To ask about the worst book you have ever read.

[Whereisthecoffee]

Title says it all really. What book or books have you absolutely hated and why?

YY to so many already mentioned upthread. I'm at the point now where I find so much modern literature dull as fuck with entirely obvious plot lines and disappointingly predictable twists that I've guessed by the end of the second chapter. I've carried on with a few thinking I'd be wrong and they'd get better, only to feel RAGE at the total waste of my time when I reached the end.

And I'm with the pp who said anything by Dawn French. I've read 2 of her books (hoping the first was an anomaly), and they are such a pile of shite! Her hatred of other women just screams out from every page. Beyond disappointed.

Dawn O Porter gives me the rage for her name alone. The least she could have done is call herself Dawn Ni Porter.

One Day. Book equivalent of a long con. Felt absolutely cheated at the end and nearly launched it across the room. I am even-tempered to the point of occasional doormattery but that was too much even for me.

As a few others have mentioned, absolutely 'A Little Life'. It's very well written, but I got halfway through (and it's 750 pages long) before deciding the unremitting misery, which was only getting worse, was not for me. I then read the synopsis and I was so pleased I stopped. Couldn't bring myself to give it away in case someone else wasted hours of their life on it.

I love The Goldfinch though.

Andrew Tannebaum’s computer networks, every time i sat to read it i fell asleep. Needless to say i failed the course.

The life of pi, absolutely hated it, repeatedly tried to read it as everyone around me loved it and i just couldn’t get into it.

Jemima J - massively fatphobic and terribly written.

The Last Romeo - wasn't worth the 99p I paid. The main character was a real twat but somehow his friends just forgave him. Terrible book.

Jemima J (or was it Jemima Jones) and Da Vinci Code.

Captain Corellis Mandolin. I felt robbed of my time.

@TheFatberg posted before I saw yours, agree, complete tripe.

I never understood the hype about The Time Traveller’s Wife

I loved it as a Christmas holiday read, but hated the film.

Go figure

PS have never bothered with 50 Shades. Better to read 18th century porn - it's far more explicit & less twee.

DoYouLikeHueyLewisandTheNews great minds. The main character wasn't even fat to begin with!

The Goldfinch fairly evenly divided our book club. One member made the astute observation that Tartt had set out to write a Great Novel, and once the reader appreciated that (and the fact that it wasn't), it was bearable

Fifty Shades of Grey was really badly written, but obviously hit a sweet spot in terms of timing (just when kindles were becoming popular, so you can read anything anywhere without everyone knowing)

The Harry Potter books are bad prose but cracking stories, so I forgive JKR

I was very disappointed with Camino Island by John Grisham. It jsut fell flat for me

@BrigitsBigKnickers

Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher. Just god damn awful. Written like a 14 year old writing a love story.

What shocked me was how many books she has actually written! Who read this tosh?

I bought Eve of Man that she wrote with her husband as it was really hyped and the premise was really interesting. My god what an absolute pile of utter shite, like you say as if it was written by a 14 year old. I just couldn't carry on with it.

That and 50 shades are probably my worst ever books, although 'We are all completely beside ourselves' was pretty crap as well.

I haven't read the novel, but watched the TV adaptation of The Minituraist as thought it was so crap I must be missing something major, it was so boring!

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Instantly sleep inducing.

Managed the first 2 pages of 50 Shades.
What a pile of shite

43 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith. Written exclusively for certain Edinburgh residents just so they could exclaim “I shop there! I know there!”
Utter pish.

The Bridges of Madison County - stunningly self indulgent tripe.

And One Day was just lame.

I have never finished Captain Corelli, never got past the waxy-ear-pea-bit. Tiresome.

The truth about the Harry Quebert affair was quite annoyingly written, but reasonable plot, so possibly just a bad translation from the French.

Gone with the Wind still pisses me off, Scarlet is your classic mumsnet CF.

The Celestine Prophecy. Makes the Da Vinci Code look well written and credible.

Also The Island, by Victoria Hislop. In the memorable words of Jilly Cooper's Janey, "She couldn't write Bum on a wall".

(I really liked Shantaram though. And The Man in the High Castle. And Lord of the Rings).

I've blocked the name and author of this book, but really hated one where a man wakes up as a chimpanzee (or some kind of an ape) one morning, in a world ruled by apes, and ends up in an insititution for insisting he's really a human. I read good reviews, so really tried to get into it, but it was just dire and depressing.

I also agree about Goldfinch. I liked the first part well enough, but there was a definite point where I no longer understood the main character and his actions at all, and it all became hard work to get through.

I've never ventured into Dan Brown of 50 Shades, though.

A bit ashamed to say I didn't really mind Twilight too much. They weren't great, but I didn't hate them - at least until the Renesmee thing...

blocked as in apparently blocked from my memory...

Atonement - just made me feel irritated

love this thread!

Agree with sooo many

Mount by jilly cooper

The House on Cold Hill by Peter James. Really crap ghost story.