Tsuga Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 I loved some of the books above, particularly Moby Dick and 100 Years of Solitude, but I hated The Road. I kept thinking I didn't get it and reading and reading until the end. Then I thought I still didn't get it. But when I finally looked at some college-level reading on it and analysis, no, I got it, I just thought the theme was unoriginal, the plot mind-numbingly dull, and the execution simultaneously pretentious ("Look how terse I can be! I hardly have a personality at all!") and... I don't know the word. Sophomore? I know McCarthy is like, The Biggest Deal Ever, but I just can't stand his short stories and this book in particular was the work. But I don't have a lot of patience for, "People are horrible so don't have hope, we're all going to die." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Girl of the Limberlost. There was also one called...Inkheart? Something like that. That was bad. I also didn't care for Redwall. Don't judge me. :001_tt2: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Anna Karenina. When I finished it I felt like saying,"Just shoot me now and put me out of my misery." The Road was pretty bad. So was The Death of Ivan Ilyich. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Hannibal~I did actually throw this book at the wall while reading it...twice. Harris dishonored one of the major characters with this charade. After being ruthlessly boring for the entire novel he went to completely ridiculous in the last 70 pages. I'm not particularly fond of Wuthering Heights and some other classics, but at least I didn't feel disgust when I finished them...just annoyance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsidian Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Remains of the Day. There was no plot so far as I could tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I read right through a few Margaret Atwood books, because I felt like I ought to like them and i was trying to get an overview of Canadian literature. But, I hated them, and i still seem to hate everything of hers I try to read. I hate her characters and wish they would just die. One that always comes to mind because of a funny circumstance is The Well of Loneliness. It was an old book on a shelf in our house that my mother had been given when an older lady who rented in my great-grandmother's boarding house had died. It was all about lesbian self-discovery, but it wasn't at all racy, it seemed very Victorian (though I think it was actually later than that) and really rather awful. I found out many years later it was considered a historically important book. My mother, who had never bothered to read it, got quite a laugh out of it though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I also did not care for The Red Tent. I really wanted to like it but just did not care for it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Remains of the Day. There was no plot so far as I could tell. LOL. Try the movie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnE-girl Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Girl of the Limberlost. There was also one called...Inkheart? Something like that. That was bad. I also didn't care for Redwall. Don't judge me. :001_tt2: I haven't been able to finish Girl of the Limberlost. I wanted to like it, but I just don't. My dad gave it to me for my birthday when I was 13 or so, and wrote a nice note in it about how it was my grandmother's favorite book and he hoped I would enjoy it too. I feel a little guilty that I haven't managed to actually read all of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeannpal Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Hunger Games #1. Same for me with The Lovely Bones a close second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Twilight. Outlander Worst classics: Moby Dick, The Phantom of the Opera, The Old Man and the Sea 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 My Cousin Rachel by Daphne DuMaurier - the ending was like wha???? I love her novel, Rebecca, and Frenchman's Creek is good, too, but this one was a stinker for me. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Sparks - I can't believe I actually finished this one. I think Miss Brodie just needed a man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I haven't been able to finish Girl of the Limberlost. I wanted to like it, but I just don't. My dad gave it to me for my birthday when I was 13 or so, and wrote a nice note in it about how it was my grandmother's favorite book and he hoped I would enjoy it too. I feel a little guilty that I haven't managed to actually read all of it. (((soul sister)))) I read it because so many people in my support group said it was the best.book.ever. o_0 I kept reading to the bitter end, hoping something would click and I'd say, "OH! That's it!" but no. Five hours (or however many) sucked out of my life forever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot. I threw the book across the room when I finished it and read only Romance novels for the next 15 years because I was so traumatized. Oh dear. I love George Eliot's Middlemarch but have put off reading The Mill on the Floss because of - 1. Reading one of her other books - Silas Marner - why didn't she just say what she wanted to say in 125 pages instead of 225 pages of mind-numbing colloquial speech? Is this a thing for Ms. Eliot? 2. LOTS of people say it is horrible. I've even managed to end up with TWO copies of the darn book. At this point I figure if I actually do read it maybe I will like it as I have really low expectations now. ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Usually if I don't like a book I don't feel required to finish it. I am also not going to mention any class assignments because that is the worst way possible to meet a book. :) Worst book: The Kite Runner - I had to finish it because my book club was reading it, other wise I would have set it on fire. I came to despise the main character soooo much. arrrgh - Naturally my book club friends loved it. ha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Wuthering Heights 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Twilight. I slogged through all four books just to see what happened, but I could hardly stand to read Stephenie (ugh, even the spelling of her name makes me mad) Meyer's writing by the end. The Remains of the Day. There was no plot so far as I could tell. I actually just finished this today on audiobook and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I thought there was a plot, LOL. To each her own I guess. Ishiguro definitely has a subtle style though. Oh dear. I love George Eliot's Middlemarch but have put off reading The Mill on the Floss because of - 1. Reading one of her other books - Silas Marner - why didn't she just say what she wanted to say in 125 pages instead of 225 pages of mind-numbing colloquial speech? Is this a thing for Ms. Eliot? 2. LOTS of people say it is horrible. I've even managed to end up with TWO copies of the darn book. At this point I figure if I actually do read it maybe I will like it as I have really low expectations now. ;) Middlemarch is one of my very favorites :001_wub: . I really like Eliot, but I've found I prefer her on audio books for a couple of reasons--the pages and pages written in dialect (Adam Bede is the same way), and her soliloquies and musings that happen right in the middle of the books and go on for pages before she gets back to the plot (see the dozens and dozens of pages on Jews in the middle of Daniel Deronda, which stopped me in my tracks both times I tried to physically read the book). I read The Mill on the Floss years ago, and I don't remember much about it except that it is very tragic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Shack for sure. There are other bad ones I finished, but it is definitely the worst in every way. The Shack for me too.. DaVinci Code is a close 2nd. edited to add: the only reason I finished these two was because they were for book club. I usually drop a book I can't stand as much as these - there's too many things I can be doing with my time other than reading books I hate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Awakening 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm919 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Too funny! This thread is filled with books I loved! I've read too many terrible books to name, but one that was a recent, huge disappointment to me was Lavinia. I didn't think Ursula Le Guin could write something I didn't like... Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wabi Sabi Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Fifty Shades of Grey :leaving: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Road (I usually like dark books, but this one just went nowhere for me...) Catcher in the Rye (I read it as an adult because it was a classic and I never read it before.) Loved The Lovely Bones though...and Wuthering Heights wasn't *terrible* I thought... Regarding Moby Dick, every time DD doesn't like the work I give her, I tell her to be nice or I will make her read Moby Dick... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Awakening You beat me to it. I had to read it twice in college and I despised it both times. God, what a dreadful book. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Lolita I get that it's not the type of bad you're talking about, but the Ick Factor really just clings forever. I could've lived a long and healthy life knowing the gist of that book but never reading it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Bronze Horseman. It was recommended to me as a fan of Outlander. No. Just No. Hated The Bronze Horseman. Hunger Games #1....I *think* I finished it. Does it really matter? :thumbdown: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 What is someone else's worst book ever could be a treasure to another person. :closedeyes: A few of my treasures are on this list. I don't normally read bad books; I put it down and pick something else up. Life is too short. A few that I thought were not so much bad as ridiculous: The Shack The Celestine Prophecy Anything by Deepak Chopra, or at least everything I've looked at by him The DaVinci Code There are probably some others, but that's all I can come up with right now. My dd just finished the Divergent series, and her complaining increased with each book. I asked her why she finished the entire series, and she said she wanted to see how bad it could get. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underthebridge Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Slap by Christos Tsolkias It was for a book club, so I had to finish it. Most books I dislike are forgettable, but this was just egregious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Hunger Games (read the series at my sisters insistence. Yuck! Book 1 was especially yuck-o.) The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. Yes, I know, my fault entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I have 2. The Da Vinci Code,which was a book club book. OMG, I HATED that book. I showed up to book club looking forward to tearing it to shreds only to find that everyone else either liked it or was neutral. I had a perfectly good rant all ready to go and it was for nothing. But the winner of the all time worst festering pile of dung must go to Robert Heinlein and his terrible "I will fear no evil". I have never read such a load of sexist offal in all my days. It was so clear he was writing it to get off on some puerile little fantasy while simultaneously in the midst of a homosexual panic that I was embarrassed for him. I am a little said because there are some books that have been named that either I didn't mind or really enjoyed, lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Usually if I don't like a book I don't feel required to finish it. I am also not going to mention any class assignments because that is the worst way possible to meet a book. :) Worst book: The Kite Runner - I had to finish it because my book club was reading it, other wise I would have set it on fire. I came to despise the main character soooo much. arrrgh - Naturally my book club friends loved it. ha It's strange that you would come to despise him, as he's completely detestable, selfish, and cowardly at the beginning of the story but grows a lot and redeems himself as the book goes on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Contributions from my family: Both DSs vote for Billy Budd as their most hated book read all the way through. They still loudly complain about that one. ;) And from DS#1, on Frankenstein: "Whiney scientist initially warns of the dangers of scientific experimentation with disregard to ethics. He recounts the story of how he creates, but immediately abandons, his creation. He then wanders across Switzerland recording a many-pages too-long travelogue, where he meets up with his scientific creation and again bemoans having pursued edgy scientific experimentation. Ultimately chastises others for not having the courage to push aside ethics and push the scientific envelope." The only way DS and I made it through Frankenstein was by imagining we were administering a dope slap of reality to Victor Frankenstein at regular intervals… However, we did really enjoy discussing the ethics and other issues raised by the novel. ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The two that come to mind were from high school: Silas Marner and All the Pretty Horses. I've no clue what I'd think about them today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Goldfinch would be a close runner up. Cloud Atlas. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. The Book Thief The Remains of the Day. Books I loved!!! (Pssst. Plansrme, looks like we are polar opposites in reading tastes. Since I love the ones you hated, maybe the ones I hated would be ones you would love. :lol: ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Wuthering Heights was one of my favorites - haven't read it in a long long time, though. I remember loving how much the characters annoyed me :D. I feel guilty about hating Crime and Punishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Worst classic: Moby Dick or House of Seven GablesWorst contemporary:The Fault in Our Stars. Everyone was reading it and talking about how they bawled all the way through. I just found myself forcing myself to finish it and to love it. But, I just didn't. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Lady Chatterly's Lover Runner ups: Nectar is a Sieve The Door in the Wall I have a little warm spot in my heart for A Door in the Wall, only because the man who wrote it is/was a teacher in Maryland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Watership Down.... Just kill me now. Horrible. I also thought Because of Winn Dixie was horrible. It was like the book came after the movie (which I never saw but heard was cute).... and maybe it did, I dunno. All I know is that it was awful. Awww, really? I loved Because of Winn-Dixie! It is one of my favorite bookds for that age group. When I read that book, I was in a very hard place in life and the take-away of the book (for me) was this: everybody has pain. The pinch-faced girl, the "bald-headed babies", the ancient librarian, the "witch", the ex-convict. I thought that book was insightful. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Haven't read any replies so sorry if everyone said this, but Catcher in the Rye. Gag. Also, the Twilight books. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Fifty Shades of Grey :leaving: Oh I forgot that. I've never hated two characters more in my life. I wish I could purge that book from my mind. Usually, I stop reading books if I don't like them (things like Twilight, Hunger Games, Outlander, etc...). Unfortunately, I continued reading these all the way through & hated them... Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Perfume by Patrick Suskind The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold :ack2: My book club read Perfume and we all hated it. Some people didn't even finish it and hated the start but I thought the end was idiotic and you needed to read the whole thing to realize just how bad the book was. ;) Bad books were fun to read in book club because we had fun tearing them to shreds. Except The Tao of Pooh. It was so boring no one read much of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The Da Vinci Code...Lovely Bones.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Allegiant. Oh now wait, I didn't actually bother finishing that one. Without Remorse by Tom Clancy. I am a Clancy fan, at least the older half of his stuff. A Clancy novel is a commitment, so many details to follow. Without Remorse was about the most unjustifiably violent fiction I've ever read. But after wading through over half of it, a detailed Clancy, I felt compelled to finish it. I kept hoping it would get better. But, no. (I'm so sorry. Please, nobody come to my house to cause me bodily harm.) Outlander. Vol. 1. I only liked one character and it wasn't Jamie. I will stand with you. Not getting all the Outlander hype myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Usually, I stop reading books if I don't like them (things like Twilight, Hunger Games, Outlander, etc...). Unfortunately, I continued reading these all the way through & hated them... Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Perfume by Patrick Suskind The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold :ack2: Oh! I forgot Wuthering Heights! I refuse to keep a copy of that in my house (that, and The Picture of Dorian Gray). Those are two more I waded all the way through, with hopes of some climactic redemption. Both disappointed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Geek Love. I couldn't look away. It was horrible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Haven't read any replies so sorry if everyone said this, but Catcher in the Rye. Gag. Also, the Twilight books. I hated Twilight! All my friends were like, ??? They loved it. I saw zero appeal from any angle, I hate Bella, she is an idiot, Edward is just endlessly creepy and gross, the story is like a giant plot hole with tiny bits of story around the edges...and vampires play baseball when they are not bear-hunting. Wha??!! Oh and they attend high school, even though the teachers know they are 300-year-old undead people. Blah. I only read the first one. And Fifty Shades...I heard about that book when everyone was all ga-ga over it, but fortunately, I had too much assigned college reading to indulge in what people told me was brain candy...thank God! I would not have finished that book, not a chance. i am very glad I only know about the book from hear-say. It is very rare that I keep reading a book if it doesn't start looking up. I did it with A Casual Vacancy, because - JKR. I did with Twilight because I had to see what the hype was about. With wuthering Heights, I figured there must be something valuable here, it being a classic and all. But no, not so much. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kidlets4me Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Gone Girl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 My book club read Perfume and we all hated it. Some people didn't even finish it and hated the start but I thought the end was idiotic and you needed to read the whole thing to realize just how bad the book was. ;) I liked the first half just fine. The writing was so lush & descriptive -- really lovely. But, the second half just got grosser & grosser and then there was the ending. The *ending*. Worst ending ever. So incredibly unbelievable & ridiculous. I still can't believe the story ended that way! (But, hey, years later I'm still talking about the ending, so maybe that was the intended purpose all along. Lol.) As for Wuthering Heights, I say that it's the book I love to hate. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The two that come to mind were from high school: Silas Marner and All the Pretty Horses. I've no clue what I'd think about them today. I loved Silas Marner when I was in high school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I hated The Shack and Twilight. I read The Shack because I was so bored at a vacation house and that was the only book they had. I read Twilight because I promised my friend I'd give it a chance. I think I hated The Shack so much because it wanted to be profound and meaningful and it felt just wrong to me. I hated Twilight because I had to suffer through my friends' fawning over Edward and I wanted to be polite and it was so popular and I couldn't understand it. I'm sure there are other books I didn't like and quickly forgot. I also hated The Giving Tree. I remember reading the last pages to my little DS and we both sat there with our jaws open. I kept thinking it would get better but it was so depressing for a kid's book. I'm conflicted about Moby Dick. I slogged through it because I wanted to preview it for DS and was committed to finishing it. I hated almost every minute of it from about the first 50 pages until the last few chapters. I'm surprised I made it through. I wonder if people who liked it read the abridged version or abridged it themselves. I wanted to bang my head against the wall through most of the rambling in the middle. Then, I had an epiphany and thought that Melville was trying to make us feel like Ahab, impatient on his journey and slowly going crazy- just get to the stupid whale!! Nothing else matters- just shut up about whale anatomy and find Moby Dick!! When I finished it, however, I didn't really hate it or feel it was a waste of time. I don't think I can torture DS with it, however. It would be cruel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 The ones I can think of that I felt I had to finish but hated are usually book club books chosen by other people. I feel I have to finish them to discuss them. If I don't like a book I chose to read myself, I just stop reading it (eg Gone Girl). Bad book club books: The Red Tent Ahab's Wife Generosity Jodi Picoult books Have to say I'm fine with Wuthering Heights and absolutely love Watership Down. I enjoyed Silas Marner enough to recommend it to my dd for an English assignment and she loved it too. Many others mentioned in this thread I haven't read--if I hear enough bad reviews I'll avoid the book (DaVinci Code, Twilight, The Shack, Fifty Shades...) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothersweets Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Twilight. I slogged through all four books just to see what happened, but I could hardly stand to read Stephenie (ugh, even the spelling of her name makes me mad) Meyer's writing by the end. I actually just finished this today on audiobook and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I thought there was a plot, LOL. To each her own I guess. Ishiguro definitely has a subtle style though. Middlemarch is one of my very favorites :001_wub: . I really like Eliot, but I've found I prefer her on audio books for a couple of reasons--the pages and pages written in dialect (Adam Bede is the same way), and her soliloquies and musings that happen right in the middle of the books and go on for pages before she gets back to the plot (see the dozens and dozens of pages on Jews in the middle of Daniel Deronda, which stopped me in my tracks both times I tried to physically read the book). I read The Mill on the Floss years ago, and I don't remember much about it except that it is very tragic. Yay! Another Middlemarch lover! and it never crossed my mind to use audiobooks for her. Great idea - thanks!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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