The worst book you've ever read or had to have read

I honestly have never read a book i did not like. Of course i do not go and pick up a random book, i look for stuff that i might enjoy, and so far have not been let down. But i like practically anything. I mean i have not read any romance type stuff but there are usually little sub stories about love and i dont mind that. in fact i enjoyed the little romance part in Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy the most.

 

Someone mentioned Robert Jordan, but I just wanted to secound that.

I don't mind reading books with female MCs, GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire was among the best series I have ever read. But Jordan makes the female characters almost dominatrix-like, I really don't know how else to explain them.

 

I'm currently reading Brighton Rock for the second time in order to pass my Literature exam. I swear I've never hated a piece of writing so much in my life. It may be because of the incessant reading of it, but mostly I think it's due to the fact that absolutely nothing of note happens in the plot. It's so horrendously boring that I can't put up with it without going mental after ten pages :|

 

Wow. There are some times when I read a book, don't like it, and years later have realized that I simply wasn't ready for it. Either I wasn't in the right place mentally, emotionally, or I was simply not literate enough to enjoy the book on the level that I enjoyed it at a later time. There are a LOT of books in this thread that I can't believe are mentioned (multiple times even) and I'm hoping some of you come around to them in the future because some of them are very good, though I can see how you might not like some of them at the wrong point in your life.

 

Then I highly recommend "The New Testament Code" by Robert Eisenman.
This book will cure you of your malady.

I have no objection to alternative religious theory. Indeed, I relish it. That's why I bought the book.

I stopped reading the 1,200 page book, which has tightly-packed pages of small print text, around page 100, and I'm still amazed I got that far. Confusing, run-on sentences with a dozen tangents that go nowhere, almost whiny defense of his previous writing, and the complete inability to get to a point... this is truly a book that will allow you to say, "Wow, I finally read a book I didn't like."

That's really the only book I recall disliking for the way it was written.
I cannot imagine that there are not books you dislike for their content.

I cannot imagine, for example, if you are a liberal that you'll like Ann Coulter's books, or if you're a conservative, that you'll like Al Franken's.

If you are concerned about global warming, then you'll loathe Michael Crighton's "State of Fear," which has prompted me to never read that author again. Then again, if you buy into his trash, you probably won't like Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth."

I personally loathe the "Left Behind" series because I disagree with them on a moral and religious level, though others relish that series.

The pinnacle of my loathing lies in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." I actually believe that that book alone may be the major cause of our current economic crisis and the cause of untold suffering -- because many people read the book, and actually believed its message.

I know I mentioned these books in my earlier postings, but some might not page back that far.

By the way, I did not seek out these books as something I thought I wouldn't enjoy -- the "Left Behind" book, I didn't know what it was when I picked up the audio book in the library, it looked like some sort of mystery -- "State of Fear" seemed obviously to be a mystery thriller, instead it turned out to be a propaganda speech against the reality of global warming.

 

Perhaps I shouldn't be so hasty as I haven't gotten very far with it but... it's the only book i've started reading that I can actually call "bad" in personal opinion. Usually everything is "okay."

Anathema - Elizabeth Mary Collins

I just CANNOT adjust to it. It feels mediocre, poorly written and... eurgh. I know I'm not a great writer myself, at least she FINISHED her book. STARTED it even haha. But everyone has their opinions and I don't like it. It did initially give me hope like, if THIS can be published... sort of thing

 

I have a sense of humor that runs amok (which is why I mention the following), but I can honestly say that I absolutely loathe I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell.

I picked it up thinking it would be funny, and possibly touching in some long reaching sense. No. It's horrid. It's vulgar. It's not funny - at all. I can't even remember the name of the author, I was so traumatized. I hated it, plain and simple.

 

I did not care for Beloved at all. The author (her name is escaping me) said in an interview that she wanted to make it as confusing as possible in order to achieve the feel of slavery. Only problem is that I don't know what the heck half of the book is saying!

 

...its Toni Morrisson...how can you not like that book....ok ok leavng again! I'm far too easily offended...

 

I didn't like the Celestine Prophecy. I liked the spiritual message of the book, but I found the story itself to be almost unbearable and terribly written. But a lot of people disagree..

 

*hides from all the fans that will be lurking in a corner waiting to pounce on him and rip him limb from limb*

Twilight. My God, I got half way through it and was like 'Hang on, why the hell am I reading this!?' ...

 

Haha-- I'll try to read that book just for fun! Is it the Brighton Rock described on Wikipedia-- the one by Graham Greene? It seems to have a plot, at least according to Wikipedia it does.

 

The Bible

It's scary

Well, Jesus is a wonderful man, but God can be horrifying.

 

That one's almost in a category all its own.

In some ways, it's both the best, and the worst, book.

God can be horrifying, you're right, especially when dealing with the Amelikites or children who just made fun of a bald man. (To the latter, God sent a bear to maul the children and kill them. While I don't approve of making fun of a man's baldness, I'm not sure I'd have so extreme a reaction.)

Jesus is often wonderful though sometimes perplexing. Paul would be wonderful (1 Corinthians 13, I believe, was the "Love is patient and kind" passage I love so much) if he wasn't so sexist and homophobic -- traits Jesus did not share with him, by the way.

Much of the Jewish Hebrew Bible has been used to defend homophobia and, during the Salem Witch trials, killing witches -- although it says the same things about eating shellfish, and we haven't yet seen the "God hates shellfish eaters" signs of protesters at Red Lobster.

Sometimes the writings is pure poetry that sings to your soul, and I personally love the sermon on the mount, the parable of the good Samaritan, and many other wonderful parts, but other times it's as offensive as the worst writing one can imagine. Some of it (including but not limited to Revelation) is just plain wacky -- but entertaining if taken as wacky fiction! And much of it has been altered, distorted and mistranslated through the centuries.

 

I want to read it so bad! I've never read any of her books, and I've heard such strong opinions about them. I must find out for myself what is so terrible about these books!

I saw the movie and it was far too kiddie for me. Vampire romance without any sex or erotica = FAIL in my world. But I know it was aimed at pre-teens so that's cool.

 

Here's to hoping you're not talking about Twilight. I know I'll be damned by the many hordes of fans (including those moviegoers who watched my deflated rear-end mope down the stairs and out of the movie theatre half- way through the film.), but I'll just throw That Silly Welsh Guy in the way of danger and duck for cover.

 

Did you leave before the baseball scene? Cuz after that it got good, its like 2 completely different movies. The first bit is just awful and overwrought with angst (and AWFUL acting by the chick who plays Bella) but from the baseball scene onwards it gets more fun and watchable. I mean I wouldn't say good, but tolerable...

 

Hope was Here by Joan Bauer.
My classroom had to read this book, and it almost made me give up on literature. The characters are unbelievable, soulless, as well as the dialogue. The storyline is trashy and predictable. There are no deep emotional twists, and the fairy-tale ending achieves no emotional satisfaction what-so ever.
I sincerely think that this is the worst book ever written.

 

Either Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code or Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire. I had to read Code twice just to make sure that it didn't make any damned sense as a thriller (where did that guy get the list? why the hell does he want to kill them all off, anyway? They never do explain.) and was really just sensationalism. Interview was simply the most ridiculously angsty thing I have ever read. And I know both authors and books have rabid fans, but I stand by my judgement.

 

damn I totally forgot about Beloved, goes to show I should read farther back before I post. I totally second that. I could follow it, I just thought it was poorly written and ultimately totally sucked. I cannot believe that Toni Morrison won so many awards for that book. I chalk it up to white guilt.

 

Beloved wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was very well written. My guess is that if you didn't like how it was written, then you are also not going to like Faulkner. Morrison's style in this novel is actually similar to some of Faulkner's novels.

 

Ah, so you must have a case of the ol' White Guilt, too. Haha, no, I love Faulkner. His stories aren't boring and actually make sense. I just think Toni Morrison sucks. To me, her books are like Modern art. Everyone just pretends to like it because it makes them sound deep, when in reality, the work just sucks.

On an unrelated note, why on earth do so many people hate Catcher in the Rye? I think everyone who hates that book missed the point. It isn't just about teen angst, folks, there actually is alot more to it.

 

This made me lol. A lot.

Oh the irony...

 

I like modern art.

 

In recent memory, I'd say 'The Host,' by Stephanie Meyer. She took a perfectly respectable, if overused, idea and made it a gooey puddle of self-pity. It was like the ultimate cheer for unhealthy relationships. I'm alarmed by how many five-star reviews it recieved on Amazon. Is six hundred pages of an MC mindlessly pursuing an abusive man now the height of literature?