Most overrated books

[Snowfalling]

I'll probably get flamed for some of these choices but here's my list:

1. Brick lane by Monica Ali. So badly written and researched, i was embarrassed for the author, as I'm from a similar background to her.

1. The God of small things. There was one sentence that was repeated over and over again to the point of toe curling cringe. Something about the twin's hair bobbing. Also generally didn't enjoy the writing or plot. Just absolute crap. I don't get the adulation for this at all.

1. Anything by Maggie o'Farrell or Kate Atkinson. I know people love them both, i just don't get it.

1. Sophie Hannah's more recent books are just dire. The earlier ones were great.

1. Catch 22. Just gibberish. You probably have to be drugged up to enjoy it.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

So which books do you think are overrated?

Certainly agree about The Alchemist! Read it to improve my mind and got to the end thinking “why did I stick that one out for!” But really enjoyed “Catcher in the rye” suppose we’re all different!

Anything by Jodi Picoult

I love this. We're all so different aren't we? I normally ready about 2-3 books a month on average. However, Girl on the Train, aaaargh! 2months. 2 bloody months!!! I'll never get that time back. Buggered up my book reading target for the entire year. I've never, ever been so bored with a book in my life. Unbelievably overrated IMO. A friend asked me if I wanted to go and see the film, needless to say I won't repeat my answer. Even now my young daughters find it hilariously funny when I tell them I need a new book and they pull it off the shelf

I have avoided Jodi Picoult but am at the book swapping shelf end of a holiday and picked up The Tenth Circle and really enjoyed it in-between swims. She's a cafe rouge, if say Dan Brown is Burger King.

The Bell Jar - I hated every painful minute of reading it but was determined to plod on because everyone kept saying how great it is!

50 Shades - Possibly the worst thing I've ever read, and I have read an awful lot of shite.

Gone Girl - It was okay in parts but hated the end, very over hyped.

Catch 22 - One of the few books I couldn't even force myself to finish. I don't think I got more than a couple of chapters in before shelving it.

Life of Pi - It just seemed to go on far too long. It wasn't completely dreadful but certainly over hyped.

Agree with many of these, no need to repeat stuff...

BUT - having youngish children, I was horrified to re-read them Enid Blyton and find them to be nothing like the wonderful stories I loved so much as a child..... I think it may depend on the audience - my DCs are not great readers or 'word' kids despite my ongoing efforts, but even as I was reading it to them, I found myself missing out great chunks of descriptive stuff to get to the actual action, otherwise they lost interest. When I did - there was really very little there.....

I still love them though! (Although the boy called 'Fatty' was a slight concern...)

Came on specifically to say The Stand, but @TinyPaws for one beat me to it. Do all the fans of it not notice that the whole damn book was pointless because of the way it ended? It couldn't have been worse if it had all just been a dream.

Ulysses and anything featuring stream of consciousness!

I bloody loathed the Great Gatsby. Stupid spoiled Daisy needed a boot up her arse and I hate the staccato style of Scott Fitzgerald's writing. I'm all for tight content but the construction is so spare it makes it painful to read.

Cold Comfort Farm OTOH is a fantastic book and Gibbons' dry humour really shines through. I can't listen to that Divine Comedy song without thinking of the novel!

I enjoyed Life of Pi - and I liked the fact that the ending didn't go for the obvious 'it was all a dream' cliche.

50 Shades of Grey. Why did I waste my time?
Catcher in the Rye. Totally get why it was a big deal when it was written but I hated that boy, just wanted to give him a boot up the arse.
I'm trying, and failing, to get through Lolita because I hate not finishing books but I think it's really shit so far.

Surely the da Vinci Code is the biggest pile of dross ever

Currently struggling with Lorna Doone.
I like the general storyline but fml if he can use twenty words where one would do he does.
And translating the dialect he lapses into at times especially when describing local people's conversations is hard.

But I will finish it, I'm about halfway through.

Suddenly just remembered my worst ever book- Shardik by Richard Adams- can’t believe how bad it was- like wading through treacle had to give up a couple of chapters in! So annoyed that I’d bought hard back too

I don't tend to think of things as 'overrated' as it's so subjective, but books I haven't enjoyed that most others seem to have include:

The Power - loved the concept but thought it was quite poorly executed and I didn't find it believable (eg a religious cult starting in 'this' day and age)

The Secret History - everyone and their dog loves this, especially avid readers, I just... didn't. Don't remember why now. The Little Friend was more interesting although too long, and I agree with others that The Goldfinch needed a good edit!

The Girls by Emma Cline - I found it totally devoid of atmosphere and just didn't enjoy the writing

The Girl on the Train - didn't expect to love it but have read sooooo many superior thrillers and still don't understand what about this one captured everyone's imagination!

I probably started with the wrong David Sedaris but people have always recommended him to me so I read Santaland Diaries last year and was actually quite shocked at how vile some.of the humour was (eg disablist). Probably just a product of its time though and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

How Do You Like Me Now by Holly Bourne - I thought there was a lot to like about it (eg its dealing with emotional abuse) but was so frustrated by the way a central character acted so out of character just to fit the story.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - I hated this. Just awful and felt really poorly researched (eg the way staff at a psychiatric hospital talked about their patients) and mysoginistic.

Anything classic that I haven't enjoyed (Anna Karenina and Life: A User's Manual come to mind) I've clocked up to me being too stupid

Although I do feel I have to ask those who read 50 Shades, Dan Brown etc... what did you expect?!

Ian McEwen. Loads I agree and disagree with above.

@wheesht79 A tad pretentious don't you think?

The wasp factory. 3 people.have bought me a copy thinking I would like it. Found it utter drivel.
Also have never managed to get into Life of Pi or Oranges are not the only Fruit. Disappointing as I read a wide variety of books.

Lord of the rings.

Kes

White Teeth

@winniestone37 fair enough I guess. I'm not snobby about books but don't think you could realistically approach something like 50 Shades with high expectations! But I take your point.

(I was also being light-hearted in case the emoji didn't give that away)

They have already been said but The Miniaturist - very boring, overrated and nothing happened. Also Girl on a Train and Gone Girl, not a single likeable character in either of them!

50 Shades of Grey
Totally unsexy load of "oh my" shit

Normally I'll stick with it 'til the bitter end, but only got a few pages into:

A Tale of Two Cities
Gulliver's Travels
Anna Karenina

Normally like the classics, I even quite like deciphering Shakespeare but I just got bored and gave up trying to work out what they were aiming for with these.

I do enjoy a good Terry Pratchett. Marvellous chap.

Did giggle about the Enid Blyton comments earlier. Grew up devouring these - they were my Mum's. Probably not 'PC' enough these days.

I read some Agatha Christie recently and she'd managed the N word, called someone a chink and thrown in a little light homophobia within the space of a few chapters. Different days Quite enjoy Christie for fluff reading but if you read Conan Doyle you can see some very similar plots.

I loved the time travellers wife, I remember crying blush, but I struggled with her fearful symmetry, I thought that was quite flawed.

Agree with this totally.
On the don't bother list are Lord of the Rings and Captain Corelli.
Really enjoyed The Miniaturist. Love Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, Dickens ... just such eloquence and poetry in how they write and that's before you start thinking about plot, characterisation, social commentary etc.