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Author Topic: Books You Can't Stand
Calligrapher
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Ulysses by James Joyce. The twentieth century's greatest novel? I forced myself but could only read about one third (360 pages in my version.) I had made a resolution to read more of the classics and thought I'd begin with the best of the twentieth century. After reading 360 pages I still had no idea what the book was about, so stopped reading out of frustration.

We try for a good hook in the first thirteen lines but James Joyce couldn't hook me in 360 pages. If James Joyce had Hatrack available, he could have spent time on Fragments and Feedback for critiques that would have helped him hone his skills. :-)

[This message has been edited by Calligrapher (edited December 29, 2005).]

[This message has been edited by Calligrapher (edited December 30, 2005).]


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HuntGod
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My heart warms to see my own aggravations reflected by others.

Donladsons first book Lord Foul's Bane is one of the few books to make me actually toss it down in disgust, not just once, but each and EVERY time I tried to read it. I've tried to read this book at least 5 times and each time as I got to page 62, or maybe 67 (in the paperback) where he rapes the young women that helps him, I've tossed the book down and said never again. Congratulations to Donaldson for creating such an irredeamable character that I have NO interest in reading more. Something about the combination of no moral compass and constant whining made this character dead in my opinion.

Imagine my surprise when I scrolled down further and saw the post regarding PAolini's Eldest...I at first was shocked since Eldest was a FAR better book that Eragon. After reading the complaint it made more since. Eragon is Star Wars with Dragon riding Jedi, Eldest breaks out of that mold, but in the process the main character, which was only mildly interesting to begin with becomes even more of a caracature. The main characters cousin Roran though is engaging and interesting and honestly the only part of the book worth reading. I hope it is indicative of what Paolini is capable of.

Jordan has a similar problem in his WOT books, in that the Rand story has become boring and the Mat and Perrin stories have become engaging, and in the last book (Knife of Dreams) Egwenes story actually becomes pretty interesting.


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x__sockeh__x
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Well, let's see...there are some, I know it. I'm just having a temp. brain blockage. ^^;; Well, there's one book that I bought at some old used book sale in a mall once...it was called Adventure Stories For Girls. And ALL of the main characters were guys. o.o;; Kinda weird.
But, books that I just plain hated...if I was at home I could tell you more.
I couldn't get into Artemis Fowl, though I didn't really hate it.
Maybe I'll post again in a few days...I'll be able to check my bookshelf then, lol.

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benskia
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I've changed my vote.
I forgot about that Eragon book until it was mentioned a few posts back.
Dreadfull.

Oh, and I remember now that coincedentally, Paolini's parents are publishers & just happen to own the company that published Eragon.

Just goes to show--it's not always what you know...


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cvgurau
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Two things.

First, I've remembered another book: Pyromancer. I got all excited when I saw it in a used book store I'd wandered into, and promptly paid the four-something for it. When I got home, I read twenty or so pages of a world that would make Walt Disney sick (everything spoke and moved! Furniture, eating utensils, lamps. . .) and I put it on my bookshelf and never picked it up again.

Second: I'd hate to correct you, benskia, but although Paolini's parents own a self-publishing company, that's only part of the reason for his success.

After printing up his own books, he took them on tours across the country (at book faris, schools, et cetera), and sold enough that Knopf got interested, and picked it up.

So he must have had some skill.


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x__sockeh__x
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Benskia, I'd have to disagree, also. =/ I found Eragon a great book. The only part of it I really had a problem with was the first chapter, I think. But I kept reading, and it paid off.
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Robert Nowall
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This is more for the older crowd, or at least people who've put a few years into reading, but...ever read a book when you were younger, enjoyed it immensely...then read it again many years later and thought it was awful?

I enjoyed E. E. "Doc" Smith's "Lensman" series when I first read it...then picked up a reprint of "Triplanetary," Vol. One in the series awhile ago, and---well, it wasn't anything to write home about. I'm aware of its importance in the Scheme of Things Science Fictional, but I guess I have less tolerance for Smith's handling of dialog and character than I did way back when. (I'd hoped to pick up others in the series as they were reprinted (as I recall, the meat of the series lies elsewhere, in volumes three through six) but, to my knowledge, they have yet to come out.)


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Casefile
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Anything by Earnest Hemmingway. His writing style is WAY too dry for my tastes.

I also hate the short story "Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets," for being badly written, having a contrieved plot, and a character who's realistic for .5 sentences.


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Lanius
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I've come across a few posts to this forum that approach the level of "books I can't stand" -- though it may just be my short attention span. Too much TV as a kid, I guess.

Salvatore's Dark Elf books were awful. I found the main character initially interesting, but everything else was cookie-cutter fantasy with far too many endless sword fights described in excruciating detail.


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Elan
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quote:
Salvatore's Dark Elf books were awful. I found the main character initially interesting, but everything else was cookie-cutter fantasy...

Keep in mind that Salvatore's fiction is "cookie-cutter fantasy" in the same way that some people dismiss Tolkien. It's only "cookie cutter" because we have seen so many people imitating him.

Salvatore MADE the cookie cutter, when it came to the concept of dark elves. His books about Drizz't were unique when they were first published. Like you, I favored the first few books but tired of the series after awhile. It became far too graphically violent for my tastes. But that doesn't mean I don't acknowledge Salvatore's contribution to fantasy.

[This message has been edited by Elan (edited December 31, 2005).]


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Lanius
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I don't know. What major component of Salavatore's Dark Elf books was not standard fantasy fare? It is a basic Tolkien world inhabited by Tolkienesque species -- a milieu copied by Salvatore and MANY others.
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DotcomRefugee
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Not THE most horrible for me, but I had real trouble with Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." After hearing it mentioned for years, I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about.

Rand's characters have this tendency to whip out the old soap box, time and time again. Granted, the purpose of the book was for Rand to expound her philosophies. I expected some of this. But these speeches go on, literally, for dozens of pages at a time. In a single quote!

And they all sound exactly the same. Her intriguing alternate-history setting would dissolve, leaving only Rand herself lecturing directly to the reader. Yawn!

And I do mean "yawn" in the painfully literal sense. Painful, because I like to read most when I go to bed and I'm about to fall asleep. The combination of sheer mass and boredom made for a dangerous reading experience. More than once, the book slipped from my unconscious fingers and rudely slapped me upside the head. If that's not a clear indication that the book has problems, I'm not sure what is.

Rand could have told the same story in about 1/50th as many words, for a much more riveting experience. I'm sympathetic to her philosophies somewhat, but I found myself dreading the nightly reading. I forced myself to finish it, rewarding myself with a stack of dusty old Asimovs afterward.


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rcorporon
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I would like to agree with what has been said of R. A. Salvatore. His Dark Elf trilogy and Icewind Dale trilogies were excellent.

However, after book 124 I stopped caring. TSR needs to move on.


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franc li
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Someday when I want a good laugh, I'll have to remember to look up Ayn Rand on Wikipedia. It should be entertaining. I think her disciples probably keep someone camped on the entry 24/7 to make sure no bad edits get in. It probably shows how many of her books they were able to get voted into the top books of the century internet poll.
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Robert Nowall
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Ayn Rand is kind of hard to take, but I hear she influenced a lot of people. (Alan Greenspan was part of her movement, I hear.) But my reading of her didn't even get to the point of reading part of it and putting it down...I merely thumbed through copies when I used to work in a bookstore, then put them back on the shelves and decided they weren't for me. (I *did* watch part of the movie version of "The Fountainhead," though.)
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apeiron
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Yeah, you could just read the chapter called "John Galt Speaks" and get the theme of the whole book in one three hour shot. It says in the book that John Galt speaks for three hours, and I've heard that it actually takes three hours to read his monologue. Blegh. What I really detested about the book was the POV. Ayn tries to write as if she is in the head of the characters, but the narrative is tainted with her opinion throughout. Instead of showing us through their actions that certain characters are evil, she basically tells us. And worse, she has the evil characters tell us that they feel evil! She prides herself on being the first author to write fiction to expound the author's own philosophy, but this isn't real fiction. Good story concept. Could make a great story. But I think any author on this forum would give her a scathing crit in terms of writing style.

I hated Atlas Shrugged when I read it, but in hindsight I'm glad I did. Her philosophy has made me far less...how to put it? Hippy-ish?


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Christine
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Least favorite book of all time: The Great Gatsby. Icky. Icky. Icky.

I also didn't like:
David Eddings (a trilogy...something about a throne in the title)
Ice Nine by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Everything I read by Gregory Benford (too into the science not enough into plot and character)
Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Martin (my husband actually likes this...one of our few points of disagreement when it comes to literary matters)


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Elan
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It's occurring to me that it's difficult for me to come up with a list of least favorite books. Mainly because when a book starts to annoy me, I put it down and move on in favor of something better. This is a direct result of the epiphany I had several years ago that books are NOT vegetables, and that no one cares if I finish them or not. I decided I'm not going to live long enough to read all the GOOD books I want to read, so why waste time on the bad?

Books I couldn't finish:
--the Thomas Covenant series
--The Camber of Culdi series
--The Shanara series
--David Eddings everything
--The last couple of books by James Michner (although I did plug through Hawaii, Centennial and some book about Alaska)
--Some book about Robin Hood by an author who couldn't have the MC move without having him run his fingers through his long locks... after the twentieth rendition I was ready to upchuck
--The seventh prequel book to Dune by Brian Herbert
--The last couple of books of the Dune series by Frank Herbert
--The last two books of the Clan of the Cavebear/Earth Children series
--anything by Ursula LeGuin
--The Silmarillion
--The last couple of books of the Narnia series
--Anything after the first book of the Robert Jordan "Waste Of Time" series


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Christine
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I just put down "Quicksilver" by Niel Stephenson....the guy can't write to save his own life. The dialogue was impossible to follow (and I mean in terms of who was speakingw hich line...have you ever heard of a dialogue tag?)?) Too bad. The premise was interesting.
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Crotalus@work
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To answer Robert:

I read a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs as a boy. Then put him down when I was a teenager, discovering Asimov and then OSC. The first time I picked up a Tarzan novel after becoming an adult I couldn't believe how terrible the writing was.

Same thing with Thomas Covenant series. I read these when I was in Jr. High, early High School. I attempted a second read a few years ago and couldn't believe what I was reading. Great story, terrible execution.

A more recent book that I can't stand is the final installation to King's 'Dark Tower' series. The constant reader deserved better. Roland deserved better. Ka indeed. Ka-ka is more like it.


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HuntGod
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RE: Quicksilver and Stephenson

The Baroque Cycle is a very difficult read, but it is worth the investment, you just need to struggle past the first 1/3 of the first book and the story picks up.

Quicksilver, Confusion and System of the World are really good examples of 2 books, fused together. The 2 stories are very different. The Daniel Waterhouse story is very hard to read, the Jack Shaftoe story is the opposite.


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cvgurau
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I have to say, I'm pretty suprised by some of the books mentioned, here. I haven't read most of them (and given the reviews, I wasn't planning to), but others, a couple in particular, I absolutely could not put down.

But then, that's probably how some felt about books I detest.


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Ray
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I don't have many books that I hate with a passion because I rarely finish anything I don't like. Most of the time, if I get wrapped into a story but I absolutely despise it, I'll skip to see how it ends just to satisfy my curiosity. I've done this with Time for the Stars by Someone I Can't Remember, and The Da Vinci Code--I skipped at least thirty chapters, and I didn't miss a thing.

The only book I've read all the way through that I hate is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This shocked me because I loved Of Mice and Men, but I despised Grapes for the characters in the family. Nearly all of them had some despicable characteristics--the only one I liked was the mentally retarded brother, and he disappeared halfway through the book. The interlude chapters between the family story were more interesting, but they so rarely had anything to do with the main plot other than backstory.


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pmcalduff
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When it comes to reading I’m like a dog with a bone. Even if it tastes bad I just can’t let it go. I even managed to finish Stephen King’s Dreamcatcher despite the fact that he kept telling the same story over and over and over from different character’s points of view. In my adult life there is only one book that I have picked up and not read to the end and that was Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales. Although I loved the Lord of the Rings, Unfinished Tales was just so boring. Every time I opened it book I though I was going to fall asleep. Finally I gave it away to my stepbrother.
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cvgurau
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Does the Bible count?

Not that I couldn't stand it (some parts are actually quite fascinating), I could just never finish it.


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Kathleen Dalton Woodbury
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Time for the Stars was by Heinlein.


There are many reasons for not being able to finish a book, and hating it is only one of them.

So I don't know if you could count the Bible in this case.


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Christine
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I agree with Kathleen. I, too, have not finished the Bible but it is not because I hate it. Actually, it's because it would take too much work to read it the way I need to read it to get anything out of it. I refuse to just look at the words. I want historical context. Alas, I am too lazy to actually take this effort.

And yet another reason for putting down a book...I just started "American Gods" but had to put it down for a semi-complex reason. I "read" my books on tape or in large print. (For those who don't know, I'm legally blind.) In this case, it was on tape, and the use of the "F" word a dozen times in the first ten minutes forced me to send it back to the library unfinished. I am not personally offended by the cussing, but I have this new baby and the rules of the game have changed. There are many movies I will not be able to watch for many years now, either.

Unfortunately, getting scifi or fantasy books in large print is almost impossible, and this case is no exception. There are always headphones, but then I can't get up and move around and besides, he's getting into his grabby stage. I don't think they'd stay in my ears very long.

I've also put down books because something better to read came along and I couldn't wait to read the second book. Usually, I get back to the first but in a few cases I have not, especially when the beginning was slow as in the case of Ringworld by Larry Niven. (Niven?...I think that's right) I started reading it, Harry Potter 6 came out, I put it down and failed to pick it up again the next week. Oh well. I guess that goes to show the importance of a good, memorable hook.

Re: Quicksilver. 1/3 of the book is over 300 pages! Sigh...I'll think about it. Meanwhile, I moved on to another book.

[This message has been edited by Christine (edited January 05, 2006).]


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