Current Events > What's a book you didn't like?

(+) Yeah! (+)

For any reason, assuming you made an effort to read it.

I tried reading Jordan Petersons 12 Rules and while the content (until I gave up reading it) wasnt terribly offensive, hes such a fucking weird writer. The religious allusions were just bizarre and Im not entirely surprised hes gone off the deep end since.

What about you?

Ender's Game

I couldn't get into Little Women.

The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye and The Old Man and the Sea are all books that I simply dont get the hype for.

I couldn't find it in me to like any of the Harry Potter books as a kid. Legit tried to read the first 3 and just couldn't. Ended up just looking up the story online so I could keep up with friends lol

MacadamianNut3 posted...

Ender's Game

Really? I love the main quartet. Like, in the discussion of favorite series

The Scarlet Letter

Seriously calm down and get to the point.

I was absolutely hooked on Harry Potter back then. I could read book 1 in 1 sitting.

Interview With the Vampire sucks as a book. It's all narration by Louis and there are barely any chapter breaks. You're forced to take breaks mid conversation every time.

I'm like 25 pages into A Clockwork Orange and I am not liking the dialect of the book. F***ing hard to follow and I've seen that movie like 3 times at least. My only saving grace is that I SORTA know what's happening due to remembering the movie, kind of.

The Metamorphsis
The Scarlet Letter
The Stranger

These are what I call the unholy trinity of fictional literature.

First book of The Dark Tower. I don't know, it just didn't grasp me. I read the whole thing and I was just bored by the end.

_____Cait posted...

The Scarlet Letter

Nevermind I change my answer to this

I'll probably like Ender's Game on a second attempt. The Scarlet Letter is forever ass tho

Most of the ones they made us read in school for English class.

tommybel89 posted...

Interview With the Vampire sucks as a book. It's all narration by Louis and there are barely any chapter breaks. You're forced to take breaks mid conversation every time.

I'm like 25 pages into A Clockwork Orange and I am not liking the dialect of the book. F***ing hard to follow and I've seen that movie like 3 times at least. My only saving grace is that I SORTA know what's happening due to remembering the movie, kind of.

I love Interview with the Vampire.

While I wouldn't say I dislike it, I was pretty meh on Wheel of Time until the last few books. Too slow and too much just not happening for my taste.

The Agony and the Ecstasy.

Came into the topic to say Scarlet Letter.

Had to read it in high school, couldn't understand a single thing that was going on. I actually gave up on it midway through and decided to take the F on the essay we would have to do on it.

Apparently my teacher, after reading through a few of the essays, decided to give us a free pass and not grade the essay because the ones she read were bad. The class immediately sighed in relief. I like to assume my essay was one of the ones she read, because it would mean my laziness and stupidity saved my fellow classmates.

LordOfTheCats posted...

Came into the topic to say Scarlet Letter.

I knew someone would say that.
It always comes up in these discussions.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great author.
I suppose I wish School pushed The House of The Seven Gables, more.
Chippings With a Chisel, is amazing as well.

Glad to see more Scarlet Letter hate.

Seriously, the book has a good premise that is relevant even today. It is written like someone was trying to meet a quota of so many words per chapter. And none of it is interesting.

-ultra flowery language
-descriptions that go on for too long, which is ironic since the book seems to shun labels
-even when you understand what is going on, it isnt interesting, and you realize that it is base level dont judge stuff.

Considering that nobody was educated enough when this book came out to understand it, I wonder how it became so popular. My theory, as a teacher, is that it is a running joke English teachers use to find where the bar for their class in reading comprehension is.

ForsakenHermit posted...

The Metamorphsis
The Scarlet Letter
The Stranger

These are what I call the unholy trinity of fictional literature.

Why didnt you like The Stranger?

The Bridges of Madison County. It's offensively boring and pretentious. Maybe the movie isn't bad (never seen it), but the book is a pile of shit. Also involves a woman cheating on her husband, not because he's a bad husband but because she's bored and the opportunity to bang a stranger conveniently presented itself while her husband was away, then her kids find some letters where she brags about her affair, and instead of getting upset that she cheated on their dad for no reason, they're like, "Awww... so romantic! "

I wouldn't have made it to the end if it weren't such a short read, and even with it being one of the shortest books I ever read, I still consider it to have been a massive waste of time.

Well there's another topic about it right now (Catcher in the Rye) lol.

There is another one I didn't like though, and it's even from an author I do like: Stephen King's "Insomnia". It certainly made me feel anything but that lol.

AloneIBreak posted...

Why didnt you like The Stranger?

Partly because my teacher hyped it up as a classic of existentialism but I found the book to be a nihilistic waste of time.

Unlike the other two at least it was brief and didn't squander any potential.

i remember school trying to make me read a YA book and i had to stop after a few chapters cause it was so boring

i think it was about a teenage girl who found her mirror led to another world with vampires in it, not Twilight, but probably would have continued in a similar vein
no idea what the name was, no interest in knowing

i believe the main character had the same name as a LoTR character, cause that coincidence was brought up

Best Served Cold

I liked the First Law trilogy, so I tried reading that but I couldnt finish it. I hated Monza, ended up hating Shivers(and Monza more as a result) and couldnt tolerate reading more of their story.

MacadamianNut3 posted...

Ender's Game

One of my favorite books, but to each their own

Books I didn't like:
Tuesdays With Morrie
Slaughterhouse 5
The Catcher in the Rye
The Stormlight Archive (I think I got through 1 and a half books before I tapped out.)

Any given college-level math text book.
"Here's something we didn't bother to explain. Good fucking luck on the test tomorrow."

itcheyness posted...

The Stormlight Archive (I think I got through 1 and a half books before I tapped out.)

How come? I'm going to guess Shallan(dunno why, but people often say they hate her chapters.).

Wedge_Antilles posted...

While I wouldn't say I dislike it, I was pretty meh on Wheel of Time until the last few books. Too slow and too much just not happening for my taste.

That's a common complaint with that series.

Z for Zachariah. Had to read in school. Pure trash.

Brandon Sandersons books, while i do like them, mainly for the worldbuilding
they tend to have good starts and really good endings, but the middles can get a bit meh

You know, I'm having a hard time thinking of a book that I genuinely disliked.

Most of what we read in school was okay, and the books I read for fun were obviously stuff I'd like to begin with.

uwnim posted...

How come? I'm going to guess Shallan(dunno why, but people often say they hate her chapters.).

It was actually Kaladin that I couldn't stand.

Now I never finished it so it could have gotten better, but my vote goes to

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams.

I loved A Tailchaser's song by Tad Williams, and heard this series was good too, but a bit slow to start so I gave it a try. Seriously slow doesnt cover it I mean I was like 300+ pages in and the main character had only been cleaning and describing the castle, and a describing few characters, but mostly cleaning so I gave up. I had another person that can read big books in a day try and they got bored too from all the cleaning. It could get really good soon after I just sadly couldnt force myself to finish the book to know.

Inb4 the good book

Bag of Bones Stephen King

It seems like it could be interesting, but despite multiple attempts no luck.

I loved Catcher, or really anything in the Salingerverse, even on re-reading in my 20s and 30s.
Only got about halfway through On The Road before giving up. Could not relate at all.
Could barely scratch The Master and Margarita.
Not a fan of John Steinbeck.
Stopped reading Neal Stephenson books once I realized he has trouble with endings.

Of Mice and Men

Very slow and dull.

R1masher posted...

Inb4 the good book

The Brothers Karamazov?

R1masher posted...

Inb4 the good book

A.C. Grayling is a pompous blowhard.

Red Badge of Courage
The Ordeal of Mansart

Two ostensible classics that I just could not get into.

Mistere_Man posted...

Now I never finished it so it could have gotten better, but my vote goes to

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams.

I loved A Tailchaser's song by Tad Williams, and heard this series was good too, but a bit slow to start so I gave it a try. Seriously slow doesnt cover it I mean I was like 300+ pages in and the main character had only been cleaning and describing the castle, and a describing few characters, but mostly cleaning so I gave up. I had another person that can read big books in a day try and they got bored too from all the cleaning. It could get really good soon after I just sadly couldnt force myself to finish the book to know.

I like War of Flowers. The MC is insufferable through the first third of it.

I disagree on Memory, sorrow and thorn. Give it a chance. I read it before I read A song and ice and fire and the similarities are glaring. Tads came first

Now on to the topic. The Terror. I tried 3 times, id get 70 pages in and put it down. The show came around few years ago and finally was able to finish the story

vycebrand2 posted...

I like War of Flowers. The MC is insufferable through the first third of it.

I disagree on Memory, sorrow and thorn. Give it a chance. I read it before I read A song and ice and fire and the similarities are glaring. Tads came first

Now on to the topic. The Terror. I tried 3 times, id get 70 pages in and put it down. The show came around few years ago and finally was able to finish the story

I have heard great things about the series, and I often want to give it another chance honestly. Maybe I can find a books on tape version so I can just listen while I do other things to help get passed the slow start.

Giacomo_Hawkins posted...

Red Badge of Courage

Now this is one of my favorite books and we're gonna have to fight probably

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I like the story but did not like the experience of reading it. I like the movie more.

Of books I've read recently it would be A Confederacy of Dunces. Of all time it would either be Ulysses or Infinite Jest.