What is the worst book you have wasted your time on and why?

[David]

Go

[Char]

I know it's blasphemy, but it's Moby Dick.

[[deleted user]]

Ugh. I never finished Moby Dick. One day I want to. But just... ugh. Most boring book I have ever (tried to) read.

[Jon Recluse]

The Host by Stephanie Meyer.

The woman can't write.

[C.E.]

It was a ST: TNG "novel" (I use the term loosely) I started back in '90 or '91. I had waited weeks for it to come out at the base BX (I was stationed in Germany). Got back to the dorm... and it was terrible. I couldn't make it past page 100.

[Kasia]

Few of those I-want-to-be-a-writer-no-matter-what Amazon self published hacks...but with heavy skipping.

[Gregor]

One of the worst, from recent memory, that I actually finished, was They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon. Why did I waste my time? I liked Swan Song and kept hoping and hoping for They Thirst to get better. It just got worse. (I know there are a lot of McCammon fans in this group who will think I'm crazy.)

[David]

. Check out my review on either Goodreads or Amazon. This book is so poorly written that I FORCED myself to finish merely to give a full & honest review. I then deleted the book from my Kindle and then deleted it from my archieves.

[Kasia]

You are crazy Gregor, but you also have your own taste, it's a beautiful thing :)

That book read like a movie, it was fun, but I haven't read any of his other things so I really cannot compare yet.

[Jon Recluse]

Kasia wrote: "You are crazy Gregor, but you also have your own taste, it's a beautiful thing :)

That book read like a movie, it was fun, but I haven't read any of his other things so I really cannot compare yet."

You have to read more McCammon!
Right now!

And Gregor is narking futz.... ;)

[Kasia]

Jon, Boy's Life is next, scout's honor!!!!

I actually have it on my coffee table because of you, no joke.

[Gregor]

Kasia wrote: "You are crazy Gregor, but you also have your own taste, it's a beautiful thing :)

That book read like a movie, it was fun, but I haven't read any of his other things so I really cannot compare yet."

Thanks. I'm glad you can appreciate that I didn't appreciate it. I fully expect Mr. Recluse to punch me in the teeth.

[Kasia]

Gregor wrote: "Kasia wrote: "You are crazy Gregor, but you also have your own taste, it's a beautiful thing :)

That book read like a movie, it was fun, but I haven't read any of his other things so I really cann..."

You can't fake that organic love, we like what we like, I can appreciate negative and positive reviews, but even more so after I read the book in question.

I doubt that many people start to read something in hopes of not liking it, but it happens.

[Jon Recluse]

Gregor wrote: "Kasia wrote: "You are crazy Gregor, but you also have your own taste, it's a beautiful thing :)

That book read like a movie, it was fun, but I haven't read any of his other things so I really cann..."

Is that why you wear a helmet? ;)

Like Kasia said....to each their own, right?

[Jon Recluse]

Kasia wrote: "Jon, Boy's Life is next, scout's honor!!!!

I actually have it on my coffee table because of you, no joke."

You are gonna love it, Kasia!

No joke. :)

[Kasia]

Jon Recluse wrote: "Gregor wrote: "Kasia wrote: "You are crazy Gregor, but you also have your own taste, it's a beautiful thing :)

That book read like a movie, it was fun, but I haven't read any of his other things s..."

Wisdom is priceless.

[Gino]

Hated Darkness Tell Us by Richard Laymon and The Stain by Guillermo Del Toro

[David]

Lately anything by Dean Koontz is crap.

And to think..he wrote the bad place?

[Kasia]

Gino wrote: "Hated Darkness Tell Us by Richard Laymon and The Stain by Guillermo Del Toro"

I remember liking both.. this is a trick question, its saying more about us than the book lol!

:P

[[deleted user]]

Okay. Got mine. I don't count Moby Dick because I couldn't finish it. The worst book I did finish was Love in the Time of Cholera. Never hated a book so much in my life. Horrible. I hated the main character. Who, by the way, is a child molester. I finished it to see how it could end. It's supposed to be one of the most romantic books of all time. Ugh!

[Gregor]

@Kasia, I would never EVER pick up a book prepared not to like it. I love books and want to like every book I read. Just doesn't always happen that way.

@Jon Recluse - That's not why I wear the helmet. But I'm glad I was and I think I'll keep it on from here on out!

[E.J.]

"Into the Shadows" by Karly Kirkpatrick
...
It was awful, AND the editing was terrible. I found mistakes on practically EVERY page including a math error. I mean... REALLY! Get a calculator if you don't know! (it had to add to 100... even worse)

[Jon Recluse]

I'm never prepared to hate a book, but I frequently expect I will.

The World According to Garp is one I expected to hate and it exceeded my expectations.

[Gregor]

Gino wrote: "Hated Darkness Tell Us by Richard Laymon and The Stain by Guillermo Del Toro"

I thought The Strain was just OK. Haven't read the other.

[[deleted user]]

I doubt it's the worst book I've read, but I remember being especially glad Insomnia by Stephen King was over. That book bored me to tears.

[Gregor]

David wrote: "Lately anything by Dean Koontz is crap.

And to think..he wrote the bad place?"

The Koontz book I liked the least was False Memory. The only thing I remember about it is hating it. The Bad Place is one of my favorites, too.

[Gregor]

Isaac LeFevre wrote: "I doubt it's the worst book I've read, but I remember being especially glad Insomnia by Stephen King was over. That book bored me to tears."

Huh, I really liked Insomnia. I swear I'm not here to be contrarian!

[David]

I loved the Strain trilogy

[David]

Watchers,,Koontz at his best..turd of a movie.

[David]

for king I would say the Tommyknockers..must have been all the drugs.

[[deleted user]]

I've not tackled the Tommyknockers yet. I sort of skipped over it.

[[deleted user]]

Gregor wrote: "Isaac LeFevre wrote: "I doubt it's the worst book I've read, but I remember being especially glad Insomnia by Stephen King was over. That book bored me to tears."

Huh, I really liked Insomnia. I s..."

I went out of my way to read it because a number of people told me it was wonderful. So, I guess maybe I'm the contrarian.

[Kasia]

Gregor wrote: "Isaac LeFevre wrote: "I doubt it's the worst book I've read, but I remember being especially glad Insomnia by Stephen King was over. That book bored me to tears."

Huh, I really liked Insomnia. I s..."

haha its okay, I like both your likes and dislikes 50/50 we might both be human after all :P

[David]

Isaac LeFevre wrote: "Gregor wrote: "Isaac LeFevre wrote: "I doubt it's the worst book I've read, but I remember being especially glad Insomnia by Stephen King was over. That book bored me to tears."

Huh, I really like..."Watch the movie instead..Traci Lords and her killer lipstick!

[Chris]

Robinson Crusoe. And I had to read it TWICE! Once in high school and again in college. I threw it across the room when I finished it.

[Gregor]

David wrote: "Isaac LeFevre wrote: "Gregor wrote: "Isaac LeFevre wrote: "I doubt it's the worst book I've read, but I remember being especially glad Insomnia by Stephen King was over. That book bored me to tears..."

I think you're thinking of Tommyknockers. Traci Lords was in that one. I don't think they've made a movie out of Insomnia.

[David]

i did mean tommyknockers wrong post place..sorry.

[Bill]

I don’t know if I have a worst book. Although, at work our manager made us all read Who Moved My Cheese. Psycho-babble bullshit. A total piece of crap. Of course, I said so...not the best idea. Lucky I still have a job :)

[Gregor]

David wrote: "i did mean tommyknockers wrong post place..sorry."

Ah, no worries.

[[deleted user]]

Insomnia put me to sleep too... ironic if you think about it. ;)

[Jason]

I liked Insomnia, but I liked your post about it better, Traci! lol

[Peter]

Charlene wrote: "I know it's blasphemy, but it's Moby Dick."

I read Moby Dick as an adult, thinking I would better myself somehow. Instead it had the opposite effect. It made me more cynical than I was, which is saying something. I mean, who could rate so much unending drivel as five stars? Two types of people is my guess: people who wish to appear much smarter than they are, and people who are much smarter that I am.
I hate both types.

[Adam]

There is a Koontz novel I tried to read a few times. I think it is By The Light Of The Moon. It's the one where the guy is at a hotel and some other person injects him with a mystery substance. To me, it was so overly descriptive and rambling. I made it about a hundred pages in, but I was distracted by the wordiness of the whole thing.

[Shaun]

Whew, for a few minutes I thought my book was going to pop up in here, but the thread has only been here for three hours, so there's still time. :P

Worst book I ever picked up was Pines by Blake Crouch. I found multiple errors just in the first few chapters and the changes in voice were jarring to me for some reason. On top of that, I couldn't stand the main character and how he seemed to have charm oozing out of him like a play-doh dispenser.

[Bill]

Peter wrote: "I read Moby Dick as an adult, thinking I would better myself somehow. Instead it had the opposite effect. It made me more cynical than I was, which is saying something. I mean, who could rate so much unending drivel as five stars? Two types of people is my guess: people who wish to appear much smarter than they are, and people who are much smarter that I am.
I hate both types."

LMAO!! I had the same feeling with Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West.

[Michael]

I really didn't enjoy White Teeth. I got 50 pages from the end and stopped reading it.

[[deleted user]]

Bill wrote: "LMAO!! I had the same feeling with Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West. "

Yeah, people often tell me how great the stories of Cormack McCarthy are. I say there are enough great stories that use quotation marks that I don't really have to put up with his 'style'."

[E.J.]

Cormac McCarthy is just depressing...
I had to trudge through "The Road" for the longest time, and I LOVE apocalyptic fiction.

[A Denise]

I don't. If I dont like it...I truly feel as if I'm pulling teeth or I would rather shoot my self in the foot. I put it down, return it, pass it on or give it away. Life is to be enjoyed and loved. :-)

[Squire]

Books are mankind's greatest invention (other than DDT), so I don't consider finishing any of them a COMPLETE waste of time. But lately, I have been disappointed with the works of Brian Keene. For 3 years, I've listened to fans extoll his virtues; but so far, I've found Keene's works trite and self-pitying. He's a mid-list horror writer for a reason (and lucky to be even that).