What is the worst book you have read recently and why was it so bad?

[Miaou]

I've been reading light stuff atm and just grabbed this off the "chick lit" stand at the library just before having ds2 - I struggled valiantly through to the end but was really disappointed in it. The story was turgid and predictable, the characters one-dimensional, and I felt that what could have been an interesting story with the potential for some really sinister turns, was in fact incredibly dull. The final "showdown" between the mother and son was jaw-droppingly badly written and really let the whole book down.

However I have had lots of fun picking it to pieces so maybe it was worth it

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YES, UD!

That was my first response to the OP: 'All that Shopaholic shitey shite. '

A ton of books about a vapid, shallow sorry excuse for a human being whose dumber than a box of rocks into the bargain. And the solution to her shopping habits? Well, she's surrounded by gorgeous, rich, intelligent men who all want to take her out/marry her because we all know that the best men want to attach themselves for life to selfish, immature, whingy, weak-willed simpering ninnies with the conversational skills of a bag of spanners.

Brumist.

That the series is so successful says a lot about society. Basically, the gal's a fictional Colleen McCoughlin.

how do you all know about these shopaholic books? that whole genre has left me cold.

I had to live with a flatmate who had them ALL, Aitch, along with about $40,000 of credit card debt.

Darling Cod, how sweet of you to recognise my brilliance. What should I change my name to?

hmmm, let's play spot the causal nexus...

I read some extracts from A Life's Work in a Sunday paper once. I've been trying to forget it. Moany cow. I also once read an article by her bitching up her book group. Hilarious (entirely unintentionally). She basically dissed them all for not being a proper intellectual like her, and claimed they were jealous and implied they didn't show her enough respect.
I'd love to have been at the next meeting.

RosaL, that book club thing was hilarious - there were letters in the paper the next week from members of the book club outing RC for being an intellectual snob and having behaved incredibly badly at the meetings. I'm sure it was in the Guardian - you could probably still find it on their website.
I recently heard the Shite-aholic woman on the radio - she was going on and on about how she loves Shitey, her heroine, and what a great modern role model she is. She sounded like an absolute papwit, but as my DP sagely pointed out, she paps all the way to the bank, does she not?

I found it MuminBrum. Couldn't resist. It's even better than I remembered! So pretentious!

Hey, Rosa, do you think if we're rude enough about RC, her husband will come on here and implore us to stop dissing her? What happened with the Jon Ronson episode in the end?

I don't know - but now I think about it - have you ever seen Jon Ronson and Rachel Cusk in a room together?

I think you might be onto something there!

Rosa, thanks for link - am roffling at,
'That's all very well, I said, but shouldn't the question be, is it beautiful? '

'I was curious to see what the book group would make of Chekhov. I believed he would transform them.'

bundle .. isn't it strange! I absolutely loved The Shadow of the Wind.

Every one of us should read it Kathy. We need to be aware of how far short we fall of true intellectual discrimination. We can only aspire to the heights of erudition that Her Cuskness has achieved of course, but just standing, wrapped in awe, in the foothills of their majestic grandeur is reward enough for attempting the climb....

John Eldridge "Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul"

My last au pair gave this to me for Christmas, as she was deeply religious.

The idea is that through loving Jesus a womans soul is restored, after the fall of Eve, she is a sinner, but she will shine again if only she realizes the true love of Jesus unconditionally. In return she will gain beauty, physically and spiritually. etc. In my opinion it was very naive, and describes Jesus as a jealous lovelorn hysterical woman. It does not paint a very good portrait of Christianity and women.

LOL Rosa.
She favours us with some insights into the creative process, too ('At the time I was writing my own novel....')

I do have a number of these titles on my shelf waiting to be read, am wondering whether I should bother?

I don't read anything that look remotely girly, god forbid!

lol have just been reading the rachel cusk thing in amazement and return to see jon ronson get a mention. nothing happened in the end. no column yet at least.

That Rachel Cusk article is beyond hilarious. I did like A Life's Work, I admit, but the stuff about Chekhov

This may be the most patronising and pretentious paragraph I have ever read:

"I was curious to see what the book group would make of Chekhov. I believed he would transform them. I believed in his power of verisimilitude, of true emotion, of human understanding. I believed in his art. I imagined the serious book group convening in a new and luminous spirit, reborn, having felt the incomparable benediction of recognition, of the vanquishing of time by truth. I imagined them becoming ... serious."

But it is also reminding me of another deeply pretentious and annoying person. Not quite as egregious as the Cusk example but arrogant twattishness nonetheless:

I sometimes struggle to articulate exactly why and then he does it for me

Sentimental homunculus indeed.

new york trilogy, paul auster. AND???

lovely bones, embarrassingly because it was a b'day present from a very close friend

loved kevin (was i the only person who thought it was sort of funny?)