Most hated books

[SpaceOddity]

I figure this topic warrants its own thread. *nods*

My most loathed recent read is Tom Jones. It's basically transcendent tedium punctuated by meandering banalities. With a hero who's a guilded void. And a heroine whom the author praises for never attempting opinions or wit. *aspires*
I was awed by Fielding's hypocrisy. He timorously cites critics as worse than murderers then disparages other writers' work, even likening one piece to a dungeon.

*conludes by launching into rendition of 'It's not Unusual'* ;)

[Melville]

I tried reading Tom Jones a long time ago, but I didn't get very far into it.

As for books I hate (or at least really dislike), I'll go with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces. The former for its elitist, uncritical infatuation with its central characters and its dry, mannered view of life; the latter for its reduction of ancient myths to a banal scheme of rites of passage and Jungian psychoanalysis.

I also really disliked Stephen King's The Shining. Sloppy, insipid writing, empty characters, and a poorly executed combination of psychological and ghostly horror. It would have been better if the father just went crazy.

[Lucky]

Billy Budd was incredibly pedestrian and in your face with its religious symbolism.

There was some book about a Native American I had to read in highschool called something like When the Legends Die. That was the most boring book I've ever actually completed.

[Kurosawa Fan]

First one that comes to mind is American Pastoral by Philip Roth.

[Qrazy]

I found Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale to be more exhibitionist than insightful but I wouldn't say I hated it. I rarely hate or won't finish a book... but one time I remember doing so was when I was a kid, 6 books into The Boxcar Children series. I told myself since I'd started the series I had to finish it but then I realized I was reading absolute piffle.

[jenniferofthejungle]

Catcher in the Rye
Invisible Man

[SpaceOddity]

one time I remember doing so was when I was a kid, 6 books into The Boxcar Children series. I told myself since I'd started the series I had to finish it but then I realized I was reading absolute piffle.

Jesse loves those.

[EvilShoe]

Catcher in the Rye

Wrong thread.
You're looking for this one:
http://match-cut.org/showthread.php?t=175

[jesse]

Jesse loves those. Indeed. Those, Nancy Drew and The Bagthorpe Saga make up some of my most fond childhood reading memories. Though none come close to Little Men.

That said, I will say that unlike all the others mentioned, The Boxcar Children books are absolutely unreadable past the age of 10 or so, nostalgic memories or not.

[jesse]

Not many come to mind, thankfully:

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
The Prairie - James Fenimore Cooper
Anything by Dickens

[megladon8]

Recently I read the book "Scar Night" by Alan Campbell.

It's a really cool premise - a city suspended by chains above an immense black void - and the cover is beautiful, but it's a real piece of crap.

"The Stone Angel" by Margaret Laurence was a painfully boring read in grade 12 English.

And while it's not a terrible book, I am sick to death of "Lord of the Flies", after having to read it so many times for school.

[Qrazy]

Jesse loves those.

I liked the first four, maybe I just hit a rough spot. Actually to be honest I don't remember the exact number I read and when I felt it had gotten tedious and formulaic. I stopped on the book involving a farm and chicken eggs.

Or maybe I just turned 10 haha.

[Qrazy]

Not many come to mind, thankfully:

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
The Prairie - James Fenimore Cooper
Anything by Dickens

I too found Heart of Darkness really underwhelming. Didn't hate it but it was one of the few classics that left me cold. I thought maybe I just read it when I was too young, glad to find someone who agrees.

[Melville]

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad


I too found Heart of Darkness really underwhelming. Didn't hate it but it was one of the few classics that left me cold. I thought maybe I just read it when I was too young, glad to find someone who agrees.
It's one of my favorites. Copying what I wrote on another site, it's "the ultimate (hero's) journey down a river, and an examination of what that means: removal of the existential constraints of society, making the river-bound into the gods that define the constraints of the new world into which they drift. The river’s enrapturing mood of doom is omnipresent and irresistible. Absolute hubris and the resulting existential horror has never been more perfectly expressed." Why did you two dislike it?

[jesse]

I liked the first four, maybe I just hit a rough spot. Actually to be honest I don't remember the exact number I read and when I felt it had gotten tedious and formulaic. I stopped on the book involving a farm and chicken eggs.

Or maybe I just turned 10 haha. I read dozens and dozens of them... and still have them somewhere, stashed away in a box.

Looking back they were indeed formulaic, in fact I remember noticing even at a young age that the exact same passage was used in the first chapter of every single book, something like "Henry was 16 blah blah, Jessie was 13 blah blah..." After a few books I just skipped the entire thing.

But I loved 'em regardless, and did so well past the age of 10. :cool:

[jesse]

It's one of my favorites. Copying what I wrote on another site, it's "the ultimate (hero's) journey down a river, and an examination of what that means: removal of the existential constraints of society, making the river-bound into the gods that define the constraints of the new world into which they drift. The river’s enrapturing mood of doom is omnipresent and irresistible. Absolute hubris and the resulting existential horror has never been more perfectly expressed." Why did you two dislike it? Well, to be fair I didn't exactly give it a stellar reading--I didn't have the time so rushed through it, and this is a good example of a book not to do that too.

Still, even though I liked the structure and style, I found little compelling about the story and the characters and the journey, and to be frank about my own personal preferences its white European male-centric focus didn't sit well with me.

I'll probably revisit sometime it in the future though, just to make sure.

[Qrazy]

It's one of my favorites. Copying what I wrote on another site, it's "the ultimate (hero's) journey down a river, and an examination of what that means: removal of the existential constraints of society, making the river-bound into the gods that define the constraints of the new world into which they drift. The river’s enrapturing mood of doom is omnipresent and irresistible. Absolute hubris and the resulting existential horror has never been more perfectly expressed." Why did you two dislike it?

It wasn't so much dislike as just feeling let down when it didn't blow me away. I read it in eighth grade though so I may well have been just too young. I remember finding the thematics and semiotics (granted I didn't use the term back then haha) compelling but the choice of the moments Conrad decided to elaborate and the general narrative proceedings (particularly prior to the meeting with Kurtz) didn't seem as purposeful as I liked my literature back then.

[Melville]

Well, I can't argue with any of that. I read it 8 or 9 years ago, and I have basically no memory of the plot specifics... I mostly remember the mood and the philosophical overtones.

[lovejuice]

*make sure no one is around*

norwegian wood

*run away*

[Benny Profane]

The Man Who Was Thursday by Chesterton. What a total waste of time.

[Malickfan]

Hemingway's The Old Man & The Sea

[EvilShoe]

*make sure no one is around*

norwegian wood

*run away*
Ditto.

Fuck Murakami.

[SirNewt]

Hemingway's The Old Man & The Sea

You don't think this.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I rarely finish books I hate, but in school I read a few stinkers. Off hand:
My Sisters Keeper
Le Petit Prince
Anything by Dominique Demers (I've read 3 of her novels, Les Sapins ne meurent pas, something about a snowstorm and Maina)
Le Vieux Chagrin

OThers I can't think of.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I found Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale to be more exhibitionist than insightful but I wouldn't say I hated it. I rarely hate or won't finish a book... but one time I remember doing so was when I was a kid, 6 books into The Boxcar Children series. I told myself since I'd started the series I had to finish it but then I realized I was reading absolute piffle.
I haven't read this particular Atwood novel, but overall I can't say I like her writing style in the least. Grates on my nerves, especially in poetry. That being said, I do enjoy Alias Grace to a certain extent, it takes a few hundred pages for me to get past the style, but the story, characters, etc. are thrilling enough to sustain my interest.

[bac0n]

The book I had for the Discreet Math class I took. The concepts were poorly presented, and the examples skipped so many intermediary steps it was impossible to determine how they got from point A to point B.

I ceremoniously burned that book after the semester was through.

[Mysterious Dude]

I don't know that I hated it, but I did not find Death Comes for the Archbishop to be very enjoyable.

[SirNewt]

The book I had for the Discreet Math class I took. The concepts were poorly presented, and the examples skipped so many intermediary steps it was impossible to determine how they got from point A to point B.

I ceremoniously burned that book after the semester was through.

It didn't happen to be this one did it?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CJPWJN6JL._SL500_BO2,204,203 ,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg

[ledfloyd]

First one that comes to mind is American Pastoral by Philip Roth.


Catcher in the Rye
Invisible Man

you guys named 3 of my favorite books... *tear*

[Malickfan]

You don't think this.

Ohhhhh yes I do. Thankfully it was so short, I read it in one sitting.

[SirNewt]

Ohhhhh yes I do. Thankfully it was so short, I read it in one sitting.

Impossible I say! :|

[Malickfan]

Was just...well...bored. And the prose, the prose. Hemingway, you fucking journalist.

[SirNewt]

Was just...well...bored. And the prose, the prose. Hemingway, you fucking journalist.

:)


Did you read "A Farewell to Arms"?

[Mara]

you guys named 3 of my favorite books... *tear*

This thread contains so many of my favorite books that I'm just pretending it doesn't exist.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I actually disagree with every book listed (that I've read) aside from my own post.

[Mara]

I actually disagree with every book listed (that I've read) aside from my own post.

Checking.... yes. Exactly the same.

Except "Billy Budd," which while not great, was still pretty good.

[Raiders]

Emily "I hate love" Bronte's Wuthering Heights
Palahniuk's Diary

[Kurosawa Fan]

Emily "I hate love" Bronte's Wuthering Heights
Palahniuk's Diary

Diary sucked sooooooo bad. You just made my post above null and void.

[Mara]

Emily "I hate love" Bronte's Wuthering Heights


Ironically enough, I have a love/hate relationship with this book.

Spooky.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Checking.... yes. Exactly the same.

Except "Billy Budd," which while not great, was still pretty good.

Wait... does this mean you hate American Pastoral too? Please say yes so I'll have someone else on my side. :)

[Mara]

I don't generally finish books that I hate, or else I forget them, so I'm not sure what to post here.

The last book I threw against the wall (which happens, sometimes) was Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. I didn't finish it.

[Mara]

Wait... does this mean you hate American Pastoral too? Please say yes so I'll have someone else on my side. :)

Haven't read it. It doesn't particularly look like something I'd pick up, either.

[Duncan]

Definitely didn't hate it, but finishing Anna Karenina was a real chore because of its length. The number of books I have time to read is so limited that I usually choose books I'm fairly certain I'll be interested in even if the prose isn't great.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Haven't read it. It doesn't particularly look like something I'd pick up, either.

Ah. Well, that's something. I'll take it.


I don't generally finish books that I hate, or else I forget them, so I'm not sure what to post here.

The last book I threw against the wall (which happens, sometimes) was Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. I didn't finish it.

I won't read a book after 150 pages if I don't like it. However, Jude the Obscure was high on my list of books to read soon. What did you dislike so much about it? Just the story itself?

[Mara]

What did you dislike so much about it? Just the story itself?

Well, there's depressing, and then there's Hardy. I really find his prose beautiful, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles was lovely despite being a blow-by-blow torturing of our heroine.

But with Jude the Obscure I felt like he just hated his reader, and wanted to torture us for no good reason.

If you've read it, or don't mind a couple spoilers, I stopped reading when


Jude's child, who I think was about ten years old, murders his two younger siblings and then commits suicide.

At that point, I was done.

[Ezee E]

Emily "I hate love" Bronte's Wuthering Heights
Palahniuk's Diary
I never even finished it. I heard it gets pretty crazy at the end, but it was a pretty horribly written book.

[bac0n]

It didn't happen to be this one did it?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CJPWJN6JL._SL500_BO2,204,203 ,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg

I don't remember that cover, but it certainly could have been a different edition of the same book.

[SirNewt]

I don't remember that cover, but it certainly could have been a different edition of the same book.

Maybe just all Discrete Math books are evil in principle. This book, while demonstrating a problem would jump several steps and it was loaded with vague psuedo-code.

[Mysterious Dude]

But with Jude the Obscure I felt like he just hated his reader, and wanted to torture us for no good reason.

If you've read it, or don't mind a couple spoilers, I stopped reading when


Jude's child, who I think was about ten years old, murders his two younger siblings and then commits suicide.

At that point, I was done.
Oh man. I am totally going to read that next.

[SirNewt]

Brave New World

reading this now, lame.

Orwell owns Huxley

[Kurosawa Fan]

I think Orwell's book is better, but I still loved Huxley's take on a dystopian future.

[SirNewt]

I think Orwell's book is better, but I still loved Huxley's take on a dystopian future.

Well, I have to take my comment back a little. The book really improves about 2/3rds through.

We really do seem to be drawing nearer to Huxley's "Candyland-the-boardgame life experience. The increasingly saturated English language is something I notice everyday. Our language is so rife with cliches and so empty of meaning as it's used daily, sometimes I feel I can't even really communicate with most people. It's not their fault. Try writing just a page about anything without a cliche. I've found that even single words in regular use themselves constitute an entire cliche.

Also, the average human's increased interest in ever more juvenile pursuits is something that has troubled me for a while now. Perhaps this is an invented threat of my own apocalyptic imagination. Maybe I'm just looking back through a golden telescope.

[monolith94]

Well, there's depressing, and then there's Hardy. I really find his prose beautiful, and Tess of the D'Urbervilles was lovely despite being a blow-by-blow torturing of our heroine.

But with Jude the Obscure I felt like he just hated his reader, and wanted to torture us for no good reason.

If you've read it, or don't mind a couple spoilers, I stopped reading when


Jude's child, who I think was about ten years old, murders his two younger siblings and then commits suicide.

At that point, I was done.
Heh, I had forgotten about that.

Anyway, books I've hated…

Childhood's End springs to mind
Beloved
I wasn't a fan of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors…

most others that I've hated I didn't finish and aren't worthy of remembering.

[lovejuice]

honestly i've never hated any classic before, but now i do. Burmese Days is simply among the worst books i have ever read. everything is push to the stereotypical extreme, and even characters that we're supposed to root for, we don't. make me wonder why Achebe's never got off Conrad's back for heart of darkness when as an example of pre-colonial writing, BD surpasses HoD in condescension.

[Kurosawa Fan]

As soon as I saw this pop back up with a new reply, the first thought I had was, "I need to go in there and post The Alchemist". Man I hated that book. So, so much.

[Sycophant]

I am currently reading Twilight and it is the most wretched thing I have ever read.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I am currently reading Twilight and it is the most wretched thing I have ever read.

I found it dumb, but compelling. Until the end, which was bungled so badly I was just astonished.

[Sycophant]

I found it dumb, but compelling. Until the end, which was bungled so badly I was just astonished.

I'm about three-fifths through and most the sentences make me want to die.

[Winston*]

Why are you reading, Twilight, Sycophant? You're an adult man, it's not for you.

[Winston*]

I asked a girl "If in the first book there's a sexy vampire, and the second book there's a sexy werewolf, in the third book is there a sexy Frankenstein?". She said "no...but there are sexy zombies". This series is beyond parody.

[megladon8]

Yeah, I really don't understand why Sycophant would even bother with "Twilight".

Do you really think there was even a minute possibility you'd like it?

Anyways, for my most hated books, "Catcher in the Rye" and "Lord of the Flies" would both appear on the list.

[Spun Lepton]

Emily "I hate love" Bronte's Wuthering Heights
Palahniuk's Diary

I enjoy Palahniuk quite a bit and I would agree that Diary was his worst. It took me two attempts to read through it.

[Spun Lepton]

I don't think I've ever purposely finished a novel that I disliked, unless there was some other reason to read it. If I'm reading something for pleasure, and I'm not getting any pleasure out of it, I dump it.

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon was one that I had a particularly strong hatred for. I got half-way through before throwing it across the room.

Naked Lunch was another one that left me wondering what in the hell people saw in it, aside from a bunch of jumbled thoughts mimicking something "deep". I didn't get very far into that one.

[Benny Profane]

Anyways, for my most hated books, "Catcher in the Rye".

Please explain.

[Ezee E]

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon was one that I had a particularly strong hatred for. I got half-way through before throwing it across the room.


Reading it now, and aside from one chapter, I'm not liking it very much. What made you hate it so much though? I just don't like how it'll go off about an entire play for majority of the chapter.

[megladon8]

Jeez, "The Crying of Lot 49" would easily be in my top 10 books of all time. Look up a guide for reading the book along with. It's not a long book at all, so re-reading chapters with new knowledge in mind is not a huge undertaking and adds several new layers of depth to the story.

As for "The Catcher in the Rye", I found Holden to be an annoying and wholly unsympathetic character, and being that the book very much sympathizes with his plights I found it hard to derive any enjoyment from it. I've known people in my life who remind me of him and I absolutely loathe them intensely (or at least those Holden-like characteristics in them).

I suppose a large part of my dislike derives from the fact that I read it at a time in my life when I was becoming increasingly bitter towards these types of people. I had passed my teenage angst and alienation phase and was now looking at real problems in my life - my mom's illness, huge debt, trying to figure out what exactly my life would be, losing friends due to various circumstances out of my control, etc. - so I had little-to-no sympathy for Holden's "problems" which seemed pretty much non-existent to me.

[EvilShoe]

Dealing with death of brother = non-existent problem?

[Adam]

Catcher in the Rye is best first read when you're about 15 or 16

[Benny Profane]

As for "The Catcher in the Rye", I found Holden to be an annoying and wholly unsympathetic character, and being that the book very much sympathizes with his plights I found it hard to derive any enjoyment from it. I've known people in my life who remind me of him and I absolutely loathe them intensely (or at least those Holden-like characteristics in them).

I suppose a large part of my dislike derives from the fact that I read it at a time in my life when I was becoming increasingly bitter towards these types of people. I had passed my teenage angst and alienation phase and was now looking at real problems in my life - my mom's illness, huge debt, trying to figure out what exactly my life would be, losing friends due to various circumstances out of my control, etc. - so I had little-to-no sympathy for Holden's "problems" which seemed pretty much non-existent to me.


Depression caused by the death of a sibling and being on the verge of a nervous breakdown are certainly real problems. Especially in the highly uneasy teenage years. Holden is one of the most perceptive and sensitive protagonists, and the book is a lot more about dealing with grief and passing into adulthood than it is about angst and alienation. His double-standards of phoniness and snobbery just make him real, not necessarily unlikeable.

[Ezee E]

Still say that Catcher in the Rye is the best book I've read. And one of the few I've read twice.

[Dukefrukem]

Davinci Code

[Mara]

Davinci Code

Man, what a stinker.

[Benny Profane]

Kafka on the Shore - Murakami.

[megladon8]

Dealing with death of brother = non-existent problem?


No, I worded that poorly.

It's the arrogance, the "no one understands me" attitude that I found so unlikable. The death of his brother is awful, yes, but I thought he was an ungrateful jerk.

I know it's frowned upon to say "I didn't like it because I didn't like the character", but when so much of the book relies upon sympathizing with him, the fact that I didn't really killed it for me.

[megladon8]

Kafka on the Shore - Murakami.


Have you read any other Murakami?

I adored "Sputnik Sweetheart".

[Spun Lepton]

Jeez, "The Crying of Lot 49" would easily be in my top 10 books of all time. Look up a guide for reading the book along with. It's not a long book at all, so re-reading chapters with new knowledge in mind is not a huge undertaking and adds several new layers of depth to the story.

I'm not going to study for Pynchon's sake. He can go eat a bag of dicks.

[megladon8]

I'm not going to study for Pynchon's sake. He can go eat a bag of dicks.


Different strokes, dude.

That book changed the way I read.

[Milky Joe]

I'm not going to study for Pynchon's sake. He can go eat a bag of dicks.

What a great attitude to have! :rolleyes:

Stick to Palahniuk's miserable dreck. No "studying" required.

[Spun Lepton]

What a great attitude to have! :rolleyes:

Stick to Palahniuk's miserable dreck. No "studying" required.

Right, because a condescending piece-of-shit attitude is so much better.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Milky Joe]

What can I say? I have a bad habit of mimesis when dealing with condescending piece-of-shit attitudes.

[Spun Lepton]

What can I say? I have a bad habit of mimesis when dealing with condescending piece-of-shit attitudes.

I never condescended to anybody for liking Pynchon.

[Milky Joe]

OK, then, here is my revised post, and I stand by it:


What can I say? I have a bad habit of being condescending when dealing with piece-of-shit attitudes.

[Spun Lepton]

OK, then, here is my revised post, and I stand by it:

http://cdn2.knowyourmeme.com/i/17636/original/wahmbulance.jpg

[lovejuice]

It's the arrogance, the "no one understands me" attitude that I found so unlikable. The death of his brother is awful, yes, but I thought he was an ungrateful jerk.
i can't resist but ask....and you like batman? replace "brother" in this quotation with "parents", and you get my sentiment.

[Hugh_Grant]

I hated that freakin' Curious Dog blah blah blah book. My place of employment picked it for the common freshman reading experience a couple years back. What's worse is that they've decided to go with it again next fall. Seriously, of all the books students could read...

[Mara]

I hated that freakin' Curious Dog blah blah blah book. My place of employment picked it for the common freshman reading experience a couple years back. What's worse is that they've decided to go with it again next fall. Seriously, of all the books students could read...

I thought it was okay. I wouldn't put it on a required reading list, by any means.

[Hugh_Grant]

Twice in three years!!! *bangs head on the wall*

I also didn't care for The Lovely Bones or The Kite Runner. Those were some awkward book club meetings.

[megladon8]

i can't resist but ask....and you like batman? replace "brother" in this quotation with "parents", and you get my sentiment.


Actually I find Batman's self-pitying "my parents are dead...a thug killed my parents...I miss my parents...did I mention my parents are dead?" stories to be pretty annoying as well.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Depression caused by the death of a sibling and being on the verge of a nervous breakdown are certainly real problems. Especially in the highly uneasy teenage years. Holden is one of the most perceptive and sensitive protagonists, and the book is a lot more about dealing with grief and passing into adulthood than it is about angst and alienation. His double-standards of phoniness and snobbery just make him real, not necessarily unlikeable.

I agree with this. I'd also like to add that one of the major points of the novel is that despite what he's been through, Holden IS a little shit that needs to grow up. I definitely didn't get the sense that Salinger wasn't being critical of Holden, and I'm constantly surprised by the amount of people that 'admire' him or who are so overtly annoyed with him. Maybe that's what makes him such an enigmatic character, I guess.

As for the thread, I don't hate the book but I never found The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy very funny.

[Spun Lepton]

As for the thread, I don't hate the book but I never found The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy very funny.

Aww, man! This and Breakfast of Champions are the only two books I've read more than once.

[EvilShoe]

I've been pretty lucky these past few years. Can only recall two books I actively disliked:
* The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman - Laurence Sterne
* Sputnik Sweetheart - Haruki Murakami (sorry, Meg)

[Adam]

Aww, man! This and Breakfast of Champions are the only two books I've read more than once.

Breakfast of Champions is a weird choice for the only Vonnegut someone would read twice

[Mara]

Aww, man! This and Breakfast of Champions are the only two books I've read more than once.

I reread books compulsively.

[Philosophe_rouge]

I had to read My Sister's Keeper for school

[Spun Lepton]

Breakfast of Champions is a weird choice for the only Vonnegut someone would read twice

I guess I'm weird then. I really loved that book. I've also loved Slaughterhouse Five and The Sirens of Titan and may re-read those one day. Vonnegut is one of my favorites.

[Duncan]

Going to throw The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai out there. Can't believe that won the Booker.

[Hugh_Grant]

Going to throw The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai out there. Can't believe that won the Booker.

I just finished reading this one, and I have to admit I was disappointed.