To ask what is the worst book you ever read?

[Joey1471]

And why

I would say mice and men , had to read it for my GCSEs , so boring

I didn't even put my copy to the charity shop belina - I didn't want to inflict it on anyone else!

For O Level English Lit we had to read a really boring book called The Siege of Krishnapur. I didn't read it so I failed
I don't know whether I would find it more interesting now but as a fifteen year old it bored the brains out of me!

Actually the most boring book I’ve ever read (and, as an academic, I’ve read a lot of really boring books) was Thucydides’ The Peloponnesian War. Pages and pages of lists of how many carrots were prepared for dinner and such like. I took a classical civilisation module at university and they made us read it.

Catcher in the Rye - really tried - total rubbish
The Fountainhead - by Ann Rand to see what the fuss is about - real rubbish and a hard read
Perfume
Ulysses - unreadable

50 shades. Honestly, you would think it's written by a 10 year old. Except for sex scenes, those are about age 13.

Probably the Da Vinci Code, but then I haven't read 50 Shades of Grey.

So many books I've loved on here though: Gatsby, Goldfinch, Madding Crowd and several more.

I liked the Tsolkas books, too. I thought they were a study of the obsessive competitiveness of Australian men!

If you’ve read the first two but not the last, do yourself a favour- don’t read it. Imagine your own ending. I guarantee it’ll be better.

I think you may be right. They did make an allegiant film though. They were going to split the book into two but must have actually read the end and decided not to bother.

Great Expectations was ok but hard work, as was Mansfield Park. I love English and could read all day but these two books really put me off for a long time. I know they were part of my GCSE syllabus, but dear me, why can't they choose things that are actually enjoyable to read? I sincerely hope my DD reads some better books when she eventually takes her O'levels (or whatever they will have changed it to in a decade's time!)

I can’t remember what the book was called but it was a fantasy book where Scotland was now next to New Zealand so the Celts and Maoris could be at war and had lots of sex (as a 12 yo I thought was hilarious and passed around to all my friends) and rape where a Celt was forced to rape a Maori woman as a mere plot point so they could have a half Maori, half Celt boy to be our hero, but we can still like his dad cos it’s not like he wanted to rape this poor woman! It was a mess! Best thing was my grandma had picked it out because she firmly believe that any fantasy is suitable for children!

@kierenthecommunity I haven't actually read Go set a watchman, but although it was published as To kill a mockingbird sequel, I believe it was actually the first draft and was written 20 years prior to to kill a mockingbird. This may explain the inconsistencies.

I hated the following:

The Bone Clocks
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Sons & Lovers

Da Vinci Code.

Has anyone read Into the Water by Paula Hawkins? That was bloody awful! I actually enjoyed The Girl on The Train and am now questioning my taste in books

Was 11 yo and it horrified me.

I tried reading Umberto Eco's The Island of the Day Before. I have rarely, if ever, not finished reading a book, but I simply could not get beyond the first chapter.

NooNooHead1981 I took my O levels in 1985, and the reading list my teens have/had for their exams is pretty much the same. I don't hold any expectation the list will have changed by the time your DCs take their exams.....

dont remember the name it was a fairly interesting book and then it just ended quite abruptly and so boringly it pissed me off! Like wtf!

A toss up between fifty shades of grey and the twilight series. Utter trash ://

Insomnia by Stephen King

I read a totally dire book which involved psychic hillbillies last year. It had a totally transparent plot and flat writing, so probably that one.

Notable runners up; The Gathering by Anne Enright, The Sea by John Banville, The Desolation of Loss by Kiran Desai- all total nothing plots, laboriously dragged out, Heart of Darkness- fell asleep reading it and having it read to me, anything by Jane Austen and the Girl on the Train. TGotT was actually ok prose, but the ending was crap and easily guessable so a weak plot. I basically finished it to see if I had guessed correctly.

Those people saying "You can't say it's the worst book you've ever read if you just mean you didn't personally like it" are talking drivel. "Worst book" is, by definition, your opinion. Worst is a subjective value judgment. Even if you are talking only about 'quality' of writing, plenty of people would disagree over that. I could equally talk about the worst holiday I've been on or the worst meal I've eaten (either of which someone else might have loved). 'Worst' is not a set measurement.

My worst book was also 'The Magus'. I don't read trash and did a very literary MFL degree, so I'm no philistine, but I thought the Magus was unbelievably pretentious crap.

Was also coming on to say The life of Pi...

Time Travellers Wife and Lovely Bones were dire. Boring and monotonous. I seem to remember that the Time Travellers Wife was on the Richard and Judy booklist. Then there was another one on their list, I can't remember the title, something like Girl in the Woods (?) which is about a hen weekend set in Northumberland. Utter shite.
I'm reading another that I'm just about to give up on called 100 Pieces of Me.
I'm really struggling to find a good book that's uplifting.

PS I Love You. Dire. And watching the film on TV this afternoon (I know...) reminded me just how bad it was. Don't know why I expected the film to be any better but there you go.

Miss Smilla's feeling for snow by Peter Hoeg which I had to read for my book club. I actually scared my kids by shouting "No" and hurling the book across the room as I finished it! Hours of my life I will never get back!