Books you wish you hadn't finished

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I didn't think it would be illegal, just illegal to force minors to read it. Or really, to force anyone to read it. Probably its also violating religious freedoms.

I don't know. Now, I'm seeing that this book was also adapted into a movie in 1983, by Paul Verhoeven (yes, the one who created Robocop), and that movie seems to be highly regarded. Never seen it though. I don't know how closely it follows the book.

Wikipedia. Read at your own risk. I see one affair described very explicitly in the book was scrapped from the movie, but it seems to have been replaced with an equally... bad one.

[cghipp]

"Gone Girl" is the worst thing I've read in a very long time.

[DiapDealer]

I can't think of a single book I actually regret finishing. If I made it as far as the end, there had to be something that kept me interested. Otherwise I would have quit reading it long before that.

And I've never had a book hold my interest for the entire time and then blow it badly enough (right at the end) for me to regret finishing it.

I've read books that I probably didn't really care all that much for, when all was said and done--certainly. But regret ... ? Nah. I'd never let it get that far.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by Cyberman tM

Wish I didn't finish would be a bit strong, but from the top of my head comes one book:

Solaris, Stanisław Lem

I don't really regret reading it, I regret having high hopes for it. I don't like it when authors string you along just to tell you "Nope, no explanation. I just pulled it out of thin air and didn't think it through." (My impression, not his words.)

Well, that was actually the point of the book. Lem thought it through in spades. Consider this, if we can't figure out what another human being is saying (like, say, in a novel), then what chance do we have of understanding something as alien as a planet-sized solitary being? We end up just projecting our own human baggage onto what we see, with no hope of ever not doing that.

Anyway, you're certainly entitled to not like the book. I just couldn't resist pointing out that your impression fortified Lem's premise.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Well, that was actually the point of the book. Lem thought it through in spades. Consider this, if we can't figure out what another human being is saying (like, say, in a novel), then what chance do we have of understanding something as alien as a planet-sized solitary being? We end up just projecting our own human baggage onto what we see, with no hope of ever not doing that.

Anyway, you're certainly entitled to not like the book. I just couldn't resist pointing out that your impression fortified Lem's premise.

Loved how he explored that same premise in "His Master's Voice."

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Loved how he explored that same premise in "His Master's Voice."

and in "Fiasco", and "Eden", and "The Invincible", ... But, yes, the way he did it in "His Master's Voice" was pretty entertaining, especially for an ex-scientist like myself.

[QuantumIguana]

I don't think I have ever wished I had not finished a book, but there have been books that I have finished only so I could properly hate it.

[JDK1962]

Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49. The longest short novel I've ever read, an exercise in literary masturbation in which stupid names (e.g. Genghis Cohen) are considered brilliant literary satire. I know Pynchon is supposed to be a Great American Novelist, and I was looking forward to reading it (really), but man, I could not find a single thing about that book that I liked or admired.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by JDK1962

Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49. The longest short novel I've ever read, an exercise in literary masturbation in which stupid names (e.g. Genghis Cohen) are considered brilliant literary satire. I know Pynchon is supposed to be a Great American Novelist, and I was looking forward to reading it (really), but man, I could not find a single thing about that book that I liked or admired.

(Genghis) Cohen the Barbarian is a very funny Pratchett character. But I suppose it depends how you work it. Can't say, I've never read Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49.

[Cyberman tM]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Consider this, if we can't figure out what another human being is saying (like, say, in a novel), then what chance do we have of understanding something as alien as a planet-sized solitary being? We end up just projecting our own human baggage onto what we see, with no hope of ever not doing that.

I realize that and it's not that we can't understand that being (if it was one) that I dislike.
It's the constant setting up of theories just to shoot them down by saying "Nope, that's not it either" that I dislike. All through the book I had the feeling we'd finally get an explanation at the end - and then the book just ended.

[Ninjalawyer]

Stephen King's Dark Tower. King even warned me - the last section of the book has him speaking directly to the reader, warning you not to finish - but I ignored the signs.

I honestly wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to even bother with the last three books in the series. The real warning should've been when King wrote himself into one of the books as a major character (it's not even a stand-in for King, the character is literally named Stephen King, and is a writer from Maine).

[shanghaichica]

The valley of amazement- Amy Tan.

The authors first book in nearly 10 years. She's my favourite author and God knows when her next book will be.

A Dance with Dragons. We all know it will be at least 5 years before the next instalment is out. I really tried to prolong this book. I read it in three sittings over 8 months.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Cyberman tM

It's the constant setting up of theories just to shoot them down by saying "Nope, that's not it either" that I dislike. All through the book I had the feeling we'd finally get an explanation at the end - and then the book just ended.

I think that's actually the whole point of the book - that there are things that we just can't understand. Leaving the reader frustrated by not understanding is the message of the book.

[MeSue]

Originally Posted by HarryT

In all honesty, I don't think there's any book that I regret reading. There are obviously books that I enjoy more than others, and there have been occasional books that the time I spent reading could have been better employed, but none that I feel the experience of reading has made my life worse.

Note, I didn't use the words "regret reading." Though I do regret reading a couple in my list, it's more often just a feeling of… dang, I wish I had spent that time reading something better. Kind of like when I finish most movies and think, I want that two hours of my life back. :-)

And I just remembered another for my list: Under the Dome by Stephen King

Now, "The Stand" I didn't really enjoy either but I don't have that "this was totally pointless" feeling.

Fifteen percent is usually my take stock point where if I'm not swept away or already turned off, I have to think about whether to continue a book. I definitely abandon books a lot more now than I used to. But, sometimes one little plot point will grab me and force me to finish, even though I am not really enjoying the book. Like what was the reason for the dome in Under the Dome, and what happened to the painting in The Goldfinch.

[MeSue]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I don't think I have ever wished I had not finished a book, but there have been books that I have finished only so I could properly hate it.

Heh heh… I like your attitude!