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If you had to burn a book...
message 151:
by
colleen the convivial curmudgeon
(new)
Jun 19, 2018 06:22PM
I love Night Circus, but I agree on Hunger Games. I was so annoyed with parts of the first book, I never continued the series.
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I liked the Night Circus but it was only a 3⭐️ read in my opinion. Never read any of the Hunger Games and I’ve only seen the first movie. It was OK but it didn’t get me fired up to watch anymore of them.
Peoples taste is relative. There are many who hate Harry Potter. I cannot for the life of me understand why. Yes 5 does get a bit annoying but it is full of stuff that adds to the story but I still think that the series is amazing and magical and so do a lot of people in the world. There are Harry Potter Worlds all over the place which shows its popularity but some people still hate it. A lot of books like that people either love them or hate them.
I haven’t read any Robin Hobb books yet. I do have a few of them though. One real book and the rest on my iPad. I’ve only been back reading since October. So many books and so little time. Yes it is a pen name btw. Her real name is Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden. She’s here on Goodreads. Saw her commenting on something in another group I’m in the other day.
Jacqueline...Her previous books in the series, the first six beginning with Assassin's Apprentice, were great. At least I really enjoyed them! I think that's why I felt so strongly about the Fool's Assassin. If I didn't care about the tale and characters, I wouldn't have had such a strong desire to throw my kindle across the room ; )
Kateb wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "I LOVE the Eddings series - I read 11 of them yearly. #12 is too much, even for me."I loved the series, which is why I was soooo disappointed with the last book. My criteria for ..."
Which last book? In the extras (Polgara) or the new series that was the older series?
Catherine wrote: "Kateb wrote: "or "Curse" ?Hobb was the best books for my teenager who wouldn't read. Got him started , so I ignored so much .
Then again if we are talking series I have never recovered from a Edd..."
It may just be me, but I have found the Belgeraid to be a wonderfully enjoyable read that is completely forgettable with the passage of time. And I have read it three times and find the same result each time. Kind of an odd thing.
Cheryl wrote: "As I said before, I would love to burn books that actually put crap ideas in ppls' heads. And yes, I do think that I could be the judge of that. Don't look for it, but there was a parenting guide m..."I kind of enjoyed Hunger Games, but always got the feeling of been there. Tried to watch the first movie and gave up 15 minutes in, it was such bilge.
Life of Pi I kept thinking I would enjoy better if I was in a mind altered state, but I don't do that anymore. So it was adequate to hold my attention to the finish, but not an overwhelming success in my mind.
Night Circus I haven't read so therefore have no opinion on.
I’m going to agree with what seems the majority, and add my pitchfork full of Fifty Shades of Grey, and Fifty Shades Darker. Not necessarily because of their incorrect portrayals of lifestyle — but because they’re just really, really badly written. Some of the word choice and grammar is just painful. No one needs to see that and think it’s a good book.
Wow. Lots of interesting takes. And no one said the book I wanted to burn. 3001: The Final Odyssey.
Such an ending to 2001: Space Odyssey was not deserved. Boring, pedantic, no plot worth developing any tension, just Clarke's vision of some world-perfect, scientific, atheistic utopia. (He had to take a lot of nasty stabs at religion). Ugh.
But there's a reason no one else wants to burn it. Probably no one else heard of it or knows it exists. 'Cept me. Suffering all by myself.
.... but then I again, I kinda did like Atlas Shrugged....
Shandare wrote: "I’m going to agree with what seems the majority, and add my pitchfork full of Fifty Shades of Grey, and Fifty Shades Darker. Not necessarily because of their incorrect portrayals of lifestyle — but..."I loathed "Laters baby." Who says that!!!
It always amazes me how people can go on about how bad a book is, such as Fifty Shades, but then go on and read the sequels :)
I didn’t read the sequels. I still want to burn them.
Well, first...that would really be hard for me to do...but burning it is so much better than throwing it away!Now that being said..
50 shades of Grey..an insane waste of pixels or paper depending on your format. Kudos to James. Her kids can now go to an upper-tier college of their choice. But what a stupid stupid story
The Neverending Story ( along with Eragon) the most derivative over-chewed examples of recycled ideas...gag!
These are what come to mind at the moment
I have a recurring nightmare in which Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin appear at my door with various henchmen and they demand I do exactly this scenario or they will strangle all the puppies until I comply. So, I keep a copy of Windows Vista for Dummies around in case of exactly that eventuality.
Mod
John wrote: "The funny thing is everyone is complaining about Fifty Shades of Grey when there were romance novels well before it was ever published, and some of them were just as bad or worse. W..."Do you mean that we are only upset because she became a very rich woman at our expense? People even went to see the movies for goodness sake!
John wrote: "The funny thing is everyone is complaining about Fifty Shades of Grey when there were romance novels well before it was ever published, and some of them were just as bad or worse. W..."I don’t know about everyone else- but I have no issue with the romance genre and no issue with the BDSM content (even if it was poor representation of that). My complaint is based solely on the atrocious writing. Have you read it? I don’t think you can appreciate how bad it is unless you’ve read it. Every line is cringeworthy and makes you second hand embarrassed for everyone involved with that book. I went through a time in my twenties where I read a lot of romance- and none of them were this badly written.
The whole 50 shades of yuck series. I honestly did attempt to read it... And couldn't even get past the first paragraph. I found the writing style and grammar horrible. (In comparison, I did enjoy the Elloras Cave group of published books. They, I believe have a higher standard to uphold.) I am not a fan of first person written stories, it comes across to me as a level of immaturity where the writer hasn't graduated from grade school.
Allison wrote: "lol, Gary!! Not all the puppies!!"And the kittens too....
John wrote: "Sarah wrote: "John wrote: "Have you read it? I don’t think you can appreciate how bad it is unless you’ve read it."I, fortunately, have not read it. The closest to the romance genre I've gotten i..."
Ahh, I see. You could always download the sample from kindle and read that. It really is so bad that it's funny.. I was laughing hysterically for that first chapter.
Then chapter two starts and you realize it isn't a joke... it sort of stops being funny after that.
Or you could just read one star GoodReads reviews. Those are pretty funny too. But I guess my point is, then you'd know why those of us who read it hate it so much.
E.P. wrote: "Wow. Lots of interesting takes. And no one said the book I wanted to burn. 3001: The Final Odyssey.
Such an ending to 2001: Space Odyssey was not deserved. Boring, pedantic, no plot worth devel..."
Haven't bothered to read it and from what you have just said it is unlikely as most any event can be.
AndrewP wrote: "It always amazes me how people can go on about how bad a book is, such as Fifty Shades, but then go on and read the sequels :)"I have never read it, suspecting it would be bilge before I stared. I never really consider burning a book just because it is bad. For example I attempted to read Twilight and felt just underwhelmed at how bad it was. But never thought it would be burning material, but books that lie, deceive or mislead, that is a whole other ball game.
John wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Or you could just read one star GoodReads reviews. Those are pretty funny too. But I guess my point is, then you'd know why those of us who read it hate it so much."Speaking of gett..."
I have read those before - laughed until I cried.
Oh me too! Those are hysterical. Here’s another product with great reviews: Bic For Her Pens.https://smile.amazon.com/BIC-Retracta...
I think it is easily the worst written, worst edited book ever published. I’ve read independent authors with no help at all who did a better job. Lots of them actually.
Now I guess I am going to have to go and read it before I can give an honest opinion.
The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel was so bad, I couldn't finish it. And I loved her other books in the series. It was a major disappointment.
John wrote: "The funny thing is everyone is complaining about Fifty Shades of Grey when there were romance novels well before it was ever published, and some of them were just as bad or worse. W..."As a romance reader extraordinaire, I dislike 50Shades of Grey because it is a Twilight rip off and she didn't do her research. It makes GOOD BDSM books and romances look bad.
John wrote: "The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel was so bad, I couldn't finish it. And I loved her other books in the series. It was a major disappointment."I stopped reading that series back in HS.
Mod
I st..."
I stopped after the 4th. They seemed to be following a formula at that point and I was frustrated that the cool ideas about migration of early people and their societies started becoming overshadowed by drama and filler between sex scenes. Of all the things we know or speculate about early hominid life, we started focusing on the one thing that uh...hasn't changed much since the beginning days.
Allison wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "John wrote: "The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel was so bad, I couldn't finish it. And I loved her other books in the series. It was a major disa..."Yeah. But when I stopped, she'd hadn;t written any more. I'm thinking I was at #3? IDK if it started as a trilogy but I want to say that was the "end." When I found out she was still writing them, I said Fuck that!
John wrote: "The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel was so bad, I couldn't finish it. And I loved her other books in the series. It was a major disappointment."I had to stop after the second book. I really couldn't suspend disbelief far enough to accept some of the ridiculous ideas in the series. I know it's supposed to be speculation, but it was too far fetched. It was interesting, and my parents loved the whole series, but it just wasn't for me.
It's funny this thread is reminding me of books I hate, but when I really think about it I wouldn't burn them. Especially since a few of the books other people want to burn are books that I actually like. Just shows how taste is different for everyone. You can burn the books that are genuinely harmful, but save all of the bad ones.
John wrote: "The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel was so bad, I couldn't finish it. And I loved her other books in the series. It was a major disappointment."I gave up after the very first book. I didn't like it at all.
Phrynne wrote: " John wrote: "The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel was so bad, I couldn't finish it. And I loved her other books in the series. It was a major disappointment."I gave up after the very first book. I didn't like it at all. "
Yeah, it was great when I first read it. You have to understand: this was before the internet. There was no Amazon or reader groups that I knew of. I was a solitary kid dragging my non-fiction reading friend to the library with me to wander around. Access to decent Fantasy was little to none...and this is very much Fantasy. I ate it up with spoon. Also, there was SEX. O_O Whaaa? Sign me up!
Although I admit I had no interest in re-reading it. Ever.
John wrote: "The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel was so bad, I couldn't finish it. And I loved her other books in the series. It was a major disappointment."Wow, I couldn't get past Mammoth Hunters. It got to be just a tad to much for me. I really liked Clan of the Cave Bear was a very good book, but they rapidly turned into something very different that what I was interested in.
I'd go for anything written by V. C. Andrews, with the sole exception of Flowers in the Attic. First, because most of "her" books are actually ghostwritten after she passed, but second because the Dollanger series itself is a one-trick pony that grows worse and worse as the storyline progresses, and looking back I feel ashamed I ever read past the first novel. I'd leave Flowers in the Attic alone, however, because it's sort of culturally relevant and while it's bad it's at least in the so-bad-it's-good category, even when it's basically torture and incest porn.As for books written by authors I actually like, I'd scratch Afrodita, by Isabel Allende off history itself. The book is basically an erotic cookbook, and one for some reason teachers at my local university love to make their students read. The result is, I've ran into far too many people who loathe Allende (who is actually a great author!) based on that book. Every time I hear of somebody who won't read the masterpiece that is La ciudad de las bestias or La casa de los espíritus thanks to some crazy university professor who thought the best way to introduce Allende to their students was with an erotic cookbook I cry.
Tizzy wrote: "I'd go for anything written by V. C. Andrews, with the sole exception of Flowers in the Attic. First, because most of "her" books are actually ghostwritten after she ..."My sister was obsessed with these - and VC Andrews - when we were growing up. I mean, I couldn't get into them at all but she ate them up. I remember the two she liked best were Flowers and one series about "Heaven Lee." but man! The sheer amount of sex, abuse and incest in her books O_O
Slightly off topic but can I just tell you how bemused I was when I went out to lunch with my grandmother one day and she was telling me all about this confusing tv movie she had watched even though she didn't like it because she had to see what happened next and I realized she was talking about Flowers in the Attic.
Catcher in the Rye Great literature!?! Oh Please!!!
I have had a rethink, books I disliked!!!! definitely the silver sword. who knows who wrote it, it was issued to my year 7 son (12 years old) as a book to read. This was the son who hated reading anything and I was trying to entice him with various things.the English teacher told me this was a classic, so I read it. I will never get those hours of boredom back!!! if you didn't understand anything about the 2nd WW and Germany and Nazis , you would be even more lost.
Jess wrote: "Platform urrgh so grim, get me out of this man's head!"I read Submission. It was 'interesting' not complete trash but the author is not someone I would want to meet.
"English teacher told me this was a classic""Classic" is a good excuse for reading garbage.
Karl wrote: ""English teacher told me this was a classic""Classic" is a good excuse for reading garbage."
I have found my people!
Astrophysics for people in a hurry....... by Neil Degrass Tyson
Yeah, I'm also curious. What was it about this book that made you want to burn it? For me, it's Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
Mimi wrote: "Yeah, I'm also curious. What was it about this book that made you want to burn it? For me, it's Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov."
that one was pretty good when narrated by Jeremy Irons
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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