Kylie Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 I was surprised as well, Poppy. I've only read one Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men). I remember thinking throughout the book that it was just 'good' but it wasn't until I got to the end that my opinion changed to 'brilliant'. I have several other of his works waiting to be read, so it'll be interesting to see what I think of his longer stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukeozade100 Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 What is with all the dislike of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I loved that book! But ah well, each to his own. I can understand why people wouldn't reccomend Sophies World, unless someone wanted to study Philosophy (or was interested in that sort of thing) I think it'd be pretty rubbish for them, the actual story is pretty rubbish, but I learnt enough from it and I can get my head round a bit more in life than I could before so I guess it does have it's good points. Middlemarch I loked as well Though anyone who had to study it I can completley understand why they'd dislike it. I don't think i've ever enjoyed a book that I had to study at school, probably why I didn't do English lit at A level! I remember really not enjoying Of Mice & Men when I had to study it in Year 9, I didn't even find the end moving, but when I reread it earlier this year I thought it was wonderful and it was the first book that has ever made me cry (Also I think a spirited defence of Dorian Grey may be in order, I don't think its at all a book where you should relate to the people, or even like any of the characters, I think if you don't mind not relating to the characters this can be a great read but if you do prefer a book that will completley draw you in its maybe not for you) Now, books I wouldn't reccomend; The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury I bought this on holiday because i'd read all the books i'd taken with me, and I have to question if i'd have seen it through if there'd been any other book to distract me (and I almost always see novels through!) It is just shoddy Dan Brown and I really just thought it was all codswallop. Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett This isn't a novel but a sort of journalistic look back on the Spanish Civil War and its repurcussions in Modern day Spain, and I thought i'd enjoy this when I bought it (having just read Homage to Catalonia and the Shadow of The Wind and Winter In Madrid and being mildly taken in by all things Espanol) but it is just so so dull, the chapters are too long to finish in one sitting because of there length and slow slow pace, and its just a badly written book:irked: The Unbearable Lightness Of Being by Milan Kundera Or it may be 'The Book Of Laughter & Forgetting, one of them is wonderful, but the other really nowhere near it, sadly they have now just blurred into one book in my mind (Kundera isn't the sort of writer who drives his books through the narrative and characters) theres ideas in the books like Litost http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Litost+%5BLee'+-+toast%5D that to my then 16 year old mind were great, but now I'm a bit unsure of the whole thing! Other than that I don't really know, I doubt i'd reccomend Herodotus to anyone whos thinking of buying it purely because of The English Patient, which is why I bought it but fortunatley I think i'll be able to see it through as I do enjoy a bit of History now and then, and there are little odd bits in it that are pretty good, but I am having to break it up by reading a novel inbetween each of the 6 books Herodotus is split into... Winter In Madrid wasn't actually all that good. And I found The God of Small Things to be very heavy going and a bit unintelligable at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Without having to think long I can name my worst read ever and it is Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Talk about a depressing novel! I had no sympathy for the protagonist, she was such a miserable person without a will of her own, and no matter how many hardships she had to endure, I didn't grow to sympathize with her but I sure grew to hate her. I would never have read it through if it hadn't been on one of our literature courses. I have to think about the other four and consult my books-that-I've-read -list when I get back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 Can only think of 3 but I'm sure there must be more! Sophies World by Jostein Gardner (that seems to be on a few of the posts! Just so irratating and patronising) A Quiet Belief in Angels- R.J Ellory (I just thought it was so badly written-it made me furious!) Left Bank-Kate Muir (the characters were all so unsympathetic!) Just goes to show how different reactions to a book can be- I loved Ghosts of Spain! Actually I lent one of Andrew Martin's detective novels to my mum (we usually have the same taste in books) and she hated it so much she threatened to throw it in the river! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelastwatcher33 Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Sorry still dont know how to bring the quotes into my replies! Ulysses is a master piece but at the same time I think it is unreadable without understanding something about the politics behind it and the stuff Joyce was trying to push the boundaries on. I certainly would never have understood it otherwise! Also, Joyce's opinions on women were derogatory in many ways. Has anyone read Patricia Scanlan "City Girl" or "City Woman"? (Cant distinguish between them. Awful,awful books. Pamela, maybe its literary history doesnt mean I have to like it! The Da Vinci code had such potential but I found it to be all over the place and terribly written to boot. I kept waiting for it to improve, but to no avail. Theres more awful books I m sure but I ve tried to erase them from my memory! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hmm... Can't think of 5, because I don't often remember the names of books that I stop reading part-way through. So here's a couple of recent ones, that I can remember. 1. "The Crossing" by Cormac McCarthy. Sorry, I know some people love his books, but I just can't stand the lack of full stops, and the dozens of "and"s in each sentence. McCarthy's novels are an acquired taste I'd imagine. 2. "Off The Map" by John Harrison. Maybe true adventure stories don't appeal to me, but I thought the writing style seemed too cynical and lacked the gripping nature one would expect from an adventure story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tambo Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 (edited) I do try to dispel my disbelief when I read, I do want to enjoy the books. These two just took me a step too far though. I don't mind slagging them off as they're both well established and commercially successful authors. WARNING - SPOILERS Step on a Crack : James Patterson Biggest heist in the history of New York. The police negotiater, while carrying out his negotiating duties, and seeing to his terminally ill wife, and 13 kids (at christmas time) also single handedly cracks the case. Who makes the arrest of the big baddy? You've guessed it, and all by himself believe it or not. Treasure of Khan : Clive Cussler Father stumbles across resting place of Genghis Khan, not really looking for it, it's just there. Meanwhile on the other side of the world, son is dikking around right next to the resting place of Kublai Khan. That annoyed me a little, my main gripe was that the fight sequences got very repetitive. I might read another Cussler one day, because there were some redeeming features of the book. (I enjoyed the first half) You'd have to pay me to read another James Patterson though. If I were stuck in a bathroom with a copy, I would first read the sidesa of all the shampoo bottles. Edited August 13, 2008 by Tambo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Los Ping Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) I love books but there are some books that I could just never get into or hated reading. For me, I could never read the Lord of the Rings series. I would go about 200 pages into it and I couldn't go any further. It was just really boring to me. Edited January 20, 2009 by Michelle merged with similar thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Jacobs Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) Tabitha King's books. Too much graphic violence sex and swearing UGH! John Grisham. As soon as I found out he was a production line author. He was so wideley read that he could pump out any old rubbish made me think he was concieted. 48 By James Herbert A poor Chase novel. Chase Novels ie the goody running from the baddie and the goody wins. In a Buick 8 Stephen King. Just a load of words that did not make any sense. Edited January 20, 2009 by Colin Jacobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 A Quiet Belief in Angels- R.J Ellory (I just thought it was so badly written-it made me furious!) Ouch, that bad? Anyone else got any opinions on this, I was thinking of reading it very soon actually.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahsilet Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer Though I don't want any book banned or censored, I still don't like young girls reading it. Especially in their most vunerable years of life. Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey by Alison Wearing This book is suppose to break down stereotypes of Iran and to see it in a different light, but if anything, it makes me want to stay as far away from Iran as possible. This is the worst travel memoir every. The descriptions are over-descripted and the book is just dry and BORING. Marley & Me by John Gorgan Edited January 21, 2009 by Ahsilet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Jacobs Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I think I have a quite belief in angels on my TBR I hope I might enjoy it. I read a bad review about Snowblind by P.J.Tracy but enjoyed the book it was an american review. It seems that tastes differ from us in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Without having to think long I can name my worst read ever and it is Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Talk about a depressing novel! I had no sympathy for the protagonist, she was such a miserable person without a will of her own, and no matter how many hardships she had to endure, I didn't grow to sympathize with her but I sure grew to hate her. I would never have read it through if it hadn't been on one of our literature courses. I "read" this early in high school for a class.. and for some reason, I remember liking it (which really only means that my high school teacher at the time probably presented Tess in a wonderful light -- we're so easily persuaded by teachers' opinions about literature when we're that young!). This is really interesting that you feel this way.. It makes me want to pick up the book again as an adult, and see if I come out with the same feelings about Tess. My perspective may be totally different from high school, when I remotely went along with what my teacher fed us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I "read" this early in high school for a class.. and for some reason, I remember liking it (which really only means that my high school teacher at the time probably presented Tess in a wonderful light -- we're so easily persuaded by teachers' opinions about literature when we're that young!). This is really interesting that you feel this way.. It makes me want to pick up the book again as an adult, and see if I come out with the same feelings about Tess. My perspective may be totally different from high school, when I remotely went along with what my teacher fed us. It would be interesting to see if you'd still feel the same way about Tess And I've seen that some people on this forum have really enjoyed the book so there are positive opinions about Tess too. I've actually thought about reading the book again myself, just to see if I'd still feel as strongly about it and whether I have softened up and could try to understand her a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Ahhh I have to read that this semester Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Ahhh I have to read that this semester I'm not going to say 'Poor you!' because you might enjoy it. Remember to report what you thought about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 1. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole 2. The Shack - William P Young 3. Left Behind - Tim F. LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins 4. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova 5. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom Top three in the New York Times Best sellers list (Why??) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 1. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole 3. Left Behind - Tim F. LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins Top three in the New York Times Best sellers list (Why??) I quite liked A Confederacy of Dunces, but can fully understand why Left Behind is on there. I struggled through about 6 of the books before I gave it up. The premise was good but execution very poor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I quite liked A Confederacy of Dunces, but can fully understand why Left Behind is on there. I struggled through about 6 of the books before I gave it up. The premise was good but execution very poor. OMG I got soooo sick of the Left Behind series and they were ALL the rage at the time.. I will never understand how they made so much money of those books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Paterson Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I must confess to only having read 3 books in the last 7 years (i feel a lynching coming on hehe) of those only 1 I found to be completely mind boggling! Quenta Silmarillion by J.R.R Tolkien. It took me twice as long to read this than it did the entire Lord of the Rings set, his use of elven names for everything had me somewhat dumbfounded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I must confess to only having read 3 books in the last 7 years (i feel a lynching coming on hehe) Before my hand gets too twitchy with the rope...at least you read three! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Paterson Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Before my hand gets too twitchy with the rope...at least you read three! haha! i've never really been a big reader but Tolkiens' stuff was really enjoyable - I finished The Hobbit in 3 days, great books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I don't know anyone who's read 10 pages of Silmarillion who'd recommend it. It's legendarily unreadable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Paterson Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Aye, some fella told me that by reading it, LOTR would then make more sense - he lied. After reading it, he laughed, told me he never read it but was impressed I managed it. I didn't understand it, but I still read it (Save for the chapter "of the downfall of N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitra Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I don't know anyone who's read 10 pages of Silmarillion who'd recommend it. It's legendarily unreadable. My brother read the whole book and loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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