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

[MrsGrindah]

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.

That Adam Kay hospital one that loads of people think is marvellous.

To be honest, about 50% of the books I start I don’t finish because they’re poor.

@goose1964

The great Gatsby, God was that bad.

Glad to see someone else thinks like me, dire book.

Agree with pp regarding Sophie Hannah. They always start quite promisingly but soon become convoluted and unbelievable. I had the last one from the library and it was ridiculous.

That bloody Eleanor Oliphant bollocks. Absolute shit.

Not a snob, I do enjoy a Jilly Cooper!

@Thelnebriati

The Power by Naomi Alderman.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThePower(Alderman_novel)

Definitely! This was hyped up as some feminist masterpiece and was such a disappointment, particularly the ending.

@x2boys

50 shades of grey ,I couldn't finish it ,it was so dire

Agree

Utter shite

Graham Norton's first fiction book (on audible). It was an utter pile of shit.

I liked it! The second one was awful though.

That Part Time Working Mummy atrocity.... Okay so she's an instahun but she can't write although her blog used to be funny.

Labyrinth by Kate Moss, I heard great reviews and so wanted to love it. I hated it

Ditto The Goldfinch which I also really tried to love but didn't.

50 Shades of Grey.... Just urgh.

And, Twilight.

Shite.

Anything by Victoria Hyslop, especially the one after The Island.

Anything by Jenny Colgan but especially Amanda's Wedding.

It's odd as I don't mind crappy books. I can devour pulp fiction as long as it demands nothing more than time wasting and my interest.

Many Jilly Cooper books (older ones) fall into this category and 8 can read and re_read them as they are relaxing.

But crappy books pretending to be something they are not annoy me.

I'd blocked this from my memory but I was on holiday once and ran out of things to read so I picked up a book at the Airbnb.

It was by Martina Cole. No idea of the title but holy shit it was bad. Not only terribly written (about four unrelated characters had the same surname and there were plot holes you could get a tractor through) but just very unpleasant generally. Apparently she's written loads. How? Who is buying them?

Most chick-lit, more why people buy it.
If there is a Mrs Browns Boys book, hopefully not, it's bad enough there is a tv show and film.

Any of those bloody chick lit authors. The books are all the same! Recently broken hearted woman moves to a village in the Countryside/ by the beach, opens a book/cake/ chocolate shop. Meets local arrogant successful man with mysterious personal life / past. Falls in love. Happy ever after.
Why oh why do they insist on churning them out?? Who the fuck is reading them??!

The Cows - Dawn O'Porter
Come Again - Robert Webb

@Llyn

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. Anachronistic, two-dimensional, tedious drivel.

I haven't read that but saw the TV adaptation. I was truly incredulous at how lame the ending was. I checked to see if it was the same in the book, and it was! I couldn't believe that had got past an editor.

They all have have a similar jacket illustration/colours/fonts too in turquoise or pink with shoes / handbags on and look a bit like a birthday card....

Another one for 50 shades- complete crap!

Also P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern. Big deal made about the fact she was only 17 when she wrote it, but honest to God it read like a school homework piece - great premise but terrible novel.

The most badly written book I've ever read was Pamela Stephenson's biography of Billy Connelly. So bad it was unreadable.

A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French. Read about 10 pages. It was unbelievably shit, and I couldn't read another sentence.

Can't stand chick lit, I manage a charity shop and I know snob alert that our customers do not buy chick lit so I have an arrangement with another charity shop that we can pass it in, they sell it well . But sometimes my volunteers don't realise what is chick lit and I find it on the shelves!

The Silent Patient by Alex \Michaeilides - poorly researched, badly written and completely unconvincing from start to finish. With a plot twist, you can spot from the first chapter. Dire.

Milkman

I like punctuation. It serves a purpose.

The Goldfinch. Started well, descended into nothingness but was compelling enough to flick through to the end.

50 Shades Of Filth. I read 2 and 3 first because 1 had sold out when all the hype was hyping. It was better without 1, could assume some sort of wanklit, met a dom charming etc. When I found out the actual 'story' was like yeah, never happened.

Girl on a train. Shite.

Most Shite now I return to Amazon cos shite.

Anything where they explain the plot / relationships to other characters to ‘help’ the reader when the person in the book would obviously know all the details. Like ‘ oh uncle Mark, who married your mother’s sister Jane, in 1992 with a big wedding but then had an affair with the bridesmaid.’ Like the person would not know that... drives me mad.