A literary confession topic

xg4bx · 08-15-2011, 11:47 PM

Something has been eating at me for years and I just have to get it off my chest. Despite being a massive horror fan, I don't like Stephen King. Its probably heretical to say both in terms of horror or books in general but I just don't think he's put out much worth reading besides The Long Walk and The Bachmann books. I own his stuff, I've read 90% of his output, I just never understood what the hubub was about. I can respect what he did for the genre but I think there are much better authors out there.

(Who do I think is better? Jeff Strand,particularly Pressure and Dweller. (I defy anyone to read Dweller without being in tears at the end.) Brian Hodge. Tom Piccirilli. William Peter Blatty. Richard Matheson. Nate Kenyon (particularly Sparrow Rock. Absolutely terrifying.))

I don't like Koontz either.

Anybody have any confessions they'd like to make? Maybe you despised a beloved book, think a popular author is completely overrated, etc.

encapuchado · 08-15-2011, 11:54 PM

Bikeridr · 08-16-2011, 02:39 AM

Well, "like" or "dislike"..
I have a tendency to grow bored.
I *used* to like Stephen King. Now I find him boring. And in my opinion; he "kills" way too many children.
I *used* to like Tom Clancy, but have come to that if you've read one book, you've read them all. (On the up-side, "The hunt for the Red October" was the first "full-size" book I ever read in English and which gave me confidence to continue reading in English. Today most of the books I read are in English and I haven't read a Norwegian book in over a year).

I can't stand Danielle Steel.

Of Norwegian authors, I find Gunnar Staalesen (Varg Veum books/films) mindbogglingly booooooooring (I've read two books and seen three movies, so, no! There's no chance of righting his reputation).

Jozawun · 08-16-2011, 03:42 AM

Everybody should read one book each by Henry James, Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad.

But life is too short to bother with more than one of each.

Jozawun · 08-16-2011, 03:44 AM

Pride and Prejudice is a great book by any standard.

But the rest of Jane Austen is just tedious, antiquated Chick lit.

Jozawun · 08-16-2011, 03:45 AM

And be warned.
Don't even bother with Tim Wanker Winton.

anamardoll · 08-16-2011, 11:01 AM

Oooh, I love the idea of this thread. Can you promise that all our confessions will be kept confidential and that we're in a SPECIAL TRUST TREE NEST??

OK, confession time:

1. I loved Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, but I can't ever seem to get into any of the rest of his books.

2. I like Sense and Sensibility, but I HATE Pride and Prejudice and I find the rest of Austen tedious. I *do* like the books with zombies in.

3. I think Jane Eyre is a doormat, and yes, I've read the book, and no, you cannot change my mind. I just do. Sorry.

4. I like the Arabian Nights / Thousand and One Nights better when they leave the sex 'n' violence in and stop toning it down for kids. Does that make me a bad person?

5. I stopped reading Piers Anthony's Xanth books after #20-something because I hate puns.

6. I read James Axler's Deathlands books, well aware that they have no nutritional value whatsoever and are basically gun-porn end-of-the-world fantasies. I find them fascinating and I don't know why.

7. I love American short stories, but can't stand most "classic" American novels. I dislike "Moby Dick" in particular.

8. Despite being largely turned off by paranormal romance/fantasy books, I buy and read Galenorn's Sisters of the Moon series. I think they're pulpy, but I can't stop reading. Also, I have gotten hooked on the Sookie Stackhouse books despite thinking that the relationship between Bill and Sookie is incredibly unhealthy.

9. I loved Faulkner's "Sound and the Fury" in college, but now it makes me confused and disoriented to read the spiraling-into-madness chapters.

10. I own over 1,000 ebooks. I've read maybe a third of them.

HomeInMyShoes · 08-16-2011, 02:29 PM

I might have hated every moment of Moby Dick, but I read the damn thing. While the conflict may have been interesting it was just a giant book of whaling terminology to me.

pidgeon92 · 08-16-2011, 02:30 PM

I completely agree that King and Koontz are not writers of true horror, and it irritates me that the "horror" category for Amazon is dominated by King novels. I don't bother with Amazon for ebook horror novels, I get them from Digital Darkside.

Pookeysgirl · 08-16-2011, 02:31 PM

I read Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...it was awful. I spent most of the time debating whether I should finish it or not. I must have skipped through at least 100 pages.

anamardoll · 08-16-2011, 02:32 PM

King isn't horror? I liked The Mist...

anamardoll · 08-16-2011, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

I read Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...it was awful. I spent most of the time debating whether I should finish it or not. I must have skipped through at least 100 pages.

I LOVE the trilogy, but the first time I tried to read it, I wanted to throw the book across the room. The opening is so freaking slow it's criminal. HATE HATE HATED it.

I had to watch the movies and listen to the audio book before I came to like the series and give the book a chance again. If you really want to be exposed to the series because it's famous and whatnot, I HIGHLY recommend checking the audio books out at the library. The voice actor is superb and makes even the boring bits sound interesting, imho.

(And if you don't want to get familiar with them, that's fine too -- just throwing it out as an alternative option for people who found the book boring 'cause I sympathize.

)

Pookeysgirl · 08-16-2011, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anamardoll

I LOVE the trilogy, but the first time I tried to read it, I wanted to throw the book across the room. The opening is so freaking slow it's criminal. HATE HATE HATED it.

I had to watch the movies and listen to the audio book before I came to like the series and give the book a chance again. If you really want to be exposed to the series because it's famous and whatnot, I HIGHLY recommend checking the audio books out at the library. The voice actor is superb and makes even the boring bits sound interesting, imho.

(And if you don't want to get familiar with them, that's fine too -- just throwing it out as an alternative option for people who found the book boring 'cause I sympathize.

)

You know I never even thought of trying the audio book

I really wanted to like this book. Even after the painfully slow process of working my way through the first book, I considered trying the second. I've learned over the years that not EVERY book in a series is bad just because ONE of them sucked (for me anyway).

I might try the audio book first, thanks! Karma coming your way

anamardoll · 08-16-2011, 03:48 PM

(Thanks.

)

I definitely recommend the audio book -- the guy they got to do the reading is a delight to listen to, and I love to hear all the Swedish names pronounced. He brings a lot of emotion and inflection to the reading that helps cut through the WALL O TEXT about Blomkvist's (sp?) preferred Notepad programs and whatnot. (I DON'T CARE, LARSSON.)

The audio books definitely made all the difference in the world for me. I actually like the paper books NOW, but I wouldn't have gotten there without the audio.

Catlady · 08-16-2011, 07:15 PM

My confession:

I think Harry Potter is boring. Read the first book and thought, Eh. Never read another, never saw a movie adaptation.

Can't/won't read Russian novels. I get bogged down in all the name variations.

Hate Jane Eyre.

Carrie, Salem's Lot, and The Shining are the only Stephen King novels I like--I gave up on him after those.

Loved Interview with the Vampire, but it's the only Anne Rice book I've ever read.

08-15-2011, 11:47 PM	#1
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,633 Karma: 23215128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG	A literary confession topic Something has been eating at me for years and I just have to get it off my chest. Despite being a massive horror fan, I don't like Stephen King. Its probably heretical to say both in terms of horror or books in general but I just don't think he's put out much worth reading besides The Long Walk and The Bachmann books. I own his stuff, I've read 90% of his output, I just never understood what the hubub was about. I can respect what he did for the genre but I think there are much better authors out there. (Who do I think is better? Jeff Strand,particularly Pressure and Dweller. (I defy anyone to read Dweller without being in tears at the end.) Brian Hodge. Tom Piccirilli. William Peter Blatty. Richard Matheson. Nate Kenyon (particularly Sparrow Rock. Absolutely terrifying.)) I don't like Koontz either. Anybody have any confessions they'd like to make? Maybe you despised a beloved book, think a popular author is completely overrated, etc.

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encapuchado Banned Posts: 130 Karma: 7587966 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Mexico Device: Black Sony Touch (650)

08-16-2011, 02:39 AM	#3
Bikeridr Information Acquirer Posts: 436 Karma: 4265156 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Latvia, Rigas Rajons Device: Kindle 3 International, Pocketbook Color	Well, "like" or "dislike".. I have a tendency to grow bored. I used to like Stephen King. Now I find him boring. And in my opinion; he "kills" way too many children. I used to like Tom Clancy, but have come to that if you've read one book, you've read them all. (On the up-side, "The hunt for the Red October" was the first "full-size" book I ever read in English and which gave me confidence to continue reading in English. Today most of the books I read are in English and I haven't read a Norwegian book in over a year). I can't stand Danielle Steel. Of Norwegian authors, I find Gunnar Staalesen (Varg Veum books/films) mindbogglingly booooooooring (I've read two books and seen three movies, so, no! There's no chance of righting his reputation).

08-16-2011, 03:42 AM	#4
Jozawun Fanatic Posts: 519 Karma: 2693434 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Australia Device: Cybook Gen 3, Pocketbook 902, Sony 650	Everybody should read one book each by Henry James, Thomas Hardy and Joseph Conrad. But life is too short to bother with more than one of each.

08-16-2011, 03:44 AM	#5
Jozawun Fanatic Posts: 519 Karma: 2693434 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Australia Device: Cybook Gen 3, Pocketbook 902, Sony 650	Pride and Prejudice is a great book by any standard. But the rest of Jane Austen is just tedious, antiquated Chick lit.

08-16-2011, 03:45 AM	#6
Jozawun Fanatic Posts: 519 Karma: 2693434 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Australia Device: Cybook Gen 3, Pocketbook 902, Sony 650	And be warned. Don't even bother with Tim Wanker Winton.

08-16-2011, 11:01 AM	#7
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Oooh, I love the idea of this thread. Can you promise that all our confessions will be kept confidential and that we're in a SPECIAL TRUST TREE NEST?? OK, confession time: 1. I loved Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, but I can't ever seem to get into any of the rest of his books. 2. I like Sense and Sensibility, but I HATE Pride and Prejudice and I find the rest of Austen tedious. I do like the books with zombies in. 3. I think Jane Eyre is a doormat, and yes, I've read the book, and no, you cannot change my mind. I just do. Sorry. 4. I like the Arabian Nights / Thousand and One Nights better when they leave the sex 'n' violence in and stop toning it down for kids. Does that make me a bad person? 5. I stopped reading Piers Anthony's Xanth books after #20-something because I hate puns. 6. I read James Axler's Deathlands books, well aware that they have no nutritional value whatsoever and are basically gun-porn end-of-the-world fantasies. I find them fascinating and I don't know why. 7. I love American short stories, but can't stand most "classic" American novels. I dislike "Moby Dick" in particular. 8. Despite being largely turned off by paranormal romance/fantasy books, I buy and read Galenorn's Sisters of the Moon series. I think they're pulpy, but I can't stop reading. Also, I have gotten hooked on the Sookie Stackhouse books despite thinking that the relationship between Bill and Sookie is incredibly unhealthy. 9. I loved Faulkner's "Sound and the Fury" in college, but now it makes me confused and disoriented to read the spiraling-into-madness chapters. 10. I own over 1,000 ebooks. I've read maybe a third of them.

08-16-2011, 02:29 PM	#8
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	I might have hated every moment of Moby Dick, but I read the damn thing. While the conflict may have been interesting it was just a giant book of whaling terminology to me.

08-16-2011, 02:30 PM	#9
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	I completely agree that King and Koontz are not writers of true horror, and it irritates me that the "horror" category for Amazon is dominated by King novels. I don't bother with Amazon for ebook horror novels, I get them from Digital Darkside.

08-16-2011, 02:31 PM	#10
Pookeysgirl Wizard Posts: 1,705 Karma: 12696746 Join Date: May 2010 Device: K3, Kobo Mini	I read Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo...it was awful. I spent most of the time debating whether I should finish it or not. I must have skipped through at least 100 pages.

08-16-2011, 02:32 PM	#11
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	King isn't horror? I liked The Mist...

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08-16-2011, 03:48 PM	#14
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	(Thanks. ) I definitely recommend the audio book -- the guy they got to do the reading is a delight to listen to, and I love to hear all the Swedish names pronounced. He brings a lot of emotion and inflection to the reading that helps cut through the WALL O TEXT about Blomkvist's (sp?) preferred Notepad programs and whatnot. (I DON'T CARE, LARSSON.) The audio books definitely made all the difference in the world for me. I actually like the paper books NOW, but I wouldn't have gotten there without the audio.

08-16-2011, 07:15 PM	#15
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,407 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	My confession: I think Harry Potter is boring. Read the first book and thought, Eh. Never read another, never saw a movie adaptation. Can't/won't read Russian novels. I get bogged down in all the name variations. Hate Jane Eyre. Carrie, Salem's Lot, and The Shining are the only Stephen King novels I like--I gave up on him after those. Loved Interview with the Vampire, but it's the only Anne Rice book I've ever read.