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?

Donna Tartt, The Little Friend

I love The Secret History and re-read it often. I was so excited when The Little Friend came out. It took me three tries over the course of 10 years to finally finish the fucker. Pile o' shite.

Can anyone tell me if The Goldfinch is any good?

The Little Friend was indeed rubbish. The Goldfinch has had rave reviews so I'm going to chance it.

I can't say The Slap because I didn't filoud Atlas, or Warcrimes for the Home would have to win.

I hated Cloud Atlas too and couldn't understand what everyone was raving about. Just when I'd got my head round the different characters and voices/language and was starting to get into it (about half way through the damn book) he introduced another one. At which point I lost it and threw the book across the room in disgust. It annoyed me so much just sitting on the bookshelf after that that I took it to the charity shop.

The Goldfinch is desperately in need of an editor and plausible characters. It's not as bad as The Little Friend as it does have an ending. I got it on a Kindle deal of the day for £1.99 (thankfully)

The Spoils of Poynton by Henry James.The plot summary is below. I have read the whole book. It's about people arguing about furniture.

Widow Adela Gereth tells the sensitive and tasteful Fleda Vetch that she's afraid her son Owen will marry the coarse Mona Brigstock. Owen soon becomes engaged to Mona and wants to take over Poynton, the family home filled with Mrs. Gereth's carefully collected furniture and other art objects. He would like Fleda to help get his mother to leave the house with a minimum of fuss.

Mrs. Gereth moves to Ricks, the smaller family house. Fleda visits the house and is unhappy that Mrs. Gereth has furnished it with the best pieces from Poynton. Owen says that Mona is angry with the "theft" of the valuable heirlooms. Meanwhile, Owen is becoming more attracted to Fleda instead of the crude Mona and eventually declares his love for her. Fleda insists that he honor his engagement to Mona unless she breaks it off.

Mrs. Gereth finally returns the fine furniture to Poynton. After a few days Owen and Mona are reported to be married, and they go abroad. Fleda gets a letter from Owen asking her to select any one piece from Poynton as hers to keep. Fleda goes to Poynton but finds it completely consumed by fire.

One moment one morning. A load of unpleasant entitled women sitting around talking shite and looking down on the poor. Nothing else happened.

I've given up with 'The Zahir', it's not even worth the notch on my 2014 fifty books challenge.

I plodded miserably through the tosh that is One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Somebody as well SeaSickSal.

It came highly recommended by someone whose book judgement I have always trusted before. But I suspect after that recommendation that either they have had a nasty blow to the head and their ideas about great books have changed dramatically or I have unwittingly pissed them off in some way and they were taking their revenge by recommending it.

Nothing happened that wasn't already revealed on the back cover. Some bloke dies on a train, three of the most annoying women ever feel a bit sad about it, a relationship breaks down, a relationship starts and they all get a lovely allotment at the end.

Actually the allotment isn't on the back cover, but the rest of it is. I should have put SPOILER before that bit about the allotment, I wouldn't want to ruin the only surprise in the book for somebody. The author is actually on Amazon reviews somewhere, complaining that reviewers are giving away the non-existent plot twists.

I should have known by the pile of teacups cover that it would be shite. Teacups seem to be a modern metaphor for shite on book covers these days.

Which reminds me, I'm avoiding that one that seems to be called The Happy Little Coffee Shop In Kabul because the title just screams of desperate shite. Am I right? Has anyone been brave enough to suffer through it?

I loathed Wolf Hall but made myself finish it!

Started but never completed: Labyrinth, The Slap, One Day and Cloud Atlas. All were just dull and turgid.

KatoPotato me and my mum also have a bad book club! The last one she got me with was so bad we actually ritually burnt it in the back garden.

eat pray love, although gave up before finishing, it was that rubbish.

Alone in Berlin, although well written, was so depressing that I couldn't bear to finish it.

SarahandFuck The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul is not worth it, it manages to have main characters you don't care about and skims over the only slightly interesting sub-plot involving women's subjugation under the Taliban.

Helpthesnails - those bloody herbal drinks! I never had herbal tea till I read those books But think those cro-magnon people were onto something there...

If I remember correctly wolverine fur was THE fur for hoods since it doesn't collect ice? I was always very jealous of the nice warm clothing they seemed to have.

On the days when I feel like re-reading the Clan of the Cave bear series I just go and look at the Amazon reviews of the last book - so many hurt and betrayed reviewers on there. Lots of people were angry!

I had similar issues with the Jean M Auel books - gave up after the Plains of Passage, just couldn't cope with them. And her sex scenes were ridiculous - so clinical, and so repetitive! she could probably have saved herself a few pages by writing "see page 47-49" each time she had another one.*
Didn't bother with the two later books.

*Disclaimer - I cannot remember the actual page numbers!

The Dragon Tattoo books. Absolute cock. I'd worked out the ending by page 2. A triumph of hype over content.

The sex scenes in the last book are even worse thumb - if you ever want a laugh go read them.

The 'Mother song' is repeated IN FULL about three times in the last book aswell if I remember. Total waste of pages.

Jeez - glad I gave up when I did!! I remember advance ordering the Plains of Passage and being so excited when it came in (yeah, I know, sad) and then being so disappointed. I feel sorry for the readers who kept going with the later books and were even more disappointed!
Might see if they're in the local library and check out the sex scenes just for the laughs though...

Oh, many.

1. The Alchemist. I should have known. Any book which has Madonna recommending it on the cover is doomed to failure
2. Wuthering Heights. I reckon if I'd read it when I was a moody pubescent I would have loved it, but as it stands I hated it. It's creepy and BORING
3. The Line of Beauty. Ugh.

The Great Gatsby

bored off my tits

dragon tattoo - I agree utter wank, got through book one, stated book 2 and thought fuck it

I've got to admit I am struggling with The Goldfinch

yy Gatsby (tho another one of his whose name escapes me is GREAT)

Martin Amis [rage face]

oh, and recently Morrissey. tho am cheating with that one as have hidden it under bed a quarter in. Woeful.)