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The premise of the story is intriguing but that's the only interesting thing. The story is a completely let down. I hated the unbelievable scene in the middle with the boyfriend and the ending wasn't satisfying at all.
I think this has to be one of the top hated books. I wanted to quit reading after the unbelievable scene with the boyfriend, but for reason, kept reading. I wish I would have stopped. Heck, I wish I had never wasted my time reading it.
A Voyage to Arcturus I was unable to finish as it was too weird for me. Upside, or downside, of its weirdness is I do remember it.
Of books I finished I really disliked Gateway by Fred Pohl even though it's apparently beloved in the genre.
Outside SF/F A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I almost forgot how much that book annoyed me. That might be my least favorite book among ones I've finished, ahead of even that Pohl book. Of literary books I failed to finish I'm not sure.
Last edited by Thomas R.; 10-11-2009 at 12:21 AM..
Reason: forgot the most obvious.
I owe a lot to James Fenimore Cooper. He is the author who taught me that there are so many good books in the world that I don't need to finish every bad book I start.
Among books I read all the way to the end, mainly for my book group, I would list as outstandingly bad:
Death Comes for the Archbishop--Willa Cather
Zorro--Isabel Allende
The Golden Bowl--Henry James
The Good Soldier--Ford Madox Ford.
I loved TTTW, but I read it years before the hype.
Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code was like reading a comic book without the pictures.
The Red Tent was written as if for fifth graders, and almost all of the male characters were one dimensional.
LOL
I've just had to read The Red Tent - it was awful. Like being given a gigantic overdose of oestrogen.
A conveyor belt of childbirth and menstruation and like pulling teeth to read - every other page was about someone giving birth, wanting to give birth, being jealous because someone else had given birth, wanting to get their period, getting their period etc etc etc
I could not find a single character in the book that I really related to or liked (not even the narrator) and found myself having to constantly refer back to the "family tree" at the front of the book to try and keep up with who was whose cousin/aunt/uncle/brother whatever - whilst all the time not really caring anyway
A mention of Tom Wolfe in another thread reminded me that the worst book I've read in a long time is his I Am Charlotte Simmons. It was really terrible--which I suppose is to be expected when a 70ish effete writer attempts a narrative about modern university life.
LOL!!! So true
I agree - I loved The Bonfire Of The Vanities and decided to read I Am Charlotte Simmons on the strength of it - big mistake - it was terrible.
I took THE RED TENT out of the library, never got to it. I didn't like page 1 and had better books to read.
I can't recall the worst book I ever read because like many of you, I just won't finish it if I don't like it!
As an English major I was exposed to a lot of writer but I am still not a Hemmingway fan. I suppose his writing has it's merits but I will not sit down and ever say "Wow, let me read some Hemmingway" for enjoyment. I can't get into his writing, his characters...maybe it is 'too sparse?'
Stephen King's "Under the Dome" was lousy. I couldn't wait to dive into that book. It started off fine and was very promising. About 100 pages in all I could think was, "I have 1000 more pages of this crap."
I also king Cormac McCarthy hard to read. I enjoyed "No Country for Old Men" and immediately ordered "Suttree." I can't read it. He takes 3 pages to say what he could have said in one.
I also don't get the appeal people have for Nicholas Sparks books. I can't read that fluff.
I hated "The Lovely Bones" and also find Jodi Piccoult way overrated.
And I can't recall his name now, but whomever wrote "The Bridges of Madison County" should be barred from ever picking up a pen again.
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