to think this is the most over-rated book ever

[SlightlyJaded]

'If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things'

I love books. From big dramatic plotlines and epic storylines to subtle and beautfifully written prose with well drawn characters. I like quirky books, classic books, modern literature, poetry - anything well written or engaging.

I almost never have to 'force' myself to finish a book but always do finish a book if I've started (why do we do that? ) but thought 'If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things' was the dullest most over-rated dross I've ever read.

Or did I miss something?

And yes, this should be in books, but I prefer AIBU

'Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' anyone? It was heartbreaking trying to trawl through it and ended up giving up (which I never do!!) before I was halfway in...

that was crap. David eggers was laughing all the way to the bank with that one. So disapponting - i'd left the book a year before reading by mistake, and then it was just rubbish

if anyone disses Jane Austen I'll beat them up though.

Time Traveller's Wife- check

Those Afghan books- Splendid Kites and Running Suns whatever (as a wise friend of mine said, people labour under the misguided idea that Big and Important Topics automatically make Beautiful Literature. The author of these two certainly put that theory to rest for once and all.

Dark Fecking Materials. Dark Fecking What????

Harry Potter is fine as long as you don't take yourself too seriously and join forums dedicated to hidden meanings etc.

I loved the title of If No-one Speaks although I never read it...and probably shan't now!

That awful Splendid Suns, wanted to slap that dreary woman and jail the dreary man who invented her.

face reddening after receiving hullys slap, turns on heel of very well-polished boot, saying 'I see Madam! You cannot control your passions, and i will leave, before i become unable to control mine!

Ooo, you've made me come over all unnecessary

Has anyone finished Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace? I might give it another go one day, but it was so self-consciously postmodern that I just got annoyed with it.

Bucharest - some more of my favourites there ... I obviously didn't develop much of a critical faculty during my three years of an English degree.

'We need to talk about Kevin' was the only book I couldn't get through, luckily it's one of my friends favourites - that's her xmas present sorted

I just remembered The Historian, I got it twice for Xmas one year, my god did that book need an editor. And Johnathon Strange and Mister Norrell was shit as well.

I am enjoying this thread!

I couldnt get through The God Of Small Things..It was twaddle.

Loved, loved loved If Nobody Speaks...

But who rubbished Birdsong? How very dare you!!!

"'My name is red' by Orphan Paruk WTF"

Orhan Pamuk, you mean.

ANYTHING by Sebastian Faulks the bit stupid posh twit. 'which of my two female characters shall I write about here? The madonna or the whore? Eeny meeny miney mo...'

anything by Irving Welsh post Trainspotting 'hmmmmm, how can I make this rape scene more shocking and get the Sunday papers to write articles about what a bad boy I am?'

anything by Martin Amis - you're not an enfant terrible Martin - you've got a frigging bus pass.

Anything by a subcontinental writer with an overbearing MIL in it. Lazy lazy lazy.

Anything by Malcolm Gladwell.

1000 Splendid Suns
Memory Keeper's Daughter
Book Thief

These and some other "bestsellers'" I've had the misfortune to read led me to conclude that the masses who buy these books are idiots.

Sebby Faulks all shit.

I must be really fick because I find most intellectual, well-reviewed, prize-winning worthy works of literature dull as chuff. Bore me to fucking tears.

Time Travellers Wife - crap. Have tried twice to read it and can't get past page 50-odd.

Girl with a Dragon Tattoo - tedious. Gave up at page 200-odd.

Labyrinthe - awful. Gave up after page 20-odd.

Wuthering Heights - read it for A level English and got told off by my teacher for hating it. But it's a literary gem! An enduring classic work of fabulous writing! Like hell, more like the tale of a moody miserable man and a pathetic needy wet woman.

Oh no no no A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is fabulous. Well, the first half of it is.....

And dissing Wuthering Heights??? How very dare you

Agree that Wuthering Heights is overrated. Ditto TTW.

My vote however goes to Sophie's World (from my teenage years). Just a (badly written and boring) philosophy textbook in the guise of a novel...

Agree with a lot of the above - read about the first 2 chapters of the Slap before I gave it away.

I wasn't so sensible with Catcher in the Rye. I ploughed through the whole bloody thing and wanted to weep and the loss of those hours of my life afterwards!

Birdsong not as good as Charlotte Gray IMHO.

Tender Is the Night - really wanted to love it but have started it three times now and can't get past chapter 3 (I think). When does something happen?!

I just read this whole thread in the hope that someone would have nominated my all time most over-rated book. Not here so I am forced to post myself -

"The Other Hand" by Chris Cleave. Utter, utter trash...

I thought "Disgrace" was brilliant and I love Jane Austen and I enjoyed the "Time Traveler's Wife" .

Am very with you on your feelings towards If no one speaks. Got of page 10 it was so dull.

Those macho books that are supposed to be fantastic and everyone is supposed to have read them like Catch - 22. Couldnt finish.

Loved the Time Travellers Wife.

Agree The Alchemist was terrible I was embarrassed for the author.

Kevin- will not read it. don't like the author, ever since she whinged that she had a MUCH harder time getting into Britain than asylum seekers did, she ahd SO much paperowrk to do as a Canadian and all tehy did was hang on to the bottom of a train. I worked with asylum seekers at the time. she's an arse and i already don't like her arsey books.
Da Vinci code- golden rule of trhilers, crime novels etc is never let the plot be resolved by coincidence. There's a reason for that- it's CHEATING. I sort of enjoyed it in an I'll-use-this-as-toiletpaper-when-i'm-donesort of way, like a saturday night shag, not a keeper. But then I got teo the Big Coincidence, and I was DISGUSTED of Tunbridge wells.
Time Traveler's wife- same cateogry as Da Vinci without the the cheating.
Wolf Hall was brilliant, took my breath away.
Captain Corelli- I loved it, Birds Without Wings even better.
Labyrinth- couldn't get past page 2.
Tolstoy darling, I'm sorry you're probably marvellous, but life's too short dear, spit it out and move on.
sorry for typos, am terrible typist and i get bored with going back to corect them all. xxk

"OMG Wuthering Heights!"

Can we start a "whats the big deal about Wuthering Heights" society with a secret handshake so we can recognise members?

Love in the Time of Cholera - oh just fuck off and die of cholera please!