books you don't like

[crusader88]

I loathe Cat's Cradle, which I read last summer upon recommendation; thankfully it's a fast read too. The first half of Vonnegut's narrative is enticing, with the air of a good mockumentary, and, initially, the banana republic of San Lorenzo was the very image of my ideal guilty pleasure dream vacation destination. But about half way in, Vonnegut ruins the fine plot development by revealing the entire republic of San Lorenzo to be peopled by cynics and nihilists adhering to a "religion" which is little more than a philosophy of fate melded with crass impiety. Furthermore, Vonnegut strains a wacky and unintentional misuse of science to convey a sense of almost hyperbolical hopelessness which really let me down. So definitely avoid Cat's Cradle.

A larger tome to avoid is Joyce's Ulysses. Long before the painfully cynical, cryptic, and ofttimes just plain dull narrative's end, I realized that the epic existed for the sole purpose of displaying the author's mastery of divers styles of writing: fine, but mingling the lot of them was little more attractive than a dank mixture of all the colors of the rainbow. Not to mention that the characters are detestable and go unreproved for their pettiness.

A good alternative, combining the length of Ulysses and the threat of man's destruction human failure of Cat's Cradle, is David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest.

[Icarus]

The Twilight Series. When i read them, my personal reaction was "Eh." And then I saw the fanbase. Now, I snarl every time I see one of them.

Otherwise, I can't think of a book I disliked after I finished reading. I either don't read it, or give up on it. It could very well be that 15 pages later it turns into a barrel filled with awesome, but oh well.

[Icarus]

Crap, too late to edit my last post to include Richelle Mead's works.

[Atria35]

Crap, too late to edit my last post to include Richelle Mead's works.

Never heard of her. What about them don't you like? What does she write?

Eion Colfer's Airman doesn't jive for me. While I love his Artemis Fowl series and his other book The Supernaturalist, this particular one just isn't that interesting. I think I'm growing out of him Or maybe it isn't as good as the others. It's hard to tell.

[TWWK]

I generally dislike Hawthorne, and I absolutely loathe The Scarlet Letter. Tess of the d'Urbervilles is another classic I couldn't stand.

[Syreth]

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. I can't speak to his other works, but this book was tripe. Although I have to admit that it was quite an accomplishment for him to write essentially nothing for pages and pages. By the end, the only character I was remotely attached to was a minor character... because he actually had a personality. The idea of the story was interesting, but it was executed exceptionally poorly.

[Gala]

The only book I can say I honestly did not like was Gone with the Wind..

[Icarus]

Never heard of her. What about them don't you like? What does she write?

Just in general. She has three series currently: Georgina Kincaid; Vampire Academy; and The Dark Swan. After reading two of each, I realized that the only reason I'd read more is because I'd read the others. The stories don't interest me, I dislike the heroines of the last two series, and the first is about a succubus. So yeah, no more.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. I can't speak to his other works, but this book was tripe. Although I have to admit that it was quite an accomplishment for him to write essentially nothing for pages and pages. By the end, the only character I was remotely attached to was a minor character... because he actually had a personality. The idea of the story was interesting, but it was executed exceptionally poorly.

lol Wow, I felt the same way. I gave up after what was essentially an uneducated country bumpkin early in the book held his own against an old and learned historian in a debate. I was like "Yep, I'm done. Screw this."

Some of this other books are better. He's gotten stronger as a writer as time has gone on.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

an uneducated country bumpkin early in the book held his own against an old and learned historian in a debate

That sounds TERRIBLE. Warning duly noted.

And that, kids, is why I come to this message board.

[MomentOfInertia]

Eion Colfer's Airman doesn't jive for me. While I love his Artemis Fowl series and his other book

Yeah, that one didn't read as well as the Artemis books, I didn't not like but it wasn't as good as some of his other stuff. it was pretty good though.

[Furen]

Lord of the Flies was the worst book I was ever tortured to read... (I REALLY disliked it) I almost burned it (but it was the school's copy) if I ever see it again it will be too soon...

[Edward]

Even though it's not a book, I hated reading Othello. On the other hand, I loved Hamlet, and the other person in class who read it said he hated it. I also have a hard time getting into The Lord of the Rings, but I liked reading The Hobbit. Otherwise, there aren't too many books that I do not like. Either that, or I don't remember them.