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It's not the worst book I've ever read, nor did I hate it, but I gave up on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn last week. It wasn't fun, or anything else either. I guess I've seen too many movies and plays based on it. It was boring.As Gundala said long ago in this discussion Just because something is considered a classic does not mean you have to like it.
Gundula wrote: "Emily wrote: "The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I tried my hardest to read it but found myself getting more and more annoyed the further I got into the book."I've never been able to get into..."
It seems like Steinbeck is really hit or miss... I personally love him, but virtually all of my friends can't stand him. Grapes of Wrath is probably the hardest one to start off with, though. Of Mice and Men is more readable, East of Eden is more thrilling, and Tortilla Flat is way more entertaining. I feel like Grapes of Wrath's payoff doesn't come until the very end, so unless you're committed, there's probably no point suffering through the rest of the book.
I've got a three-way tie. Atlas Shrugged is my least favorite because I find the entire philosophy odious. It's like Les Mis for sociopaths. Then, just based on not enjoying them at ALL, I'd pick Naked Lunch and Richard Brautigan's Trout Fishing in America.
Hilah wrote: "I loathed Gone Girl so much. I don't know why it exploded like it did. All the characters are terrible people, and there isn't a lot of fun in reading about two sociopaths being horrible to each ot..."Oh, LOVED Gone Girl. All the reasons you hated it were all the reason that I loved it.
I really can't stand The Great Gatsby. Also, this has less to do with the book and more to do with me, but I wasn't a big fan of Marley and Me (or any book with a pet or animal as a main character).
Moby Dick for me, tedious beyond belief, Catch 22 is another.
A heartbreaking work of staggering genius
Madame Bovary.... Ugh.... Did not like one single character in at book!
50 shades of grey. Read the first book, although I hate it I am going to read the whole trilogy.
BDSM is set in a way which isn't right (believe me, I have experience with BDSM) and all they do is fucking eachother. Not making love, no they FUCK! That's the summary of the first book
BDSM is set in a way which isn't right (believe me, I have experience with BDSM) and all they do is fucking eachother. Not making love, no they FUCK! That's the summary of the first book
message 110:
by
Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading
(last edited Sep 22, 2013 07:07PM)
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I hated Catcher in the Rye. I didn't like the MC at all. I despised Twilight and The Hunger Games (I know, I know, I'm the only one but I really hated the MC and found the premise both trite and really implausible).
But my most hated book of all time is Infinite Jest. Here is my review of it: "Misogynistic, self-indulgent, interminable, pompous, pseudo-intellectual claptrap." I usually am much nicer than that and I did feel horribly guilty when he killed himself.
Some others: Left Behind (I really did read it and it really was bad, not just content but also the writing), If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer (O.J. is just scum), Force of Law (guy falls in love with the man who raped him and after the rape is terrified the man will leave him), The Hidden Life Of Dogs (her treatment of the dogs is at best neglect and at worst inhumane), and Skipping Christmas: Christmas with The Kranks (racist).
I have an ongoing list of "Worst EVER Reads", because none of us make it out of this word-nerd life without coming across more than one "worst". Ugh! But right now, it's City of Bones. I'm currently almost all the way through #1 and it couldn't be a more blatant Harry Potter/Twilight (from what I've heard of the latter) ripoff if her whole intention behind writing had been to get sued. Couple that with her inability to actually write, she chose the wrong author (meaning Rowling) to copycat. What a mess. Only because I am anal and stubborn will I finish the series. And it's too bad, as I really wanted to like them. This is the first PR book I've ever tried and I can't say that once I'm done this little "adventure" that I'll be rushing out to find more. I know it isn't fair to other PR/YA writers who are genuinely talented to judge the whole genre off this experience, but it will take a conscious effort on my part not to assume that 90% of it is drivel.
For me it would have to be the Da Vinci Code. Unless I missed something, why would you abduct someone in order to force another person to help you when that other person was already helping you in the first place.
Julia wrote: "This year I read The Catcher in the Rye for a discussion at the library. I loved it when I was 15, but now, I hated that little self-absorbed twerp Holden. I know about the novel's impo..."That's really interesting. It has always bothered me to hear that people don't like that book, but the truth is the last time I read it was as a teenager as well. I wonder if my mind would change if I were to read it now.
For me, we were supposed to read Anthem by Ayn Rand in high school, and I have to say it is the ONLY assigned reading that I did not completely read in my entire educational career. Her writing style is horrible. I even trudged my way through Lord of the Flies and Twilight. I just can't do Ayn Rand. A lot of people have also mentioned The Catcher In The Rye... I personally love Salinger, but I couldn't see myself reading Catcher again at the age I am now and enjoying it as much as when I was 15... I find his other works much more thoughtful and satisfying.
Let's see, another book I couldn't finish was Johnny Got His Gun merely because it was SO freaking depressing and hopeless, and I was already depressed at the time, so it was a big no-go for me.
The worst book ive read has to be
read it as a teenager and enjoyed it, read it last week and it bored me
I would say Lovely Bones has to be in my worst books - list. I just couldn't get into it AT ALL!
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"Misogynistic, self-indulgent, interminable, pompous, pseudo-intellectual claptrap."
:)
Atlas Shrugged and Heart of Darkness. I couldn't finish Atlas Shrugged, but I did read Heart of Darkness through several times over just to be sure.
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It was only 90 pages and everyone kept going on about how good it was. I felt like I was missing something.
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I felt that way about Twilight.
Michael,I was asked to read "The Road" by a friend. He said that he had given up on it because the writing style remined him of the readers we give to first graders. I take his point under advisement.
"The boy found the ball."
"The man shot the canibal."
"The man and the boy went down the road."
While I have fewer qualms about stylistic decisions, I have found it to be a slow painful read. It is strange that such a simply written book, with fairly little character development, would be so much darker than book one of "The Stand." And that its fairly reliable narrarator would be more difficult to read than the unreliable narrarator in "American Psycho."
I haven't decided if it is great yet, but I can understand those who say that it is not.
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who found Catcher in the Rye boring and pointless...I felt I'd wasted those hours. But then again I should try and read at least a bit of it again, being that I read it when I was 20. Other than that, The Alchemist by Paolo Coello...I couldn't believe it was a best seller...a load of sentimental hodgepodge.
Yeah, to me catcher in the rye was also middling. Maybe it was the big thing because at the time it came out it was very different from what was normally written. It's normal for teens to be anxious today. It wasn't back then so much. Then somebody got up and wrote that.. Of course every anxious kid in the country was happy to know it's not just him. It's just that it's not so relevant now anymore. Kids are allowed to be anxious. Often even encouraged, to be honest.
Natalia wrote: "I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who found Catcher in the Rye boring and pointless...I felt I'd wasted those hours. But then again I should try and read at least a bit of it again, being t..."You couldn't believe it was a bestseller..? Come on, open your eyes.. Sentimental hodgepodge is what most people want to hear. Bestsellers are what people want to see written. Simple.
I love the fact that few books don't have someone who loves them, and someone who hates the same book. That is what taste and temperament are all about! I have noticed that anyone who includes the phrase "open your eyes" tends to be pretty arrogant about their particular tastes, as if anyone can see things the same way as they do, if they just look. Au contraire, we all see things differently, through the prisms of our own experience, environment, family, emotions, etc. I often find that books others found boring or dull were very interesting to m, at least when it comes to classics like Scarlet Letter and Catcher in the Rye. It is hard for me to say which book I read that was the worst, because most times I don't finish a book, if it is poorly written, so can't claim to have read it. I like an occasional bestseller, but most often I don't... too simplistic, formulaic, or whatever. Some very popular books are poorly written, and some wonderful books are not great literature. One thing that usually turns me off quickly, is an author who inserts his or her political agenda into a book of fiction. Still, I don't object to anyone liking ANY book, because at least that means they READ!
message 129:
by
Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading
(last edited Apr 10, 2014 11:44AM)
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The Harry Potter and Twilight books have gotten kids to read. I'm horrified by the latter, but I'd rather kids read that than not read at all.
I think Catcher in the Rye will get harder and harder for young people to understand the older it gets. It was boring to me, too. I understand why it was groundbreaking and a classic but I personally just thought he was whiny.
For me, worst and most boring are the same book (for how long, though, is not certain). The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. had to read it in college and I was ready to rip it to shreds by the time we were done, god I hated that book. Also, anything by John Steinbeck.I tried to read Michener's Centennial, but once he got past the first setup chapter, I couldn't do it. Bored to death.
Glad I wasn't alone in hating The Sound and the Fury. It was absolutely painful to read. And not in a good way.
And The Hippo's were Boiled In Their Tanks The Road
Pilo's Family Circus
The Great Gatsby
I couldn't get through To Kill a Mockingbird. It was on the list to teach to my honors freshman. I chose to do Count of Monte Cristo instead abridged of course. I figured if I couldn't stand the book then they would see it in my face.
Okay, I will wade in...1) The Shack - I can't even go into it - couldn't read the whole thing...and my school library has like 8 copies. Seriously, for 6th and 7th graders?
2) Catcher in the Rye - probably (having read the thread comments) because I read it this past school year (I am 40) and NOT as a teenager, although he was way too into his whole angst for me, even as a teenager.
3) I will not read animal books. My 2nd grade teacher read "Where the Red Fern Grows" aloud to our class. Since then...NO animal books. And it sucks! Because I buy the ones people love for my students to read, but I can't tell them anything about it...seriously.
Elizabeth wrote: "I'm sorry but the "Great Gatsby" I read it in high school and hated it."i> I could not invest myself in that book and I wanted so badly to love it. . .
I have always hated "Moby Dick." We read it in high school and I think I was far too young to understand it. However, as much as I sometimes think I should go back to it and try it again, I loathed it so much I cannot give it another shot!
I read maybe 10 pages of Bumped. WORST BOOK.I can also see why some people don't like The Road, but it's actually up there in my top favorite books.
I liked The Road and found Gone Girl tolerable, but On the Road was one of the most painful literary experiences of my life.Far worse than On the Road though were The Help - I mean flames on the side of my face worse - and this godawful book by Zane called Addiction.
Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles. It was exhausting trying to get through this book. The way the author writes is unbearable. There was hardly any use of punctuation, such as commas, periods, colon, etc. There were long paragraphs that aren't broken up when each character talks, so you are unsure who is saying what. They just ran from one to the other without any indication of when you should pause, etc. I had to re-read almost every paragraph. It made it so that it was hard to follow the story. Could have been a great book, but it was just too difficult to get into. I did finish, but it took twice as long, because of having to read everything two or three times.
I read War of the Worlds at least seven years ago and hated it. I don't even remember why, but the feeling of dislike has lingered with me all this time.
i can't remember of a book so dull that got stuck in my mind as the worst book!!maybe i need more time to rethink about it :D ;)
I've read a lot of books that I didn't care for.... but so far I would have to say that the absolute WORST book I've ever read is, hands down, Life of Pi... I had to read it for school my sophomore year of high school. It's the only book I've ever read where parts of it actually nauseated me and I had to stop several times because I was certain that if I kept reading it I really would be sick (I know that sounds a bit extreme... but I assure you I am not exaggerating)... and the worst part was that I had no choice but to finish it in order to get a good grade on our Summer reading assignment that year (we also had to read the Glass Castle that year for part of our Summer reading assignment and I hate that book too). Life of Pi is probably about the only book I've ever actually wanted to throw across the room, and by the time I was finished with it I was so frustrated and annoyed with it that I wanted to tear it to shreds. I know a lot of people love the book and the movie... but I just absolutely hated the book then and still do to this day and have no desire to see the movie because I'm certain my reaction to the movie would more than likely be the same as my reaction to the book... if not worse.
The Scarlet Letter. Hands down the worst book I have ever had to read. I think I almost failed english class that semester because I could not get myself to finish the book.
I don't remember the most boring book ... but I guess that's because boring books aren't memorable.Worst? Finnegans Wake. I love Joyce's earlier work, but I don't understand why FW was published.
Caitlin wrote: "I've read a lot of books that I didn't care for.... but so far I would have to say that the absolute WORST book I've ever read is, hands down, Life of Pi... I had to read it for school my sophomore..."do you think its got something to do with books we "had" to read at school? I feel intense dislike for A Passage to India, which was on my a level syllabus. Definitely the most dry and boring book ever written :)
Elaine wrote: "Caitlin wrote: "I've read a lot of books that I didn't care for.... but so far I would have to say that the absolute WORST book I've ever read is, hands down, Life of Pi... I had to read it for sch..."I'd have to say that in the case of that particular book I'm certain it had nothing to do with the fact that I was forced to read it for school, especially since most of the books that I've had to read for school I have actually enjoyed, and those that I haven't I would tend to simply skim through the parts that I knew would be used on tests or that we had to write papers for. I tried to go into every book that we had to read for school with an open mind rather than just having an automatic hatred for it simply because we were being forced to read it, because I never really felt that it was fair to the authors that I shouldn't give their books a chance just because it was dictated by a school board that we had to read those books. Of course I won't deny that there were a few books that I had to read for school that I didn't really like or more that I simply found to be very boring, such as The Giver, The Great Gatsby, and Tess of the D'urbervilles. But Life of Pi was the only one that I simply could not stand and had such a negative reaction to, and to be honest I hadn't made up my mind about disliking it so much until I was a little less than half way through. I know a lot of people like it and have a lot of praise for it but I just simply can not see what's so great about it.
the hunger games and legend by Marie Liu both suuuucked.
@Caitlin, I'm definitely with you on the Great Gatsby, and Tess. Both very boring! However, I loved Life of Pi. :) It's a good job we all have different taste or there'd be nothing to discuss.
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Banned Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Finnegans Wake (other topics)A Passage to India (other topics)
Infinite Jest (other topics)
Frankenstein (other topics)
The Catcher in the Rye (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Tracy Quan (other topics)Francesca Lia Block (other topics)
It was like it was written by a slightly more retarded Stephanie Meyer - Saying, "Oooooooh - Christian Grey!!!" 100 times is not my idea of a good foundation for a book - any more than was "Ooooooh - Edward Cullen"