The Most Overrated Books Showing 4,851-4,900 of 5,680

[Dhruv]

Definitely, Catcher in the Rye and Atlas Shrugged. But everyone has his\her own taste, but these didn't charm me. I would like to add Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.

[Petergiaquinta]

Whew...I'm glad to see we're broadening the perspective on the thread now, and it's not just Americans ignorant of their history, arts and culture.

Dhruv, may I call you "Dhruv"?, is there a better book in the canon of South Asian writing that does what Rushdie is doing in Midnight's Children with Saleem and Shiva and Indian independence? Is there even a better book, period, written by a South Asian author in the last 50 years?

And let me not diminish Rushdie's literary achievement here by limiting his accomplishments to South Asia. Rich and wise and funny, Midnight's Children has to be one of the greatest novels we have right now by a living author.

[Deborah]

I am beginning to feel that any list of anything overrated is overrated and almost a waste of time as it usually , instead of helping educate, causes arguments and ego displays and serves to remind what we already know…..EVERYONE is different, has different tastes (albeit that come from different educations and reading habits). Subjectivity is about the only thing not overrated, but it is annoying when everyone doesn't agree with your own perfect tastes.

[Monty J]

Deborah wrote: "I am beginning to feel that any list of anything overrated is overrated and almost a waste of time as it usually , instead of helping educate, causes arguments and ego displays and serves to remind..."


Thank you for posting this window of reason.

[Deborah]

Kenneth wrote: ""their is" Kallie?"
Perhaps you are lost…this is not the "Under thirty Overrated Speling Beee contest". Its about ideas, witch yor reeading list has, aparentlee
not helped yu with.

[Kallie]

Anne Hawn wrote: "Kallie wrote: "Not necessarily because all of them are masterpieces, but because they are novels of great importance in the history of literature and they have had a great impact on many famous aut..."

That is from Hulda's post, just to be clear.

[Deborah]

Petergiaquinta wrote: "Whew...I'm glad to see we're broadening the perspective on the thread now, and it's not just Americans ignorant of their history, arts and culture.

Dhruv, may I call you "Dhruv"?, is there a bette..."

No, it's not just Americans who are ignorant of their history, arts and culture. Apparently, many if not all cultures are, including the Asian culture, as your statement has proven.

[Petergiaquinta]

Deborah wrote: "No, it's not just Americans who are ignorant of their history, arts and culture. Apparently, many if not all cultures are, including the Asian culture, as your statement has proven. "

We have so little of all three in comparison to the rest of the world, lolololo...

But this thread has mostly been concerned with American works: Catcher, Gatsby, Moby Dick.

I'm waiting for someone in righteous indignation to swoop in here with, "That John Milton...everybody thinks he's sooooo great, but he's just a blind, arrogant poseur with an axe to grind..."

Or, "John Keats, hah! Nothing but a whiny crybaby! Those odes are just self-indulgent piffle!"

[Karen]

Petergiaquinta wrote: "Deborah wrote: "No, it's not just Americans who are ignorant of their history, arts and culture. Apparently, many if not all cultures are, including the Asian culture, as your statement has proven...."

Go Peter!

[Michael]

Personally, I never cared for Aristophanes. And what's all this fuss over Homer?

[MomToKippy]

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[Petergiaquinta]

Michael wrote: "And what's all this fuss over Homer?"

Homer, nothing but a donut-eating moron....what? Oh, never mind.

[Michael]

MomToKippy wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."

Books on this Listopia list of "Most Overrated Books" that I gave five stars:

7. The Catcher in the Rye
28. Animal Farm
30. To Kill a Mockingbird
38. The Old Man and the Sea
60. Lolita
97. The Picture of Dorian Gray
100. The Grapes of Wrath

[Petergiaquinta]

MomToKippy wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."

There appear to be five or six books on that list by Anne Coulter! "Overrated"? Anne Coulter?!?

[Michael]

Michael wrote: "MomToKippy wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."

Books on this Listopia list of "Most Overrated Books" that I gave five stars:

7. The Catcher in the Rye
28. Anima..."

As well as:

109. 1984
135. One Hundred Years of Solitude
184. The Road
213. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
220. Cat's Cradle
220. Unwind

[Michael]

Many folks have apparently decided that reading is overrated.

[Donald]

Anyone that would put TKAM on an overrated list deserves a public flogging.

[Gary]

Petergiaquinta wrote: "MomToKippy wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."

There appear to be five or six books on that list by Anne Coulter! "Overrated"? Anne Coulter?!?"

If anyone ever paid cash for any of her work, it's over-rated....

[Mochaspresso]

MomToKippy wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."

Lol. All four of the Twilight books top the list. Poor Twilight. It's by no means my favorite book of all time, but I really do think it's one of the most unfairly maligned books of all time.

I've read some pretty sketchy reviews and comments about it. Things like "It was so horrible that I stopped reading after five pages...". Normally, that would be totally fine, but then the reviewer went on to talk about Edward's character and their relationship. Edward doesn't even appear until later on. On page 5, Bella has just gotten off the plane and her father is meeting her at the airport. She hasn't even set foot in Forks yet and she hasn't met Edward yet. So where did all of this analysis come from?

Not every negative review does things like this obviously, but for some reason, books like Twilight gets more than it's fair share of these types of reviews.

[Heidi]

Gary wrote: "Petergiaquinta wrote: "MomToKippy wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."

There appear to be five or six books on that list by Anne Coulter! "Overrated"? Anne Coulte..."

I think we've reached a point where liking Twilight is considered odd, in contrast to the counter-culture image people who rail on Twilight seem to want to give off. I can't say I ever enjoyed the books, but people get downright malicious when it comes to sparkly vampires.

[Geoffrey]

Anne Coulter is Rand redux. They couldn't abide Ayn in Inferno so they regurgitated her back up here.

[Anne Hawn]

Can you give a book 5 stars if you disagree with what is written? Say something by Karl Marx.

[H Anthony]

If it makes you think, and it's well-written, why not? You can give five stars for whatever reason you like.

[Gary]

Anne Hawn wrote: "Can you give a book 5 stars if you disagree with what is written? Say something by Karl Marx."

I don't think I'd give 5 stars to something I thought was significantly philosophically or logically erroneous, even if it were well written. It's another thing if I simply disagree on things that reasonable people can disagree upon, but I've read Mein Kampf and The Communist Manifesto and the skill of the writing doesn't overcome the problematic nature of the actual message for either of those books, particularly given the scope of the ideas presented.

However, I also disagree with most of the theology presented by C. S. Lewis in his work, but the poetry of his language, the charm of his plot/characters and the relatively benign nature of that philosophy mean I'd still give something by him 5 stars.

[Cassidy]

Books like Twilight, 50 Shades of Grey, and The Mortal Instruments receive way too much credit for not being written well and lacking original plot and characterization. But, as mentioned by others, this is a subjective question.

[Monty J]

Robert wrote: "Catcher in the Rye is definitely NOT an overrated book. My new spy thriller, "Spy Story" is available today only for FREE at http:// Please pick up a copy before it goes to regular ..."

Flagged for removal.

[CD]

Monty J wrote: "Robert wrote: "Catcher in the Rye is definitely NOT an overrated book. My new spy thriller, "Spy Story" is available today only for FREE at http://amzn.to/176b5Y4. Please pick up a copy before it g..."

I too flagged this one earlier in the day.

[Mochaspresso]

Anne Hawn wrote: "Can you give a book 5 stars if you disagree with what is written? Say something by Karl Marx."

With fiction, I can and have. But I can't do it with nonfiction.

[Alexander]

LOL. Remove The Stranger, Atlas, Ulysses, Gatsby, the Catcher, Godot and Moby, then add The Giver, 50 shades, Divergent and Hunger games. (or maybe literature should be fun like sitcoms for nobrainers?)

[Geoffrey]

MAUS by Art Spiegelman. A potential classic or will it end up in the trashbin of literary history?

[Marleny]

Hi, I would add The Alchemist by Coelho to the list. I'd heard so many positive things about this book so when I started to read it, I kept expecting it to get better. To me, it just didn't keep my interest in the least and I found myself disappointed.

[Caelidh]

I would agree with some not all.
I think there is a point to be made that some on that list are "classics". I have never read Ullyses but I heard It is significant because of the style of writing.

Ayn Rand, DEFINITELY a bore. I TRIED to read it, but because I detest her philosophy I refuse to. I usually try to read things that I do not agree with just so I have justification on my argument against the piece of work, but I am NOT going to waste my time and energy on her material because I think that there is enough of a consensus that discussed this book ad nauseaum.

I would include to this list, HARRY POTTER. While I read the entire series, it was annoying to do so. I find the whole Harry Potter thing to be annoying (including the movies).

I agree with Twilight on this same point. I have read Twilight (because of the hype around it) I actually thought her other book about the aliens was much more interesting and a better book.

I really like the DaVinci Code but I tend to like that kind of mystery, "conspiracy theory" like fiction. The plot moves well. It may not be GREAT fiction but it is an enjoyable quick read. (along with his other books).

The other books I would argue might be worth reading because of the "classics" designation". It is good to read fiction from a different time and era. You might have to stretch your beliefs or thoughts and might have to do some research on the time and historical era in which it was written to really embrace the story. I think that folks that poo poo classical literature merely because it has a different point of view (like communistic era literature)are limiting their understanding of the world. Again, you might have to work a bit harder to understand WHY a piece of literature was so significant at the time and has gained the classic status.

For instance, I began trudging through War and Peace last year (don't remember the specific translation) but because I kept hearing it was a significant piece of literature. I am barely through it. However, I might need to lean more on literature guides and the context of when the book was written to fully appreciate it.

Another book that I have heard is overrated is Les Miserable by victor Hugo. I have heard that he is very verbose and that an abridged copy of the novel is sufficient to appreciate the story, you don't (and shouldn't ) bother with the original as it meanders a lot.

[Caelidh]

I wanted to add a comment about Moby Dick.
I never read it, BUT I have heard that it is a good book to read aloud because of the aural quality of the writing.

It is good for language development.

?

[Kallie]

Caelidh wrote: "I wanted to add a comment about Moby Dick.
I never read it, BUT I have heard that it is a good book to read aloud because of the aural quality of the writing.

It is good for language development...."

That makes sense. Some of Melville's prose reads like poetry.

[Daniel]

Marleny wrote: "Hi, I would add The Alchemist by Coelho to the list. I'd heard so many positive things about this book so when I started to read it, I kept expecting it to get better. To me, it just didn't keep ..."

That's because that book is nothing but a glorified, naive self-help manual; it barely constitutes a novel. In portuguese-and-spanish-speaking literary circles Coelho is considered a laughing stock, worse so than Meyer or E.L. James. I don't know why people seem to take him so seriously in english speaking countries. It's almost a scam.

Oh, and concerning Michael's list in post 5423, the only book in there that I consider slightly overrated is Dorian Gray, and that's because the strong plot points of the novel happen way too quickly, and are placed at the beginning and at the end. There's too much moral filler in the middle for me, some of which was even written after the completion of the story and just inserted in the appropriate place. And you can tell; the tone is not so engaging, it kinda devolves into Huysmans-inspired symbolist digression (and I don't like Huysmans that much).

[Michael]

Daniel wrote: "Oh, and concerning Michael's list in post 5423, the only book in there that I consider slightly overrated is Dorian Gray, and that's because the strong plot points of the novel happen way too quickly, and are placed at the beginning and at the end."

Fair enough. But Wilde's premise is so brilliant that I'm willing to overlook some issues of execution.

[Mochaspresso]

So, I'm seeking some writing advice....how do you know what will make a good story? One that people would be interested in and would want to read?

I've been keeping a journal this year. It's not focused. It's about whatever I fancy in that moment. Here is something from it...

Let's discuss my mother’s annoying habit of losing things because it happens quite often. All the damn time, to be honest. I get it. We live in a house with a lot of people. Seven people to be exact. Four adults and three children. We are always in each other’s way and in each other’s space. There are no boundaries and there is never any privacy. We have to share bedrooms and bathrooms and common spaces. Things get moved. Things get mixed up. These are things that, in my opinion, are just inevitable in large households.

One of the problems is people having a lack of respect for other people’s property. One person may accidentally leave their car keys on the dining room table. Another person comes into the dining room to clear the table for dinner and moves the keys. That person does not pay attention to where they put the keys because a) it wasn’t their keys and b) they are of the mindset that they don’t belong on the table anyway. Obviously, if that person needed them, they shouldn’t have left them on the table where they could get lost so easily. (…nevermind the fact that they are lost, not because they were left on the table, but because they were moved. They were not given to the original owner, nor were they put someplace safe and sensible where they could easily be found again. They put them somewhere that was out of their way, but actually ended up in someone else’s way and the cycle of movement with no regard and blame begins anew.)

Who is at fault in this scenario of missing keys? Is it the person who left the keys on the table or the person who moved them and had no regard for where they put them? It’s a vicious cycle that rears it’s ugly head over and over again. It’s also a problem that is so easily solved by a) not leaving your keys on the table because people constantly use that table for everything. Clearly, it will get moved and lost if you leave it there. Learn from your mistake and stop doing that and b) if you find keys, give them back to their original owner. Don’t just put them anywhere and forget about them.

Should I add the dialogue and turn this into a funny story about family dynamics of growing up in a large household? That is what I was originally inclined to do, but hasn't this already been done? Would anyone care about yet another story like this being written? Also, what if I am writing "scenes" and don't actually have a story yet? Should I be writing this way (with no real direction)?

....I have no idea what I'm doing yet....

[Renee E]

To start, Mocha, keep doing what you're doing. That's where some of your stories will come from.

Dialogue — YES!

Right now, without dialogue, elaborations or descriptions, the characters at play in the narrative are theoretical, at best. It's difficult to get interested in a story (no matter how universal it is), without any engagement with characters.

Dialogue brings the reader into the story, as a participant via listening and witnessing.

The potential for a dialogue that's engaging and appeals to a commonality of experience and emotional response with the reader is huge in that entry! Play with it.

[Kallie]

Dialogue and internal dialogue (which can take the form of close observation -- what the person actually thinks as they righteously move the keys that 'don't belong on the dining room table') -- could make a story of this. I like the kind of scenario you've outlined, that it is very human and day-to-day. Details and moving closer to the character would make the story unlike other similar stories because individuals and individual families are different; you might have something new to add. Some 'personal essay' writers also make literary art of these situations.

[Monty J]

Mochaspresso wrote: "So, I'm seeking some writing advice....how do you know what will make a good story? One that people would be interested in and would want to read?

I've been keeping a journal this year. It's not..."


#1 is narrative voice. Listen to people for how they express who they are inside externally with words.

#2 is whom the narrator is addressing. In life, all of us adjust how we express ourselves according to whom we are in front of. The page is no different. It's not just how we say things, it's what and how much we are willing to reveal. In a journal we are frank, but some of it we would not show to our neighbor or our boss.

Read and copy couple of pages of Catcher in the Rye. Then do the same with The Old Man and the Sea. Then keep doing it with other literature that you admire and think is similar to what you want to write.

Eventually you will find the voice you want to use. Your writing will take off like a rocket if you have anything to say once you find the right narrative voice. I promise.

The rest doesn't matter nearly as much.

Now, go ballistic!

[E.D.]

Maybe a subplot like....Granny "misplaces" a sex toy, and suspicions fly? Turns out the dog buried it in the neighbor's yard where the continuous buzzing and vibrations lead to a call to the gas company.., who proceed to dig up the yard searching for leaks..., which leads to buried bodies..., which......

Or not. :}

[E.D.]

Edward wrote: "Edward wrote: "Just read Monty's take on things. His knowledge of the medium surpasses mine. When he focused on TCITR and TOMATS it was devastating in a way of being impossible (maybe only miraculo..."

We're all making the same point: Your voice is yours.

Speak up. :}

[Monty J]

Edward wrote: " Too often we are warded off from our natural instincts."

Bingo. This is what I was driving at.

We are bombarded with instructions on "how to read and write" and from kindergarten on. Or even before.

The voices of all our "teachers" are in our heads when we feel the urge to write and it can shut us down.

We have to discover, or rediscover, a voice that is ours, that resonates within our deepest sense of being.

We are each unique, because no one has had the same life experiences.

"You've taken something that was mine and made it yours. That is quite an accomplishment," Forrester famously said in Finding Forrester (Forrester is modeled after J.D. Salinger.) It was this character in a film who gave me the idea of practicing by copying pieces of work of writers or stories I admired.

You can learn even by typing the work of good writers you don't like. Bukowski has something to say that you don't feel until you're fingers are moving the way his did as he wrote something you may not want your mother to know you've read.

It worked for me.

(Thanks for the compliment, btw.)

[BEBE]

The Great Gatsby. Upon reading it the first time, I didn't understand the message behind it (green light=American dream, whaaat...) but then after a lengthy explanation from my sister, I finally fully understood it. And, F. Scott Fitzgerald, you are clever. But unfortunately, I still didn't warm up to your book because Daisy is still a b*ch and Gatsby is still desperate.

[Monty J]

Mochaspresso wrote: "Should I add the dialogue and turn this into a funny story about family dynamics of growing up in a large household?"

You've written a nice little essay from about 10,000 feet. There's a small elite audience for that. In an essay, you reach a conclusion or a judgement. In a story you let the reader come to this his/er own conclusions.

Come down to earth by adding dialog, setting, situation and action that create tension and your audience expands. But never tell a reader what he/she should feel; make them feel by showing but don't tell them. You supply the impetus & evidence; they react & decide. It's that emotion that you're driving to evoke.

Give the characters some identity--attitude, flaws, conflict--and you've got a winner. Read some Chekhov or Carver (his later work, e.g. "Cathedral" or "Chef's House" or "Blackbird Pie) and you've got a winner.


M: "That is what I was originally inclined to do, but hasn't this already been done? Would anyone care about yet another story like this being written?

If you think too much about pleasing other people, you're sunk. What matters is that YOU care. If YOU care enough you can't keep it from bleeding through your work into the hearts of readers. The reader can't care if you don't. They'll sense you're just someone else trying to please them.


M: "Also, what if I am writing "scenes" and don't actually have a story yet? Should I be writing this way (with no real direction)?

Stories are mostly a collection of scenes. The fact that you are writing a "scene" is evidence that you (in your subconscious at least) sense something important is there. The mystery is to keep writing and find out. Close your eyes, take ten deep breaths, relax and write about what comes to you. Chances are it's a good story throbbing to be told.

The best writing, I think, is more a process of discovery, of exploration and revelation, than a process of telling.

[Mochaspresso]

Thank you all for the encouragement and advice! I'm taking it all in. I don't know where it will lead but this helps tremendously. :)

[Mochaspresso]

Balbina wrote: "The Great Gatsby. Upon reading it the first time, I didn't understand the message behind it (green light=American dream, whaaat...) but then after a lengthy explanation from my sister, I finally fully understood it. And, F. Scott Fitzgerald, you are clever. But unfortunately, I still didn't warm up to your book because Daisy is still a b*ch and Gatsby is still desperate.
"

One of the things that I've learned about myself is that it is ok to not like or even flat out hate the main characters of a book.

I'm not even 100% convinced that Fitzgerald actually ever intended for the reader to like Daisy and Gatsby.

[Karen]

Mochaspresso wrote: "Balbina wrote: "The Great Gatsby. Upon reading it the first time, I didn't understand the message behind it (green light=American dream, whaaat...) but then after a lengthy explanation from my sist..."

He didn't want us to like them- he left it up to us to decide, and that's what I like about writers.

[Stephen]

There's more to literature than Fitzgerald, Salinger, Hemingway, Morrison, Orwell, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Angelou, Oliver, Poe, Hawthorne, Austen, Burroughs, (the reading list for undergraduate literature courses) sci-fi/fantasy novels & pop fiction.

Can we please discuss authors other than these?

[Renee E]

Throw out your picks, then, Stephen.