The book you like most discussion
Is the book or books you dislike the most badly written or just not your typical Read?
message 1:
by
Gypsy
(new)
May 10, 2024 07:15AM
One of the books I recently wasn't thrilled about was Arsenic and Adobo, the concept of a murder mystery was cool because I love murder mysteries but this book seemed to be more about the food, then the characters so it left me feeling like I had no connections to the characters or even the story. In short it was just badly written for what the story should have been.
reply
|
flag
Badly written.Like, I love romance books but sometimes I read them and they’re just GARBAGE.
Same with mysteries I’ve read and fantasies.
Poor writing, racism, using the current 'flavor of the day' as a prop in the story or to market a book, or sometimes it's just the writing style that isn't my preference.
I actually have a list of authors who's books I'd like if I liked that genre. like I can tell they are good authors
both? I have boos that I dislike because they're badly written. and books I dislike because they're not from the genre I typically read like romance.
Usually poorly written. If it’s not for me I’ll still rank it low but specify that it’s solely because it wasn’t up my alley
I read a collection of Jane Austen's noveld. I did not like it because it was all romance and gossip. Not my style tbh
most of the time if I do not like a book, it is because they are terribly written (imo of course), nothing bothers me more than bad writing and I find myself thinking "how did this person even get published?" LMAO I'm terrible
I have read more books than I can remember, but what disturbs me the most is blatant plagiarism. Recently, I read a book that was nearly a direct ripoff of the TV show Farscape.Followed by agreeing and not fixing Grammarly suggestions and other editing errors.
not so much as badly written, I don't like the characters
If I dislike a book it will usually be down to sloppy writing style, and sometimes poor research. I have pet peeves - such as the current fashion for putting a character's name at the top of a chapter to tell us the POV. With some rare exceptions, the reader ought to be able to pick this up from the writing.
I get frustrated by insipid heroines. Why I can't stand A Tale of Two Cities, which I know others love.
A few years ago a bad book for me was just an uncomfortable book. Now I know better - an uncomfortable read is by far better in general than an empty book that tries too hard. A lot of books that I’ve read have been self proclaimed “feel goods” but when I look back I realise that the books that felt the best are the ones that exist without the goal to comfort. Even Harry Potter - a rather poorly written franchise, is written as fantasy, but ends up being more comforting thanks to the enchanting world building (though dare I say that most of the comforting feel comes from the fandom, rather than the author, who shall not be named).Long story short: I’d rather read a million books that make me uncomfortable, than read books void of intention.
Mostly they are badly written. Just because the book is not my typical genre, does not mean I am going to hate it
becs wrote: "most of the time if I do not like a book, it is because they are terribly written (imo of course), nothing bothers me more than bad writing and I find myself thinking "how did this person even get ..."lmao, bad writing is the worst especially if there are a lot of grammatical errors. I can sometimes deal with a bad storyline but if I have to reread sentences because of bad grammar that drives me up the wall and like you I'm like "how did they get published" it takes a whole line of people to really screw that up, I don't get it lmao.
Mayhem-RW wrote: "I have read more books than I can remember, but what disturbs me the most is blatant plagiarism. Recently, I read a book that was nearly a direct ripoff of the TV show Farscape.Followed by agreei..."
I agree I don't know how people can get away with that or even have the audacity to rip someone else's work.
Maja wrote: "not so much as badly written, I don't like the characters"I can get that, if the characters are unlikable it makes it difficult to connect to the book.
Elvira wrote: "A few years ago a bad book for me was just an uncomfortable book. Now I know better - an uncomfortable read is by far better in general than an empty book that tries too hard. A lot of books that I..."That is a valid point and to be fair, I've only gotten through book 3 of the Franchise but I do enjoy the movies better, if anything because I like the actors and the magical realism of it all. But I get what you mean.
Usually if I don't like a book, it's because I thought it was poorly written. Especially The Martian. As a writer myself, I pay a lot of attention to how the book itself is written, and books that I notice a lot of annoying writing patterns in are really grating for me.
Usually it's because they're badly written. Bad prose bothers me, but the thing that really tends to upset me is bad characters. When the characters in a book are unrealistic, one-note, inconsistent, or just clearly failing at what the author was trying to do, I probably won't like the book.However, there are always cases where books can descend into "so bad, it's good" territory, which I love.
The worst ones for me are ones that aren't realistic. I'm not sure if this will explain it the best but I'll try. I often open books and as I'm reading I think: "This is so dramatic. That would never actually happen that way." If it's just continuous childish drama that can't seem to be worked on then it's aggravating and I don't enjoy the book.
I think that is a matter of opinion. I find them poorly written, but someone else might not. I have read books that were well written that didn't spark my interest enough to like them in any true sense of the word, but I still read them because I felt they were worth reading. The books I have not finished were just so poorly written (imo) that I felt they were a waste of time to continue reading.
Poorly written material and way too dragged out. Not the length of the book, just the fact that you can't work out where the characters are at in the story and you go from one character to the next one without a fluid plot line, so the story will jump forward a few years, jump back a few years and you think what the heck is this? Those kind of books really bug me. I also don't like people who waffle on forever. Waffling and repeating what you've written and then making a conclusion with exactly the same information just doesn't work for me.
If a book is poorly written, I’ll definitely rate it low. When I say poorly written it could be either due to spelling, grammar or just general discombobulation. If a book is a general fiction, not paranormal but the characters or story make no sense, that’s a two thumbs down from me. If there’s a character that’s extremely whiny or ignorant, again it’s going to receive a low rating. If I read a genre that I don’t normally read and just didn’t enjoy the story, I give the rating the benefit of the doubt.
If pacing is slow, or content is repetitive, I don't really like those books. I haven't really read any books in a genre I don't really like yet to say I wouldn't like the book.
Characters with unrealistic traits, talents or charisma. For most "fae" based I'm ok with those but in a "normal" human not so much. I also refuse to read something where the characters skills, job or location/uniform are glaringly unrealistic.
I'd say badly written I can enjoy a story that isn't what I typically go for if it's written well. However even genres that have all the themes I like I can end up disliking because the execution was poor.
badly written! Not a typical read can be challenging and engaging for it is a new genre/topic etc. I really dislike a book if it is badly written it disturbs my reading energy and effort I can't continue
mostly badly written. writing is a huge deal breaker for me
For the most part just bad writing. I can recognize good writing even if it’s in a setting that doesn’t appeal to me and I try to rate it based on how someone interested in that genre would like that book. But there have been a few exceptions like Haruki Murakami. His writing seems exceptional, it’s imaginative, and thoughtful and engaging. And then out of nowhere there seems to be a pedophilic fantasy aspect. And it ruins the book. Enough to give me concerns about the author. And not to say this is just a broad spectrum. It’s good to have books that can talk about pedophiles and the dangers, through fiction or fact. But when it romanticizes it or describes it dreamily that’s something I do not tolerate.
What I hate is when a writer blatantly contradicts themselves eg (paraphrasing) “He didn’t offer meaningless platitudes. He told me everything would be all right.” Hello?Also on the hit list is cliches eg person from Yorkshire being mean.
Implausible plot twists.
And when the author tells rather than shows: don’t tell me a character is worried, indicate it by way of their behaviour, appearance, thought process etc.
And when a male author inserts a female character purely to be a love interest, not allowing her any hopes or aspirations of her own.
Mostly badly written, there are few books that I dnf bc I don't like the style
Badly written. They usually get a 1★ but books that just weren't for me usually get a 2★.
Badly writen cause I often read out of the comfort zone(typical read)
I don’t appreciate long drawn out story lines, it becomes to boring and I end up picking up a new book.
Not my typical read (talking abt the book named 'shiver' )
I think it's more that it's not my typical read.
Poorly written, sadly (I like to switch up what I read from time to time, so I’m used to branching out). It was Pestilence by Laura Thalassa, while the book wasn’t what I typically read, but that doesn’t mean I automatically won’t like it. I had hopes for it too… but it didn’t live up to them. World building was lacking in my opinion, characters had the personalities equivalent of a cardboard box, plot holes so big you could fall in and never hit the bottom, repetitive dialogue, no character development- oh and the MMC had a sprinkle of misogyny that I was lucky enough to endure with the little personality he had in the first place. As you all can tell…I clearly loved the book lol.
Poorly written...or overly descriptive. Not every detail needs to be explained or described to a knife's edge. Whereas, genre, topic or characters, play very little into whether or not a book is enjoyable. The story has to be brilliantly designed, with believable characters, good or evil, without any holes.
I'd rather say .... it's not written in my preferred writing type. I appreciate authors like Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, Classanda Clare, Holly Jackson, Stephanie Garber. Even Anna Haug is sometimes acceptable or maybe Madeline Miller.. BUT authors like Lauren Asher, Rebecca Yarros, Ali Hazelwood and Jenifer Lyn Barnners make me sick. Their writing is too "simply uselessly descriptive" to be liked by me.
Rebba Yarros' Fourth Wing was loved by every human on earth except me, because her writing is just annoying. Same with Lauren Asher, she just ahhh! Their books are labeled "ENEMIES TO LOVERS" but start with both MCs eye FUVKIN each other since day 1. its just dumb.
Badly written. Most YA falls into this category but I read some of it anyway.
The books that i dislike either have to be very poorly written or have no plot interest to them in the story that causes it to become very boring.
The top two I dislike the most are written well enough, but that makes things worse, because they're racist propaganda. There are no misunderstandings or mistakes- the authors meant for their works to be thoroughly and unapologetically racist.
Michael wrote: "The top two I dislike the most are written well enough, but that makes things worse, because they're racist propaganda. There are no misunderstandings or mistakes- the authors meant for their works..."Can you give some examples, please?
I really dislike poorly written books, especially when the plot isn't well thought out. There has to be some realistic expectation that this is plausible. I love fantasy and even in those books where there's magic, etc., I need to believe that within the parameters of that world, that the story could really happen. I also really can't stand stupid behavior by the characters. It makes me crazy when a character doesn't use his/her brain to think through problems, etc. I also hate it when they do nonsensical things or when they are horrible to another character for no reason. Is that supposed to make them appealing?
The last pet peeve of mine is when the author spoon feeds every scene to the reader - with no depth to the interaction. I always appreciate when the characters are well thought out and I can intuit what they mean- they may be thinking or saying one thing but their actions are telling the readers something else. When the characters speak, not only with words, but with their gestures and faces, as well as their actions. That's good writing. Hard to find sometimes!
Very, rarely do I find a book so poorly written, that I can't read it. More often I find that I have picked up a book that isn't what I expected such as graphic violence, or abuse of women. Recently, I stopped reading a book because it described in detail how a serial killer kidnaps his victims. Like, they need a training manual.
@brucesmith I had an author, I won't name send me a book I couldn't read due to the content, I was appreciative of the trigger warnings in the first page but was sick to my stomach what they were (child abuse and molestation and strong sexual content) anything involving child endangerment is not for me, I don't get it.
