Spy Car Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I loathe The Awakening, by Kate Chopin. The protagonist is whiny, self-absorbed, and clearly has no idea what it's like to have real problems. And I completely disagree with the ending. Funny, but when Mrs Spy Car was finishing up her American Literature degree at UCLA, I began to wonder why I (the good-guy) was suddenly (and uncharacteristically) on the "hot-seat". Then I read a couple of that semester's assigned novels, including The Awakening and The Yellow Wallpaper and it was, say no more :tongue_smilie: Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Funny, but when Mrs Spy Car was finishing up her American Literature degree at UCLA, I began to wonder why I (the good-guy) was suddenly (and uncharacteristically) on the "hot-seat". Then I read a couple of that semester's assigned novels, including The Awakening and The Yellow Wallpaper and it was, say no more :tongue_smilie: Bill I loved those stories... Actually, the Awakening made me feel guilty..... I sucked up after I read that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Funny... I love "The Yellow Wallpaper" and hate "The Awakening" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Funny... I love "The Yellow Wallpaper" and hate "The Awakening" I liked them both, but neither of them liked me :tongue_smilie: If you know what I mean ;) Bill/Dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Okay, Nicole, you're in good company as I'm another who doesn't care overmuch for Dahl's children's books. But one book that really rubs me the wrong way is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein as the boy just takes and takes and takes .... Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennifersLost Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 The Giving Tree! Passive agressive reading at its best. That tree is the ultimate martyr (in a bad way) if you ask me. Maybe it was the Fountainhead I didn't like. It was back in college so I can't remember. While I was reading it I "got" it, but afterwards I started thinking about it and I think I felt it was anti-woman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG Gone Wild Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 DQ .... I just can't stand it. I can't get past chapter 23 (ever) and there are about a hundred more to go. Also that book by Barbara Kingsolver where she takes up organic farming and eating only local and seasonal foods. I wanted to enjoy learning from her experience but it turned out to be an annoying lecture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 How about Mrs.Manners Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior? It is both nauseating and truly helpful at the same time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 How about Mrs.Manners Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior? It is both nauseating and truly helpful at the same time! Now that would fall into my "love to hate and hate to love" category. This thread is very revealing. While I've never even heard about this womyn spelling thing, I did indeed adore The Red Tent. Adored it. I read about two pages of The Da Vinci Code and thought Dan Brown should be shot. I'm glad I'm not the only one who dislikes Roald Dahl. I also thought he seemed to dislike children. I don't care for E.B. White's children's books either, though I did love an essay he wrote about the Chicago World's Fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFP Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 It's at times like these that I recommend Montana Gothic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret in GA Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" Hol.Y.Cow. I am in shock. I thought not liking Dahl was the weirdest thing ever. Then AA Milne. Then Catch 22. And who doesn't like Catcher in the Rye?? Now Thoreau! Thoreau?? What do you guys like? baffled in Georgia, Margaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennifersLost Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 Okay - I love Thoreau. I mean come on - my journey to "halve it all"? - if I could swing it I'd be living for a year in a cabin I built (or poached from someone else) eating beans..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennifersLost Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 It's at times like these that I recommend Montana Gothic! Oh, I don't think I dare. I carry around books I've read in me for days, if not weeks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akmommy Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Catcher in the Rye :iagree: Ugh! I so did not get this book. I kept reading it thinking at some point a plot would develop, a reason for the story, but it never did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Hol.Y.Cow. I am in shock. I thought not liking Dahl was the weirdest thing ever. Then AA Milne. Then Catch 22. And who doesn't like Catcher in the Rye?? Now Thoreau! Thoreau?? What do you guys like? baffled in Georgia, Margaret Oh no, I like all the rest of those. Thoreau, however, is a pompous twerp, so self-involved he makes me want to dig him up and shake him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Okay - I love Thoreau. I mean come on - my journey to "halve it all"? - if I could swing it I'd be living for a year in a cabin I built (or poached from someone else) eating beans..... It's easy to do, if you WANT to do it and can walk away at any point. On the other hand, if such a life is forced on you....... well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wulfbourne Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I'm not sure if its the type of book to raise blood pressure or make you question anything, but The Dante Club is the most boring book I've ever tried to read. I tried to read it a couple times, but never got past the first few chapters. Left behind was just bad writing. I read them all because they were quick reads and I wanted to see what happened, but looking back on them they were really bad. Right now though, with a 2 year old and a 5 month old I don't get much of a chance to read anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Paulo Coehlo's books are interesting. I think they are good interesting, my mother thinks they are bad interesting. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemytea Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I have a different take on this. I wouldn't waste my time on something I loathed. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I agree about Thoreau. And in the same vein, I hate all the books by Scott and Helen Nearing. It's a piece of cake to live simply when there are others falling all over themselves to do the dirty work that might clutter your peaceful life. So many of the so-called simplicity books fall apart when asked the questions, "Who pays for all this? Who cleans the toilet? When and how do you deal with taxes, medical expenses, etc.?" Living out in nature, especially in a way that does not negatively impact the very natural world you are enjoying, does not leave a pile of nasty human rubbish and bio-hazards when you are gone, is hard work and is not very simple at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten in MO Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I decided to do the 52 books in a year since I am way behind on reading the classics...just finished The Grapes of Wrath and HATED it. There were only a few chapters that I thought were okay and only a few paragraphs that I though deserved any merit. I did not like the characters, the book is littered with swearing, and I could not connect with the writing style. And what is up with the ending? Worse ending for a book I have ever read! I guess I can at least say that I read it..? Kirsten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 David Copperfield and NOT the abridged version. I once had a teacher who promised me double extra credit for a book report if I read this. I did it but it was extremely painful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 It's been a while since I've posted, so forgive me if I don't remember you. If you want something completely opposite of pagan spirituality, then read the Bible. BTW... is it Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Dahl that everyone hates? I recently read the book, and was pretty shocked by the tone. We need a spinoff thread on what books to read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey in TX Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Despised Feminine Mytique by Betty Friedan. I read it for some uber-liberal feminist professor. Wanted to burn it, but the all-mighty "A" was more important than principal. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 David Copperfield and NOT the abridged version. I once had a teacher who promised me double extra credit for a book report if I read this. I did it but it was extremely painful! I love that book! I read it for fun last year, and I really got into it. Also gave me a first-hand demonstration of the power of narrating; I couldn't help telling my dh about it as I read - what I loved, which characters I liked/hated, what I thought would happen, etc. - and I still remember a great deal about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Oh no, I like all the rest of those. Thoreau, however, is a pompous twerp, so self-involved he makes me want to dig him up and shake him. I thought I was the only one who felt like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 One book I've read that I loathe--Fascinating Womanhood. :iagree: Blech! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquilt Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) My all-time hated book was "Atonement" by Ian McEwan (I think that's is last name). Anyway, I couldn't abide the "tone" of his book. Edited February 3, 2009 by iquilt typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Nope! Shall we start an anti-book club? I also cannot stand Dr. Seuss, and I can barely tolerate AA Milne. Beatrix Potter is on deck. Please do not shun me. :leaving: Oh, sweet Layla, you need help. Who doesn't like Winnie the Pooh? And Beatrix Potter? And you're simply unAmerican for not liking Dr. Seuss. :grouphug: It's all right, though, because we, your true and stalwart friends, still love you. :lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dymphna57 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I don't know if there a positve side to reading books you know you are going to hate. I do try to read books from the opposite side, or maybe it would be nicer to refer to it as an opposite point of view. That of course means I have read a lot of things that were close to being thrown into the wood stove. Actually a few of them did end up there.:blush: What I really wanted to add that some of the books written from my world view have also made me furious. What happened to writing the truth without resorting to half truths? Do I really need to have the major themes/points restated so obviously? :smash:I get a yuck meter reading of 7 or 8 or so and feel the need to take a shower. I think that is why DAhl gets mentioned. He forgets his audience and just rants. I like him, he is imaginative at least . I hated Dan Brown because his history is so sloppy. I believe he did plagarise most of his ideas, even if it wasn't proven, as I can hardly believe the guy had an original idea. I read Left Behind and hated it, also Philip Pullman, hated it. I guess I hated the swarminess of the idea of the propoganda approach to literature. I know I pick the books for my kids from the classic lists because there is more to it than just one guy making one point. If you are going to write a book , write a good one. I agree about Kite Runner being hard to like. I ended up liking it just because of the setting and even that seemed a little unreal compared to something like Reading Lolitta in Tehran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laylamcb Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Oh, sweet Layla, you need help. Who doesn't like Winnie the Pooh? And Beatrix Potter? And you're simply unAmerican for not liking Dr. Seuss. :grouphug: It's all right, though, because we, your true and stalwart friends, still love you. :lol::lol::lol: You love me even though I'm a freak?! Gee whiz, Beth--thanks!! :grouphug::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natalieclare Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Well I loathed, "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck. Beautiful setting, descriptive writing, but by the end I had literally thrown the book across the floor. I agree about picking books that are polar opposite of your convictions. Politics, religion, and even parenting advice. I've thrown every John Steinback novel I've ever read across the floor. He just hits me that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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