Worst book(s) you read in 2020

[makingitupaswegoon]

So I haven't participated in the 50 book challenge this year and was planning to ask for your best / worst reads during 2020 but see someone else has started a thread on best reads.

But I also want to know what to avoid. What did you spend your time reading that you really wished you hadn't wasted your time on or gave up on partway through?

Usually there's a good few 'must reads' that are absolute pants ... 'girl on the train' and 'we are all completely beside ourselves' spring to mind ...

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams was probably my biggest disappointment of the year.

My other contenders for worst book (none are new releases):

• Himself by Jess Kidd
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
• The Lido by Libby Page

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine.
Struggled to finish it. Waste of time and money.

Where The Crawdads Sing was utter shite in my opinion. Overblown, over-written, unbelievable nonsense.

The Binding, also over-hyped garbage. Promised far more than it delivered.

Agree with PP - The Lido is bad. Poorly written, I wondered how it even got published.

Milkman. I'm just not clever enough for it I don't think!

Queenie by Candice Carty Williams here too. Sounded really interesting but Christ I was so bored I gave up after a few chapters.

Oh thanks for the heads up about Queen - it was on my list. Now removed. I tried to read Milkman and couldn't be bothered with it tbh

sorry Queenie

Untamed, stop pleasing, start living by Glennon Doyle. Could have had promise but was utter drivel and I couldn't bear the writer or her writing.

Theatre of Dreams by Polly Samson. Pure shite. Too many characters and a muddled plot.

I didn't mind Queenie but it wasn't worth the hype. It was ok.

I hated Milkman and was underwhelmed by The Binding.

In fact I'm a bit sceptical of award winning fiction at the moment I feel the choices are often very political rather than being based on literary merit.

Normal People by Sally Rooney. Saw such amazing praise for it and my word was it boring! I gave up about half way through and I hate not finishing a book but I just couldn't force myself through any more. Dull as dishwater!

Because of You - Dawn French.

I read some rubbish this year but one that stands out is Rodham by Curtis Sittenfield. Not what I was expecting.

@YewandOak couldn't agree more, very overrated.

Based on recommendations on here, I bought some Susan Hill (Serrailler) and Rebecca Hope (Cotswolds) books. I wasn't expecting great literature, just some enjoyable undemanding reading.

What a pile of utter steaming shite!

Tope not Hope.

@BestIsWest

I read some rubbish this year but one that stands out is Rodham by Curtis Sittenfield. Not what I was expecting.

Oh no that's next on my reading list

A friend gave me her copy of The Lido-didn't get further than 20 pages, life is too short.

I loved the Crawdads though

I am just starting the crawdads and I know many people who have enjoyed it so fingers crossed I am in that camp.

I've just finished Haven't They Grown by Sophie Hannah. I finished it, and quite enjoyed it but what a terrible book! Unbelievably far-fetched.

Has very poor reviews on Amazon, too, which I'm glad I didn't read before reading it myself.

Frustratingly, it could actually be quite good if it weren't for the annoying characters and the far-fetchedness.

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde. Such a disappointment. Really wish he'd carry on some of his earlier series.
Three things you need to know about rockets. By Jessica Fox. Just not that great. Slightly interesting to hear the other side of Shaun Bythell story.

Where the crawdads sing - over hyped, poorly plotted, badly written, utter pile of steaming doodah.

Had to read ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ for book club and the level of hate and loathing I feel for this book ..

A Little Life, which I had been very much looking forward to reading and which I gave up on after about a third of the book. Just misery upon misery, and far too many ‘he said’s’ so I couldn’t follow the characters well at all. Having been told it got more miserable I gave up.

I finished Mythos but wished I hadn’t bothered. The tiny footnotes throughout annoyed me, they could easily have been put into the main text to make it less dry. I think I was expecting something more chirpy from it, but it was just a bit dull. Far better Greek myth books out there (Circe, Silence of the girls etc).

Crawdads was just ok. Really didn’t get why it was so raved about. See also The Salt Path. Disliked the writer and her attitudes to basically everything.

Educated got a bit repetitive. I think I may have read too much misery this year.

Unlike one of the PPs, liked The Binding though after the first couple of chapters.

Utopia Avenue was a bit disappointing - I enjoyed it but not in the way I’ve enjoyed other David Mitchell’s and found one of the characters cod Gravesend accent annoying and grating.

Was a bit disappointed by The Mirror and the Light too - I loved the first two but this just felt like a slog at times and in need of a heavy edit.

Ha - of those mentioned I loved Rodham, Where The Crawdads Sing and Milkman. I haven’t read anything truly awful this year but my worst was The Last, a murder mystery set in a hotel of survivors of a nuclear war. It just didn’t make sense for me. But I didn’t hate it.
I also found Haven’t They Grown ridiculous but think I read it last year, and I also gave up on A Little Life but again that was last year.