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Original poster

what's the worst book you've read for a book group?

58 replies

lucydogz · 30/05/2018 22:20

I love the book groups I've been to - they make me read books that I would usually never have picked up, but sometimes they throw up absolute stinkers. I thought the worst ever was the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but this has been surpassed by A Memmonite in a Little Black Dress. Absolute drivel. I'd love to hear other's bad books

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aconcertpianist · 07/12/2018 09:30

The Power by Naomi Alderman. I ploughed on, as did most of us but unwieldy, silly nonsense was the verdict on it.

More recently, 'Melmoth'. Dreary unconnected stories that are presented as a whole and which ultimately add up to precisely nothing.

EspressoPatronum · 06/12/2018 09:58

I have no idea, but I didn't finish either and never went back!!

Cakemonger · 04/12/2018 17:10

Oh my god EspressoPatronum, what were they thinking?

I loved The Hare with Amber Eyes. It is one of my all time favourite books. But then I love art history.

DaisyRenton18 · 01/12/2018 18:53

I'm not sure I could decide between Life After Life (which everyone else loved) and The Heart Goes Last (which was unanimously hated!)...

massistar · 29/11/2018 13:24

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler. Quite possibly one of the dullest books I've ever read. Closely followed by Resistance (Owen Sheers?).. the only book club book I couldn't finish and I've struggled my way through Salman Rushdie and The Master and Margarita for the sake of book club!

prampushingdownthehighst · 28/11/2018 17:57

Not a book club as such but a group of friends swap books, hands down the worst one was something about Angels.A quiet belief? To be honest I've tried to wipe it from my memory
Relentlessly awful events happening to a man over his life.
Only 1 in a group of 6 liked it.And even then it was lukewarm praise.
I threw it out in the recycling and I never throw books away.

grumiosmum · 28/11/2018 17:21

Marley and Me. Absolute drivel.

TonTonMacoute · 28/11/2018 17:18

The worst book club read was definitely Golden Gate by Vikram Seth. I loved A Suitable Boy, but this was a whole novel in verse, and I absolutely hate poetry! It was a real ordeal getting to the end.

There was another book by an Egyptian, he is fantastically well known, in fact I think he won the Nobel Prize for literature, but it was turgid stuff.

EspressoPatronum · 27/11/2018 10:25

It was a double whammy compare/contrast of 50 shades of Gray and Lolita 😳

Twogirlsandme · 01/07/2018 11:41

I loved Wild, found it really inspiring.

ThinkOfAWittyNameLater · 30/06/2018 19:46

Not quite a book club but several years ago my SIL asked me to read The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood as she thought it was brilliant and was desperate to talk to someone about it. I agreed, as I'm always pleased when someone recommends a good book to me.

Except this was bloody awful. I plugged away at it as I'd promised to read it. Finally (finally!) finish the bloody thing and tell SIL I'm ready to talk about it now.

Great.

SIL "did you love it?"
Me "no"
SIL "oh well there's no point talking about it then"
Me ShockHmmAngry

I think I will resent her for this until the day I die Blush

Habeebtea · 30/06/2018 13:15

Beloved - just confusing and very weird

SanFranBear · 30/06/2018 11:53

Knots and Crosses - it was unanimous that Rebus was a drunken douche Grin

I struggled with Stardust as it felt just wrong for a book club - but aware it was just me, everyone else loved it

Ouroboros · 28/06/2018 23:41

For the group as a whole: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
For me: probably Wild by Cheryl Strayed
For everyone but me: when I made them read Orlando by Virginia Woolf. God, I love that book but it went down like a lead balloon at book group.

Twogirlsandme · 28/06/2018 23:04

The Power. Hated it.

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 28/06/2018 15:51

I ADORE The Road - it is brilliant. But I can see why it might lead one to suicide.

girlandboy · 19/06/2018 22:39

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis was utter rubbish. I just managed to read the first chapter and then threw in the towel.

Another terrible one was Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes. Blimey it was boring.

CaptainNelson · 19/06/2018 22:24

Where are you Bernadette? or something like that. It was meant to be funny but was so self indulgent and just crappy. Not a single redeeming feature that I can recall.
However, we have just read Engleby and loved it.
Mini, I'd agree that pretty much anything by Paulo Coelho is rubbish, but 1000 years of Solitude was Gabriel Garcia Marquez and I think he was a master. But I absolutely get that he's not everyone's cup of tea.

anotherpersona · 17/06/2018 16:59

The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
The Children's Book - AS Byatt.
Been in book group for 10+ years and those are the two I just couldn't finish.

MiniDoofa · 16/06/2018 20:01

A Hundred Years of Solitude by Paulo Coelho (sp?). Felt like a thousand years of drivel. Really couldn’t stand it but finished it out of obligation. Has won awards I think. Has made me avoid award-winning booksGrin

DissertationDrama · 16/06/2018 19:54

The Casual Vacancy - dull and depressing
The Teacher - absolute rubbish. Gore for the sake of it, very little plot line, ridiculous characters.

Clawdy · 14/06/2018 22:52

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien. It's supposed to be very good, but not one of us managed to finish it, and that was a first.

Ragusa · 06/06/2018 22:59

I absolutely loved the slap, mind. The characters were pretty bad but at least they were well-drawn.

Ragusa · 06/06/2018 22:58

@toomuchsplother ooh. You are the first person I've met who shares my views on Autumn. My uber-arty friends seem to love it and not loving it makes me feel pedestrian and unadventurous but ... no. I can't!

Rinceoir · 06/06/2018 07:11

I suppose objectively I could see that the Slap was well written. Just I find books hard going when I hate every character!

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