Heather in Neverland Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) Mine was a tie between The Lost Symbol (seriously, it is time for Dan Brown to retire from writing), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (zzzzzz....) and the Southern Vampire books by Charlaine Harris (just terrible in so many ways...whoever said these were better than the Twilight books has been smoking something :tongue_smilie:). Edited December 22, 2009 by Heather in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I dunno 'cause I only last a few pages into a terrible book! There are too many books I really want to read, to get far into ones that don't grab me. I enjoyed all of our read alouds except that I didn't enjoy Sophie's World as much as I thought I would, and I wanted to stop it half way through, but the kids insisted I keep reading to the very end. I hope they don't find out there is a sequel :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Pursuit of Happyness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Shack Hands down. No question. (And I'm actually not even talking about the theology.) :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox. I loved his Lucky Man, so I'd expected to enjoy this one too. Touched By a Vampire: Discovering the Hidden Messages in the Twilight Series by Beth Felker Jones. She must have known someone big at the publishing company. And they should have lost their job over this. Glenn Beck's The Christmas Sweater. I'm in love with Glenn...just not his fiction. Saving Alice by David Lewis (husband of Christian author Beverly Lewis). I liked reliving the "good books" thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Shack Hands down. No question. (And I'm actually not even talking about the theology.) :D :iagree: Hey, that's mine too. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I can't even remember the title, it was that boring. :lol: It was by Anthone Trollope. I think the title was Barchester Tower, does that sound right? Many people like this book but I found it just plain boring. I didn't even finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) I dunno 'cause I only last a few pages into a terrible book! There are too many books I really want to read, to get far into ones that don't grab me. This is me. I didn't finish: Baudelaire by Umberto Eco, The Call by John Hersey, The Complete Works of Emily Dickenson. I quit each of them about halfway through. They weren't horrible just tedious and I wasn't interested in finishing them. I like some of the works by these authors. I was disappointed in some of the mysteries I tried out because they were so mediocre or just plain stupid- I can't remember which ones they were. March by Geraldine Brook was not as good as I thought it would be. I also did not care for the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I would not read it to a young child. I did finally finish Artemis Fowl, after two previous attempts. My boys love this book, so I made myself read it. P.S. I am so glad I had a head's up about The Shack, it was on my list, I think I'll pass. Edited December 22, 2009 by Virginia Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I have three from the mindless escapist genre: She Shoots to Conquer by Dorothy Cannell. Loved the first books in her series, but this was unreadable. Beach House and When the Wind Blows by James Patterson. I enjoyed his Alex Cross novels, although they aren't exactly great literature. But these two were just terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Country Mama Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Julie and Julia.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Wicked. From all I'd heard about it I was really excited to read it but I couldn't get past the first chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Well, four actually. Should've stopped after the first, but they were for my book club: Black, Red, White and Green by Ted Dekker...strange thing is that I liked Black a lot, couldn't put Red and White down, then Green came along, "tied up all the loose ends" (in Dekker's mind, that is) and spoiled all of the books for me. Vampires do NOT belong in Christian fiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Vampires do NOT belong in Christian fiction. :lol::lol::lol: I have tears running down my face! That is one of the best quotes ever!!! :lol:! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I'm embarrassed not to have enjoyed it... Moby Dick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS_ Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Shack Hands down. No question. (And I'm actually not even talking about the theology.) :D This would be my vote, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Julie and Julia.... I did NOT like this book either!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Hated Moby Dick, hated Wicked. But for this year, I hated Water for Elephants. Was so excited to read it as it was recommended on this board. It was just nasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Sound & the Fury ~ Faulkner I read the "corrected" version and I wonder if that was the problem. There was no ending, it was just amputated mid story. Help Your Child Excel in Math ~ Berge & Gibbons Patronizing, these folks do not believe that parents can teach their kids. There was some good stuff in there, but I ended up blinded with irritation after so many "check with your child's teacher"s. And the levels were absurd. Don't count to ten till first grade?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Sound & the Fury ~ Faulkner I read the "corrected" version and I wonder if that was the problem. There was no ending, it was just amputated mid story. I haven't read Faulkner since college, but if I remember correctly, amputating mid-story is par for the course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eight_gregorys Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 :iagree: Hey, that's mine too. :D I absolutely agree. This is the worst book I've read all year. The tragedy in this book had me crying for days. I know all books aren't supposed to be "happy" books, but if I want to read about crap like this, I'll pick up a newspaper. A friend told me this book was a must read. "It's fabulous," she said. I have a lot of words for this book, but fabulous is not one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 If a book stinks then I don't keep going so I can't vote on worst book I've read this year. However, I'll vote for my DH who read The Irregulars by Roald Dahl. It was about Roald's time in Washington being a spy during WWII but there was no adventure or espionage or anything exciting. DH said it was just a bunch of people going to parties and chatting. He keeps trying to get me to read it so I would know how boring it was too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 This may make me the worst homeschooling mom ever, but, I hated Moby Dick so much I couldn't make my dd15 read it for her Lightning Lit class. We skipped it. I was trying so hard to get through that book, but, I just couldn't do it. I also didn't like the Shack! So glad I'm not the only one since everyone else I know gave it such rave reviews. Again, I couldn't get through it eventhough I tried. Several times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Road. Dark and nihilistic. Dayle, laughing over Moby Dick. Right there with you. Take comfort in the fact the SWB couldn't get through it either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 (edited) The Pursuit of Happyness. :iagree: That one was a real disappointment to me as well. I really wanted to like that character after watching the movie--but the further I got in the book, I realized he wasn't the hero I thought he was. I have to vote for, Ritalin Is Not The Answer--it was recommended by a doctor, and it was the the most insulting book I've ever read. I realize that ADD is overdiagnosed, but it made the assumption that poor parenting is to blame for it all. As a parent who worked though issues without medication for a severely ADD child for 11 years, some of the implications in this book made me furious. I should have put in down the minute I realized that was the premise of the book. Edited December 22, 2009 by homeschoolally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Hated Moby Dick :iagree: Moby Dick was the very first book I didn't finish. Until then, I'd slog through no matter how much I disliked a book. That was a turning point in my life. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I haven't read Faulkner since college, but if I remember correctly, amputating mid-story is par for the course. Did he write Mice and Men? I seem to remember loving that book. This one really disappointed me. I made it through the lack of punctuation and capitalization stream of thought chapters, just to have it stop without even explaining anything to the extent where you could say something actually happened. If a book stinks then I don't keep going so I can't vote on worst book I've read this year. However, I'll vote for my DH who read The Irregulars by Roald Dahl. It was about Roald's time in Washington being a spy during WWII but there was no adventure or espionage or anything exciting. DH said it was just a bunch of people going to parties and chatting. He keeps trying to get me to read it so I would know how boring it was too. :lol: I've done that. This book was terrible, you HAVE to read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Did he write Mice and Men? I seem to remember loving that book. This one really disappointed me. I made it through the lack of punctuation and capitalization stream of thought chapters, just to have it stop without even explaining anything to the extent where you could say something actually happened. Mice and Men is by Steinbeck. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I loved The Southern Vampire series, Heather! I think it was me who said they were better than Twilight! :D I also loved Wicked!! The worst book I tried to read this was some Sherlock Holmes book about his assistant. I can't remember the name, but it was recommended here. I hated it. I also hated Change of Heart by Jodi Piccoult. It was awful!!!!!!!!! I will never read another book by her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Survivor's Guide to Home Schooling was a horrible book. Hire a live in housekeeper indeed. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Moby Dick was the very first book I didn't finish. Until then, I'd slog through no matter how much I disliked a book. That was a turning point in my life. :) :lol::lol: So you're saying I should stop feeling guilty about the fact that I recently took it out of the library, read "Call me Ishmael" and a bit more of the first pages a few times, then it lay under the bed for a while, and then I brought it back. :tongue_smilie: I was not encouraged when I flipped ahead and read excerpts, so that didn't help.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 I loved The Southern Vampire series, Heather! I think it was me who said they were better than Twilight! :D . I forgive you and I still love you! :D But honestly, better than Twilight? No way. By the end of book 8 I seriously just did not even CARE who Sookie ends up with any more. Blech. I do feel you on the Picoult books though. I have a read a few of hers and the only one I liked was Second Glance. That book was very good but it does NOT have the courtrrom drama that most of her books have (probably why I liked it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 That one was a real disappointment to me as well. I really wanted to like that character after watching the movie--but the further I got in the book, I realized he wasn't the hero I thought he was. What a bummer. I loved that movie, and Will Smith's character in it. Reality's different, huh? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I would have to agree about the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series books too! Ugh... I got to book 3, didn't finish it, and declared myself done. As for others hating The Shack, I really liked it. Granted there are holes in the theology part, but I thought it gave a great example of God's love, grace, and redemption if we let Him in. It's just a story, and many have tragic stories in their lives, as the main character did. When we let God in, as the story showed, we can begin to heal. That is why I enjoyed it - it was a reminder to rely on Him at all times. I guess I needed that reminder this year, and reading The Shack came at just the right time to nail that home to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I forgive you and I still love you! :D But honestly, better than Twilight? No way. By the end of book 8 I seriously just did not even CARE who Sookie ends up with any more. Blech. I do feel you on the Picoult books though. I have a read a few of hers and the only one I liked was Second Glance. That book was very good but it does NOT have the courtrrom drama that most of her books have (probably why I liked it). YES, better than Twilight. I loved the humor in them. And I love love love Eric. I am definitely Team Eric! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. I loved The Lovely Bones but this one was just awful and depressing. I actually read the whole thing but afterwards wished I hadn't. Just a hint, the first sentence in the book is "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I agree with the PP who said she just doesn't read a book if it's bad--simply not worth the time. :) However, I wanted to mention, for all the Moby Dick non-readers, that the Recorded Books version is GOOD! It makes it possible--and even FUNNY! Really! I didn't anticipate that at all, from my previous attempts to read the thing, but truly, it is full of sly humor. Try the audiobook before you give up entirely. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 YES, better than Twilight. I loved the humor in them. And I love love love Eric. I am definitely Team Eric! Honestly, if I had to choose I'd pick Quinn. But no one beats Edward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 YES, better than Twilight. I loved the humor in them. And I love love love Eric. I am definitely Team Eric! The Sookie Stackhouse books I loved! I wasn't as crazy about True Blood, they seemed to take out all the best parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Mice and Men is by Steinbeck. :001_smile: Ohhh! I was going to get one of his, but the librarian pointed me to Faulkner. Now, who was the author that was also a bull fighter? :lol: Hemmingway! Okay, 'The Sun Also Rises' was one of my bad books this year... I never knew reading too much could lead to mixing authors and works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Sookie Stackhouse books I loved! I wasn't as crazy about True Blood, they seemed to take out all the best parts. Oh my. I watched one clip of True Blood and I thought it was so lame. I will stick with the books! Heck, I might read the whole series again! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thea Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Wicked and On Chesnil Beach by Ian McEwan. I never finished Atonement either. Blech. Love Water for Elephants though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Ultimatum by Matthew Glass. It was SO disappointing as it came recommended by The Economist & it was right up my alley - a novel about political intrigue/global warming. I was all jazzed. The premise is good; the execution is awful. Cardboard characters & cheezy dialogue. Only the negotiator character was brilliantly executed. While Europe Slept by Bruce Bawer. It's about the role of Islam in European society. I wanted to like this book. I really liked the first few chapters and there were some intriguing ideas that he could have explored about how Europe sees immigrants, but the book lost its focus and turned into a rant. The second half is v. weak. His newer book: Surrender is better and covers a lot of the same ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avila Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Another vote for Julie and Julia here. Ugh. The movie clips do not tell the whole story on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeOnTheRanch Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Prairie Tale. Melissa Gilbert's autobiography. I loved Little House as a kid, but I don't think I'll ever be able to watch again. I kept wanting to scream, "TMI! TMI! TMI!" I couldn't put it down, it was like a bad train wreck, but I really wish I hadn't checked it out at the library. SO thankful I didn't plunk down my $$ for it. I think she must have written it as part of her 12-step program or something. Waaaaaay more than I need to know about anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi @ Mt Hope Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Hmmm. I'm usually really picky about what I read, so I don't often have books I hated on my finished stack. Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy was probably the biggest waste of time this year. I kept hoping it would get better/more interesting/have a point. It wasn't awful, but it was an awfully long book to say nothing. I read a few books with very little redeeming value in the romance category, but at least I was entertained. :) I kinda wish I hadn't read Outlander, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I agree with the PP who said she just doesn't read a book if it's bad--simply not worth the time. :) However, I wanted to mention, for all the Moby Dick non-readers, that the Recorded Books version is GOOD! It makes it possible--and even FUNNY! Really! I didn't anticipate that at all, from my previous attempts to read the thing, but truly, it is full of sly humor. Try the audiobook before you give up entirely. :D This is the way it struck me - I laughed a lot while reading it. One of my favorites of all time.:) Worst book? See, that's hard to remember because I stop reading when I start not liking. I put them back in the library bag and never give them another thought. As a general rule, I cannot stand non-fiction books that use one personal history after another to make a point. Skip all the mini-bios, please, and get to the point already.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Friday Night Knitting Club. It's the knitting part that sucked me in. Well, that and the fact that it was a "sale" book on Audible.com. Maybe it was the narrator, but ugh. Yuck. astrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 The Shack Hands down. No question. (And I'm actually not even talking about the theology.) :D A funny about The Shack. Last year, for Christmas, I realized 5 minutes before we were leaving to go to dh's family for Christmas that I didn't have a gift for BIL. He loves to read. Someone had given me The Shack. I hadn't time to read it and I just grabbed it, stuffed it into a bag for him and gave it to him. Well, the more I heard about this book, the more embarrassed I became that I gave it to him. I am afraid to face him this year:001_huh:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Something about a cat in a library - Dewey something? It came highly recommended, but I found it very dull. I read about 6 chapters and decided that I just wasn't going to bother finishing it. Moved onto the Girl with the Pearl Earring instead and thoroughly enjoyed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarawatsonim Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 YES, better than Twilight. I loved the humor in them. And I love love love Eric. I am definitely Team Eric! I loved these books too. I read through the series in a week and a half. I had Amazon dropping off books every other day because our book store didn't have them in stock. I am definitely Team Eric! I really enjoyed Twilight too though, but in a different way. I really couldn't compare them. They both filled different reading needs for me. I'm glad someone else enjoyed them though. I was starting to think I was alone on this one.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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