I think we should make a poll of your MOST HATED book. I think Heart of Darkness would win...and with good reason. Although Great Expectations seems to be "popular" as well.

Chrissie, I haven't spoken to anyone who like Reading Lolita in Tehran. I tried to get through it too, and it just didn't happen.

Ha, I love Great Expectations, and I love Chuck Palahniuk. His latest work verges on bad, though.

I dislike anything by Chuck Palahniuk. I guess the reason I've read his stuff is that I have a habit of reading anything cover to cover if it's in my apartment/house, unless something better falls into my lap.
I actually read Great Expectations because it was sitting on my bookshelf, but unlike a lot of people here, I absolutely loved that book!
I couldn't finish reading Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books; I kept mixing people up and I got bored. The style of writing didn't engage me. I tried.

I HATED Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. It was one of the novels I was required to read in high school, and I couldn't stand it. I have never had so much trouble getting through page after page. I just thought the whole story was senseless and over-descriptive.

The only books I hated were A Thousand Splendid Suns because it was so full of gratuitous violence that made me wonder if the author was actually enjoying writing aout it in a sadistic way, and the carachters were so flat and the story so boring I cannot really rememer much of it. I also coudn't stand the last three of the Twilight series. I hated the way she took a nice idea and turned it into an endless and pointless ...nothing!

As many of you said, it's really funny noticing how some of the books others hate are actually among my all time favourites!

I had weeks to read it for my senior high school English class and I wound up skimming and having to try very hard to not impale myself with my pen. And, of course, after I made my reaction, my friend just laughed and laughed. I though it was funny, but not that funny.

God yes. It's less than 100 pages long and it took me three days (with no big distractions) to finish it.

So, I was in my Eastern Civ class and the professor made a reference to Heart of Darkness and audibly reacted.

I think the only book I've read that I really hated was Gulliver's Travels. The actual content was interesting, but the writing killed me, and I was barely able to get through it. There are other books I've read that I consider pretty stupid, but I wouldn't say I hated them.

Kaion said "teenage mutual emotional whining is not love"
What a great quote. I totally agree although I haven't read the book you mentioned, this happens in A LOT of others. :)

**SPOILER FOR FAHRENHEIT 451** I'm just saying I didn't like the ending. And that's why I didn't like the book. It had nothing to do with "the confederation of well-read hobos" or anything, just the fact that they destroyed the books too and memorized them. I don't buy it, that's all. I don't think they'd be able to memorize books word for word. They can't all have a photographic memory.

What about the ending? The limbo-ness of Guy's future? The heavy-handed idea that people will need them again one day. The incredibly all-male-ness again? The confederation of well-read hobos? The bombing?

The ending.

Why do we hate so many school-reads and classics? I guess because if you hate an ordinary book you can stop reading it (I used to have must-finish-book-syndrome, until I got less free time and had the epiphany that hobbies were supposed to be, you know, enjoyable)- but a school read or a classic is dwelt upon forever.

So, school reads I hated: immediately rolling off the mind The Poisonwood Bible, Heart of Darkness, The Alchemist (paper-thin), Where the Red Fern Grows, Grendel, and Jane Eyre (I strongly dislike Romanticism).

Books already mentioned that I disliked, but couldn't care enough about to hate: Siddhartha (I'm Buddhist and I found this ponderous, dull, and contrived) and The Kite Runner (weak character-ization and weak character, ridiculous plot, poor pacing). There was a inquiry earlier as to why someone could possibly hate To Kill A Mockingbird. Here's why: the plot meanders, the characters are cast into such black-and-white stereotypes as to be rendered unbelievable, it's melodramatic and overwrought, and the "symbols" while attempting to give high-handed messages about racism (etc) fail on the literal level.

As for on-my-own-time reads, I only have the memory to hate them relatively briefly in comparison, so the only book I hated that I read the entirety of this year was Rewind by Laura Downer (ugh, physical abuse is not okay, and teenage mutual emotional whining is not love). I also got through most of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and loathed it thoroughly. More often books frustrate or exasperate me than earn my hate (A Wizard of Earthsea).

I can understand some of the other choices here. I was apathetic to Of Mice and Men (paper-thin character types/situations again), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (cliche-ish mostly just okay- it's the hype that is bothersome, not the book itself... and I've never been a fan of the "extra-special destiny" fantasy trope), and The Great Gatsby (the whole ending is just unnecessary crash-and-burn).

I *was* wondering what people really disliked about Fareinheit 451 though.

Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady by Ronald Kessler.

Okay, I am not a republican, or a democrat, or any party affiliate. I enjoyed the book until they arrived at the White House. She was a caring person that the author showed would pretty much bend over backwards and help whoever she could. But then....when they arived at the White House, the Clinton bashing began. Either she wasn't as loving as the author said, or the author had his own opinions, and Mrs. Bush didn't censor him like she had others within the book.

You don't have to agree with the presidents actions or policies, but isn't it best to show some respect! Especially when you complain about not being showed the same respect. UGH!

Funny that so many of my favourite books were mencioned here ;) Of Mice and Men, Great Expectations, The Great Gatsby...

As for me, I absolutely hated the first Harry Potter; I couldn't even go through it. And Virginia Woolf's Orlando, that I didn't go through as well - but I'll try to someday. And I didn't understand what's all the hype about On The Road. Took me a month to finish that, and it wasn't much of an enjoyable read.

Tough life... I, too, am frustrated when someone spoils something in a book, so I'm glad you pointed it out to me before I ruined it for someone!

I try! :P It's happened to me before... though not on here. It happened when I was reading a synopsis (!) on B&N's Bookmaster (!!!) in order to figure out if I wanted to read the book I was looking. I didn't really want to read it when I found out the ending. *sigh*

Hahaha. Way to look out for everyone!

It's fine lol I just saw that and got worried for people who would read it and be like "...WHAT THE HELL" haha.

Maybe I hated it because I had to read it for school and answer a bunch of questions on it.

:( I loved of Mice and Men. It's probably my third favorite book.

Haha Jana..I do that all the time..and then I'm like CRAP..not everyone has read it! lol

Oh... haha. Sorry! I'll edit it! At least I didn't remember names... That helps, right? :P I really am sorry. :)

Of mice and men!!!!

alot of people i know like that book but not me!
the only line i remember is "tell me about the rabbits, george"

and thats just because its a inside joke between me and my friends.

Jana!!!!! SPOILER!!!!!!

Of Mice and Men... I hated that.
And I hated A Day no Pigs Would Die.
AND Fahrenheit 451. Hated that.

Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler.
Candle in the Window by Christina Dodd. I wish someone had told me how trashy that book is... I refused to finish it. lol.

Blah! Now I'm in a bad mood! Haha! Time for chocolate!

Cierra wrote: "Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. None of the characters were likable, except the protagonist's best friend but he wasn't enough to save the book for me. Just horrible. In my opinion."

I agree. And the ending was just awful.

Ugh. Exodus by Leon Uris. Horrible Horrible. I couldnt even finish it and its so hard for me not to finish a book because i feel like i have to.

ugh. I didnt like that book.

I hated most of the books we had to read in high school. But I especially disliked Lord of the Flies and Great Expectations. I've been thinking about trying to reread both...but I can't seem to make myself do it.

More recently I read Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously and I strongly disliked it.

*Sorry to anyone who likes any of these three books!*

There are very few books I loathed but the ones I do make me cringe at the very mention.

I despised Beloved and The Bluest Eyeby Toni Morrison. I tried to like them and I'll give the author credit for a wonderful writing style but I just couldn't bring myself to like the books.

I hate the Twilight series, there simply isn't enough plot to satisfy me, among a whole other list of complaints.

I didn't like The Princess Bride book nearly as much as the movie either. The characters weren't as like able. Though the back story on Fezzik and Inigo were interesting, and the Pit of Despair/ Zoo of Death thing was weird. I really didn't like the notes he put after the ending though. Ugg. They ruined the book for me.

And yeah, I agree, the ending of Fahrenheit 451 was pretty bad. Which is strange really, because his ending are usually so amazing. Oh well. I basically still worship the ground he walks on. Or at least the ground his short stories walk on anyway.

Tahleen..I agree. I think that also just because they are classics doesn't mean I'm going to like them. I always want to respect and try to read books that have been deemed classics. But..I'm not going to pretend to like something just because it is a classic.

Kayla, I was an English major and also hate Great Expectations. I don't think we have to enjoy all the classics just because we study them... that's part of being a student of literature, is challenging what are considered to be classics. I also love the movie for The Princess Bride and didn't really care for the book either.

And Emily, I wasn't a huge fan of Fahrenheit 451 either... mostly because of the ending.

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk. None of the characters were likable, except the protagonist's best friend but he wasn't enough to save the book for me. Just horrible. In my opinion.

I think William Goldman is a misogynist. Buttercup was portrayed so horribly in The Princess Bride and I hated how Westley treated her. There was one scene at the end of the book when Buttercup is trying to defend Westley against Prince Humperdinck, and Westley says to her, "Be quiet woman!". I was through with the book by that point.

Kayla, I didn't like The Princess Bride either! One of those few cases when the movie is actually better.

Now, I love Bradbury with all my heart, but I didn't like Fahrenheit 451 as much as I thought I would. The ending wasn't the best (and he's usually great at endings too). But, there was one thing that I loved about it. It's how the censorship happens. It wasn't just some random law enacted by an evil government. It was the people. They were too busy watching their huge TVs to read.
He goes into more detail in some of his essays.What really happened was that back when their were books, certain groups would find something they didn't like or agree with in a book and take it out. Every group would edit or tear out the parts they didn't agree with, and in the end there were no books left, and the libraries closed. That to me is really poignant, and rather true if you've ever seen how books are edited or looked at the banned books list.

I liked the Pearl for some reason. I have no idea why...

I still hate The Kite Runner. Yeah, I'm still not over it.

Wide Sargasso Sea. Wuthering Heights. A Walk to Remember. Madame Bovary. The Princess Bride (I loved the movie, though!). Great Expectations.

I think that reason I hated Great Expectations was because I read it too young. I'm seriously thinking about giving it another try. It just doesn't seem right to be an English major and to not like Charles Dickens.

I feel like everyone always raves about that book..I almost picked it up the other day for full price at B&N. Glad I didn't. I hate shallow characters.

I hated Wicked Lovely. I really hate to say that, because the author is a goodreads author and will probably see this, but I really didn't like the book. I didn't like the characters, I felt that they were shallow, and they didn't have any motivation for the things they did in the book.

I loathed Jessica Z.. I don't know why. I just really hated it. The characters bothered me alot for some reason..along with how the dialogue was.

Well, Tahleen, why don't you tell us how you really feel? ;-)

Oh, I also HATED HATED HATED Steinbeck's The Pearl.

I just found this thread too, I think this will be fun :)

I hated Great Expectations when I read it in high school. Maybe I'll try it again but I think I'll still hate it.

I hate the Twilight series.

I wasn't a huge fan of Fahrenheit 451 either, for the same reason as you Jessi--I really liked it up until the ending, which I thought was just awful. I will think of others I don't like later haha.

Jessi, The deal with Gatsby, at least as I understand it, is that it's about inventing your identity and the lies that we tell ourselves. Think about how unreliable and delusional most of the characters in that book are...but that's how a lot of people are. I'd say give it another try. I'm all about trying the books that I deemed unworthy to read when I was in high school (because I obviously had better taste than my teacher) and opted to read the Sparknotes on.

Okay, how can some of you guys hate Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird? I suppose I probably wouldn't care for Of Mice and Men if I hadn't known going into it what it was supposed to symbolize, but it's so interesting and real. And Mockingbird is just amazing. How can you not like the best story ever told about racism and how to treat other people in general?

I don't HATE Catcher, because the story was decent, but I kind of hate it/Salinger just because it/he is so damn overrated.

I hated The Great Gatsby. That story wasn't even about anything. What the hell was the point of it? It's been a while, so maybe I should give it another try, but I just don't see what the big deal is.

I also hated Fahrenheit 451. That book was corny as can be, and the ending (if you can even call it that) was the worst. No closure, not to mention just plain dumb.

I have hated some stuff that I have read by Nicholas Sparks and James Patterson, but no surprises there.

And I couldn't stand Blue Like Jazz.

I really didn't like To Kill a Mockingbird or Romeo and Juliet (GAG!). I know, they're classics. But seriously? I had to read them (each!) 3 separate times for different classes because none of the curricula matched up. PAINFUL!!!!

Oh, and I HATED Brave New World. Over-pretentious and a bit too full of itself (redundant, I know) for my taste.