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Original poster

What’s your “ How did this crap get published?!” book?

521 replies

MrsGrindah · 20/12/2020 15:37

Just finished The Pretenders by Agatha Zaza. Gosh it was dreadful.Cannot understand how drivel like that gets a publishing deal. There was a scene where, in the middle of a “ dramatic” moment, one of the side characters crosses the room to his wife and “ took hold of the corner of her blouse” . What?! Who does that?! I can’t even picture it.

OP posts:
Brokenchair1 · 20/12/2020 21:28

I really disliked The time traveller's wife but appreciate I may be in the minority.
Agree with 50 shades and most of the chicklit being mentioned.

Also philippa gregory is becoming quite repetitive.

RupertRupertTheBear · 20/12/2020 21:32

Ducks, Newburyport. Just WTF? It was on the booker shortlist, but I thought it was utter drivel.

dayswithaY · 20/12/2020 21:37

Most things on my Kindle.

Daisy Jones and The Six. On and on about this crazy cool chick that takes drugs and a brooding complicated rock star. I probably would have loved it if I was 14.

I must stop getting reeled in by gorgeous cover art and quotes from famous people saying "I loved it, best fun I've had in years!" Why should I care what they think.

Dolly Alderton trying very hard to shock.

Amazon keep trying to sell me Richard Osman's book, I will resist.

Also psychological thrillers. Usually a woman called Kate who sips red wine and nervously bites her bottom lip as something terrifying happens and it's usually always her husband or her best friend. Or the husband is having an affair with the best friend, and best friend tries to kill her out of jealousy. Or husband kidnaps her and holds her hostage in their remote cottage until she signs everything over to him.

I need to start reading non fiction.

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Books
user1471565182 · 20/12/2020 21:41

Wasnt me using it.

PetertheWalrus · 20/12/2020 21:44

"Death's Men" by Denis Winter. I literally flung it on the fire.

EscapeTheCastle · 20/12/2020 21:51

The Lake House by Kate Morton.
So bad! Laughable twist.
I know she writes the same standard theme of a Cornwall mystery house all the time. I liked one previously but this one was terrible.

Tehmina23 · 20/12/2020 21:56

Wilbur Smith - I had the misfortune of reading one of his latest books; not only was it racist & islamophobic, but the author came across like a dirty old man. I actually returned the book to Tesco in disgust!!

50 shades of shite.

The lovely bones - omg weird & depressing.

Sebastian Faulks - I'm sure there are good stories in his books but they are well hidden among chunks of boringness.

TheChosenTwo · 20/12/2020 22:03

@CrazyFoxLady I’m reading that at the moment and really struggling to get into it. The woman is driving me nuts with her dithering! Will persevere but have seen a lot of people on this thread trashing her books so not overly hopeful Grin

Abracadabra12345 · 20/12/2020 22:05

@sofiathe2nd

Where the Crawdads Sing, really don’t understand the hype
Noooo! It’s fabulous! 😱
Iamagree · 20/12/2020 22:06

Zadie Smith - I read something of hers (White Teeth maybe?) after a Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel and it did not stand up well . Started amusingly and then just felt so laboured and hard-workingly let's shoehorn in another issue. Clunky and obvious, sorry Zadie.

MrsSchadenfreude · 20/12/2020 22:06

50 Shades
I heart New York by Lindsey Kelk. Badly written drivel and there’s a whole fucking series.

Livedandlearned · 20/12/2020 22:07

I really struggle to find a decent book nowadays.

Books that are recommended on here sound interesting, I go on my kindle bookstore, find said book and then I go straight to the reviews and that's where I make the decision not to buy the book.

I wasted so much money on disappointing books that I started becoming cautious.

Now I never buy new books and it's a shame but so many have massive hype and are just complete rubbish.

Iamagree · 20/12/2020 22:08

Oh, and I've always avoided anything with the "Somebody's wife/daughter/ sister" formula in the title.

Toomuchtooyoung01 · 20/12/2020 22:08

Martina Cole has literally written the same story 20 times now. Same plot, same characters, same dialogue.

Anna783426 · 20/12/2020 22:09

'A Respectable Trade' by Philippa Gregory. Truly awful

LunaNorth · 20/12/2020 22:09

The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Nothing at all happens to two of the most boring, two-dimensional characters ever committed to paper. What shit.

The Institute by Stephen King. I’m a huge King fan, but this was dated King-by-numbers. I think his time might be up.

YY to that Ruth Jones drivel. Awful.

JuneFromBethesda · 20/12/2020 22:21

@Orangesarenottheonlyfruit

The lovely bones -total shite The Midnight Library- could have been written for a child. So effing trite. My Brilliant Friend, wtf?
I tried SO HARD with My Brilliant Friend. I really did. I kept going far longer than I should have done, but in the end I just couldn't stand it any longer.
Icantreachthepretzels · 20/12/2020 22:26

@FlyingFlamingo

Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children - it was meant to be set in Wales, the author had clearly never been anywhere near Wales. The written accents were completely wrong, as was the geography. Why set it in a country he knew nothing about?

I liked The Crawdads though, I didn’t realise they were making it into a film, and I also liked the ‘monkey sister’ book.

The plot was also really disappointing - all those freaky pictures and the question on the blurb about were the children dangerous ... short answer: no.

But the lack of any idea about Wales or British speech stuck out like a sore thumb. I particularly enjoyed it when the Welsh boys played a trick on our insipid intrepid little hero and then informed him they were only 'taking a piss'. In a properly published book. That got through the editing process ... I think you may have misunderstood something there, Mr. Author.

Whilst The DaVinci code is upsettingly bad one of it's many follow ups - Inferno - is even worse. My mum bought it in a charity shop (she only got it to take a piss ) and passed it along to me with the words 'I got to a point were I just said 'oh my god' and closed it. I couldn't go on.'
I read through the whole thing every so often wondering if I'd reached the point of no return ... but there was no mistaking it once I got there. The twist was ... a load of balls. He was taking a piss with that one. I mean, the premise of the twist was dreadful enough but he is just not a skillfull or nuanced enough writer to even begin to pull it off. In effect he just lied to the reader for two thirds of the book and then revealed the truth with a Ta Daa(!) and expected us to swallow it.

I saw an interview with Dan Brown around the time this book came out and he said the difference between a published and unpublished author was self awareness - the ability to read your work critically and improve it, to know when it was bad.
Going by the drivel he publishes I would say it was the least self aware comment I've every heard - and that actually the difference between a published and unpublished author is good luck and maybe tenacity.

TravellingSpoon · 20/12/2020 22:28

@Iamagree

Oh, and I've always avoided anything with the "Somebody's wife/daughter/ sister" formula in the title.
The Liar's daughter is very good though.
MrsMaudwatts · 20/12/2020 22:33

The midnight library. Utter tosh

Icantreachthepretzels · 20/12/2020 22:40

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller ... just awful, meandering, self important bullshit written in the second person (ye gods!) but where the 'you' that is meant to immerse us into the novel is quite clearly a man and a man who thinks nothing of harassing strange women just minding their own business browsing in bookshops at that. Big nope from me.

I'm glad someone else has said Catcher in the Rye - whatever it is that makes it a classic, it sailed right over my head. Just awful.

AlexCabot · 20/12/2020 22:46

Liane Moriarty. First two or three were pretty good but the recent output is appalling.

I wonder if the popularity of Big Little Lies meant that her publishers pushed her for more books sooner and that's why the quality fell off a cliff?

TooManyDogsandChildren · 20/12/2020 22:46

Agreed with the Time Traveller's Wife, the Goldfinch and the Alchemist. I can see something good in most books but not those.

I love Catcher in the Rye though!

TravellingSpoon · 20/12/2020 22:52

@AlexCabot

Liane Moriarty. First two or three were pretty good but the recent output is appalling.

I wonder if the popularity of Big Little Lies meant that her publishers pushed her for more books sooner and that's why the quality fell off a cliff?

The newest one about the health retreat was ridiculous.
littlemisslozza · 20/12/2020 22:56

@AlexCabot

Liane Moriarty. First two or three were pretty good but the recent output is appalling.

I wonder if the popularity of Big Little Lies meant that her publishers pushed her for more books sooner and that's why the quality fell off a cliff?

I saw a 'new' one from her in the supermarket a few months ago. Turns out it was from several years ago. I wonder if it was an earlier, relatively unsuccessful book that they decided to re-release on the back of later books.