The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion
Confessions: I really hated...
I loved LOTR, HP, and Hunger Games. I do not like Jonathan Franzen or William Faulkner, because I didn't like any of their characters. I have to like at least one of the characters in a book to like the book.
Karen wrote: "I loved LOTR, HP, and Hunger Games. I do not like Jonathan Franzen or William Faulkner, because I didn't like any of their characters. I have to like at least one of the characters in a book to l..."Thanks for reminding me. I can't stand Faulkner either. Same for me; don't like the characters and don't like the story lines.
Krys wrote: "gosh Brittany you just punched me in the gut, but no worries, you tried at least. (do you like the movies?)Two more: Little Woman ( gag ) and Uglies ( wanted to like it, but it didn't work out.)"
Yes, I really liked the movies!
I thought Obsidian was just ok and am trying to make myself finish the series because I want to know how it ends.
I really didn't like the second book in the Hush Hush-series, Crescendo. It really annoyed me.. It was just like this big, desperate mess of feelings, and the actual plot of the book was being overshadowed by irrelevant and needy thoughts, and it just didn't work. I loved the first book, so, for me, Crescendo was very disappointing..
Twilight. My best friend loved it, but I couldn't get into it. I tried reading it a couple times, but always ended up abandoning it. I finally decided the two of us would have to agree to disagree.
French Lieutenant's Woman - great book for discussing during university literature course, but sooo boring and pointless.
I really didn't like City of Bones. I mean, it was alright, but I haven't picked up the second book in the series just because I'm not dying to know what happens next. Another book I actually hated was Fallen. I just couldn't get into it and will most likely not pick up the second book.
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Arwen wrote: "i hated the:immortals series by alyson nöel
Twilight
Anne of Green Gables
sorry they are just so badly boring and dull."
The Immortals series is horrible. I just keep them on my shelf for the pretty spines. haha
I have just finished reading the Hush, Hush series and could not believe how much I hated the entire series.Full thoughts expressed in my review
http://tessburton.wordpress.com/2013/...
Am looking for people who also violently disliked this series - feels like I am the only one at this point :X
I HATED Catcher in the Rye! Hated it in high school, hated it again when I TRIED to re-read it over the summer!
I hated the This Man series
.The heroine was the most selfish and insufferable person that was ever supposed to be a heroine.
Leora wrote: "have to admit that air hate Lord of the Flies. It's still required reading in many places, but I hate it so much that I show my stusents the movie instead of making g them read it."Either way it is pretty horrible. I had real trouble getting through the book, but I think that I hated the story more than the actual book. Hard to tell when the whole concept and storyline is so repellant.
Do you think that you hated the writing, or the story more?
Any book where two or more men who are usually over a hundred years old, who hang out in high schools for some unexplained reason are fighting over a teenage heroine that is about as interesting as a cardboard box. I seriously don't get the appeal of books about supernatural pedophiles, and this trope is getting more and more common.
Brittany wrote: "at least ur honest I hate twilight but I do love Harry Potter"After giving some Young Adult books a try, I have finally come to the conclusion that it is all right to dislike Young Adult stories. It is not, perhaps, that they are written badly, or that they are bad stories, but simply that it is not possible for me to put myself in these shoes anymore.
I do remember experiencing my share (and perhaps a couple other's) of teenage angst. It was a bumpy ride, at least for me. It is not really a time that I can relate to anymore.
I have always been a voracious reader, so I can understand that all these new story lines must add to the types of books available as compared to when I was young. (In what my niece believes to be the time when covered wagons were crossing the prairie!!!) And there is no doubt that many, many authors are finding the audience that is making them very rich. Just not for me at this time in my life.
So I have to add that I really did not like the Twilight series. Started the first book, but it did not grab my interest.
Justyna wrote: "French Lieutenant's Woman - great book for discussing during university literature course, but sooo boring and pointless."A book (or story) can have too much "meaning" and "symbolism" and for me this was one of those books. It just kept shifting around and getting in its own way. I guess it was probably ideal for a literature class, but glad I was not in any of those classes.
Some of the books that are acclaimed today are the very ones that I just can't stand. The Hunger Games, Gone Girl, City of Bones. And I slogged through all of them just to make sure I was not missing what everyone said were masterpieces. Oh Well. It is the joy of reading that we all have millions of choices and don't all have to like these books. I just wonder every once in awhile what these other people find so amazing. But then I liked Tender is the Night better than The Great Gatsby so there is probably no hope for me!!!
Kathy wrote: "Karen wrote: "I loved LOTR, HP, and Hunger Games. I do not like Jonathan Franzen or William Faulkner, because I didn't like any of their characters. I have to like at least one of the characters ..."Tried Faulkner several times and I just don't like his work. I think I can see why he is so acclaimed, but just find the works slow.
I really didn't like Les Mis. Not the book or the movie, for that matter. Haven't seen the play, but not really sure if I intend to...
I really hate how so many books have a guy/girl who is torn between this person and that person. It seems like a good 70% of the books I have read this year have had that running theme - enough already.
And there is some paranormal author (I can't remember her name) that has written about 100 books and at least 80% of them feature threesomes. If you guessed one woman, two men you don't necessarily win anything, but you are right. Enough already on that one. I only read part of one, then tossed it. It may not even have been the fact that there were only about three pages without sex; may just have been that the others in the various series also have the same theme and I just decided that was monotonous.
For the life of me, I just don't understand the craze with the whole 'Teen paranormal Romance' genre. They're basically all the exact same plot or idea, with some minor tweaks and twists here and there.Also, the whole love triangle thing. That should stop being used for a while. Yeah.
Any Anita Blake novel after Circus of the Damned.
@KathyTried Faulkner several times and I just don't like his work. I think I can see why he is so acclaimed, but just find the works slow.
One of them most beautiful opening chapters in a book was from As I lay Dying I just couldn't like the rest of the book. I agree, I can see why Faulkner is a classic.
Emily wrote: "For the life of me, I just don't understand the craze with the whole 'Teen paranormal Romance' genre. They're basically all the exact same plot or idea, with some minor tweaks and twists here and t..."Yes, it is a whole new world of books out there. But I think that publishers (such as they are now) are going for the teen market in a big way. And I am sure that most of them would not be drawn in by advertisements for "Little Women" or "A Tale of Two Cities." Sadly.
In a way they are like bodice rippers (in case this term is widely used, it is those romances with a good-looking hunk half-dressed on the front and a woman in a period outfit of some sort). (The difference in the current young adult works' covers is that the woman also is scantily dressed, or there is some etheral backdrop.) They have a lot in common as far as plot; time period varies, men after women, but torn by inner angst. Sometime the angst is shared by the woman as well. Reticence throughout the story, but it all ends well. (That is the bodice-rippers; the newer Young Adults seldom end well, but do a great job setting up for the next installment.)
I guess there are only a few plots in the world, but as we all know some authors manage to take these basics and do something marvelous with them. Others, not so much.
But then maybe my viewpoint is simply that I am not a young adult. I do like some vampire books and some paranormal works, but I just do not care for the ones that have sex on 90% of the pages. Still can appreciate Bram Stoker and Anne Rice.
But what really gets me is that some authors that I have really appreciated have switched to the Young Adult platform. Makes monetary sense to jump on this while it is still a hot trend, but will miss their books.
Okay I was soooo happy to read what Kathy wrote and Emilys reply. I am 42. I cannot deal with the YA craze. And it is an out of control craze. I hope these kids are at least being forced to read the classics in school! But no offense to any group inparticular, but even the groups on this site that say "all genres" pick a BOTM in YA often. I tried. I tried to give the books a chance. I saw Twilight and the movie made me not want to read the book. I picked the best of four from a group and I am going to not leave the title because I feel bad but I am so not interested. And a lot of them, when book giveaways pop up, they all all YA, and they want to give you an expert that starts "Jane was a normal girl. No one noticed her at school. But then one day Brandon the new kids came to her school. He was mysterious and she knew she liked him. But could she tell him her secret" I mean that is like every description or close to it of books coming out. I am sticking with my good fiction and horror. And the wonderful recommendations of others who like what I do. I also I can pretty much read anything, but YA no way! I do believe as was said it is a money making machine. I hope this passes soon. Along with the Zombies.
I am so happy there are other people who don't like YA. I just can't with that genre. I am forty years old woman who has to spend a great deal of my real life trying to figure out teenage logic and reasoning. Reading about a sixteen year old's big drama of the school dance date in my down time is unbelievably appealing. Plus that was the most excruciating time of my life so it's not fun at all to relive that melodrama. In contrast the New Adult genre is fun for me because I loved my twenties. Reading those books brings me back to that moment in time. Lately I've been irked when coming across books without genres listed with covers or titles that could go either way. No matter how cool the blurb it's an automatic pass because I don't want to risk reading YA.
Paganalexandria **wicked juices bubbling over** wrote: "I am so happy there are other people who don't like YA. I just can't with that genre. I am forty years old woman who has to spend a great deal of my real life trying to figure out teenage logic and..."You are not alone :) We should start a club "we promise no YA" lol! I am just hearing about NA which, you kind of touched on, I was afraid of how close it was to YA. Well I will get books in that genre free on Kindle.
Confession time. I didn't like the Infernal Devices. It was good and all, but the characters were really flat and static and the plot was run of the mill AND the ending was horrible. Tessa was such a slut, it wasn't even funny. The first book was good. I'll give it that, but it flashed me with all this potential and then it was just like.... oh you cock tease Cassandra Clare. But it was good, but not my favorite and definitely not my expectation of Cassandra Clare. Maybe the other Shadowhunter books she's coming out with will be better. I hope so. I know people are saying that the horse is dead and that she should stop beating it, but I don't care!!! I love the shadowhunters. That world is just so high on my thug list, it's ridiculous.
I hate 50 shades of gray ,
the girl who loved tom Gordon and
the two towers
The hunger games series. I couldn't get past the 3rd page, and the 4th book of the vampire acadamey. Don't get me wrong i love the series, but the series just totally changed in the first book. I might read on. Should I?
Paganalexandria **wicked juices bubbling over** wrote: "I am so happy there are other people who don't like YA. I just can't with that genre. I am forty years old woman who has to spend a great deal of my real life trying to figure out teenage logic and..."I too did not have a pleasant trip through the teenage phase of my life. And I know that there are moms and dads out there that are wringing their hands and tearing their hair out because that is what my parents did.
And I would not want to play any of that down because I know that some of these young people are in real danger. It is really a matter of coming to the two roads and taking the "right" one or the "wrong" one.
I have read posts since my coming to the forum that talk about how there is very little interest in real literature among young people today. I think that is true because how could they find the time when they are always wandering around running into things and texting. That takes a whole lot of their time. And then of course the stored apps are a time consumer, along with downloading and listening to music.
I guess we can hope that somewhere in there they are reading, but in the new world of technology.
Now when I read a book synopsis almost anything that starts with "I was seventeen when I learned of my abilities..." or "When I was fifteen I found out how unique I was..." that is about it for me.
I agree with you that many of the discussions on these forums are based on Young Adult authors and books being released. It is something that I skip over and hope that some of us can still talk about suspense, and mystery and yes, even cozies, which I read to decompress after some of the suspense and thrillers. (If I didn't I would probably go crazy with all these chilling plots.)
Kathy wrote: "Now when I read a book synopsis almost anything that starts with "I was seventeen when I learned of my abilities..." or "When I was fifteen I found out how unique I was..." that is about it for me.
I agree with you that many of the discussions on these forums are based on Young Adult authors and books being released. It is something that I skip over and hope that some of us can still talk about suspense, and mystery and yes, even cozies, which I read to decompress after some of the suspense and thrillers. (If I didn't I would probably go crazy with all these chilling plots.) "
Kathy, you hit the nail on the head with your post. I am personally not a big fan of books being written in first person, though it's become the norm. If you find the protagonist annoying, it impedes enjoyment of an otherwise well written novel. For me YA heroines tend to be too self involved and annoying to empathize with. Which makes sense because almost everyone at that age is self involved and annoying. When you throw in super powers, vampires, or fairies it tends to put those traits on steroids. It can be torture to have to listen to the internal dialogue of an unlikable character for the entire length of a book.
Paganalexandria **wicked juices bubbling over** wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Now when I read a book synopsis almost anything that starts with "I was seventeen when I learned of my abilities..." or "When I was fifteen I found out how unique I was..." that is a..."
Yes, so true. I do remember when I was a teen it was all about me. And my friends tell me their teens are pretty much the same. Can't talk to them either as they are either texting or plugged in.
I do like some of the paranormal authors though. Just have to be adult characters. And there has to be a story line, not 90% sex. And I can only read one every once in awhile.
What I prefer are old English mysteries really. I find some of the Scots authors very, very gory. I am sort of on the same page with gore as I am with sex; too much is not warranted. We get the picture; don't have to keep drawing it!!
I know it is unpopular now to dislike new foreign authors as their awards and kudos are pretty high. And I do like Denise Mina, although her writing is pretty raw too.
Wow, a lot of hate for LOTR! I perdonally love them and have read them several times. They can be wordy but I love the depth of them. I can't stand: Jane Austen - her writing dtyle makes me want to cry, and Game of Thrones - love the show though
I hate most of Dickens' work. I recognize that these are works of art, but what downers. It seems as if most of what he writes portray people as being cold, calculating and heartless. It is something deeply embedded in his characters. And like many other forum members I have my favorite, and not so favorite Shakespeare. Can't stand Hamlet. (Might be I just cannot stand seeing one guy talking for most of what seems like an eternity.)
And how many people can read (or see) anything that is focused on someone who thinks the world revolves around him and read on and on about it? Hard slogging.
I know there is a great controversy about Shakespeare's vision of Hamlet's age, but if there is ever a case of "It is all about me" and teenage angst, that is it.
The Great Gatsby, just couldn't do it. Had to read it for school the first time and tried it again later but still hated it.Eat, Pray, Love. I tried I really did but just couldn't get into it.
Wicked and Son of a Witch...I don't know what was with these but I liked the premise of the story lines, the characters etc. I so could not get into the writing though. I also like the theater adaptation.
Sarah wrote: "The Great Gatsby, just couldn't do it. Had to read it for school the first time and tried it again later but still hated it.Eat, Pray, Love. I tried I really did but just couldn't get into it.
W..."
Sarah, Wicked was DNF for me. Yet one of my favorite musicals ever. I thought it was just me with that disconnect.
Eat Pray Love...I thought the lady was too whiny
I didn't hate, but really didn't like Anne Frank, Pride and Prejudice, and Divergent.
Lots of dislike for the LOTR; I'm also in that boat. I powered through the Hobbit fine, but after the 1st book in the LOTR series, I just stopped. Also, the 1st Wheel of Time book. They just weren't my types of books.
My kind of more famous dislikes (I'm not one who hates loads of books, and even those are not always well-known):Catcher in the Rye
Heart of the Dragon (Gena Showalter)
The Regulators (Richard Bachman, alias Stephen King)
Pride and Prejudice. Actually, all of Jane Austen's books except for Northanger Abbey.
I wasn't a fan of Thoughtless. The main female character was awful, and even though I liked the guy, he was still horrible to his best friend. I will say that the book never made excuses for cheating, they just never had any consequences to deal with and that bugged me. lol
I HATE CATCHER IN THE RYE
it's got to be twilight for me read 2 of the books and they were utter trash. bella is just an emo queen needs to get over her mum and dads spilt and just the whole obsessive Edward thing I mean if you wake up to your bf you've been dating less then a month standing across your room saying he's been watching you all night?? The werewolves were kool though she should of stuck with them all in all yeah "twilight" is a big hate for me.
The Perks Of Being A Book Addict
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lovely Bones (other topics)Perception (other topics)
We Were Liars (other topics)
Gone Girl (other topics)
The Fault in Our Stars (other topics)
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Can't really tolerate Dickens.
I am getting very tired of the soft porm vampire works with some hunky guy on the covers. I did read a few of them because it is only fair to give a new type of series a chance. But there are like two pages of plot and 300 pages of sex. They are like bodice rippers with vampires added. In fact some of the bodice ripper authors started writing vampire bodice rippers to sell more books. Not a huge fan of bodice rippers so....