Worst book you have read

[rockyracoon]

Leading on from chaptazbru's thread about the best books you have read, what are the worst.

Mine are The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, what an absolute boring load of twaddle, this is closely followed by We Need To Talk about Kevin, which I am struggling to get through at the moment and Animal Farm by George Orwell, this I had to read at school and felt like crying everytime I was sat in my English Class.

[Bambiagain]

I am ready to be shot down in flames over these, but I hated all of them:

The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
The Catcher in the Rye (which I read when I was over 40, so perhaps I was just to old to "get it".
Heart of Darkness.

[daffy654]

Da Vinci Code

[Traci66]

I know I am going to get slated for this but the only book I have never been able to finish was Lord of the Rings, it took me there years to get two thirds of the way through it and then they made the films, so I didn't bother finishing the book, just watched the films to see how it ended. Sorry all you Tolkien fans.

[Philtaz]

A Clockwork Orange was hard going.

[maggiebee]

Have tried to read Jane Austin but just end up getting really fed up with all the middle class twaddle so have given up for good. Didn't like Tess of the d'Urbervilles but was told I was probably too old when I read it.

[craft1948]

I absolutely agree with your assessment of The Time Travellers Wife, I found it absolutely dire.
I've hated Animal Farm, along with Cranford, as they were my 'O' Level books.

[Kiki-frog]

Ooh, rocky, good thread! I have tried so hard to read Jung Chang's 'Wild Swans', but it has got to be the most boring read ever. But that's just pipped at the post by Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness', which I had to read as a student. How can any writer be so respected, and yet so bloody tedious!?

[zebo]

I tried the Time Traveller's Wife, couldn't get into it, though I did enjoy the Kevin book, if enjoy's the right word! The Da Vinci Code I thought was loathsome, I'd read Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, so knew exactly where it was going, I don't care what the Courts said! In fact, I detest all the genre of Da Vinci code knock-off books.

[craft1948]

Words fail me when considering Captain Corelli's Mandolin................

[Kiki-frog]

Bambiagain - four words: "Mistah Kurtz - he dead" Doesn't that just make you want to reach for the nearest bottle of alcohol? Or possibly arsenic?

[maggiebee]

Craft, agree totally. Really enjoyed the film, but the book? Nuff said.

[zebo]

Oh, I'd forgotten all the Tolkein stuff, we have an audio version of The Hobbitt and I still can't get into it. I didn't even try the Ring books, I did try and watch the first film a few times, got a maximum of 15 minutes into it.

[rockyracoon]

Kiki, can't really take credit for the thread as it follows on from Chap's it was screaming to be done though. I'm glad most people agree about Time Travellers Wife, I've been flamed before for suggesting it was crap. Most of the favourite books are going to end up here I reckon, it'll be interesting to see.

[DTCwordfan]

Enid Blyton's Famous Five - sentimental twaddle

TS Eliot's The Frontiers of Criticism - an inward look at his poetry and writing it, trying to criticise it and argue his reasoning for tradition in literature. Boring as hell.

[craft1948]

Which author was it, when Tolkien was talking about his next book said, "Not more bloody elves"..................

[Bambiagain]

Kiki-Frog - I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I had to read it at universtiy or I wouldn't have bothered to finish it. Even alcohol wouldn't have improved it, you're probably right about the arsenic.

[craft1948]

In 1971 I had my name on the waiting list at the village library for The Female Eunuch..................after reading it, it gave me a life-long mistrust of Australian authors.

[Kiki-frog]

Bambi - likewise Conrad was a compulsory university read. I wonder if anyone has ever read Joseph 'Laugh-a-Minute' Conrad voluntarily?

[Nodger]

I think even the best book can be ruined by having to read it at school - I hope they don't still have the practice of reading round the class - one slow reader could ruin he whole thing - you'd race ahead silently while they ploughed through till it was suddenly your turn, and you'd no idea where you were supposed to be up to. School killed all Dickens for me till I read them much later in life and thoroughly enjoyed them. Da Vinci Code has to be up there on the w.orst list - tho' it is a real page turner. I raced through it, then regretted it

[Bambiagain]

My lecturer seemed to like the book, but then he was paid to and it may not have been his true opinion.