Books that you thought you'd love but didn't.

No interest in watching the film then?

Where The Crawdads Sing. Given to me by someone who said you’ll love this.

SO. BORING. Depressing, too. Gave up half way.

Give me Thea Harrison’s Dragon Bound or Erin Kellison’s Shadow seris any day…

Totally agree with this and so did my book group, as for the Jacqueline Du Pre chapter, words fail me.

Miriam Margoyles “This much is True” - self aggrandising luvvie stuff with pages of “so I said to Dame Helen …” - I’m expecting Lionel Blair to pop up at any minute too.

Same here and Sense and Sensibility.

We Have Always Lived In The Castle
Coraline
Wizard Of Oz (the book is not always better than the film)

Life of Pi. People wank on about it being amazing. It's horrible.

It is quite horrible. I’m a bit sensitive about animal slaughter (even though it happens all the time in nature), so this wasn’t the book for me.

I didn’t get very far with Small island by Andrea Levy, but I mean to give it another go. I didn’t warm to any of the characters - the crude guy who kept picking his ears, the woman who very deliberately “stole” another woman’s husband, and the landlady who only seemed to care about money.

I actually liked a lot of the books mentioned on this thread.
Willing to put my head above the parapet here...
Love Jane Austin, read Secret History decades ago but remember hiding it under my desk at work to finish a chapter. Also liked Capt Corelli and Crawdads. Listened to Richard Osman book on audio-most of my book club liked it.
I adore the Pursuit of Love.

Hated The Book Thief.
Slap beyond awful.
Agree with a PP-Lianne Moriarity very hit and miss-that 9 perfect strangers or however many there were was absolute rubbish. Embarrassing really. Some of them good sunbed reads.
This is going to hurt was awful and seemed to deliberately be as vile as possible to shock I suppose. Made me feel sick. Did not finish.

The Midnight Library by M Haig (?) ... so hyped up that I thought I would really like it.
I wish I hadn't bothered. It's just dreadful writing and dull reading.

Gave up with cloud atlas.

Queenie by candice carty Williams was a bit meh

I agree. Could not get it! My friend told me to keep at it as the next two books are better.

Agree about Shuggie Bain. Hated it and I usually love busman's holiday books - sw.

Life of Pi. People wank on about it being amazing. It's horrible.

And it's boring

Not quite the same as iconic books other posters are mentioning, but I’ve heard a lot of praise for Emily Henry as a romcom writer. I just don’t think they’re that great.

Pride and Prejudice. Dull.

A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway.
I thought I'd love it, hated it. One of the most annoying people ever in a book is his wife.

The Thursday Murder Club - so disappointing. Very poorly constructed and plotted. I found that I didn't care who the murderer was. A disjointed mess.

Regarding The Slap, I genuinely can’t decide whether to give it to a charity shop (and hopefully make them a quid or two), or to put it in the recycling bin to spare others the racist language.

I enjoyed This Is Going To Hurt - I found it an interesting insight into the NHS, with some very funny moments. I thought Adam came across as a really hard-working guy who cared about his patients, despite his flippant humour and constant swearing.

However, Adam did make a couple of comments that suggested he viewed older women’s bodies with distaste. And if that tattoo incident actually happened… 😬

I was shocked by the song lyrics - some of them are vile, so I guess you all read him more astutely than I did.

I hated Scoop by Evelyn Waugh after expecting to love it. I'd got the idea it was going to have the feeling of PG Wodehouse meets Cold Comfort Farm. I couldn't get past the racism and not very much happened.

I gave up on Scoop very quickly. Just seemed dated and full of in-jokes.

Me too! I really thought that I would like it, the blurb was exactly my kind of thing...but no, it irritated me and it was a struggle to finish.

Not my beloved Bridget Jones It is satire after all. I also adore her book Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination.

I hated Scoop by Evelyn Waugh after expecting to love it. I'd got the idea it was going to have the feeling of PG Wodehouse meets Cold Comfort Farm. I couldn't get past the racism and not very much happened.

Also expected to like I Capture the Castle and even more so The Pursuit of Love, but found both annoyingly whimsical and insubstantial. Probably moreso because I'd built them up in my mind in advance.

Bridget Jones diary. Loved the film. But the constant weighings and cigarette counts just got boring…
I kept thinking “ stop being so self absorbed and shallow!”

This Is Going To Hurt. He’s utterly vile and the book is completely over egged imo.

The Thursday Murder Club. It was like plodding through treacle but did wonders for my insomnia.

Elinor Oliphant. I was desperately waiting for the good bit but got to the end instead.

The Midnight Library. I read that on holiday. It always drove me to throw my Kindle into the swimming pool.

Oh and yea to This Is Going to Hurt - misogynistic bile. I fell down a rabbit hole of researching the author who, as it turns out, hates disabled people as well as women and has written some vile songs as part of his ‘comedy act’ making fun of people with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. A doctor. Thanks Christ he quit the profession

Everyone told me to read The Tent, The Bucket and Me. Said my kidneys would burst and my eyeballs would explode with laughing.

Didnt laugh once. Just read it thinking what idiots her parents sound. Can’t believe that it was so successful.

Also, Elenor Oliphant. Load of rubbish where nothing happens. Boring, like wading through tar. How is it so popular?