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

re: My Immortal.

I googled it and got through 'chapter' three. I had to stop once they got to the Good Charlotte concert. That is the best piece of literature I've ever read.

I really hope it's an amazing joke.

You should really find "My Immortal, a very dramatic reading of chapter 17" on YouTube. (By username excitedlight.)

Wow, that was something special, and I think my favourite part is when it is revealed that Dumbledore is an Avril Lavigne fan.

 

Thank you, thank you for posting that on your blog, Merc. Joel and I laughed and laughed.

 

By my blog, do you mean my Tumblr? Do you follow me on Tumblr?! The only thing I dont like about Tumblr is that you dont always know who people are, like on Facebook. I dont know who approximately half of my followers are. I assume I know them though, since we seem to follow the same people.

And you're welcome. I just thought that was really...

special.

And everyone who mentiond My Immortal on this thread --Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. It's awesome.

 

Twilight.

 

Yes, your tumblr. Yes, I follow you. And My Immortal was pretty epically terrible.

I feel like Twilight is becoming sort of a copout answer at this point...as was mentioned not too many posts back, it seems like anytime anyone brings up a book or concept they don't like (or, god forbid, so much as mentions vampires, werewolves, or mythical creatures), the Twilight bashing begins.

I don't mean to single you out, and I'm not disputing anyone's right to dislike Twilight...I just think there have to be other books out there that are worse...Twilight can't have been the very worst book that so many people have read.

 

Sure it can. Most lousy books don't sell very well. Maybe Twilight has a unique combination of terribleness and great popularity. (I haven't read it, so I can't comment on its quality, but the sales figures speak for themselves.)

 

I suppose...still, though. I just feel like we're beating a dead horse.

 

I absolutely agree.
I am not a fan of Twilight, but I'm not about to go all "up in arms" about someone's guilty pleasure. I've got plenty of those myself.

 

The Guinevere series by Persia Woolley.

The worst excuse for a Mary Sue I've ever read. I wish I could sue her for murdering the Arthurian legend.

 

I'd have to vote for Space Probe 6: Nightmare on Vega 3 by Charles Huntington. I posted a review on my blog: [excerpted] "In summary, this book is the Plan 9 from Outer Space of novels. But at least in Plan 9, Bela Lugosi had the decency to die before it was completed. Charles Huntington showed his audience no such compassion." http://www.terryburlison.com/blog/275/reviews/spaceprobe6
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I don't mean to hate on Twilight and/or offend its fans, I just said what book I've read I think is the worst. Sure, there are probably a lot of books that are worse, I've just been lucky enough to avoid them ;P

 

It's all good, dude, I really didn't mean to single you out. Yours just happened to be the most recent Twilight post, so it was the one I quoted. For real, though, look through the thread and count how many times Twilight is mentioned vs any other title.

Ok, don't actually do it, that's kind of a colossal waste of time...but it's just a little unbelievable to me that such an overwhelming number of posters claim that is the very worst book they've ever read when, personally, I think there are lots of faaaaar worse books out there...it just seems like that's the easiest title to snatch out of the air, and to be honest, a small part of me feels like a lot of people who hate on Twilight do it not because they actually have read the books or care either way, but because it's the "cool" thing to do. /rant

 

Just because there is something worse out there, doesn't mean they have read them. The topic very much is what we have read and consider to be the worst.

Though I agree that the hate for Twilight is a bit much. Personaly I do dislike the book. It was annoying how Bella kept going on about how awesomely hot this guy was and how it made what Edward did so acceptable that really bugged me. Not the worst book by any means but... well it is definitely high on the list. lol

Though I think this might be because for the most part I have enjoyed all the books I have read. Even on some level even the worst books I have enjoyed somewhat.

 

As much as a loathe Twilight, hidden is right. This isn't the place for Twilight-bashing.

 

Tess Gerritson! That was the author's name!
She's doing a book signing at my nearest Waterstones this weekend; weirdly.

 

Oddly enough, it was two books I had to read in middle school. They were "The Cay" and the sequel "Timothy of the Cay".

And I'll put it in spoiler tags since it got to novel size. XD

Spoiler

Basically, the plot goes that an American named Phillip is onboard a ship that's torpedoed by the Nazis in 1941. He's rescued by an old black man named Timothy. Due to a freak accident involving a mast to head, Phillip is rendered blind as they make their way toward a remote, deserted island. The sequel "Timothy of the Cay" is basically Phillip's rescue and quest to see again while also being a prequel to "The Cay" which follows Timothy.

The first book was great, but the sequel, like many sequels often do, flopped.

I felt it was too rushed, there wasn't enough detail to keep me going and it was just generally confusing.

Try reading a chapter from the POV of a blind kid, only to turn to the next chapter and BAM you're decades into the past (The 1880s to be exact), in third-person following the adventures of the new younger version of the guy that died in the first book! Turn to the next chapter and you're now back with the blind kid again and now he's suddenly in a car with his parents nearing their home. Rinse and repeat through the entire book. I was left each chapter thinking: "Wait, what happened here? How did Phillip get there?"

The author also left out details or failed to tell the readers when changes of details take place. For example, when Phillip goes home, he gives his parents the cane he made in the Cay and attempts to enter the house. After he falls over and knocks over a lamp, his dad says they'll buy him a new cane. Now, I'm not saying there should've been a chapter where they went cane shopping, but I would think a line stating "Hey, Phillip's now using xyz" would suffice. I spent the book wondering if he were still using the old Cay cane or the one his dad said they'd buy.

It was that confusing (if not jarring). If the author really wanted to tell Timothy's story, then he should've made "Timothy of the Cay" a prequel all about Timothy and his life before the Cay and Phillip's story the sequel. That would have made much more sense and be a lot more easier to follow through.

As to why I still remember this? Because I wanted to re-read them for old times sake.

 

I remembered another book I read when I was a child that was absolutely horrible, but this one is a brazilian book, no english translations I believe. It is called The Silver Goblet (rough translation). Well the book was surrealistic, and nothing made sense AT ALL.

It was part of a series that I liked (the books were normal, not surreal) so I read the it. I regretted a lot!

The book had some parts like this:
"The professor read a two-thousand page book in three minutes, drank water and vomited a cat"

 

I just remembered another god-awful book that made "Timothy of the Cay" frikkin' Harry Potter by comparison! (And one I will willingly re-read despite it's chaotic patterns)

It was called "The Giver". This is all I remember of the plot: A boy in a world of black and white goes to this old guy that can see color. The old guy puts the boy through pain and discomfort in order to teach him color.

Or Brave New World. That's the second worst.

A book I thought was terrible at a younger age was "The Count of Monte Cristo". This was clearly a book meant for adults. Why would they assign this to a bunch of school-aged children, I will never know. Now, as a 21-year-old man, I can look back at it and actually be able to read it through.

 

I don't like that book either, nor do I like Aldous Huxley as a person.

 

You didn't like The Giver? That's one of my all-time favorites... I thought it had a really mature story and well-developed characters considering its length and target audience.

 

I can usually get into whatever book I keep reading and at least like it after I'm done. If I'm not into a book, I just won't read it. I won't finish it just to have 'accomplished' something.

 

Wow, I didn't mind that book. Its sequels, Gathering Blue and Messenger were arguably better.

 

I'm chewing my way through Paradise Lost as well -- it's a bit of an effort but I think it's worth it. I think the thing with old classics is that they predate the invention of plot formulas and dramatic charts and therefore are less predictable, got more personality and heart.

 

Twilight.

I had so many good expectations for the book, because people said it was so great, but it turned out to be one of the most boring experiences I´ve ever had.

 

"Twilight" is to literature what McDonalds is to fine cuisine.
It's an abomination of the writer's craft and a clear triumph of marketing hype over professional craft.

I'm usually ablet o read most fantasy and enjoy it, but the one book I've given up on before the end is "The Black Lion" (can't remember the author's name). Wjilst reading it, I just felt I was on the outside the whole time. The way it was written, I never felt as though I was part of the story. That killed it for me.