Your Bottom 10 of 2009

[Bonnie]

Okay, so we've got a Top 10 of 2009 (i.e., your favorite books of the year). How about a Bottom 10 (i.e., your most hated books of the year). I've managed to read some truly horrible books this year. The ones listed are the ones that were so truly awful they actually made me angry. These books caused yelling, a burning fury, and an urge (sometimes resisted, sometimes not) to throw the book against the wall. There were others (for example, The Historian, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and The Stranger) that I disliked but weren't so bad that I hated them.

1. Eat, Pray, Love One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gillbert.

2. The Secret Life of Josephine Napoleon's Bird of Paradise by Carolly Erickson.

3. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer.

4. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham.

5. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

6. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory.

7. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

8. The Lambs of London A Novel by Peter Ackroyd.

9. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins.

10. Silent In The Grave by Deanna Raybourn.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I liked the Boelyn Inheritance and Breaking Dawn. :)

[Jennifer]

My three worst reads (1 stars) were...

1... (the first and, possibly, only time I'll read Danielle Steele)
2...
3... (actually gave up on this one)

Others I didn't really care for (2 or 3 stars)...
4...
5...
6...
7...
8...
9...
10..

[Kayleen]

Jennifer, is really lame. I don't think it was typical of the author. (Although her formulatic writing will get old, it is not all like this one.)

My list would include:

[Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews]

Do these have to be books that were out in 2009 or what we read?

If it was what we read The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao was awful. :)

[Krista]

My least favorite book this year was:

Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
I don't know what I was expecting, but this really wasn't funny at all.

Then in no particular order my other least favorites (1 stars):

Susannah's Garden by Debbie Macomber

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

Kill Chain by Meg Gardiner

Grand Avenue by Joy Fielding


Some 2 star books....


Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

The Loop by Nicholas Evans

Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi

Pretty Birds A Novel by Scott Simon

[Jennifer]

Kay wrote: "Jennifer, is really lame. I don't think it was typical of the author. (Although her formulatic writing will get old, it is not all like this one.)

My list wo..."

Ok (wink!) - I might give her another try! Honestly, I couldn't believe how bad the book was.

[Bonnie]

Whatever you like, but I was going more for books you've read in 2009, regardless of when their published.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Let's see,
The City of Falling Angels was pretty lame. I didn't bother to finish the book.

I can't stand the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I am not a fan of J RR tolkein.

I didn't like Three Cups of Tea that much either.

I put Basraytha up there too. It read like a bad tour guide.

Diary of Anne Frank I wasn't too crazy about. It was really slooow.

That's all I can think of for now.

[Melissa]

Only a few this year that were truly awful...

The Ghost and the Dead Deb by Alice Kimberly. Couldn't finish it.

Sign of the Cross by Chris Kuzneski. I have ranted on this one before; I finished it but I will never get those hours back.

A Different Kind of Christmas by Alex Haley. Very disappointing. So flimsy, literary cardboard.

Ghost A Novel by Alan Lightman. Not unbearable, just not my cup of tea I guess.

[Julia]

In no particular order:

Outlander (one of the few who doesn't like this book. it was good until... it wasn't)
Academy X A Novel (just overall boring)
The Lost Symbol (it was good until it wasn't again... and then it was just horrid)

[Felina]

Julia - I felt that way about Outlander too. It needed editing..about 500 pages to long.

I hated Choke. The writing is not bad and I can understand why he is a popular author but the content was just discusting to me. I'm not a prude either. Just made me sick throughout the whole book.

I also HATED Twilight & New Moon. I think Stephanie Meyer writes about as good as a 10 year old. And I'd like to body check Bella.

Little Women. SOOOOOO BOOOOOORING.

[Natalie]

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is the only book I absolutely hated.

There were several "meh" books, but none that I regretted reading (or didn't expect to be good but read anyway, L.A. Candy comes to mind...)

[Kim D]

These were the only two books that I couldn't stand when I read them.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Natalie wrote: "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is the only book I absolutely hated.

There were several "meh" books, but none that I regretted reading (or didn't expect to be good but read anywa..."

I liked the movie

[Manday]

There are 9 books that I rated one star this year. In order for me to rate a book one star I have to think it was a complete waste of time to read (neither entertaining or educational). Additionally, many of these are "best sellers", some of which hurt me by being popular.

9th Worst -
[image error]
Rebecca

8th Worst -

The God of Small Things

7th Worst -

Away

6th Worst -

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything

5th Worst -

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

4th Worst -

Visions of Sugar Plums

3rd Worst -

Wild Animus

2nd Worst -

The Alchemist

And, the worst book of the year is (drum roll please)
[image error]
The Shack

To me, these last three were poorly written self-help drivel, and I am embarrassed two of them were top sellers.

[Katie]

Manday, I'm with you on The Shack. It's one of my bottom ten, but probably not the worst. Nine more to avoid:

















and The Secret of Tibet (I'm the only person on goodreads who has read this book, so you're going to have to take my word for its awfulness.)

[Sara]

No particular order, these were books that even though I enjoyed, I struggled finish, or I could've just skipped all together, but I am not one to not at least finish a book. These were all 2 or 3 stars. I don't meet too many books I don't enjoy given storyline or genre.

1. Whack 'N' Roll A Bunco Babes Mystery
2. The Associate
3. Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
4. American Rust A Novel

[Bridgit]

OK. My worst 10 of the year...in no particular order:

1. - ugh. HATED.
2. - more like book without end. Pillars was great but this was the same drivel over and over. Talk about trying to cash in on being Oprah's book.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

[Dionisia]

Below are the books that have found themselves on my bottom 10 of 2009 list. Read at your own risk.

10. by Janet Evanovich

9. by Kit Reed

8. by Larry Doyle

7. by Mykle Hansen

6. by William Trevor

5. by Hari Kunzru

4. by Thomas Pynchon

3. by Bentley Little

2. by Virginia Woolf

And my worst book of 2009 and what became the worst book I have have ever forced myself to read (ever!) is:

1. by Alice Sebold

Oh, the horror!

[Jennifer]

The top 3 sort of tied for the "worst" (1 star), books I struggled mightily to finish. Then, there were just the "eh, it's okay" books I rated 2 stars.

1. Julie and Julia 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (still makes me grumpy, for all the hype it was a true dud/one of the few times I might actually recommend the movie first)

2. Catch-22 (as much as I like good sarcastic wit, this one is a forever-read for me)

3. Captain Freedom A Superhero's Quest for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves (this one was just a bit boring, and I didn't have the time to devote to it)

4. A Tale of Two Cities (Though, I like other stories by this author)

5. Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe Ten Misbeliefs That Keep Us from Experiencing God's Grace (started off okay, droned on as the story continued)

6. A Mercy (more like a misery for me to read)

7. Caretakers (Main character of the story was okay, but I prefer her hubby's writings)

8. The Bear in the Attic Some of the stories within better than others)

[Tammy AZ]

I don't have a bottom 10 but I do have a bottom 6, not too bad for the total number of books I read this year.

Bangkok Tattoo
Twilight
New Orleans Beat
Black and White and Dead All Over
Plum Spooky
The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0

[Cynthia]

I read 173 books in 2009 - here are the books I enjoyed the least in the order that I read them...

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Chez Moi
Citizen Girl
Etta Place: Her Life and Times With Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Booth's Sister
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Rebel Yell: A Novel

[kiki]

wow, 173!!! impressive. i've never kept track of how many books i've read in a year, but i'm doing it for the first time this year. should be interesting! :)

[Sara ♥]

I gotta say I cringe seeing my favorite books on worst lists! But.. to each their own, right? Plus, I have a feeling I'm about to barbecue some favorites here (and a classic, while I'm at it!). I only had 4 books I rated 1 or 2 stars (not bad for 193 books, I'd say!):

1 Star
* The Road - Cormac McCarthy (I couldn't even finish it. And I do NOT put books down...)

2 Stars
* 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke (Just thinking about it, I'd like someone to shoot me in the face. Most boring book of all time. (And then I watched the movie, because I'm a COMPLETE MASOCHIST! But at least I got to watch it at 1.5 speed!)
*Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan (This book had gratuitous swearing. I've never seen so many f-bombs in my LIFE. From my review: "Page 95 alone has 26 f-bombs on it. And page 95 is the first page of a chapter, so the top third of the page is virtually blank." That being said, I really enjoyed the movie!)
* Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen - Julie Powell (I thought the cooking parts were fun, but uggghhhh... I was disgusted by the author's... lack of moral fortitude. Wow. The personal anecdotes were... disturbing at times... I'm still going to see the movie though, as I have a feeling they chucked all the crap parts of the book for it...)

Books I was disappointed I didn't enjoy more (3 Stars):
* A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly (Just didn't do it for me... I didn't like the nonlinear timeline. It seemed contrived to me...)
* 84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff (I feel like I'm missing something here... but I just didn't get the hype...)
* The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde (I really thought I'd like this book based on the first few pages, but I just couldn't get into it. It didn't keep my attention very well at all.)

[Cait]

My worst books of 2009 (I cheated again):

1 Star:

1. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
2. The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
3. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
4. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming - Joshilyn Jackson
5. The Midnight Twins - Jacquelyn Mitchard
6. The Gatecrasher - Madeleine Wickham

My least favorite of the 2 stars:

7. Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel - Marie Phillips
8. The Almost Moon - Alice Sebold
9. Kitchen - Banana Yoshimoto
10. Tie between The Wishbones - Tom Perrotta
The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
My Best Friend's Girl - Dorothy Koomson

[Garlan ✌]

I only had one "bad" one that I finished:
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima. Pretty bad.

And two that I started but couldn't finish:
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and
Terminal Cafe by Ian McDonald.

[Catamorandi]

My top 3 bad books were:

The Road
To Kill a Mockingbird
Fallen

[Melissa]

Sara ♥ wrote: "I gotta say I cringe seeing my favorite books on worst lists! But.. to each their own, right? Plus, I have a feeling I'm about to barbecue some favorites here (and a classic, while I'm at it!). ..."

Sara, I know what you mean! Your disappointing books are three that I have really enjoyed. Maybe we should watch each other's shelves for books the other doesn't like? Just proves that it takes all kinds! :)

[Sara ♥]

Haha... sounds like a plan! I know, though! I REALLY wanted to like those three more, but I just couldn't get into them... :( It's a general disappointment, though... I have no ill-feelings toward any of those books.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

oh i have ill feelings towards books. I REALLY HATED "Leaves of Grass" -Walt Whitman

[Sara ♥]

I should rephrase. I don't have any ill feelings toward any of those books that I rated 3 stars. I definitely have ill feelings toward the 1- and 2-star reads... ;)

[Petra]

My least favorites of 2009 are:

1 Star:

One if by Heaven Two if by Hell
The Avatar Syndrome

2 Star:

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
A Lantern in Her Hand
No Country for Old Men
Winesburg, Ohio
The Poe Shadow: A Novel
The Witch of Portobello

[Usako]

Special dislike towards...
Promoted: Secretary To Bride!

GREATLY disappointed! Book jacket promised more or expected more out of the author...
Fairy Tale
Shanghai Girls
Esther Great Lives Series: Volume 2
I Was a Teenage Popsicle
If the Buddha Dated: A Handbook for Finding Love on a Spiritual Path

[Catamorandi]

The Road
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The Thirteenth Tale
Coraline
To Kill a Mockingbird
Dead Until Dark

[Kate]

My least favorites that I read in 2009 are:
(1)The Old Man and the Sea (It was so boring! I dazed off so many times that I never knew what was happening!)
(2)1st to Die (I just don't think that James Patterson has much writing talent. In addition, I despise over the top feminist protagonists... I wanted to throw the main character off the top of a building!)
(3)Wonder Woman: Love and Murder (admittedly, I hate graphic novels so I am not really much of a judge...)
(4)A Christmas Carol (I don't really have a good explanation... I just really dislike this novel. I love the movie renditions, but don't like the book at all).

[Jamie]

Interesting how different everyone's taste is. I see a few faves on these lists. :)
My least favorite reads this year were:

American Psycho Man, I hated this book.
The Alchemist
The ENTIRE Twilight saga
Julie and Julia
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Virgin Suicides

[Cassandra]

It pains me to see that other people hated books that I absolutely adored. Hope I can share the love. :D

10. Mere Christianity
9. Catch-22
8. Dead Until Dark
7. Christmas Wishes: Christmas Letters\Rainy Day Kisses
6. Breaking Dawn
5. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
4. Culture Warrior
3. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
2. Chicken Soup for the College Soul: Inspiring and Humorous Stories for College Students
1. [image error] The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

[Sara ♥]

You didn't like Guernsey??? *sigh* To each her own...

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

You didn't like Chicken Soup For The Soul? I love those.

[Cassandra]

I don't usually like those kind of feel good fluffy books, and it doesn't take much for me to find a book overly saccharine. Not that feel good fluff is a bad thing, I just don't like it.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

fair enough

[Sara ♥]

Oh wow.... Don't look at my book lists! You'd get sugar shock from the titles alone!!! ;)

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

just for that I will look at them! :)

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I looked at your book lists, well some of them. We have Harry Potter in common. I also read Avalon High, Sara.

[Sara ♥]

Oh, I meant Laura... She might actually go into a diabetic coma and die.... ;)

[Nicole]

Julia wrote: "In no particular order:

Outlander (one of the few who doesn't like this book. it was good until... it wasn't)
Academy X A Novel (just overall boring)
[book:The Lost S..."
I totally agree with you on Outlander. I was really intrigued by the premise and about 300 pages in, I realized I was reading to get the next hot sex scene...not what I choose a book for typically. lol

Also, I am glad to see I am not the only one who gets all offended when someone rips into a book I adored, but hey- we can't all love the same things! We are a diverse group of individuals. I still don't know why I take it personally when people don't like things I love. I need to get over that mentality!

[Diane]

There are few books that I absolutely hate. A lot of my favorites are on your lists! These are my least favorite of 2009 (not in any particular order):

1. Love in the Time of Cholera

2. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

3. The Body Artist

4. The Secret

5. Nausea

6. Angels & Demons

7. A. Manette Ansay

8. Ellen Foster

9. Code to Zero

10. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies