"The Most Boring Book" I read or tried to read - Page 11

astra · 08-03-2009, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Requiem

I also despise anything by Stephen King, I have forced myself to read most of his works, including his writings as Richard Bachman and his even earlier writings i.e. the first Gunslinger. (ended up reading them all, despite the strange feeling I got, quite similar to the feeling I got when I watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) His typical style is just such a turnoff for me that I can't even pay attention to his stories. I loved Michael Crichton when I was younger, but can't stand his self indulgence now.

Poor fellow. I feel sorry for you. I, really, am.
Masochism* in its purest form. Considering, that S. King wrote around 50 novels and twice as much short stories, quite a trying experience.
You have a very fitting name.

* Masochism - A willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences.

chlorine · 08-03-2009, 03:38 PM

The one that comes to mind now is The castle by Kafka. I had high expectations about it so I tried to keep reading for a while but the book just fell off my hands. I was quite younger when I tried to read it though, so I might give it another try someday.

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Moby Dick are also high on my list. I still haven't got other the part in Moby Dick in which he says that Saint-George probably did not kill a dragon but a whale, and that he did so while riding a seal. What the hell?!

Moby Dick plays a strong and fun role in the Bone comics. The main character loves this book, and everybody around him falls asleep every time he speaks about it, or worse, reads from it.

junkml · 08-03-2009, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MV64

The Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers were awful, in my mind.

I love the story (read them long before the movies), but the constant diversions into pointless descriptions of what they were having for dinner, and the endless rhymes and songs made FOTR unreadable. The Two Towers was better, but not by much.

However, Return of the King was great, and the Hobbit was entertaining as well.

I've tried reading the trilogy three times over the decades, and I've never been able to finish The Two Towers, so I don't know if Return of the King was any good. The endless and pointless descriptions of everything kills it for me. When it takes half the book to get them through the forest because of the description of every color of every leaf on every last tree in the forest, I just can't be bothered.

doreenjoy · 08-04-2009, 12:52 AM

So many boring books, so little time... Top of my current list are:

1. MOBY DICK - I got to the chapter titled "The Whiteness of the Whale" and then the book hit the wall.

2. PERDIDO STREET STATION by China Mieville -- yeah, yeah, I know it's the "new weird" and the fantasy book to crack the genre wide open, but after the first 1,000,000 similes for "gross" I was ready to cut it into little tiny pieces.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but the bible is always on my list.

Ea · 08-04-2009, 01:08 AM

Armistad Maupin: Sure of you. It sounded fun, interesting, like a book I'd like.

The characters kept talking and talking and talking about their everyday little problems and it was worse than a Woody Allen movie. Talk about boring

I even tried another of his books, just be sure, but no.

It's not even that I need action all the time - I like those "boring" bits of description in LOTR - but these people were so dull.

corroonb · 08-04-2009, 11:21 AM

Anything by Alexandre Dumas (pere, I think). The stories are good and the characters reasonably well drawn but he is such an incurable windbag. All his books just go on and on and on. I read half of the Count of Monte Cristo when I was 15 and I was exhausted and bored.

I'll second Moby Dick too, I've tried to read it about 4 or 5 times and always lose interest half-way through.

lovestoreadalot · 08-05-2009, 03:41 AM

*****

Requiem · 08-05-2009, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astra

Poor fellow. I feel sorry for you. I, really, am.
Masochism* in its purest form. Considering, that S. King wrote around 50 novels and twice as much short stories, quite a trying experience.
You have a very fitting name.

Well everyone around me always talked about him and how his next book is the greatest ever. It was like a search for some redeemable quality. I would say I have read probably 40-45 of his novels and a good amount of his short stories.

You must realize that sometimes I am in places where the reading selection is not so great (Balad AB, Iraq, for instance) and the donated books there are filled with junk books from junk authors. So I just read for the sake of reading.

And why hasn't anyone mentioned the dictionary? It's a boring read, let me tell you....

Abecedary · 08-05-2009, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Requiem

And why hasn't anyone mentioned the dictionary? It's a boring read, let me tell you....

No kidding. After all that exposition, it ends with a zygote. Talk about transgression...

BlackVoid · 08-06-2009, 10:30 AM

Anything by C. J. Cherryh or Robin Hobb is very nice if you have sleeping problems. Especially Cyteen, Downbelow Station and Assassin's Apprentice.

All 3 books have a plot that crawls along to nowhere.

Ea · 08-06-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

Anything by C. J. Cherryh or Robin Hobb is very nice if you have sleeping problems. Especially Cyteen, Downbelow Station and Assassin's Apprentice.

All 3 books have a plot that crawls along to nowhere.

I tried. I really tried to read "Assassin's Apprentice". But I couldn't. So confusing.

Kralik · 08-06-2009, 11:46 AM

Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders Trilogy is one of my favorites... the Farseer trilogy (starts with Assassin's Apprentice) was pretty good as well. I always try to give myself a few hundred pages before I decide on a book... too used to Russian authors like Dostoyevsky where the first third of the book is all character development.

Ea · 08-06-2009, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders Trilogy is one of my favorites... the Farseer trilogy (starts with Assassin's Apprentice) was pretty good as well. I always try to give myself a few hundred pages before I decide on a book... too used to Russian authors like Dostoyevsky where the first third of the book is all character development.

I find this thread quite fascinating because it really shows how varied taste can be. Some people hate books I love, and vice versa.

Kralik · 08-06-2009, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ea

I find this thread quite fascinating because it really shows how varied taste can be. Some people hate books I love, and vice versa.

Very true. Someone said something along the lines of "a boring book can't be a good book." I respectfully disagree! Tastes are a large part of it. The entertainment/video industry as well! I reckon more people had the patience to read through the descriptions of Moby Dick before the big screen and instant gratification. Also, take a book like The Picture of Dorian Gray. If you read it expecting a grand adventure story, you will be disappointed ("bored"). If you expect to discover some philosophical insights into human nature and the conflict of good and evil, you will be pleased.

Ea · 08-06-2009, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

Very true. Someone said something along the lines of "a boring book can't be a good book." I respectfully disagree! Tastes are a large part of it. The entertainment/video industry as well! I reckon more people had the patience to read through the descriptions of Moby Dick before the big screen and instant gratification. Also, take a book like The Picture of Dorian Gray. If you read it expecting a grand adventure story, you will be disappointed ("bored"). If you expect to discover some philosophical insights into human nature and the conflict of good and evil, you will be pleased.

I must respectfully diagree with your notion that people nowadays don't have the patience for, how can I put it, books less focused on action - at least that is what you seem to say. Also, that The Picture of Dorian Gray and Moby Dick is somehow better. It's a rather sweeping generalisation, and I think in many cases it has also to do with writing style.

08-05-2009, 03:41 AM	#157
lovestoreadalot Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 32 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: none	***** Last edited by lovestoreadalot; 09-15-2010 at 09:10 AM.

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08-03-2009, 03:38 PM	#152
chlorine Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle paperwhite 2	The one that comes to mind now is The castle by Kafka. I had high expectations about it so I tried to keep reading for a while but the book just fell off my hands. I was quite younger when I tried to read it though, so I might give it another try someday. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Moby Dick are also high on my list. I still haven't got other the part in Moby Dick in which he says that Saint-George probably did not kill a dragon but a whale, and that he did so while riding a seal. What the hell?! Moby Dick plays a strong and fun role in the Bone comics. The main character loves this book, and everybody around him falls asleep every time he speaks about it, or worse, reads from it.

08-04-2009, 12:52 AM	#154
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	So many boring books, so little time... Top of my current list are: 1. MOBY DICK - I got to the chapter titled "The Whiteness of the Whale" and then the book hit the wall. 2. PERDIDO STREET STATION by China Mieville -- yeah, yeah, I know it's the "new weird" and the fantasy book to crack the genre wide open, but after the first 1,000,000 similes for "gross" I was ready to cut it into little tiny pieces. I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but the bible is always on my list.

08-04-2009, 01:08 AM	#155
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	Armistad Maupin: Sure of you. It sounded fun, interesting, like a book I'd like. The characters kept talking and talking and talking about their everyday little problems and it was worse than a Woody Allen movie. Talk about boring I even tried another of his books, just be sure, but no. It's not even that I need action all the time - I like those "boring" bits of description in LOTR - but these people were so dull.

08-04-2009, 11:21 AM	#156
corroonb Addict Posts: 317 Karma: 1232685 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Voyage, Kobo Aura, Nexus 9	Anything by Alexandre Dumas (pere, I think). The stories are good and the characters reasonably well drawn but he is such an incurable windbag. All his books just go on and on and on. I read half of the Count of Monte Cristo when I was 15 and I was exhausted and bored. I'll second Moby Dick too, I've tried to read it about 4 or 5 times and always lose interest half-way through.

08-06-2009, 10:30 AM	#160
BlackVoid Evangelist Posts: 415 Karma: 510423 Join Date: Nov 2006 Device: Sony PRS-505	Anything by C. J. Cherryh or Robin Hobb is very nice if you have sleeping problems. Especially Cyteen, Downbelow Station and Assassin's Apprentice. All 3 books have a plot that crawls along to nowhere.

08-06-2009, 11:46 AM	#162
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders Trilogy is one of my favorites... the Farseer trilogy (starts with Assassin's Apprentice) was pretty good as well. I always try to give myself a few hundred pages before I decide on a book... too used to Russian authors like Dostoyevsky where the first third of the book is all character development.