Name a book that you loved that everyone else thought was a waste of time

[Jeremy]

I recently had a discussion about Legend by David Gemmell. I mentioned that this was one of my favorite books of all time; as soon as I finished it, I started again from the beginning.
The response I received was something along the lines of "Really? I mean, I thought it was OK, but nothing special."

Do you have any books like that in your experience?

[Anna]

For me it was Catastrophe's Spell by Mayer Alan Brenner. It was first book that was mix of sci-fi and fantasy that I ever read. Although I'm not so sure if I would have liked this book as much as I did if I reread it.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

A good many people seem to hate The Sea Came in at Midnight. I loved it; book of the year last year.

[LauraW]

Two books, actually. Quite old SF. Native Tongue and The Judas Rose by Suzette Haden Elgin.

Native Tongue
The Judas Rose

[``Laurie]

The Girl in a Swing

This is one of the most suspenseful books I've ever read and most people have never even heard of it.
Do yourself a favor and read this one!

[Karen]

The Amulet of Samarkand and the entire Bartimaeus series...my obsession for djinni Bartimaeus is unhealthy and no one gets it. I love this story <3

[Elle]

My Uncle Oswald - I'm a huge fan of Roald Dahl, like many people, but unlike most people I find his adult fiction to be incredible. I've yet to meet anyone who shares my enthusiasm for this book.

[Susan]

I just took a look for the lowest goodreads rating on my personal 5 star books. Looks like Dave Eggers A Hologram for the King is the winner. Er, loser is probably the right word. It only has a 3.31 avg!

[Lesley]

Susan wrote: "I just took a look for the lowest goodreads rating on my personal 5 star books. Looks like Dave Eggers A Hologram for the King is the winner. Er, loser is probably the right word. I..."

Yes, I didn't 'get' him, either..But then apparently only 5 % of all the readers at my local library (205 kls away, like what I like...

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Susan wrote: "I just took a look for the lowest goodreads rating on my personal 5 star books. Looks like Dave Eggers A Hologram for the King is the winner. Er, loser is probably the right word. I..."

That's a good idea. My lowest rated five star that I actually feel evangelistic about is Homo Faber.

I have a handful of books I loved that almost no one seems to have read at all (judging by number of ratings): The Fur Person, Skywater. and A Passage to Congo: Photographs by Doctor Émile Muller 1923 - 1938 among them.

[Elle]

Oo if we are doing it that way then somehow mine is The Colorado Kid by Stephen King which makes me a little sad more people didn't like it.

[LauraW]

Mine, done that way, is Deadly, Unna?, an Australian book about racial prejudice against the native aboriginals. I am not surprised that it isn't well loved - it is not American, it deals starkly with racial prejudice against a group we barely know anything about.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Ethan Frome. I gave it 5 stars (read it in 9th grade, then again as an adult). I was surprised it has such a low rating on GR.

Even though everyone seems to read it in high school, I think it helps to be an adult. Otherwise how can you understand Ethan, really. He's an old, weathered guy.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

The Unconsoled, such a great book, with a surprisingly low average rating on GR. I can't wait to forget enough of it that I can reread it. I will smack anyone who doesn't like it.

[Samantha]

Walk Two Moons for me, my mom found it sad; I liked it because Sal and I had so much in common.

[Jeremy]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Ethan Frome. I gave it 5 stars (read it in 9th grade, then again as an adult). I was surprised it has such a low rating on GR.

Even though everyone seems to read it in high school, I t..."

I also read Ethan Frome in high school, and at that stage of my life I thought it was an over-rated waste of time. (Not quite on the scale of my distaste for Faulkner, but I didn't feel that it deserved it's place on an AP English syllabus).

Maybe if I give it another shot now, I'll enjoy it more.

[Lucy]

Karen wrote: "The Amulet of Samarkand and the entire Bartimaeus series...my obsession for djinni Bartimaeus is unhealthy and no one gets it. I love this story <3"

Yes! Unfortunately I only read the first book, I got quite busy then didn't pick the series up again, but I absolutely loved it! I was shocked to find out that other people hadn't reviewed it well, it had been such an adventure for me.

[Pamela]

I agree that Ethan Frome is brilliant, but I first read it as an adult, and not as part of an assignment. Maybe that has something to do with it.

[LauraW]

Then there is the opposite question: a book everyone else loved that did absolutely nothing for you. Mine was Old Man and the Sea. I read it in high school, in college, after college, and a few years later. Each time I thought I must not be old enough to understand the appeal. I have moved on now.

[Jeremy]

LauraW wrote: "Then there is the opposite question: a book everyone else loved that did absolutely nothing for you.."

I also posted that question in the Just to Chat section, Laura.

Here's a link

[Karen]

Lucy wrote: "Karen wrote: "The Amulet of Samarkand and the entire Bartimaeus series...my obsession for djinni Bartimaeus is unhealthy and no one gets it. I love this story

Yes! Unfortunately I only read the f..."

If you are ever in the mood, I highly recommend the books! I really liked the plot in Book #2 and Book #3 is the grand finale. They are really quite good. Maybe as a refresher you can listen to the audio book for Book #1. I've listen to the audio book for all three and the reader does a great job. ^o^

[Lucy]

Karen wrote: "Lucy wrote: "Karen wrote: "The Amulet of Samarkand and the entire Bartimaeus series...my obsession for djinni Bartimaeus is unhealthy and no one gets it. I love this story

Yes! Unfortunately I on..."

Okay, thank you for the recommendation, I'm definitely interested! :)

[Melissa]

Third Life Of Grange Copeland and We Need to Talk About Kevin - my friend threatened to kill me if I selected these for book club!

[Christy]

It was a number of years ago but I really liked The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian (very weird apocalyptic novel, sometimes slow, sometimes genius) and it has a 3.6 overall rating.

[Courtney]

. Many people thought it didn't add to the plot and wasn't as good as the first. I disagree. I don't think they quite understand what the book is about. It's not about one particular event/thing/etc its about a legendary person's life.. Lives aren't always about driving forward a plot. There are a lot of curves and "straying off the path" so to speak. Many people didn't like the few chapters with Felurian either. I don't mind them, it was nice to hear another version of the creation war and to get more information about the Fae world.

[Jerry]

Lobstergirl wrote: "The Unconsoled, such a great book, with a surprisingly low average rating on GR. I can't wait to forget enough of it that I can reread it. I will smack anyone who doesn't like it."

Agreed, agreed! I think The Unconsoled is Ishiguro's masterpiece (and not Remains of the Day, which is excellent, and perhaps a reasonably close second)

[Elizabeth]

Totally with you on Deadly Unna and the Bartimaeus Trilogy.

My thing is Barb Hendee's (JC Hendee collaborated on only some, it seems) Noble Dead series. It has pretty decent ratings and reviews here, but nothing outstanding. I only see it in my city's specialist fantasy bookshop, and even then it's tucked away in a corner and never seems to get any "staff recommend" love. Nobody I speak to has ever even heard of it. But it's far and away my favourite series at the moment.
I think Hendee didn't do herself any favours because her other stuff is paranormal romance and this is marketed in kind of the same way, and it isn't one, it's an epic fantasy. And that's sad because the series deserves to be super popular. There are like 13 books though, so she must be doing OK :)

[Gillian]

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. My sophomore English teacher pushed really hard to get to on the list and made reading it a pain in the butt, and admittedly, it describes all the wild events with a really dry tone, but...the stuff that happened was SO crazy, and the images were both funny and beautiful. I keep meaning to read it again without Mr. E breathing down my neck to take notes.

[Kristen]

Dante's Inferno. I think I have read it about 5 times. Most people do not get it.

Also Heart of Darkness by Conrad. I've actually never met anyone other than my son who has even enjoyed it, but it got 5 stars from me and I've read it and even chose it for a thesis paper.

[NancyJ]

Using Susan's method, it would be A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler. I read it slowly and I felt like I got to know the quirky characters well.


Among better known books, it would be Death of a Salesman and the Crucible, both by Arthur Miller. I was surprised by the low ratings here for his books. They were both powerful and memorable to me, though to be honest I don't know if I would have rated them 5's at the time I read them (as a teenager probably). "Memorable" is apparently a key criterion for me to use when rating books I read long ago.

[NancyJ]

Elle wrote: "Oo if we are doing it that way then somehow mine is The Colorado Kid by Stephen King which makes me a little sad more people didn't like it."

I liked the TV show that was loosely based on it - Haven.

[Rosa]

Also using Susan's method, two of my very favorites are Yeah!, which I found very funny, cute, and rockin' (and maybe a little too subversive), and Intercourse, which I think is brilliant, a great feat of writing, and a lot of fun as well.

[Ronnie~]

The first book I fell impeccably in love was Stephanie Perkins' "Anna and the french kiss" but when I check the reviews, most people hated it. I don't understand why when I really adore that book.

Oh well.

[Kell I Am]

The first time I read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, I absolutely loved it! The second time, not quite as much, but still found it really good. With all of the hoopla about the musical, I was surprised to see that it only has a 3.52 rating.

[Rosa]

I thought Who Censored Roger Rabbit? was brilliant and hilarious, though a little upsetting. But most of the reviews compare it unfavorably to the movie. I liked Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but the book is very good, too.

[Nora]

I loved Pinkerton's Sister by Peter Rushforth and its companion, A Dead Language, but most seem to find them a bit overblown and unfocused. They have stuck with me over the years!