Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm always sorely disappointed by over hyped books that end up being horrible. most recent example is "Twilight". horribly written, cardboard "Mary Sue" and "Gary Stu" characters, and the main female character is the whiniest, worst protagonist on earth. and people have the gall to compare it to "Harry Potter"? it's no better than a drugstore Harlequin, bodice ripper romance but w/o the actual bodice ripping
I also hate the author blurbs on the back of most books. I picked up "The Ruins" by Scott Smith b/c Stephen King, who I love, gave it such rave reviews on the back of the book and i'd heard great things about his other book "A Simple Plan" (and I really liked that movie too). "The Ruins" was HORRIBLE! I literally threw the book across the room and wanted to rip it apart, but remembered it was a library book so didn't. I learned never to go by back-of-the-book reviews ever again after that book
worst book I've ever read? a few years ago, someone recommended a YA fantasy book to me called "The Prophecy of the Stones" by a French teen named Flava Bujor(sp). apparently, she was published at like 13 or something, got a lot of hype in France and was interviewed on the Today Show. the book was a jumbled mess of cliches, from the ridiculously cliched girls (the haughty princess, the aloof brainiac, the sweet peasant girl, all of them gorgeous BTW) to the Armies of Light and Darkness (gee, why not just called the the Armies of Good Guys and Bad Guys?), to the horrible amnesiac guy who was literally called the Chosen One. blah. the fact that it was translated from French and written by a teen gives it no excuse for it to be so horrific! I've read better fanfic!
oh, and for the most part, I try not to touch romance novels and cookie cutter thrillers. I just have this feeling that I know I've be disappointed w/ them
funny! This makes me think of an interesting point: there are plenty of terrible books out there (think Harlequin, etc.). But what books are over-hyped (either well reviewed or selling well or just receiving a lot of buzz). I think that is probably the right way to think about this.
funny! This makes me think of an interesting point: there are plenty of terrible books out there (think Harlequin, etc.). But what books are over-hyped (either well reviewed or selling well or just receiving a lot of buzz). I think that is probably the right way to think about this.
I agree. And part of what makes them "bad" as opposed to "ah, okay" is that there is an expectation.
I had to look up the name of the book I think was the worst I ever read. This is because it was so upsetting that I had repressed the name.
I try to read at least 30 pages of a book before deciding against it. With this one I could not, because it involved, let's say, "mistreatment" of a helpless animal.
Around this time I had read or heard from someone, "if you've decided not to finish a book, at least read the end". So, with this one, I did just that and it ended with more torture of the animal. What was I thinking?
The name of this awful book is Bliss. I don't remember the author. I had read a brief review that mentioned none of this. Wish I had not come across that review and/or had never even opened the book.
Location: Living near our Nation's Capitol since 2010
2,218 posts, read 3,453,491 times
Reputation: 6035
What a great thread! We all have such different takes on things.
I personally loved Pillars of the Earth (Follett) and its sequel (World Without End). I disliked Time Travelers Wife...I just didnt get into it. Ditto all of Dan Brown's books..I tried, really.
Nicholas Sparks books just do not do it for me. so formula!
Nix on Toni Morrison but thumbs up for Steven King.
Happy reading, we all can find things we just love...often.
I know I may be raked over the coals for this - but I was hard pressed to enjoy those Lord of the Rings books. They were required reading in School for a class I was in and my goodness... When not in the right mind-set - good luck with those. In the right setting they are fine, and like reading Harry Potter so detailed and imaginative.
So what would be the worst book I've ever read? I don't recall the name of it, the thing a big book that contained every victum of 9/11, thier name and a small bio. I just was devistated reading it.
I read. I read a lot! The worst book I've ever read is one I've recently finished (I'm stubborn like that). It was called "Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking", by Aoibheann Sweeney.
I had to read 'The Hobbit' for an English class back in high school. Not a fan of fantasy here. Ugh. Writhed in discomfort through the whole thing.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
