The 10 Worst Books

[dickon25]

The worst book I ever read was, without a doubt, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce! Set text at school and utterly impenetrable!!

Biggest disappointment was the Soldier Son trilogy by Robin Hobb. I'd enjoyed her Assassin series so much I suppose I'd already made my mind up it was going to be more of the same, but the main charachter was so unlikeable I was shocked!

Best non-fiction was Alison Wier's biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine - what a woman!!

[astrodad]

Originally Posted by grimo1re

I thought this was exactly the kind of place where you could do that? Wasn't that the point of the thread?

You're right, what I should have said was, "There's no way I could agree with anyone putting them on the bottom of the pile."

But yes, I've given up defending the Harry Potter series. I'll just keep enjoying them and waiting to say "I told you so" when the schools start studying them in ten years.

[astrodad]

Originally Posted by BenG

Writer's should take a hint from the Lord of the Rings. You don't need to tell the reader everything you know about your created world and its characters.

Not sure I understand this statement. Are you saying that J.R.R. Tolkien put too much detail in it, and that the hint is that we should not follow his example? Because LOTR was very detailed, and then we had all of the books about this universe.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by jplumey

Not sure I understand this statement. Are you saying that J.R.R. Tolkien put too much detail in it, and that the hint is that we should not follow his example? Because LOTR was very detailed, and then we had all of the books about this universe.

I'd say the reverse.

I'm one of the folks who spent more time in the Appendices of LoTR looking for back story that wasn't mentioned in the books, and pounced gleefully on the Silmarillion to learn more about the First Age, and how the story in LoTR came to be.
______
Dennis

[astrodad]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I'd say the reverse.

I'm one of the folks who spent more time in the Appendices of LoTR looking for back story that wasn't mentioned in the books, and pounced gleefully on the Silmarillion to learn more about the First Age, and how the story in LoTR came to be.
______
Dennis

Ok, now I understand. I love the lore, but yes, it can be a bit tedious at times.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by dickon25

The worst book I ever read was, without a doubt, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce! Set text at school and utterly impenetrable!!

That was my favorite book in high school. Sorry it felt so rough being shoved down your throat. I hate that.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

That was my favorite book in high school. Sorry it felt so rough being shoved down your throat. I hate that.

I only just read it for the first time last month. Ulysses too is only one, long, French novel away from being read.

Cheers,
Marc

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

I only just read it for the first time last month. Ulysses too is only one, long, French novel away from being read.

Cheers,
Marc

and speaking of that intermediary novel, are those cakes burnt yet ? you better check the time...

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

and speaking of that intermediary novel, are those cakes burnt yet ? you better check the time...

S**t!...

Cheers,
Marc (Oh, look, I forgot to turn the oven on...)

[Monty Grue]

I’m only listing books have actually read all the way through to the end. Listed in alphabetical order.

1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: Affectation and self-indulgence.

2. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich: This is what happens when journalist knows she right from the beginning and crows about how she successfully set herself up to fail after she is done.

3. Forever Will You Suffer by Gary Frank: Too many supernatural ingredients and you can almost hear the book begging, “Please, please, please make me into a movie.”

4. The Wolves of Culla by Stephen King: This is what happens when an author gets hit over the head with the retarded stick and is allowed to publish the results.

5. The Wyrm by Stephen Laws: A modern use of deus ex machina.

6. Manitou Blood by Graham Masterton: A stunning example of sequel suckage.

7. Queen of the Damned by Ann Rice: I so sick of super sexy vampires.

8. Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling: The Emperor has no clothes: Dull, dull, dull.

9. Color Purple by Alice Walker: College professors in the early ‘80s discovered substitutes for dead white men, but early adapters of new literature can be just as wonky as new technology.

10. Sky Burial by Xinran Xue: Give Anne-Sophie Mutter an eensey weensey violin for the score playing in your head while you read.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Monty Grue

I’m only listing books have actually read all the way through to the end. Listed in alphabetical order.

4. The Wolves of Culla by Stephen King: This is what happens when an author gets hit over the head with the retarded stick and is allowed to publish the results.

7. Queen of the Damned by Ann Rice: I so sick of super sexy vampires.

8. Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling: The Emperor has no clothes: Dull, dull, dull.

I enjoyed all three very much!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I'd say the reverse.

I'm one of the folks who spent more time in the Appendices of LoTR looking for back story that wasn't mentioned in the books, and pounced gleefully on the Silmarillion to learn more about the First Age, and how the story in LoTR came to be.
______
Dennis

I read that. It was one of the most boring tedious plodding books I've ever read.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I read that. It was one of the most boring tedious plodding books I've ever read.

The Simarillion is deliberately written in emulation of the style of "heroic epics" and if you've never encountered that particular literary genre then it's going to appear pretty wierd. For people who've read epics, whether the "Homeric" ones or later Germanic or English ones, it's a familiar writing style.

Eg compare it to the style of the English translation of the 3rd century BC epic "The Argonautica" (the story of Jason and the Argonauts) that I posted a few days ago, and you'll find the style of that to be very like that of the Silmarillion.

[Taylor514ce]

I had understood the Simarillion to be Tolkein's own work product, a work to provide a mythology and framework for the LOTR stories and characters, much as the Bible (The Old Testament) does for Judaism... one doesn't typically read the Bible for a good narrative "story", but to get at an underlying philosophy or principle.

I actually liked the Simarillion better than LOTR. "The Two Towers" was a very boring story, but The Simarillion was a very detailed mythology.

[HarryT]

That's precisely what it is, Taylor, yes. Remember that Tolkien was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, which is why the Silmarillion is written in very much the style of the epics that he'd spent his life studying.