to ask what was the most annoying book you have ever ploughed through?

[pandarific]

I am reading Her Fearful Symmetry for bookclub and I'm a fifth of the way through and hating it. It is just striking me as very cutesy and mimsy wimsy and I have eyerolled so many times in the past 100 pages. (Children, in 2010, in London, happily playing croquet - really? Oh and then there's a ghost. And some creepy twins! Great.)

It wouldn't be so bad, but the fecking thing is 500 pages long.

I know it's a matter of taste as the author's books are massive bestsellers. And I may be being unfair as I seem to just really dislike magical realism in general. And I am open to reading all kinds of different books (last one A Game of Thrones, before that The Kite Runner), and anyway, half the point of a bookclub is to read things you wouldn't pick for yourself. But but. The salesperson at Waterstones even went on about how great it was when I was buying it, ffs! Waaah, boo, disappointment, 500 pages of life wasted etc.

Anyway, I definitely will finish it as it's only fair to give it a real chance, and I will try not to BU and judge so quickly, but I have to ask - what books have you made yourself finish, bookclub or no, that you've hated?

DMum and I have an 'awful book club' We challenge each other to make it through truly terrible books.

Recently she made me endure 'Foursome' by Jane Fallon.

Never ever put yourself through it!

maniac That is really interesting. The Ros Bartlett won't be available until August so I will have to rejig my reading order if I'm going to read that one - AK is my translation choice for a Goodreads group challenge for this year but that isn't insurmountable.

There has been a copy of Crime and Punishment (again, Pevear / Volokhonsky) sitting, accusingly, on my bookshelf for a while now. I keep meaning to read it; it is one of my dad's favourite novels and he was always telling me that I should read it.

I don't know what my resistance to reading certain classics is all about but it definitely exists. Another of my dad's recommendations was Bleak House and I didn't get round to that until I was 32. And I loved it - I should have learned from that experience.

Anyway, thank you for all the information. I am really grateful; anything that will help me finally crack AK is to be welcomed.

A recent-ish book that stands out in my mind is Mrs Fry's Diary. I got it as a xmas gift from my mum, who thought it was actually written by Stephen Fry. It's not - it's written by some Twitter blogger who is apparently hilarious. Although there is a 'rumour' it is Stephen Fry and if so, he's gone down massively in my estimation. I havn't read anything this bad in a long time. I just didn't find it funny, at all.

But then I don't do twitter and this was partly written in the form of tweets.

I'm too lazy to plough all the way through, but anything by Ian McEwan that isn't Atonement leaves me totally cold. I just don't give a shit about any of his characters.

Lord of the rings

Fractured by Dani Atkins. Just don't bother. It was so sad and then really hopeful and then it was all a dream as she was in a coma and then she dies! It was really distressing. Don't put yourself through it.

Also The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell. Had heard great things about this author but it was unrelentingly depressing and the Detective slips into Alzheimer's at the end! Put me off reading any of his previous novels...

Another one for the Slap, I only managed to paragraph 3.
I used to love Jonothan Coe but was soo disappointed in The Closed Circle, and found The Rotter's club annoying at the end.
Worst ending ever: The little Friend by Donna Tartt. And the snakes in that we're annoying too.
I was sort of glad that I persevered with her Fearful Symmetry as I liked the OCD character but aargh how I hated The Time Traveller's wife when his foot fell off

To Kill A Mockingbird.

I was really looking forward to reading it, however I had to force myself to finish it.

It was absolutely dire. I can't understand why people think it's such a wonderful book. The actions of the father in defending the accused is obviously very noble but the writing style etc of the book left me bored rigid.

Film was good.

I've remembered another one; by Isla Dewar. Can't remember the title but it's about a woman who leaves her young family for some reason I don't recall.

Not a single sympathetic character in the book. All thoroughly selfish and obnoxious. I think you're supposed to feel sorry for the (now grown up) children but they are so unpleasant you don't blame the character for leaving them. And the ending is shite too.

Actually I lied, there is one likeable character in the book - she's dead though.

I loved Madam Bovary.

Couldn't make head nor tail of The Time Traveller's Wife.

Also have tried to read Behind the Scenes at the Museum but gave up because couldn't stop confusing the characters.

Hated The Return by that Hislop woman -so many holes/inconsistencies & frustrations, made Labyrinth look like literature.

The title is "Two Kinds of Wonderful". I should add that I've really enjoyed the author's other books, which is probably why I dislike this one so much - she can do so much better!

The only book i've never been able to finish is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Does anyone (apart from the person who gave it to me) like it?

Am also not a fan of posh people navel gazing type books - thinking of The Cazalets, Mary Wesley type stuff. Urrgh.

I loved Clan of the Cave Bear but have only managed to read some of the sequels out of a sense of loyalty rather than for any pleasure - basically the author trying to show off how much she knows about archaeology mixed in with a bit of caveman porn.

Oh god, The Cazalets - that is the one that was serialised for what seemed like years on Women's Hour. Dull in the extreme.
I second whoever said Hotel du Lac, literally nothing happens, thankfully it was a short book.
I have to defend Tess of the D'Urbervilles though - I love the book and have read it multiple times. I will concede that it is a wee bit depressing, but I like a little weep at the end.

I had forgotten the Cazalets! It was the most dreadful, turgid stuff, and I was so looking forward to reading them. I did plough my way through all of them - just in case they improved! Thank goodness for speed reading!

Is The Children's Book by AS Byatt, too? I thought it was terrible! Hateful characters and a plot of epic dullness .

Oh I loved Possession.

Was enraged by the film adaptation though.

The Slap! Such a pile of rubbish

The bloody Lovely Bones. Sounded superb in the blurb - absolute tripe.

Oh dear, quite enjoyed these...

The Slap
Gone Girl
Shantaram

But, each to their own I guess...

Wolf Hall - love that period of history but bored rigid by the book! Must confess to enjoying all the Kate Mosse books - sorry!

The Notebook. Bilge!

YY oneegg! The first 2 books in the clan of the cave bear series are wonderful but the others are so woeful. The last one is shockingly awful. I'd blocked it out of my memory.

I couldn't stand 'Eat, Love, Pray' either and felt really sorry for her first husband.