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Most disappointing read

InsatiableCuriosity

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Lots of threads about great books but I also want to hear what wasn't so great. My biggest fiction disappointments over the last 5 years were with David and Leigh Eddings' books of the Elder Gods. I loved Eddings' earlier books but these were just appalling! :doh:

In the first and the second books the editors needed a bomb under them!! There were whole tracts of text that were repeated almost verbatim in two sections of the books. I didn't buy any more.
:steam:
 

Totenkindly

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Apparently they both died within the last few years.

I only ever read Eddings' Belgariad series, when I was a teenager. It seems that his wife was often a writing partner, just uncredited until the 90's.

Another author I'm disappointed with is Stephen King. A lot of his early work is actually decent (he's a great storyteller) and are books I occasionally reread, but the more popular he became, the more crap his publishers were willing to put out on the market. He definitely could use more editing input.

The first 3-4 books of his Dark Tower series (written in the 90's) were good, and Wizard & Glass is still one of my favorite books of his; but when he resumed things years later, Wolves of the Calla was god-awful and took me a few months to read through, and the last two books were of mixed benefit. I don't think I've read anything since.
 

InsatiableCuriosity

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Apparently they both died within the last few years.

I only ever read Eddings' Belgariad series, when I was a teenager. It seems that his wife was often a writing partner, just uncredited until the 90's.

Sad to hear - the editors should have done THEIR job better. I loved the Belgariad and the subsequent spinoffs but not this last one.

Another author I'm disappointed with is Stephen King. A lot of his early work is actually decent (he's a great storyteller) and are books I occasionally reread, but the more popular he became, the more crap his publishers were willing to put out on the market. He definitely could use more editing input.

The first 3-4 books of his Dark Tower series (written in the 90's) were good, and Wizard & Glass is still one of my favorite books of his; but when he resumed things years later, Wolves of the Calla was god-awful and took me a few months to read through, and the last two books were of mixed benefit. I don't think I've read anything since.

I agree on Stephen King completely but for me, I think his best were his early horror books.
 

Totenkindly

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I agree on Stephen King completely but for me, I think his best were his early horror books.

Yup. My absolute favorites are ones that appeared in the first 10-15 years max into his career:

- Carrie
- The Shining
- The Dead Zone
- Firestarter
- IT
- The Stand
- The Tommyknockers
- Different Seasons

(Heck, I'll even reread Pet Sematary sometimes.)

The longer he went, the more duds that showed up with increasing frequency.
 

Dyoni

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This is embarrassing to even admit -

So, a lot of my WoW friends kept talking about this series by an author called Jacqueline Carey. The first one was called 'Kushiel's Dart.' They talked about these books incessantly and how I needed to read them. So, I had my hopes high for some sort of interesting fantasy novel.

GOOD GOD. I've never actually been nauseated by a writer's style until I started reading this book. I could only get about 80 pages in before I just had to stop. Then I actually gave the book to a local charity because I couldn't even bear the thought of that crap being in my apartment.
 

Gloriana

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ENFP posts.

Oh no you dih-ent!!! :shock:


I can only think of two books that have ever disappointed me. I've read some that were 'meh' but I wouldn't say I felt disappointed or that I'd wasted my time. Very few have that effect on me.

Having said that, I HATED "The Rules Of Attraction" by Bret Easton Ellis and while I wanted to throw that book across the room halfway into it, I just couldn't walk away without finishing it. I had to see if it got any better. For me, it did not.

Thing is, people around me were just whizzing themselves over how brilliant Easton Ellis is. I HATED that book but I was like 'What in god's good name are these people talking about?!?!?" so I got a copy of "Less Than Zero" from my library.

I DOUBLE HATED IT!!! I forced myself to finish that one too and now I feel I've reached my 'Fairness To Bret Easton Ellis' quota. I've read two of his books so screw that guy. He is horrible (according to me).

The only other book that bothered me is "The Gormenghast Trilogy" by Mervyn Peake. My ex introduced me to these books about four years ago and it's become something of an obsession since then.

This has been the most impossible book for me to read ever in my life. The guy can describe a doorknob for six pages. The guy can take a whole chapter to describe a rug. It just HURTS.

I still haven't really 'read' those stories, I usually buckle and crumple into a pile of screams and tears after fifty pages. If any prisoners at Gitmo were given this book at any time, I believe that would qualify as torture.
 

Halla74

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"The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck put me to sleep.
An entire chapter dedicated to dust.
Great.
:zzz:
 

Totenkindly

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GOOD GOD. I've never actually been nauseated by a writer's style until I started reading this book. I could only get about 80 pages in before I just had to stop. Then I actually gave the book to a local charity because I couldn't even bear the thought of that crap being in my apartment.

LOL!

I think the closest thing to such revulsion I experienced came in the late 80's where some book called Wizard War (was it by Hugh Cook?) was promoted all over Waldenbooks and I stupidly bought a copy.

I know I didn't finish it, it was just total garbage. No sense of story or dramatic arc. The only thing I remember is that there were three main characters and partway through, one breaks his arm or something and dies of infection within about two pages, without any further ado, and the story just keeps going, and going, and going. He published sequels, but I stayed far away from them.

I think my not having many stories of "reading trash" nowadays is that I just have learned to avoid a lot of stuff that will be crappy. A book is an investment, and nowadays I invest more wisely.

Gloriana said:
The only other book that bothered me is "The Gormenghast Trilogy" by Mervyn Peake. My ex introduced me to these books about four years ago and it's become something of an obsession since then.

This has been the most impossible book for me to read ever in my life. The guy can describe a doorknob for six pages. The guy can take a whole chapter to describe a rug. It just HURTS.

rofl, that one is actually on my reading list to get to at some point.
I mean, if I can handle Donaldson, I might be able to handle Peake.

We'll see.
 

InsatiableCuriosity

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I am now creating a DON'T Read List!!

The only book that nauseated me was when I read Lord of the Flies in high school and I was so disturbed at how humanity could deteriorate to its most base level in those school boys!
 

disregard

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Wicked.

(Most disappointing first 15 pages.)

The style of writing was just too awful.

*Grumbles about the waste of money and how I should start beginning books before I buy them, regardless of its status as a NYT Bestseller*
 

Totenkindly

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Oh. I actually like Lord of the Flies.
Not what happens to the boys, but how it reflects on humanity.

At the end, the boys have their warfare ended by adults who act as if they're more mature than the kids... while currently bombing the stuffing out of each other.

Nothing changes, except the price of the toys.
 

InsatiableCuriosity

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Nothing changes, except the price of the toys.

..and the size of the boys!

I probably wouldn't react quite so strongly now but I was very much an idealist who grew up in the 60's amongst the "make-love-not-war" generation who saw too many of our young men picked in "the birthday lottery" and not come back.
 

Polaris

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After hearing so much about what a great series they were, I ended buying the Dune books from a library sale and, later on, a bookstore. When I opened the pages, what I found was a hodgepodge of incredibly sluggish pacing, characters whom I actually disliked, pretension everywhere like chickenpox, and some of the worst prose style I've ever encountered.

Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World was another book I found disappointing. I had heard about what a great author Murakami was, and I agree that he has a good imagination, but I also think his imagination lacks discipline. His writing meanders like an idle daydream, and like an idle daydream, it lacks any real purpose.
 
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A Confederacy Of Dunces. Hands down.

I have always heard from people who had what I thought was good taste how great this book is, and the story behind its publication is very compelling. So when I saw it in a used book store I picked it up.

I knew 100 pages into the book that it wasn't for me. But because of the pedigree, I slogged halfway through it before I wised up and gave it away. What a car crash of a book.
 

cafe

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Wicked.

(Most disappointing first 15 pages.)

The style of writing was just too awful.

*Grumbles about the waste of money and how I should start beginning books before I buy them, regardless of its status as a NYT Bestseller*
I was terribly disappointed with Wicked, too. Read the whole thing hoping there would be something redeeming in the end, but I don't remember that happening.
 

Arclight

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When I want a quick and entertaining read (like and 8 hour flight or something)
Nobody fits the Bill quite like Dean Koontz..

However.. "Your Heart Belongs to me" was quite possibly the most boring fiction I have read since Clive Barker in the 80's.

I am thinking he wrote this while watching a triple header of AA Baseball in Ponca City Oklahoma while drunk on beer and bloated from too many out of date hot dogs..

Pure Tripe.
 

Sarcasticus

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A Confederacy Of Dunces. Hands down.

I have always heard from people who had what I thought was good taste how great this book is, and the story behind its publication is very compelling. So when I saw it in a used book store I picked it up.

I knew 100 pages into the book that it wasn't for me. But because of the pedigree, I slogged halfway through it before I wised up and gave it away. What a car crash of a book.


That's one of my favorite books. Maybe having grown up in New Orleans helps appreciate the dialect. :shrug:
 

Nicodemus

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'A Theory of Justice' by John Rawls, the most boring person of the 20th century: Nothing, spread over 600 pages.
 

Tallulah

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Wicked.

(Most disappointing first 15 pages.)

The style of writing was just too awful.

*Grumbles about the waste of money and how I should start beginning books before I buy them, regardless of its status as a NYT Bestseller*

YES! I was so disappointed, because I thought the idea of the book was fantastic. I expected it to be funny, snarky, etc. I mean, you're talking about the Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch's perspective. It should have been comedy gold. Instead, we got a bad fantasy novel. Though I never really could get on board with the Oz books, either. I guess I was expecting a treatment based upon the world of the movie, instead of the books. Ah, well. Didn't like it.

A Confederacy Of Dunces. Hands down.

I have always heard from people who had what I thought was good taste how great this book is, and the story behind its publication is very compelling. So when I saw it in a used book store I picked it up.

I knew 100 pages into the book that it wasn't for me. But because of the pedigree, I slogged halfway through it before I wised up and gave it away. What a car crash of a book.

Hmm! I haven't tried that one yet, but have heard lots of people recommend it.

Life's too short to keep reading a book based upon recommendations. I'll give a book a chance up until about 1/4 of the way through unless I just HATE it. There've been a couple of books that started slow and ended up making my Favorites List: Of Human Bondage, Rebecca. But after having trudged all the way through A Farewell to Arms against my better judgment, I'll never read a whole book I hate all the way through because it's supposed to be a classic. I still hold a grudge against Hemingway for that.

My sister read the Twilight series, and then the first book over again, trying to figure out what in the heck people were seeing in it. Apparently all her friends had read the books and were super into them. She was like, what am I missing?!?!

I learned not to read anything based upon Oprah's recommendations. House of Sand and Fog, We Were the Mulvaneys, The Lovely Bones, etc. Oprah and I do not have the same taste in books. She likes her stories grim, apparently.
 
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