PrincessMommy Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 I just started this book. :tongue_smilie: I think I might like it. FWIW, Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell was one of my favorite reads a few years back...but I know it isn't for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lluv Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Glad I'm not the only one who didn't like the "Dragon Tattoo" trilogy. I read all 3 thinking it would get better, but it was quite the opposite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 As for literary 'classics', I've read Billy Bud thrice, hoping to glean something: once as a teen, in a college class (almost cried), and tried again when I was 33. No. Go. I've only myself to blame. However, is it wasted time? Well, it's nothing compared to the time I've wast... spent here, with you nice folks. :) :lol: Wait - it is possible NOT to like Billy Budd? LOL, to each their own, I guess. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in the NH Woods Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 House of Leaves. I read about 75% of it before giving up. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I hate joining the Twilight haters because we're there are so many of us but I tried to read one chapter at the library, cracked up and walked away. DH tried to be romantic by bringing a book home from B&N today called, Redeeming Love and I looked at it and burst out laughing. When I read the premise to DH he laughed too. So not my style and so going to get returned tomorrow so I can get something better. DH wasn't even in the right section!!! He knew a bodice ripper wouldn't work but Christian fiction is just as absurd for me. It was recommended to him by one of the employees and he didn't look into it too deeply. I can't do Nicholas Sparks either. I liked The Notebook because it was different and touching when it first came out but then he wrote 600 books just like it. Basically, the ages of the characters changes but you know someone is going to die, right before they find true happiness forever. The Book Thief was a big ok for me. I am glad teenage girls are reading that instead of Twilight at least... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Honestly, I cannot remember the name of the book, but it was some sort of Pride and Prejudice sequel. Horrid!!!! I am in no way a prude, but it was basically a Hustler spinoff version. :tongue_smilie: It is the only book I have ever returned to a store for being horrible. Now, I refuse to read any sequels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iucounu Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Honestly, I cannot remember the name of the book, but it was some sort of Pride and Prejudice sequel. Horrid!!!! I am in no way a prude, but it was basically a Hustler spinoff version. :tongue_smilie:It is the only book I have ever returned to a store for being horrible. Now, I refuse to read any sequels. If an establishment sells toys and jellies, the main... thrust is not likely to be highbrow literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairyMom Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 The Time Traveler's Wife. I could never get into it. I kept waiting for it to get better, never did. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairyMom Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I wasted a lot of time reading half of the first novel in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle ("Quicksilver"). I really love Stephenson ("Anathem" is one of my all-time favorites), but ugh. Just ugh. The premise is ok, but sheesh. It has to be the most cumbersome thing I've ever tried to plow through. :iagree: I am a huge Neal Stephenson fan. I also love, love historical fiction, so I couldn't wait for this series to come out. I fell asleep so many times just trying to get through it. I was really disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Not sure if I mentioned Hunger Games - zero interest in that. -The Twilight series - even though I read all of them-Outlander -Eat, Pray, Love - couldn't even finish it :iagree: Couldn't finish any of these - though I read almost two of the Twilight books and hated them. "Cry, Beloved Country" :iagree: I could barely even read 5% of this book, never mind my usual 10%. The movie was great. I can't do Nicholas Sparks either. Nor me. Loved the movie of The Notebook, but I loathe his books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Julie and Julia OMG, Just shut up and stop your b!tching! What a waste of my time. It did however lead me to Julia Child's book My Life in France, which I loved. I watched the movie Julie and Julia, and felt the same way. It led me to My Life in France as well! I was relieved to hear that Julia Child refused appearances with the author of Julie, and had nothing good to say about her. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiCO Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I am surprised no one has mentioned the worst book of 2011, The Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel. I was so glad I borrowed that one from the library and didn't actually buy it. The only book in that series worth reading was Clan of the Cave Bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Time Traveller's Wife. I couldn't see what the fuss was about it. Oh, and something by Paulo Coelho. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 If an establishment sells toys and jellies, the main... thrust is not likely to be highbrow literature. Oh, so that is why Borders went out of business! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I was so glad I borrowed that one from the library and didn't actually buy it. The only book in that series worth reading was Clan of the Cave Bear. :iagree: havent tried the newest one but didn't make it very far into the second book before giving up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I was so glad I borrowed that one from the library and didn't actually buy it. The only book in that series worth reading was Clan of the Cave Bear. I have never read any of these and it's kind of a prerequisite in my crowd. :lol: Is Cave Bear at least any good??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I am surprised no one has mentioned the worst book of 2011, The Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel. So awful, I blocked out that I even read it until I saw this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I watched the movie Julie and Julia, and felt the same way. It led me to My Life in France as well! I was relieved to hear that Julia Child refused appearances with the author of Julie, and had nothing good to say about her. LOL! I watched the movie and then read My Life in France, and I liked Julia Child in the movie better than Julia Child in her book. Eventually it dawned on me that if someone is having that many disagreements and breaks with close friends and associates, it's probably not always the other person's fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquilt Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Atonement - awful book with absolutely no point that I could fathom. I toughed it out for the sake of book group discussion and I was the only one who hated it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Atonement - awful book with absolutely no point that I could fathom. I toughed it out for the sake of book group discussion and I was the only one who hated it! I saw the movie and had a similar reaction. Throughly depressing without any point to it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrookValley. Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 FWIW, Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell was one of my favorite reads a few years back...but I know it isn't for everyone. I want to like it. I think I should like it. I just...can't like it! I may pick it up again at some point. Who knows. :tongue_smilie: :iagree: I am a huge Neal Stephenson fan. I also love, love historical fiction, so I couldn't wait for this series to come out. I fell asleep so many times just trying to get through it. I was really disappointed. Yeah, I was pretty disappointed, too. I didn't think Stephenson had it in him to be just plain boring. Mighty long-winded, sure; boring, no. Oh well. I have never read any of these and it's kind of a prerequisite in my crowd. :lol: Is Cave Bear at least any good??? Read "Clan of the Cave Bear," but please do yourself a favor and stop there! :lol: Oh, those books get more and more awful as they go along. Clan of the Cave Bear is good enough, may have been really good if it weren't forever tainted by the sequels. Yuck. Well...I don't think you can be one of my favorite posters anymore...Neil Gaiman is one of the brightest writers alive! I think you have to enjoy his dark sense of humor, though. I liked American Gods and Anansi Boys. His short stories are weirdly wonderful, too. Pair him up with Pratchett and it's even more over-the-top. Ooooohhhh, "Good Omens" was one Gaiman and Pratchett did together. Hi-lar-i-ous. Are there others I don't know about? Talk about the dynamic duo. Those two dudes are so cool. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Just finished The Imperfectionists last night, and while it wasn't bad enough for me to drop, I wish I had that time back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funschooler5 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Not sure if I mentioned Hunger Games - zero interest in that. :iagree: Couldn't finish any of these - though I read almost two of the Twilight books :iagree: I read the first Hunger Games and had no interest in reading the rest. I forced myself to finish the Twilight series so I'd be able to point out specifically why I hated it. :tongue_smilie: As far as the classics go...don't throw anything, but I couldn't make it through Little Women. I liked it as a kid, but it turns out I read an abridged version. DD was supposed to read it this year, and kept whining about it, so I told her I'd read it along with her. Yikes. It was *so* saccharin and bland...I couldn't do it. I checked out an audiobook version for us instead, and the combination of the lady narrator's babyish voice and the sugar-coated dialogue was too much. We shut it off and read Treasure Island instead. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I couldn't make it through Little Women. I liked it as a kid, but it turns out I read an abridged version. DD was supposed to read it this year, and kept whining about it, so I told her I'd read it along with her. Yikes. It was *so* saccharin and bland...I couldn't do it. I checked out an audiobook version for us instead, and the combination of the lady narrator's babyish voice and the sugar-coated dialogue was too much. We shut it off and read Treasure Island instead. :D This has been me exactly. Loved the gorgeous abridged version I had as a kid. Dd tried to read the non-abridged version. She also kept complaining. I wish we had a nice abridged version. And yes, we much preferred Treasure Island. Too funny how our experiences were so similar. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Totally agree with Most Jodi Piccoult novels QUOTE] :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 The Shack. I tried to read it twice and just couldn't get through it. Moby Dick. Long and boring. Twilight. It disturbs me that teens all over America regard the abusive relationship between Edward and Bella as a grand romance. Blech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I read "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman recently. I've never read such a bunch of slapped-together empty characterization and meaningless plot twists in my life. Throw together a soap opera, first-person-shooter video game, bad Halloween costumery, and healthy doses of cardboard, and you'd have "Neverwhere". I read the book because the kids really like the movie "Coraline", and I read good things about Neil Gaiman here. Now I'm debating whether to give "American Gods" a try, which I bought at the same time. I've read every Gaiman novel more then once, except Neverwhere. Oh, and Anansi Boys. I liked Anansi Boys, though, much more than Neverwhere. I think you will love American Gods. High praise! You'd better be right, or my vengeful emoticon will stick out its simulated-tongue pixels at you. I thought of another book that wasted my time: "Dearly Devoted Dexter". I got about five pages in before I just couldn't continue. From what I've read, "Dexter In The Dark" is even more awful. I disliked the Dexter books, too. Or the first one rather; I didn't make it further than that. A friend said they were much better than the show and I have no idea what planet she's on. The first season was perfect television. About 8 or so years ago I was a member of an informal book club that read Oprah bookclub books. We read The Red Tent. I really enjoyed that one. Maybe another book or two that didn't leave any lasting impression on me. Then, in no particular order we read (and I don't want to look it up, so I hope it's right), We Were the Mulvaneys, The House of Sand and Fog, While I Was Gone, Back Roads, and Drowning Ruth. I actually had a bit of an internal battle thinking something must be wrong with my brain because everyone simply gushed over these and I hated them. I went straight back to sci-fi/fantasy and avoided any best sellers (even though I knew Oprah inflated those sales). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Just finished The Imperfectionists last night, and while it wasn't bad enough for me to drop, I wish I had that time back. I had a similar reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spock Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I am surprised no one has mentioned the worst book of 2011, The Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel. I read the first books in that series. The actual story is pretty good, if you are willing to skip 3-5 pages at a time describing the scenery, and then 3-5 page sex scenes, described in exactly the same way every time. The descriptions of what plants are good to treat what diseases, and what plants are good to eat is interesting, assuming that those plants are still available several thousand years later. However, this is also repeated almost verbatim every time it comes up. I think the entire series could be condensed into 2-3 books if all the repetition were omitted. I haven't read the last book, though I did intend to get it from the library. The Amazon reviews sounded like it had even more mindless repetition and endless description than the prior books, so I definitely wouldn't want to own it (but the other books aren't worth paying for for me, anyway--I even chose not to buy a paperback in the series for a quarter at the library book sale). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Twilight. It disturbs me that teens all over America regard the abusive relationship between Edward and Bella as a grand romance. Blech. This is how I feel about Outlander, except it's adult women who think Jamie is attractive and the abusive relationship between him and Claire is romantic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 This is how I feel about Outlander, except it's adult women who think Jamie is attractive and the abusive relationship between him and Claire is romantic. I know. Really? :confused: I read a tiny bit of this and thought "What on earth?" :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Twilight. It disturbs me that teens all over America regard the abusive relationship between Edward and Bella as a grand romance. Blech. I totally, totally agree. I couldn't even finish Twilight because it disgusted me so that the abuse was portrayed as romance. :angry: I now refer to Twilight as the book I love to hate. You may appreciate this article/video: http://www.wimnonline.org/WIMNsVoicesBlog/?p=1272 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Coming late to the party... Anything by Nicholas Sparks. Can't believe he's a best seller. Same w/Grisham after The Firm. I read Anne Rice's Christian books (can't remember the names) and was surprised that she too was such a big seller. Her writing was atrocious. I enjoyed Pillars of the Earth and was in fact the person who recommended it to our book club. I think only one other person finished it w/me. It was not a hit. I find it hard to imagine anyone likes Moby Dick or Billy Budd. I couldn't even get through the Cliff's Notes. I'm struggling to get through Emma right now. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlynn Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Honestly, I cannot remember the name of the book, but it was some sort of Pride and Prejudice sequel. Horrid!!!! I am in no way a prude, but it was basically a Hustler spinoff version. :tongue_smilie: It is the only book I have ever returned to a store for being horrible. Now, I refuse to read any sequels. Oh I think I know which one you're talking about! The Bar Sinister...it's got a new title now. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife. My MOM handed this book to me a long time ago...I still tease her about it!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 This is how I feel about Outlander, except it's adult women who think Jamie is attractive and the abusive relationship between him and Claire is romantic. I'd forgotten about Outlander. I love time travel books and was SO disappointed with this one. Everyone told me the other ones are better, but I just think...um... no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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