s/o: Can we do a LEAST favorite book of 2010 thread?

[jld]

I hated the Book Thief.

I made myself finish it, but it was such a waste of my time.

 

Why, Sophia? I'm looking for ammunition to use the next time dd and dh urge me to pick it up, lol!

[Brilliant]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--yuck. Way to graphic for me.

 

 

 

Me, too. I kept waiting for it to get good, but it never did. Just more graphic.

 

I also really disliked All the Pretty Horses. Can I have 2 least favorites of 2010?

[Heather in Neverland]

I forgot about Outlander. Yuck.

[Tammyla]

:iagree: And my m-i-l recommended watching the movie version to entice me to read it...I couldn't watch that movie either.

 

 

I don't know why, but I could NOT get through The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo. So many loved it, just not me!

[Hoggirl]

I made it through Eat, but quit halfway through Pray. Never made it to Love. :lol:

[jazzyfizzle]

Home Another Way.

 

I hate to admit I read it. What a waste of time.

 

 

Now I am going to have to read The Shack LOL, just to see why everyone hated it. :D

[Mom in High Heels]

Dd and dh keep urging me to read The Book Thief, but I think it would be depressing, and I just don't need any more of that in my life . . .

 

This is one of my favorite books I read this year! It's so good! It is depressing in a way, but it also shows hope in a time where things seemed hopeless. Also, I loved Death (who narrates the story). Who knew Death could be funny? You should read it!

 

I hated the Book Thief.

I made myself finish it' date=' but it was such a waste of my time.

 

WHAT??? Noooooo!

 

 

 

Eat, Pray, Love---yuck, yuck. Couldn't finish it, bored me to tears.

 

Yes, I totally agree. Oh, poor me, I'm rich and traveling the world searching for myself. Boo-freaking-hoo.

 

 

The Pillars of the Earth I wanted to like it but couldn't get past 1st 100 pages.

 

 

I read this book twice! I lurve it.

 

 

I couldn't finish Julie & Julia. Ack! What an awful, awful book. There was so much griping and moaning I couldn't finish it. The movie was actually really good, but mostly because of Meryl Streep.

[Nakia]

I made it through Eat, but quit halfway through Pray. Never made it to Love. :lol:

 

Me too, exactly.

[jld]

Hey, I'm looking for ammo against it, remember?:D

[hsbaby]

Well, darn:(. I thought I had my book list for the challenge all ready to go!! Now I have to rethink a lot if them....Eat, Pray, Love, The Book Thief, etc. Darn you all:tongue_smilie:

[Nakia]

Well, darn:(. I thought I had my book list for the challenge all ready to go!! Now I have to rethink a lot if them....Eat, Pray, Love, The Book Thief, etc. Darn you all:tongue_smilie:

 

You should go ahead and try them! Many people love them!!

[Mom-ninja.]

What about Outlander did you all not like? I have two friends telling me to read it.

 

 

Rosie, I think I'm going to say that Augustine was worse. No Kempe. No Augustine. No Kempe. Let's toss a coin.

 

 

Oh, I loved Book Thief so I say give it a go. If you can get the audio version, do!

[OregonNative]

The Necklace: 13 Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives

Seriously the worst book I have ever read! Most of the women are either shallow, immature or selfish. The womens DD's seem to be as well. I would not share a necklace with 13 women that have s*x while wearing it. I would not invite my OB/GYN to join the group during my pap. I would be appalled if my DD whined about other girls wearing it during their wedding because it should only be worn by DD's of the groups members. One character claims she has no REAL jewelry although she owns several thousand dollars worth! One character who is the originator of the group complains because she doesn't get to make ALL the rules-after all, shouldn't she since she started it! This is book that made me want to vomit after I read it-so full of catty, selfish, ridiculous women. BLECH!

 

In 2nd place is: Grooming the Next Generation For Success

I do not care for self-help type books. But, a friend recommended this to me regarding the training of children so............

This book was AWFUL!! It is a complete regurgitation of a typical self-help book. Dani talks a lot about herself in this book and it just gets annoying. Once you've heard the down and out story-you get it. No need to hear it over and over and over. The way she speaks in this book is odd as well-I don't know how to explain it. If you have ever seen part of a live program of her speaking, you would probably be turned off. It's almost like she is possessed and channeling a sleazy car salesman. If you can get this from your library-take a peek at it, but I do not recommend wasting your money to purchase it.

 

 

Other Books I really disliked this year:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Oxygen

The Friday Night Knitting Club

Last Call

Ms. Hempel Chronicles

Edited December 22, 2010 by OregonNative

[Lady Florida.]

What about Outlander did you all not like? I have two friends telling me to read it.

 

 

 

For me, I don't care much for historical fiction (actually I think the historical fiction written for kids is much better than adult HF). I also don't understand why so many women love this Jamie character. I don't care if he's a "product of his time", I still can't excuse his treatment of the protagonist.

 

But mostly the reason I don't like it is that I didn't find it to be an interesting story. It was just plain boring (even though it has a lot of action). Also, I don't think the characters have much depth - the author doesn't make me care about them.

[LibraryLover]

This is not easy! As new fiction, I really enjoyed Eternal on the Water this year. I think it's such a pretty read...if a little maudlin. It's lyrical. I liked that. But I also enjoyed Finding Salvation at the Dairy Queen, and I Want to be Left Behind.

 

New non-fic I guess would be Farm City by Novella Carpenter

[LaissezFaire]

The Shack was my worst of the year but I didn't totally finish it. Next would be Running with Scissors but I didn't finish it either. I don't have a problem not finishing books that I am not enjoying. Some of my favorite books are in this thread. LOL!

 

The Book Thief is probably my favorite for the year and Outlander is one of my favorite all time. I think this thread just shows how different personalities gravitate towards different types of books. I love that. I do have to disagree that the Outlander Characters have no depth. There are some people who fiercely care about them, then again they have been reading about them for about 6,000 pages so maybe more of the character development comes gradually throughout the series.

[MIch elle]

"Freedom" which is on all the book lists this year. I gave up about 1/3 the way through.

 

I think I'll give up on "Outlander" too.

[Stacia]

This is one of my favorite books I read this year! It's so good! It is depressing in a way, but it also shows hope in a time where things seemed hopeless. Also, I loved Death (who narrates the story). Who knew Death could be funny? You should read it!

 

If you like Death being a character (and being funny), you should check out some of Terry Pratchett's books. (Pratchett is a fantasy writer & his books are totally different from The Book Thief). In some of Pratchett's books, Death shows up as a character -- and he is hilarious. Hogfather is a great one. (In it, Death is filling in for the Hogfather [aka Santa] because the Hogfather has disappeared/is on a hit list. Death is very literal & makes a very funny Hogfather. Plus, he is fascinated by humans in much the same way that Mr. Weasley is fascinated by muggles in the HP books. :lol:)

 

Well, darn:(. I thought I had my book list for the challenge all ready to go!! Now I have to rethink a lot if them....Eat, Pray, Love, The Book Thief, etc. Darn you all:tongue_smilie:

 

I loved both of those books. I think they're definitely worth your time to read. :001_smile: The Book Thief was wonderful & touching (& I bawled); Eat, Pray, Love was an upbeat, happy travel book, imo & I sat there w/ a smile on my face while I read most of it.

[Robin M]

I tried to read "Wicked" this year and couldn't get past the first chapter. So, I didn't really read it . . . does that still count.:D

 

I read this one and thoroughly hated it. Felt bad because I had purchased the other books by the same for christmas gifts for family before I read it. *facepalm*

 

The Hunger Games. I know people love this series, but I couldn't even get through the first book. Didn't like it at. all.

 

I can't get past the premise, so never picked it up

 

 

I'll throw it out there than I liked Outlander. I'm not a big fan of historical fiction but some resonate with me. It was one of those books that when you are finished, you don't want it to be finished. KWIM. But I also liked War and Peace and The Forgotten Legion.

[Mom in High Heels]

Well, darn:(. I thought I had my book list for the challenge all ready to go!! Now I have to rethink a lot if them....Eat, Pray, Love, The Book Thief, etc. Darn you all:tongue_smilie:

 

No, no, you MUST read The Book Thief. It's really, really good. You will cry (unless you are a robot or dead inside), but it is just such an amazing story.

 

What about Outlander did you all not like? I have two friends telling me to read it.

 

OMG, where to begin? I hated the characters. Actually I didn't. I didn't care enough to hate them. They were just....there. Also, the Forrest Gumping their way through historical events really bothered me. How much traveling could they do to land in so many historical events? I actually read the first 3 books just hoping it would get better. It did not and I will never get that time back.

 

 

Oh, I loved Book Thief so I say give it a go. If you can get the audio version, do!

The Book Thief was wonderful & touching (& I bawled).

 

 

See hsbaby! Other people like it too!

 

If you like Death being a character (and being funny), you should check out some of Terry Pratchett's books. (Pratchett is a fantasy writer & his books are totally different from The Book Thief). In some of Pratchett's books, Death shows up as a character -- and he is hilarious. Hogfather is a great one. (In it, Death is filling in for the Hogfather [aka Santa] because the Hogfather has disappeared/is on a hit list. Death is very literal & makes a very funny Hogfather. Plus, he is fascinated by humans in much the same way that Mr. Weasley is fascinated by muggles in the HP books. :lol:)

 

I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation! I have to say, the Mr. Weasley/Muggle reference is what really convinced me. :lol:

[Rosie_0801]

Rosie, I think I'm going to say that Augustine was worse. No Kempe. No Augustine. No Kempe. Let's toss a coin.

 

 

Tricky isn't it? I think Kempe was worse. Augustine is just a whiny mamma's boy. Poor Margery must have had a deity sized headache for most of her life, with all that weeping and the introduction describing her post natal depression terrified me!

 

Rosie

[Jenny in GA]

What about Outlander did you all not like? I have two friends telling me to read it.

 

 

 

I thought it was boring and slow-moving. I was amazed how many people said, "I could not put this book down!" I had to force myself to get through it (until I finally quit).

 

I was very disappointed in the way the time travel was hardly addressed. I was looking forward to that in a way that "Star Trek" kind of shows -- or heck, even "Back to the Future" -- might have handled it.

 

I had originally hoped that maybe there would be "back and forth" with the time travel, or at the very least that it would spend time addressing what time travel was like, or how Claire adapted to it, or her thoughts and observations about the huge difference in lifestyle. It felt like the author just needed a way to "stick" Claire somewhere that she could run around with Jamie, and then there was no reason to care anymore.

 

Along those lines, I found it disappointing -- and a little insulting -- that we as readers never saw what Frank was doing, and how quickly he seemed to be forgotten by both the author and Claire. I kept wondering how he was handling his wife's disappearance. I felt bad for the guy.

 

When I read on reviews that there were "torture scenes" at the end of the book, I decided I'd had enough.

[Jenny in GA]

I made it through Eat, but quit halfway through Pray. Never made it to Love. :lol:

 

Me too! :001_smile:

[Heather in Neverland]

I thought it was boring and slow-moving. I was amazed how many people said, "I could not put this book down!" I had to force myself to get through it (until I finally quit).

 

I was very disappointed in the way the time travel was hardly addressed. I was looking forward to that in a way that "Star Trek" kind of shows -- or heck, even "Back to the Future" -- might have handled it.

 

I had originally hoped that maybe there would be "back and forth" with the time travel, or at the very least that it would spend time addressing what time travel was like, or how Claire adapted to it, or her thoughts and observations about the huge difference in lifestyle. It felt like the author just needed a way to "stick" Claire somewhere that she could run around with Jamie, and then there was no reason to care anymore.

 

Along those lines, I found it disappointing -- and a little insulting -- that we as readers never saw what Frank was doing, and how quickly he seemed to be forgotten by both the author and Claire. I kept wondering how he was handling his wife's disappearance. I felt bad for the guy.

 

When I read on reviews that there were "torture scenes" at the end of the book, I decided I'd had enough.

 

All this and more! It could have been about 300 pages shorter... after reading through the torture scenes I think the author needs therapy.

[Nakia]

I love love love love Outlander!! Actually I love the entire series. I think I will read Outlander again for my number one book of 2011!!! :D

[Allearia]

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. I liked her other two books but this one was just disturbing and weird. And I generally don't have a problem with disturbing and weird but this was just terrible, truly bad. The problem is the writing was good so I kept reading but I just hated the characters, the plot, and everything and I was hoping the ending would have some redeeming value. Probably my least favorite book I have ever read (generally I wouldn't keep reading if I didn't like it).

[UnsinkableKristen]

You know, I love Outlander, but if I could cut the entire torture section out of the book then I would consider it a favorite. I can't for the life of me see why that was so necessary. I just skip over that part when I re-read it :)

 

I second The Hunger Games - I could not even drum up enough will to get through the first chapter. Funny enough, when I mentioned the 52 books challenge on FB I had loads of people suggest Hunger Games.

[Allearia]

You know, I love Outlander, but if I could cut the entire torture section out of the book then I would consider it a favorite. I can't for the life of me see why that was so necessary. I just skip over that part when I re-read it :)

 

I agree with this. I love Outlander but hesitate to recommend it to people because of this part. Way too graphic.

[LibraryLover]

Well, darn:(. I thought I had my book list for the challenge all ready to go!! Now I have to rethink a lot if them....Eat, Pray, Love, The Book Thief, etc. Darn you all:tongue_smilie:

 

 

I thought the Book Theif was wonderful.

[Sarah CB]

Wolf Hall. UGH....it is the first book I ever read that I never actually finished...although I read half of it and at that size I think it should count as a whole book! Just awful.

 

Same here! I very, very rarely decide not to finish something but I had no desire to continue reading Wolf Hall.

[Sarah CB]

The Shipping News. I think it won the Giller, but I can only stand so many sentence fragments.

[Heather in Neverland]

I love love love love Outlander!! Actually I love the entire series. I think I will read Outlander again for my number one book of 2011!!! :D

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

And I think I will re-read The Book Thief and Eat, Pray, Love because I LOVED both of those books! :D

[Nakia]

:lol::lol::lol:

 

And I think I will re-read The Book Thief and Eat, Pray, Love because I LOVED both of those books! :D

 

That's funny! My best friend, of 20 years, and I are total opposites with regards to what we like to read. She loved Eat, Pray, Love. I don't think she has read The Book Thief, but maybe I will suggest it to her. LOL! Didn't you recommend The Heretic's Daughter? I am reading it now, and I like it a lot!!!

[Heather in Neverland]

That's funny! My best friend, of 20 years, and I are total opposites with regards to what we like to read. She loved Eat, Pray, Love. I don't think she has read The Book Thief, but maybe I will suggest it to her. LOL! Didn't you recommend The Heretic's Daughter? I am reading it now, and I like it a lot!!!

 

The Heretic's Daughter was GREAT!

[Mommyfaithe]

Heather's thread for favorite books was HARD! After answering it, I realized I could much more easily choose a LEAST favorite fiction and non-fiction book that I read this year. How about you? What would you choose? Here's mine:

 

Fiction: Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham

Non-fiction: Dance of a Fallen Monk, by George Fowler

 

This was easy.

Fiction: The Time Travellers Wife

Non Fiction: A small book on Rabinnical Niddah Laws. A Book on Purity. I got so mad, I threw this one across the room. No offence to any orthodox Jewish people. It was not the laws, it was how this guy wrote them. I wanted to smack him in the face AND punch him in the.....

 

Faithe

[Mommyfaithe]

The Heretic's Daughter was GREAT!

 

I loved this one as well. My dd got me this one last Christmas.

 

Faithe

[Mommyfaithe]

""Well, out of the books I actually read all the way through, I would have to say Life of Pi. On one hand, the writing is beautiful. It is a fascinating story. (It also had my favorite cover art of the year.) Yet, I felt like that book crushed my soul. It really did. I was so upset after reading it that I didn't want to read *any* books for awhile.""

 

I felt like this about Life of Pi as well. It left me empty and really upset. I was beautifully written...but just so terribly disturbing deep down inside. It took me a while to get over it. It felt like a book hangover.

 

Faithe

[Nakia]

This was easy.

Fiction: The Time Travellers Wife

Non Fiction: A small book on Rabinnical Niddah Laws. A Book on Purity. I got so mad, I threw this one across the room. No offence to any orthodox Jewish people. It was not the laws, it was how this guy wrote them. I wanted to smack him in the face AND punch him in the.....

 

Faithe

 

If I had read The Time Traveler's Wife this year, it would have definitely been my pick for least favorite. :tongue_smilie:

[Heather in Neverland]

If I had read The Time Traveler's Wife this year, it would have definitely been my pick for least favorite. :tongue_smilie:

 

On this we can agree. After it was over I felt ... I don't know... weird. Like, did I just read all that correctly? Her other novel "Her Fearful Symmetry" was even WORSE. That book was weird AND disturbing.

[Belacqua]

On this we can agree. After it was over I felt ... I don't know... weird. Like, did I just read all that correctly? Her other novel "Her Fearful Symmetry" was even WORSE. That book was weird AND disturbing.

 

Oh, I completely agree. I rather liked TTW, but Her Fearful Symmetry was just creepy. And it took my English-born husband to point out that the title is an awful pun (in certain accents, "symmetry" and "cemetery" are pronounced almost the same).

 

I also loathed Cleaving, Julie Powell's book after Julie & Julia. Half of it is a deadly-dull description of her apprenticeship with a butcher, and the other half is her smug, unapologetic story of cheating on her husband. Lovely.

[JeneralMom]

Couldn't stand The Book Thief.

 

My biggest disappointment was The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (the 3rd in the Stieg Larsson series). He meant the series to have 10 books and outlined all 10, but died after submitting the third. The last book ended very oddly and you can tell that the last few chapters were done by someone else to try to end things neatly. I hated the last few chapters. DH felt the same way.

[MrsBasil]

.

I also loathed Cleaving, Julie Powell's book after Julie & Julia. Half of it is a deadly-dull description of her apprenticeship with a butcher, and the other half is her smug, unapologetic story of cheating on her husband. Lovely.

 

I had actually managed to forget that I even read that book this year! It was horrible.

 

However, my least favorite was Letters to a Christian Nation. To be fair, I am a Christian though. I was searching a lot last year and early this year and decided to read one of the Big 4 on atheism. I didn't get angry or offended, I just felt it was pointless. Which probably means I'm not the target audience. :001_smile: