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Original poster

Books that were recommended to you but turned out to be absolute pointless drivel - the wasted hours you'll never get back - a warning list for others!

230 replies

MadreInglese · 28/02/2011 14:37

These immediately spring to mind:

Kate Mosse - Labyrinth
(also her The Winter Ghosts - should have known after I read one of hers that another would be just as crud)

Paulo Coehlo - The Alchemist

Audrey Niffeneger - Her Fearful Symmetry
(first half was readable then she appears to have taken some strange pills before embarking on the rest of the book)

Stephanie Meyer - The Twilight Trauma Saga

OP posts:
KurriKurri · 28/02/2011 16:59

Eat, Pray, Love - passed on to me by my mum with the words 'unreadable, but you might like it' Confused yes it was, no I didn't.

House at Riverton - Tedious in the extreme.

Wuthering Heights (I know some people love it beyond anything - I'm not one of them.)

I did like The Little Stranger, which has been metioned I think, and I loved Wolf Hall (best read as much as possible all in one go - if you pick up and put down a lot, you'll lose the thread).

smallwhitecat · 28/02/2011 16:51

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Batteryhuman · 28/02/2011 16:49

Anything by Jodi Piccoult
Captain fucking Corelli
Twilight which my goddaughter assured me I couldn't fail to love...Jesus it was awful

Lovely Bones was drivel.

Almost everything by Ian McEwan (especially Amsterdam) apart from Enduring Love

But I did enjoy the Steigg Larssons and Snow Falling on Cedars and Brick Lane and HP so I am conflicted.

jodee · 28/02/2011 16:47

Capt Corelli .... zzz never made it past the first few chapters after numerous attempts.

Eat, Pray, Love - I think I have deleted innocent braincells in reading this tripe.

MrsKwazii · 28/02/2011 16:41

My Sister's Keeper - trite, formulaic pap that seemed to think it was covering serious ishoos in a clever way. Yawn.

sungirltan · 28/02/2011 16:38

ponders - you mean 'lovely bones'

i also hated anything by alex garlan which was way over rated back in the late 90's

Ponders · 28/02/2011 16:37

Yes, anything by Cecelia Ahern (in fact most Irish chicklit except Maeve & Marion Grin)

sungirltan · 28/02/2011 16:37

the celestine prophecy
time travellers wife
cloud atlas

dh would like me to add the catcher in the rye which i love but he HATED and still moans about it!

Original poster
MadreInglese · 28/02/2011 16:33

niccibabe that's interesting you think that about Unconsoled - I've just read Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go and quite liked it so was pondering reading some more of his...

OP posts:
Ponders · 28/02/2011 16:32

Time Traveler's Wife
& that one about the murdered girl who watches her family, & the murderer, who eventually dies in some unlikely way

iknowyouarebutwhatami · 28/02/2011 16:29

Catch 22!!!!!

For the love of god, what utter shite.

chocoholic · 28/02/2011 16:27

Oh god, yes, Labyrinth.
Still can't forgive the woman who wrote it for taking away all those hours of my life.

IlsaLund · 28/02/2011 16:27

Captain Corelli's Mandolin
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
Any Jodi Picoult once you've read one they are all drearily similar and predictable

niccibabe · 28/02/2011 16:25

Hi, I'm new to the fiction threads but couldn't resist when I saw the thread title - hope that's ok.

Home - Marilynne Robinson - it destroys all the sweetness of Gilead (the previous book) - how could she spend 10 years writing to do that!

Unconsoled - Kazuo Ishiguro - leaves you unconsoled & raging that it's soooooo loooong!

Birds Without Wings - Louis de Bernieres (sp??) - He wanted to write a book that couldn't be turned into a film. He certainly got a book that couldn't be read.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

The Vicar of Wakefield

Did Gargantua & Pantagruel by Rabelais at uni - every copy should be pulped immediately.

Thoroughly enjoyed Wolf Hall - stayed up late at nights to finish it Blush

RoundOrangeHead · 28/02/2011 16:24

believe it said, The Road was dreary

cybilliberty · 28/02/2011 16:23

I never continue reading a book I dont like

BerryLellow · 28/02/2011 16:22

One Day
Time Travellers Wife
William Walkers first year of marriage

HonestyBox · 28/02/2011 16:22

I agree with Life of Pi and Curious Incident.

HonestyBox · 28/02/2011 16:20

Fury by Salman Rushdie - middle aged writer barely conceals his jealousy of ex-wife and mid-life crisis through the guise of the novel.

steamedtreaclesponge · 28/02/2011 16:18

Anything by Lisa Jewell or Cecelia Aherne
Anna Karenina (I know, I know, great literature, blah blah blah but there's just far too much about peasant farming methods to keep me hooked. Have tried to read it 3 times and never finished it)
Atonement by Ian McEwan. Just massively frustrating and irritating.
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Labyrinth - definitely
The Forgotten Garden - utter tripe
The Lovely Bones - boring

I normally just avoid anything with a Richard & Judy book club sticker on the corner - I've never read ANYTHING that they've recommended that's been halfway decent. I'm sure there are some that are OK but I haven't found them yet...

HonestyBox · 28/02/2011 16:16

Harry Potter - only read no. 1, sure it is great if you are 10.
The Alchemist, urgh.
Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh, rigor mortis more like.

100 years of Solitude is great if you are a teenager, otherwise I concur (sadly clings on to memories of being 18).

I've had Wolf Hall on the shelf for a year, hmm.

said · 28/02/2011 16:14

Agree re TTW. But I sort of knew it'd be rubbish but slogged on anyway. Why? Have heard anough about the Alchemist to know No

Cannot believe someone has put The Road Shock Noooo!

Original poster
MadreInglese · 28/02/2011 16:08

ROFL @ "boring male hero who is inexplicably attractive to women"

OP posts:
Original poster
MadreInglese · 28/02/2011 16:07

oh yes Snow Falling on Cedars - did that for A level, Ishmael and Hatsue

OP posts:
RoundOrangeHead · 28/02/2011 16:07

oh god The Slap 1000x over

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