The 10 Worst Books

[HappyMartin]

Harry potter has to be on the list. The books read like a plot for a computer game.
The Dumb Vinci Code. When I found myself rooting for the big white guy I chucked it in.
At least one Hemingway. Just cannot decide which one.
Seven Habits of highly effective people. To represent this genre you understand
The Lopsang Rampa series. Talk about misrepresenting a belief system
Clive Cussler. Anyone of them and all of them.
Shout At the Devil Wilbur Smith You need to be South African to truly hate this properly I believe
Rose Madder Steven King
Romeo and Juliet. Do plays count? I like Shakespeare but hated this one.
In Black and White Jake White The South African world cup winning rugby couch

[NatCh]

I like Battlefield Earth, myself -- the book, not the movie which bore only fraudulent resemblance to it.

However, a think all eleven of Hubbard's "Mission Earth" series ought to be among the worst books ever written. If you can make it through the whole thing, you're clearly one extremely sick puppy ... and not in a good way.

I only made it through the first two, and that was because of a school assignment, if I'd realized what toxic waste it was early enough I'd've probably chosen a different author to write that paper on. Truly ghastly stuff.

[electristan]

Will Self - Great Apes

/thread

i read the first half and all it was about was chimpanzees haveing sex, over and over and over... the man has issues.

never finished the thing.

[Taylor514ce]

Amazon Search, keywords: Dune Brian Herbert.

[curtw]

I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned, but you see them in airport spinners all over the US. My #1 "must avoid" is Guy Smith's "Killer Crabs" series.

Dan Brown comes in at #2, only barely ahead of John Norman.

If you need titles:

1. Night of the Crabs
2. The Da Vinci code
3. anything with the word "Gor" in the title.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

Harry potter has to be on the list. The books read like a plot for a computer game.
The Dumb Vinci Code. When I found myself rooting for the big white guy I chucked it in.
At least one Hemingway. Just cannot decide which one.
Seven Habits of highly effective people. To represent this genre you understand
The Lopsang Rampa series. Talk about misrepresenting a belief system
Clive Cussler. Anyone of them and all of them.
Shout At the Devil Wilbur Smith You need to be South African to truly hate this properly I believe
Rose Madder Steven King
Romeo and Juliet. Do plays count? I like Shakespeare but hated this one.
In Black and White Jake White The South African world cup winning rugby couch

Interesting comments...

I taught Stephen King's Rose Madder at Miami University when I was working on my doctorate in English Literature. I used the book as an example of spousal abuse, a novel to get us thinking crtically about negative issues within our society.

The kids (well, teens and early 20s) were actually distracted by the weird aspects of the novel, commenting upon how the weird in this novel diminised its cumulative power. Although I agreed with them, my opinion was not the issue here.

I feel most students think of King as a "horror" writer, and he certainly is that, but he is so much more than that. In fact, the definition of horror can have a very broad definition, indeed.

King is fascinated by genre, I feel, and wishes to explore all aspects of literature.

I think, if any discerning reader wanted to, one could deconstruct King's laundry list and come up with a whole framework for critical discourse!

Don

[astrodad]

I still think The DaVinci code is the most terrible book I have ever read.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by jplumey

I still think The DaVinci code is the most terrible book I have ever read.

I was terribly impressed with how Brown was able to create a series of opening chapters, none more than about four pages long, and each with a cliff-hanger ending. It was a real page-turner for me until by about a third of the way in at which point the pain reading all the junk made it hard from there on. But as a mystery or thriller or whatever it is, I'm impressed with the guy's talent and could easily imagine why people liked it so much. But then, I never read things like this normally so really don't know what the standard of excellence is for the genre.

[ProfJulie]

I don't care for the Harry Potter books either. I read the 1st two books and lost interest, but attribute it to the fact that I'm not a child...since the books are written more for children.

I really don't care for John Grisham books, they are so predictable and the plots are so worn out to me. But then most best sellers nowadays are not worth much from a literary standpoint, but appeal to the masses as fast, cheap entertainment - much like the pablum that is on much of television.

[lmarie]

Originally Posted by jplumey

I still think The DaVinci code is the most terrible book I have ever read.

Yep, the guy gets all 10 of my votes. "Everybody was reading it" was the only reason I stuck it out to the end -- it's the poster child for really-bad-writing.

(I do have to say though, that I thought the movie was faintly enjoyable.)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

2. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)

3. The First Man in Rome (Colleen McCullough)

4. The Sparrow/Children of God (Mary Doria Russell)

5. Anything by Piers Anthony

6. Battlefield Earth (Lunatic Ron Hubbard)

7. The Sea, The Sea (Iris Murdoch)

8. The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordon, mostly)

9. A Game of Thrones (George R. R. Martin)

10. Anything Cthulhu Mythos (by H.P. Lovecraft)

There you go, in no particular order. They're probably not the worst I've read, but they came to the forefront of my mind the quickest.

Cheers,
Marc (I'm so going to get it from Cthulhu)

#1 -Cannot say. Never read it.
#2 - I agree
#3 - Cannot say. Never read it.
#4 - Cannot say. Never read it.
#5 - Some are not all that wonderful and some I really enjoyed. So overall, I cannot agree.
#6 - Should be the #1 worst book. It was a good idea that was horribly executed.
#7 - Cannot say. Never read it.
#8 - I've read up to #9 and I did enjoy it. But life got int he way and I never did get to #10. So I disagree.
#9 - I really enjoyed that. But disagreement there.
#10 - Have yet to read that so I cannot comment just yet.

[yvanleterrible]

One that almost took a tear from me... of anger that is, "Rendezvous with Rama" from Arthur C Clarke. The first tome starts well and ends after mostly nothing happens but enough to lure you into a second book, angering you further still. What a waste of time. Two smileys out of ten.

The other nine are in an other language that does not interest most of you and I won't go there.

[Patricia]

No one has mentioned Jeffrey Archer yet, so I will.

And Raymond Khoury's 'The Last Templar' is truly appalling. The characterisation is wooden, the plot is obvious, the prose is leaden, and it reads like a debased Dan Brown.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Patricia

No one has mentioned Jeffrey Archer yet, so I will.

I thought Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less was fun to read at least.

[Donnageddon]

Life is much too short to read bad books. When I find myself stuck in a horribly written/poorly plotted/boring book, I back out immediately and put it up as a lesson learned. And I never visit the offending monstrosity again.

As such, I don't really remember what these books are.

But I would have to disagree with Harry Potter books 1-4 being on a list like this. I rather enjoyed them.. but after that they just became whiny and irritating.

And I rather enjoyed Piers Anthony's Battle Circle.