Peacefield Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I have not read it, but here in the U.S. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was very popular for a long, long time. Did anyone here who read it think it was overrated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixtyfoothigh Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I don't think The Lovely Bones is over-rated... it's a good read, which is what it was sold to me as. If it had been sold to me as the best book of the year then I would have thought it over-rated. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I also read and enjoyed it, and I think yes overrated, but I find anything that's a little controversial usually ends up as a best seller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmy619 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Life of Pi - althought most people who read it thought it was brilliant. Atonement was a little slow to start off with and I had to make myself finish it and I didn't think that Catcher in the Rye was brilliant. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it when it was written?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 The Twilight Saga - they're decidedly average. In particular, the most recent one isn't up to par. The way people rave about them, I expected a bit more. Don't get me wrong, they're fun enough to read, but they're not great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Even as a fan of Twilight I think it's massively overrated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles - I trawled through the first 5 books in the series and couldn't bring myself to continue with the series. She has some really great story ideas, but I can't stand her writing style. As a fan of vampire books, I was recommended this series time and time again by people who raved about them. To say I was underwhelmed is a major over-statement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I have not read it, but here in the U.S. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was very popular for a long, long time. Did anyone here who read it think it was overrated? I never managed to finish that book because the writing style didn't agree with me so I'm tempted to say yes. But then, I can't make a fair judgement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I loved Lovely Bones when I first read it a few years ago, but as I get older I don't enjoy it as much, I must admit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I think I actually tried it twice and I thought the idea was really original but that's about it. I can remember some parts quite vividly though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Yeah, it's the kind of book that's not to many people's taste, but it fits with my theory that controversial books become really popular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I don't think The Lovely Bones is over-rated... it's a good read, which is what it was sold to me as. If it had been sold to me as the best book of the year then I would have thought it over-rated. x I never managed to finish that book because the writing style didn't agree with me so I'm tempted to say yes. But then, I can't make a fair judgement. I hated it - the writing and the story were both terrible on every level. On of the most highly over-rated books of the last 20 years IMO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookBee8 Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I hated it - the writing and the story were both terrible on every level. On of the most highly over-rated books of the last 20 years IMO! Oh so maybe I was right in giving up on it! I liked the sound of one of her other books but decided against it because of her writing style in that one. I assumed they'd be the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I quite liked it, but agree it's overrated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I persevered to the very end in the hopes that it would improve, but it never did. I will never read anything by Alice Sebold ever again - life's too short! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I also disliked it immensely! I had 'Lucky' on my to read pile and I took it straight to a charity shop after finishing The Lovely Bones! A good idea, badly written and with (if memory serves) a poor ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I've read Lucky too, but didn't like it as much, but then again that's it's a true story of what happened to Alice I believe, so still sad to read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I also disliked it immensely! I had 'Lucky' on my to read pile and I took it straight to a charity shop after finishing The Lovely Bones! A good idea, badly written and with (if memory serves) a poor ending. A VERY poor ending if my memory serves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 If I remember the ending rightly it was what made me give it away, very poor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilde Lily Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) A Separate Peace by John Knowles (when it was was over I said. "so what?") I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (tries too hard to be shocking, but just succeeds in being offensive) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (B-O-R-I-N-G) Love Story by Erich Segal (I gag when I think of it) Edited March 17, 2009 by Wilde Lily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Good Citizen Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 I thought the Great Gatsby was ok to be honest but hardly the greatest American book ever written, so yeah, definitely overated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlette Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I got bored with the Harry Potter series. I enjoyed the first couple and then gave up on the third I think (although I have been told that the third is the 'best'). I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way about Harry Potter. In my case, though, I think I jumped on the bandwagon a bit late and then got caught up in the movie hype, so perhaps I ruined the series for myself... *shrugs* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Eco's "The Name of the Rose". Twenty-line sentences the middle ten of which are in Latin (with no ******** footnotes) aren't literary: they're pretentious, and that's all there is to it. Which is a shame, as the story is actually quite good - only known case of a movie (Sean Connery, Christian Slater) being better than its book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I agree about The Name of the Rose being overrated (and the filmk being better), but I still rather enjoyed it. I found that because the Latin sections were all in context, I understood the gist of what was being said and so it didn't detract from the story, for me, that there were no footnotes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melisa Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I tried to read 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon but gave up half way through as I was just bored! Anybody else read this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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