<p>Numerous cafe threads are dedicated to good books you have read, but what books have you tried to read, which received at least some critical acclaim, but which you thought were not worth reading? And why? (No offense to the people who loved them.)</p>
<p>I’ll start with Edward Jones “The Known World” - bad grammar and impossible to follow. 50 pages was 49 too many.</p>
<p>Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad.
Hated it.</p>
<p>“The Shack” Forget who wrote it. </p>
<p>Anything by Robert Patterson</p>
<p>Lord of the Rings and anything else by JRR Tolkien. And the dreaded Harry Potter.</p>
<p>^^^
Ah, Someone else who hates fantasy!</p>
<p>“The Alchemist” didn’t quite match up to the raves I heard about it, for me.</p>
<p>White Teeth by Zaide Smith; I am British so thought I would relate…couldn’t understand the hype she got.</p>
<p>Been trying to get through In the Garden of Beasts. About a third into it, and think I am giving up. Anyone who has read it, should I continue to plod through?</p>
<p>A friend raved about Jodi Picoult so I bought a book of hers years ago – I think it was Sister’s Keeper. Threw it down after page 1. So many stupid hackneyed plot devices – orphans, babies given up for adoption. I was waiting for amnesia to hit one of the characters.</p>
<p>As an aspiring writer, I have submitted “partials” to agents. First 50 pages. That’s all they need to know if they want to read more. So if you read the first 50 pages and it doesn’t grab you, put it aside and do something else. Life is too short.</p>
<p>Ulysses, by Joyce. I tried to read it, but couldn’t.</p>
<p>(I don’t like Jodi Picoult, either.)</p>
<p>I also hated The Pilot’s Wife, by Shreve.</p>
<p>Recent Kindle purchases of new releases that really stunk were The Hypnotist, The Snowman and Now You See Her. Granted, these are beach reads and not high literature, but they were awful!</p>
<p>I tried to read the Poisonwood Bible and just couldn’t get in to it.</p>
<p>Hated “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”.</p>
<p>Eat, Love and Pray- My whole book club hated it. Talk about self centered.</p>
<p>I hated Shipping News by Annie Proulx, but managed to finish it. But I couldn’t get past the first couple of chapters of Postcards. I don’t for the life of me understand why people think she’s a good writer. </p>
<p>I also hated Poisonwood Bible. But I’ve loved Kingsolver’s other books. I think you either adore or despise this one.</p>
<p>Anything by James Joyce.</p>
<p>Lovely Bones by Sebold. A cure for insomnia.</p>
<p>War and Peace.</p>
<p>Moby Dick.</p>
<p>Ulysses.</p>
<p>The Almost Moon by Sebold. (I liked The Lovely Bones and Lucky, but this one was awful.) </p>
<p>Of Human Bondage.</p>
<p>anything by Faulkner… once read a review by someone that said you need to bring your own supplies of commas, periods etc when you read Faulkner…i agree.</p>
<p>Sundays with Morrie</p>
<p>actually anything by Mitch Albom</p>
<p>Touching Spirit Bear—highly acclaimed for middle school students so I tried to get through it to see what the hype is; ugh, no wonder my own kids hated it</p>