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Time to rant. What are your LEAST favorite books?
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Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. I tried so hard to finish it but really couldn't. And I'm glad I finally gave up on it after laboring over it for quite a while.
Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. Loved her shorts, wanted to kill myself during the novel.
A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe. I was so disappointed in the ending. It seemed like he didn't know how to end it.Bridges of Madison County - a romance novel masquerading as literature
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck. I read it when I was eleven(?) Probably not really for kids. Just so depressing.
I might get slammed for this because the book has quite a following, but Neuromancer by William Gibson drove me absolutely insane. I finished it, because I don't allow myself to abandon books (I have wasted so much time because of this), but I liken the experience to getting a root canal, twice daily, for the duration of your time spent with the novel! No detail was spared in the writing of that book, so every sentence, even seemingly meaningless filler sentences, were packed so full of description that it was hard to read more than two lines in a row without scream-mouthing the question "What is the point of all this!?"
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The most popular books I read in the last year and hated were The Hunger Games and The Time Traveler's Wife.The Hunger Games was poorly written, and the concept really made no sense. How exactly would killing two children from your community every year on live TV help stop a revolt? The main character is completely emotionless, but the author doesn't seem to realize it. On top of all that, I grew up with books like Animorphs. This series was supposed to be really dark for YA books, but it didn't compare at all.
The Time Traveler's Wife had so much potential. I was excited when I started it, and really liked it for the first 1/3 or so. Unfortunately, the author got really sloppy and took a ton of shortcuts, and the book ended up as a shallow romance with random pop culture references on every page.
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As appalling as the writing was, I was more disgruntled by the fact that in Twilight, the FEMALE PROTAGONIST is absolutely rubbish. She's not independent and solely relies on the hot, cut male figures in her life to take care of her at every beck and call lest she goes crazy and tries to jump off a cliff. More disgruntling is that this is geared towards young adults and makes me raise an eyebrow as it doesn't send any particularly good messages...
50 Shades is pretty much a terrible portrayal of BDSM and is in fact, abuse. Also, once again, terrible female protagonist. I always raise an eyebrow when I see a copy roaming the public streets on transit, in coffee shops and so on... I would have thought most people kept their erotic novels at the bedside instead of showing off to the world that they're reading about unrealistic men having their much-too-questionably-forceful way with a woman. I mean, does anyone whip out their phone and start watching porn on the bus? *sigh*
I thought The Hunger Games was...definitely not my kind of story. I understand why it's appealing, I read all the books, actually and they were...okay, I guess? My roommate loved them, but I thought there wasn't any substance, lack of character development (as in, it seemed that all the trauma that happened suggested development but it really read like they were the same. They didn't seem to come out of their hardships with strength but instead, went through the motions.) I get what you mean by the political plot hole. That really doesn't make sense at all, and I'm kind of ashamed I didn't think of it that way. Buuuut now I know!
Rose wrote: "Ugh, 50 Shades of Grey. And Twilight.As appalling as the writing was, I was more disgruntled by the fact that in Twilight, the FEMALE PROTAGONIST is absolutely rubbish. She's not independent and ..."
I ate the Twilight series up back in highschool when I first read them but now that I look back...they're terrible. I read somewhere (Reddit, I'm pretty sure) that Bella and Edward were, from a psychological standpoint, in a very detrimental and abusive relationship- and Bella was usually the instigator.
In particular, when Bella and Edward have sex for the first time she is ends up covered in bruises due to him not knowing his strength/getting carried away and her being a puny human. Bella *likes* the bruises and when Edward declines her advances for more for fear of further injuring her she guilts him into continuing! The hell!
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Rose wrote: "Bringing this topic back to life by expressing how much I disliked The Magicians. So much so that I abandoned reading it. I had high hopes and they were ruined within the first 30 pages."That quick? What made you dislike it so much?
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I heard good reviews from it but it turned to be a really boring read. The writer made the character a super-genius of sorts but there were too many holes in that. Like, he was writing an exam and the paper would erase itself? He things it's some digital paper that's super hi-res or something and he's transported from Brooklyn to Upstate NY and questions it extremely briefly. Also, the fact that he's a horny teen is shoved in the reader's face a lot by the fact that it's 30 pages in and the protagonist is already trying not to look down the shirt of every female he comes across.
Super annoying read :/
Rose wrote: "Bringing this topic back to life by expressing how much I disliked The Magicians. So much so that I abandoned reading it. I had high hopes and they were ruined within th..."Ah I see, that does sound...distasteful. Maybe it would be more interesting if you were the target audience (young adult male) and could relate to it more?
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Books mentioned in this topic
The Magicians (other topics)After America: Get Ready for Armageddon (other topics)
That said, I will still sometimes shoot from the hip, and it doesn't always work out. One time I shot from the hip and ended up reading After America: Get Ready for Armageddon... Oi. I thought I was getting an interesting analysis based on a bunch of facts and charts. Instead I got a book by a Canadian who's vision for the end of America is a anti-islamic conservative's wet dream.
And, I know that I am not too smart to avoid confirmation bias, but I really couldn't find many claims in this book based more on facts than fear mongering.
It is a terrible terrible book.
What are YOUR least favorite books?