Anti-recommendations: Read any terrible books lately?

[Format C:]

I've read an italian best seller called "100 colpi di spazzola" or something like that.
It was said to have been written by a sicilian teenager in search of her true love, but it was clearly put together by a (quite good) porn magazine author who was trying to put some plausible (albeit unmistakeably fake) sentimental theme between the sex scenes.

Jenna Jameson's biography is much better, and, of course, more believable.

Given the astounding success of the book (http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_col...dare_a_dormire), a movie has been made.

Another proof about how deisguised porn can sell better than the real one....

[owlrigh]

Sony had City of Pearl, by Karen Traviss, book one of the Wess'Har series, available for free a while ago. I downloaded and duly read it; it was readable, just, and I was curious to see how the next book went -- whether it got better ... no, it didn't, and book three was WORSE. Apparently book four has her cutting open her belly to retrieve her fetus, which she then puts under a pile of rocks and then grenades to keep it from staying alive (she's become immortal).

But in the first book -- she's part of an expedition sent from Earth to see what happened to a bunch of Christian separatists who went offworld years ago and haven't been heard of since. She finds them on a planet protected by the Wess'Har, ultra-light backpackers, vegan, hard core environmentalists extraordinaire; to keep worlds 'pure' they see nothing wrong with extermination of a particular, deemed dangerous species.

As the books go on the protagonist sees all humans as unworthy, that only the pure Wess'Har belief is worthwhile, and that everyone must be culled for their own good -- isenj and humans alike.

The ideology is puerile and simplistic, with honesty being prized above everything, reacting with violence the highest form of ... truthful morality. Humans and aliens, all of the species, have a very same thought process; for all that we're told they are very different, whenever we are in the thought process of one of the aliens, if it weren't for the names being different then you'd not see which was what.

Not to mention the whole pining-after-Shan thing happening; Mary Sue galore. Any man wanting her and any female wanting to BE her, although from what I can see she's a simple-minded, antagonistic thug!

... avoid.

[AgentBEATS]

Originally Posted by melbournian

I did this too. My teenaged sister is a huge Twilight fan. I don't know why I actually kept reading them; a lot of the time I spent reading them I was thinking 'I could be doing something better...like trimming my toenails or something'. At best it was formulaic and predictable, at worst it was like the worst fanfiction that a 16 year old sex crazed catholic schoolgirl could write in her livejournal.

More like an overrated writer with a thesaurus and a need to sell her sexual desires to teenage girls, thus adding sparkly vampires.

[PhishStyx]

Originally Posted by lene1949

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Bag of Bones... I find it totally BORING, but force myself to keep reading... Stephen King is a brilliant author, right? This is the first book I've read of his.

He got arrogant and quit editing himself or allowing others to do it for him.

[BlackVoid]

Originally Posted by lene1949

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Bag of Bones... I find it totally BORING, but force myself to keep reading... Stephen King is a brilliant author, right? This is the first book I've read of his.

I found most of his books incredibly boring, except the really short ones.

[callwing]

Originally Posted by Slite

The Lost Symbol. x number of hours of my life I will never get back again.

I totally agree - I hated it. I suspect it was a plot idea he'd previously rejected but used when the publisher's demanded another book from him asap.

[astra]

Originally Posted by lene1949

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Bag of Bones... I find it totally BORING, but force myself to keep reading... Stephen King is a brilliant author, right? This is the first book I've read of his.

Try:

The Stand
The Dark Tower (7 books series)
It

Hated Bag of Bones too.

[geneven]

I recommend The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch. I would be happy to try The Sea, The Sea, though. I liked Turn of the Screw by Henry James; I like anything by him. The only terrible books I would read completely would be political books, in a sort of KNOW YOUR ENEMY spirit. If they didn't cost money, I would read a number of the conservative books in the bestseller lists now. I'm currently rereading The Communist Manifesto and find it pretty exciting. I can't wait to find out how it ends...

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by geneven

The only terrible books I would read completely would be political books, in a sort of KNOW YOUR ENEMY spirit. If they didn't cost money, I would read a number of the conservative books in the bestseller lists now.

I used to do this, but I think it's a bad strategy. The folks on the best-seller lists have big mouths, but I don't think they articulate the positions of their respective sides very well. The demagogues make the ideological divide seem far more significant than it is. In the US, the political parties are almost identical (much to my chagrin) and our politicians are all bought and paid for by the same interests.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

I used to do this, but I think it's a bad strategy. The folks on the best-seller lists have big mouths, but I don't think they articulate the positions of their respective sides very well. The demagogues make the ideological divide seem far more significant than it is. In the US, the political parties are almost identical (much to my chagrin) and our politicians are all bought and paid for by the same interests.

Ah you must be talking about Ann Coulter.

[A Nonny Mouse]

Stephen King's Lisey's Story - what an absolute load of self indulgent crap!!"!

I'll not spend any more of my hard earned cash on his writing.

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Ah you must be talking about Ann Coulter.

She's certainly on the list. But so are Al Franken and Paul Begala. They all characterize everyone on the "other side" as evil. None of them will acknowledge that their ideological opposites want what's best for the country and its citizens - there's always some more nefarious motive assigned to them. Geneven's plan to know the "enemy" (enemy!) by reading Coulter would be like attempting to know Christians by watching Pat Robertson.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

She's certainly on the list. But so are Al Franken and Paul Begala. They all characterize everyone on the "other side" as evil. None of them will acknowledge that their ideological opposites want what's best for the country and its citizens - there's always some more nefarious motive assigned to them. Geneven's plan to know the "enemy" (enemy!) by reading Coulter would be like attempting to know Christians by watching Pat Robertson.

True, very true.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by leandroide

Don't forget "Christine", "The dead zone" and "The shinning".

L.

Bag of Bones is definitely not one of King's best work. The Dead Zone and The Shining are very good. Recently got them in paperback and re-read them - still very good.

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Sadly, I have to put Brian Lumley's "Necroscope" series up for abuse. I read the first four in the series. The author is very inventive, with fascinating plot details and yet another take on the vampire mythos. But the writing and characterizations are abominable and I remain amazed it was published. Maybe our tastes in prose changed since the late 1980's... but not that much!

Why did I read four of them? I guess I'm a masochistic reader who gives too much credit for inventive plotting.

I actually love the whole series, at least those I could get my hands on. The later works are a bit worse than the first couple. I think his take on the vampire mythos is much better than most.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by geneven

I recommend The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch. I would be happy to try The Sea, The Sea, though.
...

Do you recommend The Green Knight, or anti-recommend The Green Knight, because I'm more than okay giving the author another go even after The Sea The Sea, if only because of her intellectual reputation. If The Green Knight is anything like The Sea The Sea, however, I think I might pass.

Cheers,
Marc