What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
Just to chat
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Name a book that everyone else seems to love, but that you hated
Zombieslayer/Alienhunter {Chew it up, spit it out} wrote: "Paper Towns.Though some of the dialogue was somewhat humorous, the characters were lame, the story was lame, and it just made ZERO SENSE. ..."
Dito, hated Q and never understood why they would even look for Margo, after all she wasn't exactly a winning persona.
Laurie wrote: "Gosh, the heroine of Outlander had sex 10 times in the first 20 pages of that book and I couldn't continue reading...."
Don't remember it having that much sex, and I actually sort of enjoyed it (far as you can enjoy a bodice ripper) until I came to a certain spoiler that made me close the book about hundred pages in and vow to never return to it.
I could've been exaggerating about the amount of sex in the first 20 pages of Outlander, but I hope you were able to glean what I was trying to say about the book anyway.I was also trying to express my disappointment about Outlander as well; I was expecting an intelligent HF book about a period in history that I was looking forward to learning more about and instead I got a trashy, bodice ripper.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9... is a new list I started a few days ago over on listopia and I'd like to invite you and everyone else commenting here to check it out and vote on the Best Trashy Novels - which is meant to be a light hearted take on trashy novels we might be ashamed to admit that we read.
And yes, Outlander is on that list :D
I've never heard of Outlander in terms of it being a HF and I'm sorry you got the wrong impression before you read it. I'm currently reading (and loving) it for the bodice ripper it is - but I fully knew that going into it.That actually brings up a wonderful point. A pet hate of mine is when a book is marketed as one thing and is a totally different thing. Word of mouth, covers and blurbs all play a part in that.
Elle wrote: "I've never heard of Outlander in terms of it being a HF and I'm sorry you got the wrong impression before you read it. I'm currently reading (and loving) it for the bodice ripper it is - but I full..."Hello Elle, and I appreciate your input. Now I'm really confused as some of my very literary friends praised Outlander to the high heavens due to its accurate and fascinating historical account of that era in Scottish history.
So what's a girl to do??
I'm glad that so many people were able to enjoy Outlander though and with its many sequels the author must be doing something right. Maybe when I was a virginal teen I could've appreciated this book more but at my current age it bored me to death.
Elle, I'd like to invite you to vote on my new list:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9.... This list is very tongue in cheek and meant to be fun but I'd love to hear your comments on a few of these books - feel free to add more :D
Most of my friends are fantasy readers. I'm not sure I know even a single person who reads HF, so that is maybe why?Had a look at the list yesterday, it's fun :)
Elle wrote: "I've never heard of Outlander in terms of it being a HF and I'm sorry you got the wrong impression before you read it. I'm currently reading (and loving) it for the bodice ripper it is - but I full..."If I had say what Outlander was, I'd say it was historical fiction but maybe it's because I don't really care about genres and I am not used to romance or especially "bodice ripper" novels, I associate them always to Harlequins and like and expect more from the "real" books. I don't really understand why they have to have so much sex in them, it's so boring. I like historical fiction and would like a bit of romance in them, too, but I guess I have to stay away from them.
Don't know about the realism in that one, the heroine is around for about ten minutes in the past and gets threatened with sexualized violence, then she gets threatened by her rescuer with sexualized violence, then she gets threatened... you get the picture.Reminded me a bit of a review I read about a set of early Ann Rice novels.
She does have a line in it that made me inappropriately smile when one of the guys who rescued her objects to raping her but as she notices on not exactly moral grounds.
So yeah, it's definitely a Bodice Ripper, but not a very historical accurate one I would hope.
I definitely don't think of Outlander as a bodice ripper. But to be fair, I've read quite a few of those and THEN read Outlander. So that may have colored my view. I just can't compare it. But if I hadn't have been desensitized, I think I could see the comparison.I also tend to, when I think about Outlander, think about the whole series rather than just the one book. And that probably also colors my perception of it.
There are certainly high points of drama and action and then there is every day life - which I loved reading. In fact, one of the books is soooo incredibly boring because that's all it is, 1200 pages of everyday life during that time period. Which I found boring but also fascinating. The Author really does her research and it's interesting to read how people lived during that time.
The CorrectionsThe Shadow of the Wind
Mrsbooks wrote: "I didn't really like Jane Eyre or Withering Heights."I LOVED Wuthering Heights the first time I read it - finished in 2 days, couldn't put it down! Tried it again though, and could barely get through it.
As for my own addition to this conversation: The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Powered my way through the first book (took forever, didn't enjoy it but I didn't give up, after all it's supposed to be so good), gave up on the second.
In fact, one of the books is soooo incredibly boring because that's all it is, 1200 pages of everyday life during that time period. Which I found boring but also fascinating. The Author really does her research and it's interesting That was the type of experience I was hoping to have when I tried to read Outlander. I was wanting to experience what it was like to live in that era of Scottish history, become emotionally attached to the characters and learn about history all at the same time as truly great HF books are able to do.
I'm very disappointed that this didn't happen for me.
Elle wrote: "Most of my friends are fantasy readers. I'm not sure I know even a single person who reads HF, so that is maybe why?Had a look at the list yesterday, it's fun :)"
With the time travel story line I can see why you and your friends considered Outlander a fantasy novel and why you were satisfied with the plot and setting.
Since so many labels can be applied to Outlander that may account for it's continued success and wide audience.
So far Outlander can be considered:
Historical Fiction
Romance
Time Travel/Fantasy
Bodice Ripper.
Future authors might want to take notice...
Tytti wrote: "Elle wrote: "I've never heard of Outlander in terms of it being a HF and I'm sorry you got the wrong impression before you read it. I'm currently reading (and loving) it for the bodice ripper it is..."This is exactly what I was thinking Tytti.
Whilst watching the many scenes of copulation in the first half hour of the Outlander series I couldn't help but think:
"OKAY! We get it! Claire is certainly not frigid! Now can we change the subject please?"
I suppose those scenes would've been a little more tolerable if they were done tastefully?
I don't really remember the first episode, I don't think it bothered me that much. But I understand it as they had only that one episode to establish their relationship. Actually I preferred to TV series because I think it had more story in it. Also I'm not sure my "tastefully" is the same as everyone else's... For example I somehow much prefer totally naked bodies if the scene calls for it than people somehow trying to cover certain parts. It makes me uncomfortable because they look uncomfortable. But I don't also like when the authors write too much about the history or how people lived. Though sometimes it works, like in one book the author wrote a lot about preservation but I thought it told a lot about the character and I think there was a reason for it, too. Another wrote about it mainly for laughs, I think.
I would also be very careful when trying to learn from a historical novel. I know one popular book that disregards one war completely, another author shows that he hasn't even done the basic research for his main character or his background, and people still believe that they are learning from it. They might have something correct but it might be difficult to guess what.
I'm repeating a few of you but I just can't understand the love for:Fifty Shades of Grey
Lolita
Slave to Sensation
Crime and Punishment
On the Road
Gone with the Wind
Summer House with Swimming Pool
Also anything by Nicholas Sparks or Jane Austen
But you know, to each their own...
Cristina (a book away from an episode of hoarders) wrote: "I'm repeating a few of you but I just can't understand the love for:I can understand 50 Shades because by all accounts even the writing is poor, not to mention the "plot". But (most of) the others are considered by many to be great literature. Not something you might always love but for their other qualities. Personally I loved GWTW because it was so many things in one book.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Dracula by Bram Stoker
Didn't find either one, in the least bit -chilling!
Anything by Kristen Ashley. First thing that got to me were all the spelling and punctuation errors, sprinkled with the occasional grammar error. I mean I can understand a few of them, even the best editors can miss them, but my god it looked like the book wasn't ever read before it was published and the one I had was like the 3rd or 4th edition. I remember this one sentence/6 line paragraph that I had to read like 5 times before I understood what she wanted to say. Then there was her stile of writing and the story itself which was just terrible. One of the few that I dnf. There's also Fifty Shades of Grey. I finished the books with some efort. Was it just me or the writing of those books went from bad to worse?
Ruzza wrote: "Anything by Kristen Ashley. First thing that got to me were all the spelling and punctuation errors, sprinkled with the occasional grammar error. I mean I can understand a few of t..."I've only tried reading one Kristen Ashley Creed and I gave up pretty quickly. I think I only got 60 pages or so when I had to give up. The characters were speaking English but it really didn't feel like it. I know she was trying to go for a gangsta type feel but it felt so wrong....and annoying. I've never heard people speak 'like that' before, even in gang related movies.
The Name of the Wind: Well the book was mediocre so overwhelmingly mediocre that it was a complete waste of my time. The book has overwhelmingly positive reviews and all the complaints I read about it were things I don't mind(overpowered main character/wish fulfillment). So I read the thing kept waiting for it to get good, but the main character whined and pined about his girlfriend who all his friends were telling him not to be with for as long as Bell was from Twilight. Meanwhile all his genius came off as completely unrealistic and went normally like and then he played the music thing so well that everyone cried(this is basically how it was described to the reader). The only reason I gave this total waste of time a 2 instead of a 1 is because I was partially convinced by the end that nearly everything was a lie and the narrator was just shitting me, but I heard the next book is worse and the final one still isn't out yet so whatever.Vicious: How this book has above a 3 is beyond me, I read a lot of webfiction/fantranslated stuff I read a lot of terrible writing and can glaze over it. However the writing in this book was awful even by unedited/2nd language speakers it so overwhelmingly stilted and unnatural it drove me up the wall. But that wasn't even the worst part the worst part is how dumb and irrational all the characters in the book were, none of them made an intelligent decision once and their motivations were so weak and contrived they didn't feel real to me.
Tytti wrote: "But (most of) the others are considered by many to be great literature. Not something you might always love but for their other qualities."I know they are, which is why I read them in the first place. I just don't get the love for them or why they are considered "great" literature. Personally, I found Gone with the Wind dreadfully dull but I've found that I don't care for historical novels and I know that it (GWTW) is loved by many.
Mrsbooks wrote: "Ruzza wrote: "Anything by Kristen Ashley. First thing that got to me were all the spelling and punctuation errors, sprinkled with the occasional grammar error. I mean I can underst..."Exactly.
The one I tried was Motorcycle Man. The way that the "hero" spoke to the heroine was just awful, it was downright abusive. Then there was the way he was speaking to his children, he called his ex (the mother of his children) a crazy bitch in a conversation with them and a few lines over his son calls the mother a whore or something like that.
I stopped reading when I got to about 100 pages. Terrible book.
I gave it 1 star, I would have gave it -1000 if I could.
Now, when I rate a book that I didn't like all that much I think about how it compares to this one. So far I haven't gave a 1 star to another book. I even moved the ones that I had previously rated with one star up by one because they were way better in comparison :))))
Sometimes I wonder if I'm reading a different version of the books than other people who liked them. Especially when someone says something about a character in the book and all I can think is 'uh no, they aren't like that at all, not even remotely. Did you actually read the book?'
Cristina (a book away from an episode of hoarders) wrote: "Tytti wrote: "Personally, I found Gone with the Wind dreadfully dull but I've found that I don't care for historical novels and I know that it (GWTW) is loved by many."I read GWTW over one weekend when I was 12, and that was after I had seen the movie, so I already knew what was going to happen, so obviously I didn't think it was dull. I think I would have like those characters even if it hadn't been a historical novel but of course they couldn't have existed in another time.
I think it's safe to say that I can addThe Night Circus
The Magicians
And most YA novels
to my can't stand list.
Woolfie wrote: "I think it's safe to say that I can addThe Night Circus
The Magicians
And most YA novels
to my can't stand list."
I didn't hate The Night Circus, but I only rated it 2 stars, so pretty close. I expected it to be waaaay better than it was. Pretty disappointing.
I think the reason I hate is has more to do with how good it could have been. It's beautifully written but fails in terms of plot and character development, taking much too long to get to the good bits and getting there involves wading through clouds of superfluous glittery filler fluff. Also with magic, I always look to be wowed by the cleverness of it all. Here all we have is reality manipulation.
Mod
As much as I love The Hobbit I can acknowledge it's not for everyone and there's nothing wrong with that. I guess the style in which it is written ticks he boxes or it doesn't.
Mod
I can totally understand why not everyone would like the Hobbit. Like Woolfie said the style either ticks the boxes or it doesn't.
And another thing, The Hobbit really isn't the most engaging of fantasies. I might go so far as to say there's a certain academic snobbishness and old epic styling a that might put some off.
I've been reading books with that general style of writing for a while so I'm more or less used to it myself but i do agree with you
Wuthering HeightsI didn't like any of the characters so I had no interest in reading about a bunch of people I dislike.
Tess of the d'Urbevilles
Mainly it just made me mad that she was treated so badly
Some other classics I didn't like are Frankenstein and To Kill a Mockingbird but I think that is mainly because they were required reading in highschool and nothing ruins a book like having pick it apart and write and essay about it.
The Book Thief - couldn't even finish the first chapter.The Slap. Got a bit further in this one but couldn't stick it out til the end.
Incendiary by Chris Cleave. This is the only book I have ever (tried to) read and then found the movie was better than the book.
Dree wrote: "DuneThe Hobbit
Hated. Hated. Hated."
Heretic!!!
The Hobbit is one of my favorite books of all time.
And here I thought I would be safe in this thread. That's all I will say.Jeremy wrote: "Dree wrote: "Dune
The Hobbit
Hated. Hated. Hated."
Heretic!!!
The Hobbit is one of my favorite books of all time."
Might I ask what aspects of the hobbit led you to disliking it? I know the writing style for example can make it hard to get into but i would love to know what it was for you ^-^
Hunger games. Girl was bitch, leading Peeta on like that, using him to get popular with the sponsors and all the others watching
Marie wrote: "Hunger games. Girl was bitch, leading Peeta on like that, using him to get popular with the sponsors and all the others watching"Have to admit I got bored with THG very quickly and it was only the completionist in me that caused me to finish the trilogy even though I figured out there was only one conclusion.
I suppose I keep reading YA in the desperate hope that I'm surprised with something that's actually good, not much luck so far :p
Mod
You sound like a good candidate for adult literature then.
Lol i think you should try Tamora Pierce her books are actually good and im 50% sure she's considered a YA writer XD
Mod
Dree wrote: "And here I thought I would be safe in this thread. That's all I will say.Jeremy wrote: "Dree wrote: "Dune
The Hobbit
Hated. Hated. Hated."
Heretic!!!
[book:The Hobbit|..."
Sorry, if you saw my statement as harsh, Dree. I was just joking with you, but that doesn't always come across through text.
I ate like a billion sandwiches reading THG cause it kept mentioning bread and then all I wanted was food.
What's the Name of That Book???
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Though some of the dialogue was somewhat humorous, the characters were lame, the story was lame, and it just made ZERO SENSE.
There's a webcomic called The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal, and if you want good, funny, heartfelt romance with a road trip that ends with a POINT, go read it.