The Next Best Book Club discussion
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Top Ten Books to Avoid
Amanda - The way you are with Jane Austen is the way I was with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I just couldn't get into the books, but I loved the movies. It is a great story, just something about the way Tolkein writes? Not sure. Carol - back to your list. Some of the books on your list are ones I am so up in the air about whether I should read them or not. For example, someone gave me a copy of Edgar Sawtelle for a present, and I read the first chapter. It didn't seem bad, per se, but it did not grab me, and I have never picked it up again.
It's always interesting to me to see what other people like and don't like. Sometimes it saves me from wasting time on a book that I have been on the fence about, other times it gets me to look at a book I would never have considered, with surprising results.
Mod
It will be tolerated by NO ONE. It is aggressive behavior, as is the post (which I see you have edited to add onto).
There is nothing personal on my end. I act in the best interest of the group, and it's members.
Suppose I open it to the group? It appears to me that a few members, prior to my involvement, asked you to watch your language. But I have no problem asking the group if I am out of line.
Please keep in mind, I noted from the begining that it was not your choice of books to bash, but the manner in which you chose to bash them.
Xox, Lori's not saying that you can't diss books or express yourself... it's just the tone and the words that you use to do so. It was very abrasive and angry and antagonistic, like you were being crass just to get a reaction. Maybe that's not what was intended, but that's how a lot of people probably viewed it. I found your list funny, to be honest, but even I (who happen to lean toward your apparent views on religion) thought the Mother Teresa rant was excessively crude and offensive.
By all means, bash whatever you like, but as readers we have a good vocabulary to draw on, right? :)
Mod
I will not tolerate much more of this.
Mod
Becky, that is soooo true!!! I love it!
Mod
Xox I am sorry you are disillusioned about certain people.
I don't know how old you are, but you really appear to have had a lot of disappointments. Who do you admire as a person?
Let us get back to the vein of thought here. The books I listed I have read except for Moby Dick. I was not fond of the others. I found 2666 fascinating but difficult to read, therefore I put it on the books to avoid.
I looked at the banned book forum. LOL some of those books listed made me laugh. We have come a long way , but still have miles to go.
And that is a whole other thread, which you may feel free to start.
Xox wrote: "Jessi,I hope Rowling would have a public fall out with her religion after all the hate mail and attack she got from the church people.
Good to see you here."
I found that whole thing very interesting as well. It's hard to speculate much on the whole issue since she seems to keep her religious views pretty private.
Jessi wrote: "Xox wrote: "Jessi,I hope Rowling would have a public fall out with her religion after all the hate mail and attack she got from the church people.
Good to see you here."
I found that whole thi..."
I do not remember if anyone answered my question earlier, but by Rowling do you mean J.K. Rowling? Because I am getting a little confused here.
I'm pretty sure they meant JK Rowling. Whick other one would it be? (Seriously asking, not being sarcastic - I don't know of any other Rowling authors...)
Oh, Okay. Thanks. I do not know any other Rowling authors either, but you never know since there are so many authors out there that most of us have never heard of.
Mahum wrote: "Oh, Okay. Thanks. I do not know any other Rowling authors either, but you never know since there are so many authors out there that most of us have never heard of."Very true. :)
Becky wrote: "Mahum wrote: "Oh, Okay. Thanks. I do not know any other Rowling authors either, but you never know since there are so many authors out there that most of us have never heard of."Very true. :)"
Thank you again, Becky. You are very understanding.
Has anyone read Vanity Fair by William Thackeray? It's long, rarely entertaining, and I wanted to quit again and again, but kept reading to see if it got any better. I know it's hailed as a great classic but I seriously can't see it.
Bekah, I have not read it, but it's on my long list of things to read. I almost read it this past summer, but War and Peace won over Thackeray, so maybe this summer I'll get around to it. It's not like I get summers off anymore, so it's not like I have to wait until summer to read the-really-big-books... but I still like to plan one big read for each summer. Like I'm still in school. And then at the end I treat myself (or convince my boyfriend to treat me) to a personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut.But you just wanted to know if anyone has read it. Um, the easy answer is, no. I have not.
Haha, thanks anyway. :)How did you like War and Peace?
I like your reward system, and wish you luck getting through it!
But yeah, so far that's the only book I can really think of to avoid, in my opinion.
I liked War and Peace, but then I like a lot of those crazy Russians. I've known of a few people who would have said to avoid War and Peace too, but they were basing that on the size alone. I look forward to tackling Thackeray.
Physics- who cares at what speed the apple will fall from the top of building; and there is like 1 in 100000 odd that two train would run in same direction and collide..come on its twenty first century.Chemistry- i am certainly against the analysis of ammonia.
Social Studies- I want to visit a place, i will definitely not look for lats and longs. there is train,bus...sheesh.....what happen to common sense!!
Bekah wrote: "Has anyone read Vanity Fair by William Thackeray? It's long, rarely entertaining, and I wanted to quit again and again, but kept reading to see if it got any better. I know it's hailed as a great c..."Bekah, I read Vanity Fair quite a few years ago and liked it very much. I guess it was a good time in my life to read about Becky Sharp. Man, she was awful!
Bekah wrote: "Has anyone read Vanity Fair by William Thackeray? It's long, rarely entertaining, and I wanted to quit again and again, but kept reading to see if it got any better. I know it's hailed as a great c..."I read it when I was young. It was a long haul and I wanted to quit but made it through. I liked it, but it was one that you would have to apply the literary analysis to in order to enjoy.
I tried Pilgrim's Progress and just got mad....
Katie wrote: "I think I can probably come up with a few haha. I don't like not finishing books, even if I feel the plot is horrible I still would like to know how it ends. But there are more than a few that I ..."I am new to the group and have enjoyed reading this thread...it is so interesting to me what some love and some don't. I can't believe Ender's Game was mentioned here...I loved it...but to each his own. I also did not like The Road...but many did! I'm AMAZED it took until post 384 for someone to mention EAT PRAY LOVE! Thank you Katie! I hated it and agree with the term PITY PARTY!(maybe...hopefully...it just came out at the time of this post!!!)
Tom wrote: "Lori wrote: "Tom wrote:Everyone is obviously entitled to his or her opinion, but how can you presume to moderate a discussion about books and not appreciate the perceptive towering genius of Heart ..."Still reading through the thread and whoa! Have to jump in here....of course Lori is entitled to her opinion and Tom....you saying this is one of the best books in literature....that's just YOUR opinion....I haven't read the book....but if I don't like it...then to me...it isn't!
Becky wrote: "I disagree with the theory that just because something is considered a classic that it should respected or appreciated. Yes, it may have been influencial, but if I thought a book is terrible, then ..."Well said.
Lori wrote: "Eeekkk. Dan... Catcher in the Rye? Lord of the Flies? Really? Well, I have to admit, when I read them as required reading in school, I thought they were just OK... but when I reread them as a adult..."I too liked LOTFlies and am sad to see it mentioned here so often!
Becky wrote: "Finding Hemingway boring is a matter of opinion. Tara has hers, which obviously differs from your own, Ed. But that does not make it less valid as an opinion. Going back to the Dracula vs. Franke..."
I agree again! Felt the same way about Dracula and Frankenstein!
Becky wrote: "Ick... Jennifer, if you're not sure about Watership Down, then I'd have to say to avoid it. I know it's supposed to be a classic, but I just could NOT get into it. I tried and tried. I eventually d..."Becky...again...I loved I Know This Much is True...and I liked She's Come Undone....I can add to the avoid list however.....The Hour I First Believed....I can't believe how much I didn't like it! I did not feel for the characters....I did not like how W. Lamb used real names....etc....not good for me!!!
Paul wrote: "1. The Bridges of Madison County--I read this when it came out(92?93?) it was the first book I really hated! I wanted to throw it the window at the time. My mom read it after I did and said the sa..."Paul...lol...I read one Danielle Steel years ago...and agree I've read them all!!!!
Old post, but hey Carol! I love at least half of your list. (And, of course, judge you for the other half.)Dean Koontz literally changed my life, by being so bad that I swore never to read crap again. I suppose I owe him for that. :)
My list:
1. Moby-Dick, Melville
2. Ulysses - no, y'know what? Finnegans Wake. That's way worse.
3. Remembrance of Things Past, Proust
4. The Golden Bowl, Henry James
5. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
6. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
7. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
8. Mein Kampf (thank you Carol)
9. On the Road, Kerouac...although honestly, as long as I'm picking on the Beats, Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs really doesn't make any sense.
10. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawkings - for a book widely acclaimed as the first to lucidly explain all this stuff, it's actually not very lucid at all.
Disclaimer: I haven't even read some of these books, and I sortof liked some of the others. Take nothing seriously.
Theresa wrote: "I am currently reading "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. It has been on my list for a long time and I'm finally getting around to it. However, I'm not making much progress because..."One of my least favorite books....ever!
Alisha wrote: "Kaion wrote: "It's a bit of a relief, reading this thread. Books I hated in school: (And you guys have been so eloquent, I'm not going to rehash what everyone has already said about Heart of Da..."
I thought it boring too and did not finish it!(The Secret History of the Pink Carnation)
The German professor I know says Mein Kampf is badly written even in German (it's not just the translation), but unfortunately A) it is an important book historically, and B) I had to read it. (Grad course on Nazi Germany required reading.)
Kudos, Susanna. I read about half of it but just couldn't stand it. It is an important book historically, which was why I wanted to read it. But it was written poorly and OMG he. Just. Wouldn't. Shut up.
Wow, I hadn't realized 'til now just how long it is. 615 pages! That's quite lengthy.
I just found this review on Amazon:"Illuminating societal enigmas with clarion voice, Adolf Hitler's ideologies are premised upon Nature. From this simplicity to the social complexities, he woos us from the cosmopolitan to the Arcadian. With volcanic drama, with delicate subtitles, he word-paints the "ice cold facts" of life."
See, Susanna and El? You just failed to be wooed by his clarion word-paintings.
It's hard to woo me. Unless you have a bean burrito from Taco Bell in your hand, don't even bother. And Hitler - well, he probably wasn't down with some Taco Bell, let's just say that.Who wrote that review on Amazon? That person deserves a punch in the neck. It's freaking Mein Kampf, for crying out loud. "Volcanic drama", "delicate subtitles"? I just threw up a little.
I threw up a little mucus.Whoever wrote that review of Mein Kampf is sicker than I am! (LOL)
El wrote: "It's hard to woo me. Unless you have a bean burrito from Taco Bell in your hand, don't even bother. And Hitler - well, he probably wasn't down with some Taco Bell, let's just say that.Who wro..."
OMG...El....I am laughing out loud!!! You crack me up!("I just threw up a little"!!!)
I'll take a Volcano taco and a grilled chicken quesadilla!!!!
The Spire - William Golding.Remember having to read this for O level (now GCSE - I'm getting old!) - God, it was boring!
Suzanne wrote: "Okay I am soooo happy to see Catch 22 here. I am returning it to the library tomorrow. I have just not been able to get through it as much as I have wanted to. It may be mindset, I will try it ag..."Oh I hated Eat Pray Love as well. I think I was in the middle of the 2nd country she was visiting and finally gave up. I just realized I didn't like HER which is why I couldn't read the book. I tried to read it a year or two ago so maybe at one point I will revisit it but I'm sure that even then she will still be uber annoying.
Heather wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Okay I am soooo happy to see Catch 22 here. I am returning it to the library tomorrow. I have just not been able to get through it as much as I have wanted to. It may be mindset, ..."That's exactly it Heather! I didn't like HER either!
Catamorandi wrote: "Here is my Top Ten Books to Avoid:(in no particular order)
1. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
3. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin
4. Of Human Bondage b..."
Sorry but these are some of my favorite books. They just need time and patience and you're (I'm) hooked.
except Finnigan's Wake--didn't understand a sentence.
Mandy wrote: "Glad to know I'm not the only one, Val."I'm with you.
Hmmm, I think I only have a top two list. And they are: The English Patient
Moby-Dick
They're the only books where I wish I could get the life I wasted reading them back.
I don't know if I have 10, but I would have to say:1. Catcher in the Rye
2. Lord of The Flies
3. She's Come Undone
4. The Unvanquished
I'm sorry everyone, I know the first 3 are very popular, and I mean no disrespect.
In defense of Moby Dick, I saw it as a challenge and was very happy and proud that I finally finished it. :)
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With all due respect Xox, I found your posts quite offensive. I honestly don't have a bias one way or another toward the books you listed, but your wording made me cringe. Just thought I'd throw that out there so you don't think the opinion is one held by Lori alone.