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Original poster

Popular book that you didn’t enjoy

459 replies

Wanttocry · 19/06/2021 16:33

Not really a TAAT but inspired by the Crawdads thread.

What’s a book that has been raved about, but that you didn’t really enjoy? For me it would have to be The Goldfinch, I just didn’t really get it.

OP posts:
JaninesEyePatch · 05/09/2021 13:59

*skim read that should say

JaninesEyePatch · 05/09/2021 13:54

@Musication

I really did not enjoy Little Fires Everywhere. Found it hard worn to read and pretty cliched.
Yeah I pretty much skin read that as it was padded out too much.
MynahBird · 05/09/2021 13:51

The Silent Patient - GARBAGE!
The Dictionary of Lost Words - twee and didactic.
Bruny - unbelievable and farcical.

ISpyCobraKai · 05/09/2021 13:51

My Dark Vanessa, it just made me too uncomfortable.
The Slap, utterly hateful people.
We are all completely beside ourselves, a boring animal rights lecture whare nothing actually happens.

JaninesEyePatch · 05/09/2021 13:49

@Firevixen

Catcher in the rye. Literally nothing happens at all. Just an annoying teenager talking about themself.
Yes another vote for this - so boring, just didn't get it.
JaninesEyePatch · 05/09/2021 13:48

Hated the ending of Crawdads - made a mockery of the whole premise of the book.

Also HATED My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent - should come with a trigger warning, made me feel sick. Kept reading because I thought it must get better but it didn't.

FuckPilledLatteplus · 05/09/2021 13:44

I hated “The Amber Spyglass.” I don’t even remember a sex or implied sex scene happening though. Does anyone remember whereabouts in book it is roughly? Is it near the end?
TAS just doesn’t feel like it belonged in the same series as “Northern Lights.” TAS was pseudo-intellectual garbage.

OhWhyNot · 17/08/2021 23:31

A Little Life - I couldn’t wait to finish the book the misery became tedious rather than upsetting

A Secret History- what a waste of my time

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- how much detail is needed. Could have been a third of what it was again tedious

Eat Pray Love - I don’t think I’ve every read any other autobiographical book and disliked the writer so much. Unbelievably self righteous and smug.

PollyPepper · 17/08/2021 19:13

@BlessedBeTheFruitCake

Hamnet, just couldn’t get into it.
Oh yes I have abandoned this about 2 3rds of the way through and its collecting dust on my bookcase.
PollyPepper · 17/08/2021 19:12

@FiveGoMadInDorset

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine
Get out.
IceLace100 · 12/08/2021 23:28

Just read Klara and the Sun by kazuo Ishiguro. Really didn't like it...

LBirch02 · 12/08/2021 17:01

Great Gatsby = boring

LBirch02 · 12/08/2021 16:39

Eat Pray Love sounds like something you’d see stencilled on the walls of houses of a certain demographic! Sorry couldn’t resist!!

LBirch02 · 12/08/2021 16:38

Totally agree with everyone who’d said Catcher in the Rye!

ApolloandDaphne · 10/08/2021 20:12

The Luminaries. My DD loved and gave it to me to read. I hated it so much and gave up about a quarter of the way through.

RestingStitchFace · 10/08/2021 19:19

Agree with @Firevixen I simply couldn't get on with The Catcher In the Rye. Seriously, what is the big deal?

Musication · 08/08/2021 08:21

I really did not enjoy Little Fires Everywhere. Found it hard worn to read and pretty cliched.

Blueberry40 · 08/08/2021 07:45

Also Eat, Pray, Love….the story of a very privileged woman going on a journey to find herself. Yawn.

Blueberry40 · 08/08/2021 07:41

Another vote for Behind the Scenes at the Museum- was like trying to wade through treacle reading this.

Also Fifty Shades was just bloody awful. Couldn’t get past the shoddy writing and didn’t understand the hype at all! Complete dross.

Midnightstar76 · 08/08/2021 07:17

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine, I really did not rate this at all

tobee · 08/08/2021 05:57

Behind the Scenes at the Museum
Birdsong

Piggywaspushed · 06/08/2021 06:53

I agree about most if the books I have read on here including Eleanor Oliphant and We are all Completely... also The Goldfinch and Little Fires.

But Captain Corelli is my favourite book. Have people who dislike it read the Carlo chapters??

BarbaraofSeville · 06/08/2021 06:30

I'm not sure anyone raved about the fifty shades books though.

Wasn't it widely acknowledged that they were dreadful in a literary sense? As opposed to all the other books mentioned, which are generally well thought of.

Seasidemumma77 · 06/08/2021 05:15

Fifty Shades of Grey - just couldn't get why people raved about a book which is so poorly written.

BarbaraofSeville · 06/08/2021 04:45

Have done a search and can see no-one's mentioned it, which is surprising, but Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes.

I don't know if I'm missing something but I found Rachel totally unlikeable, she just seemed so stupid and self absorbed.

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