some bloggers are really taking it as an opportunity to show off their review pile. Worse, sometimes when I look at their IMM even I feel like they’re trying to flaunt their review pile because I follow their blogs and know that they can’t possibly review every one of those books before they put more requests in. I request novels from publishers but I really do make an effort to try read and review every one of those before I start requesting again. Unsolicited copies or accepted? Fine, no problem but it’s really disappointing to see bloggers request a load of copies and review maybe two of them before they request more.

2) Asking for Other Bloggers Publishing Contacts … in Public – Really guys? Where is your pride? No offence but it makes you sound jealous and desperate. Even if you were to ask for their publishing contacts at least have the pride and decency to send them an email and ask politely, maybe a ‘Hi, I noticed you review for so and so, do you know how I can contact them?’, over a social networking system or worse, through a IMM post is really embarrassing and sad. I really don’t think publisher want us passing their emails around between ourselves. I don’t mind sharing my contacts privately, that’s what friends are for right? But don’t do it in public, it just gets on my nerves and quite frankly puts me in a difficult spot because I don’t want to seem like a bitch and not pass them on but it’s really uncomfortable for me. I’m sure this applies to other bloggers as well. If you are going to ask for publishing contacts do it privately. I’m really big on manners and social etiquette and this is really something I frown upon.

3) Line cutting, taking more than one copy etc. at Book Events – Not something I can relate to personally since Australia has about zero Book Events but I have been reading BEA recounts recently and some of the things bloggers have been saying really make me glad I didn’t go. Lots of talk about bitching and line cutting, even read one incident about some assholes that made a girl cry when she told them not to cut in line. Making someone cry is really low, where are your manners? Another thing, taking duplicates of a book, I asked one of my blogger friends if she could get this one books I really, really wanted to read that didn’t happen to be released in Australia and she said sorry, but no. I told her I totally understand, it was worth a try :P but being big on manners, I understand getting duplicates can give you a bad name. Even if you think no one notices you sneaking two copies, think again. Bloggers are very observant.

I’m not trying to single anybody out or be negative through this post but I’m just trying to get people to understand what gets on my nerves and why. I’m sure everyone has their own pet peeves but this just happens to be mine. Please don’t run away, I’m really a nice person  Your turn : Do you agree/disagree? What are your pet peeves?

Badass Bookie xx