Subject: Worst Book Ever
Posted by: Legola12
Date: Apr 12 04
What is the worst book you have ever read?
I have read two- "Silas Marner" (sorry if I'm offending you if you liked it. I thought it was so weird) and that children's book "The Giving Tree". I about cried when I read that one. If you've never heard of it, you're blessed.
Your thoughts??
Posted by: Legola12
Date: Apr 12 04
What is the worst book you have ever read?
I have read two- "Silas Marner" (sorry if I'm offending you if you liked it. I thought it was so weird) and that children's book "The Giving Tree". I about cried when I read that one. If you've never heard of it, you're blessed.
Your thoughts??
285 replies. On page 14 of 15 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
daver852 
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I always enjoy Mark Twain's comments on Jane Austen: "Jane Austen's books, too, are absent from this library. Just that one omission alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it." And: "I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone." He also said that he frequently re-read Austen's novels just so he could have the pleasure of hating them again. Reply #261. Mar 03 15, 4:19 PM |
Skyflyerjen
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Basically, most of the books I had to read in school like “Great Expectations” anything by Shakespeare, etc. "Maximum Ride: The Final Warning" was terrible because James Patterson took his beloved characters and twisted them to attempt to send a message. It’s sad because I enjoyed the other books before that so much. Reply #262. Mar 07 15, 10:44 AM |
Stacylove
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Wuthering heights...weirdest book ever...I thought! I read and read and read through this disaster hoping for the good part but it never came! Reply #263. Mar 22 15, 5:10 PM |
slfcpd
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Got to agree that Moby d*** (the one about the whale) was just awful. It went on forever. The book I had the most trouble with and the only one I couldn't finish was Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. That was just an exercise in frustration, obviously written for better minds than mine. I'd be interested to talk to someone who has actually read it. Reply #264. Jul 03 15, 6:02 AM |
boxjaw
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One of those rare times where a film is better than the book. Mary Shelley's - "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus". I'll take just about any film version over this very dated piece of literature. I love when someone says that so many of the films don't follow this book. No joke. It's a tepid read. Reply #265. Jul 08 15, 12:18 PM |
rosifer
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I have finally managed to finish 'Mansfield Park' and think Jane Austen must have been as fed up with it as I was. She actually wrote "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery" and then gave a precis of what would have happened if she could have been bothered to write it. Reply #266. Jul 18 15, 9:41 AM |
Mixamatosis
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I can't think of just one book but the books I hate most are those where the writer is just a poor writer and the style therefore irritates. Also where you can see the cogs moving and feel you are being deliberately manipulated emotionally as if the person did not put any real effort into it but just trades on on certain simplistic emotional strings and gimmicks for effect and to get the money rolling in. I have to say that a lot of modern blockbusters fit this model. Dan Browne's books for instance. I read "The Da Vinci Code" but I thought it was irritatingly bad and I never read another of his books. I don't think I could read any more J.K Rowling or Ken Follett for the same reason but there are loads of others. The size of modern novels seem to be in inverse proportion to their quality. Reply #267. Jul 21 15, 4:05 AM |
| boxjaw
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I love this scene from "Animal House" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeZqW6eqK2M Reply #268. Jul 23 15, 9:25 AM |
Coriolanus
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Ulysses by James Joyce. I've tried more than once to get through it, and the furthest I've made it was to page 26. Reply #269. Jul 25 15, 7:03 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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I don't know whether it's the worst book ever (not having read every book) but I didn't enjoy "Orlando" by Virginia Wolf. It seemed to ramble on without a point and I was bored by it. I kept reading convinced it there would be a point to it at some stage but there never was. I've also seen the film and though it's good to look at, and there's some interesting music, I still found it a rather pointless. Reply #270. Jul 26 15, 3:44 PM |
jolana
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I remember reading "Jamaica Inn" when I was about 15. I loved it and I imagined myself going with an unknown but attractive man into the middle of nowhere. Now I re-read it in my age of 53 - well, I didn´t know if to laugh or bang my head against the table.:) Reply #271. Aug 11 15, 2:31 PM |
Mommakat
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Personally I dislike books by James Michener. I have tried to read a couple of them but they are so long winded with descriptions that fill half the book before you even get to the story. Reply #272. Aug 12 15, 12:02 AM |
elmo7
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I also tried and failed to read Ulysses. I don't really understand why it's so highly rated by English scholars. I couldn't understand a word of it. There is a story, more of a legend because I don't think it really happened: but it is said by some that Joyce went on record as saying "It took me 17 years to write it, and it's gonna take all of you 17 years to read it!" Reply #273. Aug 29 15, 7:41 PM |
Jakeroo
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I think many folks learned to hate the things they were forced to read in school. I found Orwell and Ayn Rand boring. lord of the flies was just plain creepy. I also disliked the three Shakespeare plays that were required reading. And while "Grapes of wrath" (required in grade 10) was highly depressing, it inspired me to read his other books, which led to other novels of a similar genre, for instance W.O. Mitchell, Rawlings "the Yearling" etc. Reply #274. Aug 29 15, 8:29 PM |
hekawi
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I see it's been said a couple of times already, but I will add to it. One of the worst books I've read is Wuthering Heights. Always heard it was sure a great romantic story. All I saw was blatant child abuse. I read the entire book waiting for the "classic" to kick in. Reply #275. Feb 22 17, 7:39 PM |
Gil_Galad
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This thread is definitely the most interesting and funny one in the literature section. It's just another confirmation of how people have such different tastes. One thing I can say about the majority of books written in the 18th and 19th century (the classics) is that they feel dated, on more than one level. Most writers have a view of the world and humans that feels very dated, almost comical nowadays, and of course that shows on their characters. Books written and set in Victorian England are notorious when it comes to this, because the mid-upper class protagonists often consider everyone else beneath them, poor simpletons and the like. Maybe they were original and revolutionary when they were first published, but those books feel cliche or run-of-the-mill by today's standards. But since I usually read fantasy books, I'm gonna pick the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind as the very worst. The first book is actually good, the few immediate sequels are moderate, but from the sixth book and afterwards it's insufferable. The sheer amount of rants in "Faith of the Fallen" would make even Ayn Rand blush. Every other sentence is either repetitive preaching about how the bad guys and their beliefs are evil or a hymn to how Richard (the protagonist) is perfect and utterly amazing. We get it Terry Goodkind, you don't need to repeat it six times in a single page. Reply #276. Feb 26 17, 7:07 PM |
| Mixamatosis
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Unlike some others, I don't hate the books I was "forced to read in school". I did hate Wordsworth at the time (age 16) but I forced myself to find good things to say about his work when writing my exams as I thought saying how much I disliked his poems would just get me low marks. I was therefore praised his work and I got the highest grade in English Literature "O" level. After that Wordsworth went up in my estimation. I learned to appreciate his poetry a bit more. I loved Shakespeare, didn't really rate Jane Austen but appreciate her writing now. We also studied "Animal Farm" by George Orwell which I liked and "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene. I wasn't too keen on that at first but grew to love Graham Greene's writing. We also did "Far From the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy, which I loved. Another great thing I remember was being taken by the school to see films and plays of the books we were studying. We went to see Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet"; Ian McKellen as Hamlet, Dr Faustus with Eric Porter and Helen Mirren, and I also saw the 1960s film of "Far from The Madding Crowd" with Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terrence Stamp. Brilliant adaptions all. It's good that school exposes children to literature they might not otherwise read. People's tastes can develop through such exposure. Reply #277. Feb 27 17, 6:41 AM |
| Mixamatosis
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Oops. I missed some typos above - didn't have my glasses on. I'm getting a bit old and decrepit now. Reply #278. Feb 27 17, 6:43 AM |
heidi66
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I did read "A Different Class of Murder" by Laura Thompson. It is about the Lucan case. It lacked neutrality. Before reading that book I hadn't much knowledge of the case. While reading the book I wondered why the author was that sure that he was innocent and her obvious dislike of Lady Lucan. Which lead to the result that I'm now of the opinion that Lucan really killed the poor girl. Reply #279. Feb 27 17, 9:08 AM |
JonPunk
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For all the popularity of the book - To Kill a Mockingbird .... I read ( or rather re-read - we had it at school in the 1970's ), I didn't find the style of writing actually very good . I did think it was vastly over rated . Not saying its awful or anything , but I was disappointed. Didn't seem anything like it did when I read it as a kid . If a book is really bad , I generally lose interest and don't finish it . I tried a James Patterson book once and gave up very early ...again the style I didn't like . Reply #280. Apr 01 17, 12:32 PM |
285 replies. On page 14 of 15 pages. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
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