Really bad books

[mommymilkies]

Not as in homeschooling curriculum, like the other thread. I am a rampant reader, but today for the first time, I encountered a book I felt needed to be burned. I've never thought that before but this book is just so, so bad. It's a popular fiction book and I really wanted to like it. But it's just so filled with disturbing scenes and just not well written. I can't help but think it should also have a warning on it for sexual abuse survivors.

 

I've just never felt this way a book and am really shocked. I felt like donating it to the library, but I would hate to pass it on to anyone sensitive. That's where the thoughts of burning or recycling it came from.

 

I really wish I would have read through the reviews more carefully! Are there any books you have ever felt this way about? I know we won't all agree on them, this is just so out there for me to dislike a book this much! :tongue_smilie:

[Aubrey]

Not burn, but otherwise, yeah. I've trashed one book, though I won't admit its title here because it is a..."modern classic." For the same reasons, in fact--should have had warnings for abuse survivors!

 

There are others that I feel guilty about selling to 1/2 price. Should probably just be chucked, but...maybe getting to read it for 1/2 price will help someone who would have been dismayed to read it for full price? These are generally in the category of Christianity that's over-the-top harsh.

 

More often than not, though, I don't finish reading the really bad ones because they're not worth my time. As a lit major, this was a huge revelation for me.

[Denise in Florida]

Warning: Personal Opinion

 

I hated-hated-hated Kite Runner, absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. Of course, some of my friends in book club loved it, so that opinion is subjective. :001_smile: And yes, they teased me when the movie came out. Yeeeck.

[mommymilkies]

Now I'm intrigued. I've never read Kite Runner but it's on my Netflix queue. The book I hated was A Game of Thrones by Martin. Please don't read if you have teenage daughters or are an abuse survivor. Or like dogs or wolves, for that matter.

[Word Nerd]

Warning: Personal Opinion

 

I hated-hated-hated Kite Runner, absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. Of course, some of my friends in book club loved it, so that opinion is subjective. :001_smile: And yes, they teased me when the movie came out. Yeeeck.

 

Nothing redeeming in that book at all...unless you count the redemption. :D

[mommymilkies]

More often than not, though, I don't finish reading the really bad ones because they're not worth my time. As a lit major, this was a huge revelation for me.

 

That's what I usually do. There are only a couple books I've never finished because I disliked them or they just bored me to tears. I gave up about 100 pages into this one when I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack it was so disturbing.

[AK_Mom4]

Now I'm intrigued. I've never read Kite Runner but it's on my Netflix queue. The book I hated was A Game of Thrones by Martin. Please don't read if you have teenage daughters or are an abuse survivor. Or like dogs or wolves, for that matter.

 

:iagree:

or like a well-written fantasy story, for that matter. Blech! Such a disappointment. I feel the same way about Donaldson's "Gap Into..." series.....

[mommymilkies]

:iagree:

or like a well-written fantasy story, for that matter. Blech! Such a disappointment. I feel the same way about Donaldson's "Gap Into..." series.....

 

I don't know those. I just read the first two books of Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles and they are so good. A few laughable parts in the second one, though. I must say going from Rothfuss to Martin just showed what a poor writer Martin is. People were actually comparing Martin to Tolkien. I laughed so hard I cried when I saw that! Just NO comparison!

[Chris in VA]

I just shocked myself by actually throwing a book into the bathroom garbage today. I so wanted to like it, but I couldn't.

It was a Christian book about the friendships of women in the Bible. It is by a wonderful author, but spent so much time bashing men that I couldn't stand it anymore. Feel bad, 'cause it was a heartfelt gift from a sweet friend.

[Ginevra]

My mother gave me a book called My First 100 Babies, or something like that. It was a childcare book written by an English baby nurse. This book was horrifying to me! I was pregnant with my first child and didn't really have a clue about taking care of babies, but I was 100% positive I did not agree with the schedule and method that book recommended. It talked about giving the baby a separate dinner-time at something like 5:00 and then bath and bed, so the parents could have grown-up time. :ack2: I didn't even know much about "parenting styles" at that point, but I was already certain I would never treat my child like they were a little pest that needed to be removed so I could carry on as an adult.

 

I think I did actually throw that in the trashcan, because I didn't want anyone else to read it.

[Angel]

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. :eek: Crude, Explicit, Disturbing. Couldn't finish it. Very, very few books can I not finish. It was on my banned book list during the 8/8/8 Challenge. I see why.

 

I made it through two or three Martin books and then had to be done. It just got worse and worse. Also crude, explicit, and disturbing. I guess that is the criteria for books I hate :lol:

[mommymilkies]

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. :eek: Crude, Explicit, Disturbing. Couldn't finish it. Very, very few books can I not finish. It was on my banned book list during the 8/8/8 Challenge. I see why.

 

I made it through two or three Martin books and then had to be done. It just got worse and worse. Also crude, explicit, and disturbing. I guess that is the criteria for books I hate :lol:

 

:lol: My brother insists the next two books are actually decent. He told me not even to bother with the first, but of course, I did not listen! I learned my lesson!

 

I also read The Handmaid's Tale. I did not like it. It was very disturbing. I don't think I "hated" it, but I read it when I was pregnant and that really did not help. I put it on my list of "never again" books.

[Stacia]

A book that disturbed me so much I couldn't finish it (I actually returned it to the bookstore for a refund):

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

 

A book that I did finish reading & ended up absolutely hating (esp. because of the ending):

Perfume by Patrick Suskind

 

A book that profoundly disturbed me & that killed part of my soul (but which I can still admit is a well-written, interesting story):

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

 

Oh, and the ever-popular Twilight by Stephenie Meyer was horribly boring, very poorly written, & glorified obsessive behavior & abuse, imo. :ack2:

Edited March 27, 2011 by Stacia

[*~Tina~*]

Can I throw in a kid's title? Harriet the Spy. Ugh. We started listening the audio book version from the library but it was returned promptly. I was SO glad I had not handed the book to my dd to read on her own! I would never had imagined that it contained some things it did. Just tacky.

[nmoira]

Loathe is not strong enough to describe my feelings toward The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It's the single most emotionally manipulative piece of tripe I've encountered (and brutal to boot)... and I've sat through Ice Castles, just to give you a sense of what I can endure. :tongue_smilie:

[Punchie]

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I absolutely, with a passion HATE this book!!! I was disgusted when they turned it into a movie. The kid was a self-righteous, self-absorbed, idiot who thought he knew better than everyone. How can you glorify such selfishness?

 

This book was assigned reading in a college lit class I took in 1998. I was the only person in the class who hated it. The professor was surprised at how vehement I was in my hatred.

[mommymilkies]

A book that profoundly disturbed me & that killed part of my soul (but which I can still admit is a well-written, interesting story):

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

 

Oh, and the ever-popular Twilight by Stephenie Meyer was horribly boring, very poorly written, & glorified obsessive behavior & abuse, imo. :ack2:

 

Oh wow. That bad? I'll take your word on that one and just delete it from my list.

 

I will say the first 3 Twilight books weren't too deplorable. The fourth one, though, was quite frankly one of the worst pieces of trash I've ever encountered. I mean...Renesme? Really?

[mommymilkies]

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I absolutely, with a passion HATE this book!!! I was disgusted when they turned it into a movie. The kid was a self-righteous, self-absorbed, idiot who thought he knew better than everyone. How can you glorify such selfishness?

 

This book was assigned reading in a college lit class I took in 1998. I was the only person in the class who hated it. The professor was surprised at how vehement I was in my hatred.

 

One of my friends claims this is one of her favorite book. I watched the movie and I kind of agree with you. I thought some of it was good in what he was trying to do. But it just made a lot of people who do the "back to the earth" thing look bad.

[mommymilkies]

Can I throw in a kid's title? Harriet the Spy. Ugh. We started listening the audio book version from the library but it was returned promptly. I was SO glad I had not handed the book to my dd to read on her own! I would never had imagined that it contained some things it did. Just tacky.

 

Sure! I liked the movie when I was younger. We own the book but none of us have actually ever read it...

[Stacia]

Oh wow. That bad? I'll take your word on that one and just delete it from my list.

 

I actually wouldn't recommend deleting it from your list. It is wonderfully written. There are some amazing parts to the story. And, who wouldn't love a tiger named Richard Parker? :lol: But, but, but... the ending (and the foreshadowing of it) just killed a part of my soul. It's horrifying.

 

Many people love the book & recommend it. I can recommend it too, even though I ended up w/ such mixed feelings on it. Martel is definitely talented & this is a powerhouse of a book, imo. You won't know for yourself until you try it.... :001_smile:

[nmoira]

 

I also read The Handmaid's Tale. I did not like it. It was very disturbing. I don't think I "hated" it, but I read it when I was pregnant and that really did not help. I put it on my list of "never again" books.

I didn't hate it either, but it's not my favourite Atwood.

[Robyn]

I loved Game of Thrones, The Kite Runner, and The Handmaid's Tale. In fact, I am really looking forward to the HBO series airing next month based on Game of Thrones as well as the 5th book in the series coming out this summer.

 

I guess one person's trash is another's treasure.:lol:

[fairytalemama]

Warning: Personal Opinion

 

I hated-hated-hated Kite Runner, absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. Of course, some of my friends in book club loved it, so that opinion is subjective. :001_smile: And yes, they teased me when the movie came out. Yeeeck.

 

I didn't HATE it, but I brought it on a fun vacation and it was most definitely not a beach read. So depressing...

 

Oh wow. That bad? I'll take your word on that one and just delete it from my list.

 

I will say the first 3 Twilight books weren't too deplorable. The fourth one, though, was quite frankly one of the worst pieces of trash I've ever encountered. I mean...Renesme? Really?

 

Yeah...the Renesmee birth scene...I just know that's going to be all Alien in the movie when it comes out.

 

Two books that I will never recommend are:

A Reliable Wife --- just sex, sex, sex. Really over the top for no discernible reason. I blame it on the author living out his sordid fantasies through his characters.

 

Push (AKA Precious) --- well written, but so disturbing. I couldn't get the graphic incest/abuse images out of my head.

[Murphy101]

I will say the first 3 Twilight books weren't too deplorable. The fourth one, though, was quite frankly one of the worst pieces of trash I've ever encountered. I mean...Renesme? Really?

 

:lol:

:iagree:

 

It has got to be a contender for worst baby name of a girl and birth story.

 

I have HATED The Shack and the Time Travelers Wife. I finished them thinking something had to be worth reading there. And then I was made I stuck it out to the end. Oh and the Lovely Bones. Hated that one too.

[goldberry]

:lol:

Oh and the Lovely Bones. Hated that one too.

 

Gasp! I loved the Lovely Bones. (the book, not the movie).

 

Recently read Let Me In and absolutely hated it. Creepy feeling and nothing redeeming to me. Characters...ugh, didn't really like ANY of them.

 

Also read Before I Fall, which I thought I would like because the premise was interesting, but the main character was so unlikable, even at the end, I would call it one of my most "un-favorite" this year.

 

ETA, felt the same way about Twilight, the last book pushed it into "hate" for me. Other books were ok.

[Slartibartfast]

Oh wow. That bad? I'll take your word on that one and just delete it from my list.

 

 

 

I actually wouldn't recommend deleting it from your list. It is wonderfully written. There are some amazing parts to the story. And, who wouldn't love a tiger named Richard Parker? :lol: But, but, but... the ending (and the foreshadowing of it) just killed a part of my soul. It's horrifying.

 

Many people love the book & recommend it. I can recommend it too, even though I ended up w/ such mixed feelings on it. Martel is definitely talented & this is a powerhouse of a book, imo. You won't know for yourself until you try it.... :001_smile:

 

I agree with Stacia,

 

It is an enchanting book. I was completely charmed by it. It is beautifully written. The author is very skilled.

 

The ending, kills a little part of you. It isn't *bad* like a lot of swearing or sexual violence but from just one page it turns the whole thing from whimisical to HORROR. You could remove the ending and it would be a delightful book.

 

I would recommend it but I can NEVER READ IT AGAIN!!!

 

:lol:

[Slartibartfast]

I just shocked myself by actually throwing a book into the bathroom garbage today. I so wanted to like it, but I couldn't.

It was a Christian book about the friendships of women in the Bible. It is by a wonderful author, but spent so much time bashing men that I couldn't stand it anymore. Feel bad, 'cause it was a heartfelt gift from a sweet friend.

 

Was it The Red Tent?

 

:lol:

 

I found it rather depressing.

Edited March 27, 2011 by Sis

[Slartibartfast]

:lol:

:iagree:

 

It has got to be a contender for worst baby name of a girl and birth story.

 

I have HATED The Shack and the Time Travelers Wife. I finished them thinking something had to be worth reading there. And then I was made I stuck it out to the end. Oh and the Lovely Bones. Hated that one too.

 

I avoid books like Time Travelers Wife or Lovely Bones. I don't read books I know will make me cry hysterically.

[Denise in Florida]

Nothing redeeming in that book at all...unless you count the redemption. :D

 

Cute!:lol: That's sort of what my friends thought. I thought the redemption was too little, too late and unconvincing. But I do admit many many people liked it. Definitely a personal taste thing.

[mommymilkies]

I avoid books like Time Travelers Wife or Lovely Bones. I don't read books I know will make me cry hysterically.

 

I do, too. That's one of the reasons I was taken off guard by this book. I was expecting fantasy, not something that horrified me and nearly brought me to tears!

[Murphy101]

I agree with Stacia,

 

It is an enchanting book. I was completely charmed by it. It is beautifully written. The author is very skilled.

 

The ending, kills a little part of you. It isn't *bad* like a lot of swearing or sexual violence but from just one page it turns the whole thing from whimisical to HORROR. You could remove the ending and it would be a delightful book.

 

I would recommend it but I can NEVER READ IT AGAIN!!!

 

:lol:

 

Ug. That's how I felt after dh took me to the movies last night. We saw Sucker Punched.

 

Warning spoilers! Do not read further.

 

The ending wasn't at all a surprise. It still sucked. I couldn't sleep for half the night reliving it. And just hanging there. Did she make it home to mom? Did she come back to raise heck against that place? What was the deal with the dr? Was she really unaware of the intern or complicet? And if she never would have okayed the procedure, then how the heck did she think the girl got there? If the dr thought it might not be best to perform the procedure then why the heck did he do it? Just a long tale of idiots and evil and the poor souls at their mercy trying to survive even tho they aren't sure survival is worth it.

 

The only moral of the story seemed to be: Shoot the S*B while you can!

 

Okay. I feel better now. Thank you.

 

I'm making it a point to watch comedy only for a very long time now.

[TXMomof4]

Hated, hated, hated - yes, hated the book Eat, Pray, Love.

Hated it.

Really.

 

It suprised me because I was the only one in my bookclub that had that reaction - but of course, I didn't let that stop me from airing my opinion.

[Slartibartfast]

I do, too. That's one of the reasons I was taken off guard by this book. I was expecting fantasy, not something that horrified me and nearly brought me to tears!

 

Oh...that's Life of Pi. Now you are prepared. :lol:

[Amy1k]

It's funny to hear differing opinions of books. :laugh:

 

I enjoyed Life of Pi...but, it was shocking. I actually don't mind a book with a horrible/shocking ending, if it was well written...or at least gets me thinking or sticks in my brain a bit. I'm more offended by a book that seems to have no point at all. Twilight? Guh. Those books, although they were gripping when I read them, YUCK.

 

A book that I mostly hated, but still stuck with me is Her Fearful Symmetry. Ugh. Horrible, but fascinating at the same time. :laugh:

 

And I really enjoyed The Red Tent. What is the book in the first post? The Hunger Games is my guess.

[Amy1k]

Hated, hated, hated - yes, hated the book Eat, Pray, Love.

Hated it.

Really.

 

It suprised me because I was the only one in my bookclub that had that reaction - but of course, I didn't let that stop me from airing my opinion.

 

I hated that book soooo much. Barf. I can't believe it was made into a movie.

[mommymilkies]

 

And I really enjoyed The Red Tent. What is the book in the first post? The Hunger Games is my guess.

 

I also liked The Red Tent. The book in the first post was The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Truly, truly disturbing.

Edited March 28, 2011 by mommymilkies
post not punch lol

[Amy1k]

LOL. I went back, I guess The Hunger Games doesn't fit the criteria in the first post.

[Stacia]

the Lovely Bones. Hated that one too.

 

Oh yeah, that was another one I hated. Really hated. Read it for my book club & I think most of us hated it.

 

I would recommend it but I can NEVER READ IT AGAIN!!!

 

:lol:

 

Yep, my thoughts exactly!

 

Was it The Red Tent?

 

:lol:

 

I found it rather depressing.

 

Me too. I cried reading that book.

 

I avoid books like Time Travelers Wife or Lovely Bones. I don't read books I know will make me cry hysterically.

 

I can understand that....

 

Twilight? Guh. Those books, although they were gripping when I read them, YUCK.

 

A book that I mostly hated, but still stuck with me is Her Fearful Symmetry. Ugh. Horrible, but fascinating at the same time. :laugh:

 

And I really enjoyed The Red Tent. What is the book in the first post? The Hunger Games is my guess.

 

Twilight was so bad, I couldn't even finish the first one of the series.

 

I just read Her Fearful Symmetry a couple weeks ago. I'm on the fence. The author could be a great storyteller, but her stuff always seems to derail about halfway through.

 

I didn't really enjoy The Red Tent, but I didn't hate it.

 

Hunger Games was another one I found horrifying. I tried reading it & the concept was so awful to me that I could.NOT.finish.it.

[KristinaBreece]

Now I'm intrigued. I've never read Kite Runner but it's on my Netflix queue. The book I hated was A Game of Thrones by Martin. Please don't read if you have teenage daughters or are an abuse survivor. Or like dogs or wolves, for that matter.

 

I read those as a teen girl, and I loved the whole series. Can't wait for the next one this summer... and the HBO series.

 

Can I throw in a kid's title? Harriet the Spy. Ugh. We started listening the audio book version from the library but it was returned promptly. I was SO glad I had not handed the book to my dd to read on her own! I would never had imagined that it contained some things it did. Just tacky.

 

My mom bought me that book when I was 9. I read it until it fell apart. I've never read it from an adult perspective, though...

 

I loved Game of Thrones, The Kite Runner, and The Handmaid's Tale. In fact, I am really looking forward to the HBO series airing next month based on Game of Thrones as well as the 5th book in the series coming out this summer.

 

I guess one person's trash is another's treasure.:lol:

:iagree: I loved GoT. Of course, I don't think I've ever read anything that I truly detested enough to say it had no redeeming qualities. I'm a fairly forgiving reader.

[AvasMom]

I absolutely hated "The time Travelers Wife." So much that I didn't finish it and that is a very very rare event. I just thought the book was really dumb.

[kalanamak]

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. :eek: Crude, Explicit, Disturbing.

 

:lol: I've never read it or even a synopsis, but I recall a rather regal, older, artistic woman, some years back, chastising me for reading George Elliott. Her point was that I should be reading the "great works of our time" so I would know how to live in our time. The book she gave as an example was The Handmaiden's Tale. I remember thinking: here's betting it is one I should skip.

 

Maybe I'm a snob. When "everyone" is going on and on and ON about a movie, I can almost promise you I will end up walking out. Or falling asleep. When everyone was harping on about Pulp Fiction (and going to see it over and over), I was dragged to it by my ex and a friend of his (we were far from home, so it was the movie, or sit in the car). I literally stretched out across the laps of the two men and slept.

[felicity]

I liked Handmaid's Tale, Red Tent and a bunch of others mentioned here. I couldn't stand The Road or Water For Elephants, each for their own reasons. I have been known to throw books away occasionally if they are just really bad, bit it's been a while since I've had to and I can't think of any titles off hand.

[Ellie]

Wicked. Bought it because I like that genre, and the original Wizard of Oz. Bought it to read on the airplane on my way to Disneyland. Put it away before we were out of Texas. THREW it away when we go to Anaheim. Wished I had had eyeball bleach. :blink: :ack2:

 

Disclaimer: Apparently, the Broadway musical doesn't contain the trash that the book does, so my comments are ONLY about the book, which I would never ever read again, nor any book by the same author.

[Slartibartfast]

I liked Handmaid's Tale, Red Tent and a bunch of others mentioned here. I couldn't stand The Road or Water For Elephants, each for their own reasons. I have been known to throw books away occasionally if they are just really bad, bit it's been a while since I've had to and I can't think of any titles off hand.

 

I didn't think Red Tent was *bad* it just made me cry, a lot. :lol:

 

Oohhh..I LLLOOVVEEDDD Water For Elephants

 

I watched the movie based on The Road. I think having my leg removed without anesthia would have been preferable.

[yellowperch]

There are certain scenes in books that I carry with me and wish I didn't. The Road has some, so do the Poisenwood Bible and the Atwood books Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. But I still think those books were worth reading.

 

I really dislike certain cheap, sucker-punch type fiction like My Sister's Keeper--what a ridiculous way to get out of a writerly knot. Inscest theme books are always badly plotted and trite, with the horror of the events giving the book gravity it doesn't deserve. I also don't like books like the Kite Runner where everything bad that ever happened happens to just one person. I don't need to be twisted up like that.

 

I guess I can handle grim and disturbing fictional events if the writer earns them, and they matter in the story. Cheap, lazy writing disappoints every time (even though I know when I pick up a Jodi Picolt or most Oprah books that is what I am going to get.)

 

Wonder what book OP was talking about in her first post. Can you tell us?

 

I read American Pastoral on my honeymoon and wish I hadn't. Grim. But then I followed it with Angle of Repose which is lovely and took the bitterness from my mouth.

[6packofun]

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I absolutely, with a passion HATE this book!!! I was disgusted when they turned it into a movie. The kid was a self-righteous, self-absorbed, idiot who thought he knew better than everyone. How can you glorify such selfishness?

 

I thought it was total rubbish, too. Blech!!! It was awful because I had guilt starting about halfway through as I was actually longing for his end to come so that I could stop reading about him. :(

[goldberry]

Into The Wild - I didn't love it, but I didn't feel like he was glorifying the guy. I absolutely love Into Thin Air, one of his other books, and I don't think that one is "glorifying" the people in it (who take extreme risks to climb Mt Ev) either. He is just a great writer at giving insight into people who might otherwise seem difficult to understand.

 

ETA, insight doesn't equal "approving". Same as the "Grizzly Man" story...very sad and insightful...but not glorifying or approving.

[Alenee]

I hated that book soooo much. Barf. I can't believe it was made into a movie.

 

Yes, and the movie made me wish I hadn't spent the money. Just SO many things wrong with that one, from my perspective.

 

I actually *did* burn a book once...my fireplace was burning so I tossed it in! I won't go into the book itself but it completely went against everything I believe in and I never wanted at least that one copy to get into anyone else's hands.

[Hannah C.]

I threw away American Psycho. Thankfully I didn't read it - just flipped to a page and decided that was enough. It was bad enough that I actually threw it away...

 

However, The Time Traveler's Wife and The Handmaid's Tale are two of my absolute favorite books. I love, love the writing in The Handmaid's Tale, and the concept she puts forth is interesting (and disturbing). The Time Traveler's Wife, again, has spots of beautiful writing. YMMV :)

[ocelotmom]

I will say the first 3 Twilight books weren't too deplorable. The fourth one, though, was quite frankly one of the worst pieces of trash I've ever encountered. I mean...Renesme? Really?

Out of all that's wrong with those books, the kid's name is all you object to??? :)

 

I'll admit, I enjoyed them.

 

But the idea that these are the most popular books read by kids in elementary school seriously disturbs me, both for the mature content (particularly in the 4th) and the bad relationship models.

 

I can't think, off the top of my head, of any book I actually hated. Some popular ones that I didn't think were totally amazing (Life of Pi, The Time Traveler's Wife), but I enjoyed them well enough. The Red Tent only bugged me because of all the episiotomies.

Edited March 28, 2011 by ocelotmom