Which authors' success is a complete mystery to you?

[emkana]

Tony Parsons

Jodi Picoult

at the 'hot needles'.

You have to be more specific... What don't you like - his writing style or his personality as it comes across in print and in the media? (Or his looks? )

I read London fields and must confess I just thought - "how very ordinary, what was all teh fuss about". At that point really had no views on him personally. He just underwhlems me (perhaps hot needles was a little strong)

please God, don't let someone choose Dan Brown for book group - I'd have to object

A while since I read it, but it just seemed a bit lop-sided with the "real" Cathy and Heathcliff story only taking up about half the book.

LOL at "Daisy Meadows".

She's a committee, you know?...

I have a violent distaste of Martin Amis which will probably prevent me from reading any of his books, although I managed to get through the one about his dad, he writes well but I really dislike him

and since I quite like to spend a couple of days once in a while with a crime novel I tried Patterson once no discernible plot or even characters utterly vile

don't get most chick lit either

(Had completely forgotten that I loathed 'Money' the first time I tried to read it. Picked it up again when desperate for a book and suddenly 'got' it. Have read and re-read it since and still find it funny.)

Salman dreary ugly fucker Rushdie
Martin creepy Amis
That Irish bloke who wrote the Blackwater Lightship

thank you Unquiet - I am still trudging through the waffling pre story bit - gah !

JEFFREY ARCHER - yuk!!

Message withdrawn

GP Taylor. Appalling, badly written, poor plots and unbelievable characters.

Kate Mosse.
didn't make it to the end of the ifrst chapter.

heard her on Radio2 last week and she seemed really nice. i felt bad, but not bad enough to attempt to read her book again!

Who wrote that horrible Book Dave? Horrible Horrible book. How it ever made it onto the Bestsellers list is beyond me

Do you mean The Book of Dave? Will Self?

Tony Parson's gets the vote for me. At least Archer know's he's scum.

Martin Amis. Oh my god, Martin Amis.
Zadie Smith

Thats the guy. Sorry cracked screen so I can't see if my typing is correct. I haven't read anything else he has written but I don't think I'll be picking any of it up

I like Martin Amis's essays. Not bought any of his books.

Food for thoght though

must go back to wuthering heigthts to see if distain is worth it

i tried, MT.

i got about 100 pages in and thought, 'this is shit. these people are shit. this book is shit.'

Thomas Hardy.

Definitely Dan "Factual Inaccuracy" Brown.

Also Martin "I'm only an author b/c I couldn't think of anything else to do and well, Daddy is one too" Amis.

Good thread btw.

Oh, and Alain de Botton. wtf?

Reassuring to see I'm not alone. hehe