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Books I wanted to like but didn't

199 replies

Rayn22 · 12/03/2023 23:31

I so wanted to like The Thursday night murder club but it was not what I expected. I thought it would be a gritty thriller. I disliked it immensely but noticed people are raving about Richard Osman books on other threads.

Another one is The midnight library. My friends kept going on about it. Kept it for my holidays and found it really slow and dull.

Anyone else got any others they were excited to read and were disappointed in?

I hate it when it happens as it puts me off reading for a while as I feel cheated. Silly I know!

OP posts:
EnoughEnoughnow · 13/03/2023 06:35

The 100 Year Old Man who Jumped Out the Window. Was told it was hilarious. Hated it!

Knullrufs · 13/03/2023 06:39

Those St Mary’s books. I slogged through the first three at the insistence of a friend. I cannot bear the writing; it’s sloppy and glib.

PritiPatelsMaker · 13/03/2023 07:49

MintJulia · 13/03/2023 00:11

A Suitable Boy.

I tried my hardest to finish it but it bored me to tears.

So glad it wasn't just me with that one. It was so tedious.

scoobycute · 13/03/2023 07:51

The Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo...just didn't really get the point of it. Couldn't finish it as it was draaaaaging

GracePooleslaugh · 13/03/2023 07:59

Knullrufs · 13/03/2023 06:39

Those St Mary’s books. I slogged through the first three at the insistence of a friend. I cannot bear the writing; it’s sloppy and glib.

Yep! I gave up after the umpteenth time of Max telling someone it had been an honour and a privilege.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. I didn't agree that her friend was brillant.

Mmmmdanone · 13/03/2023 08:03

EnoughEnoughnow · 13/03/2023 06:35

The 100 Year Old Man who Jumped Out the Window. Was told it was hilarious. Hated it!

I felt the same. To many farcical 'hilarious" incidents for me.

Hardbackwriter · 13/03/2023 08:06

Two books that I've given up on that others raved about: Piranesi and The Road (Cormac McCarthy).

I like the Thursday Murder Club books but then I read them expecting fluff and that's what I got!

ArseMenagerie · 13/03/2023 08:09

A little life was just misery porn imo. Really disliked it by the end and found it silly.

Couldn’t get through Hamnet … I think I might give it another go!

MissBattleaxe · 13/03/2023 08:10

Robert Galbraith would have been dissed by publishers galore had he not been JK. I respectfully disagree. She sent it out as Robert Galbraith and not as JKR. Also, the books are brilliant. There are really good cases and a will they/won't they slow burn Not-Romance.

I didn't like Elinor Oliphant as I thought she was an unrealistic character.

I couldn't get into Wolf Hall AT ALL. Mantel used "he" so many times I had no idea which of the many male characters she was talking about.

Colleen Hoover It Ends With Us- it had such hype and she's a prolific bestseller that I thought I'd chance it. It reads like teenage fan fic. It's a ridiculous love story that sounds like a fantasy in a teenage diary. I got to page 130 and thought life's too short to read bad books.

BA Paris Behind Closed Doors- poorly researched and unrealistic. Trying not to give spoilers here but the hold that you know who had over his wife would not happen in the 21st century.

iwantawisteriathisyear · 13/03/2023 08:28

I agree re The Midnight Library, Hamnet and My Brilliant Friend. Bored to tears by all of them.

Almostwelsh · 13/03/2023 08:37

Hated A Man called Ove. Thought it boring and didn't believe any of the characters. Thought they were all very one dimensional. I loved A Suitable Boy.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 13/03/2023 08:37

iwantawisteriathisyear · 13/03/2023 08:28

I agree re The Midnight Library, Hamnet and My Brilliant Friend. Bored to tears by all of them.

One of the reviews of Hamnet said 'people will be reading this in a hundred years time.' No, it's not nearly THAT good. Should have taught me to ignore glowing reviews on the cover of a book, that way I wouldn't have slogged through Haig's How To Stop Time.

MissingMoominMamma · 13/03/2023 08:39

On the Road-Jack Kerouac.

I tried it twice. It’s bilge.

Freysimo · 13/03/2023 08:43

Another no vote for Elinor Oliphant. It was much hyped at the time and I thought I'd love it but imo it was a very poor rip off of the superb Margaret Forster.

UpUpAndAwol · 13/03/2023 08:45

Completely agree on the Thursday murder club! It’s rare I don’t finish a book but I couldn’t get into it.

A lot of cult classics I didn’t really like, catcher in the rye (to navel gazing), a clockwork orange (too violent) and unbearable lightness of being (too wanky).

LaviniasBigBloomers · 13/03/2023 08:45

A Little Life should have had one of those mis-lit covers showing a wee boy crying in the corner, then I would have known to avoid it.

The Goldfinch - terrible, terrible book, frustratingly with a great story hiding inside all the overwritten, overthought nonsense.

So1invictus · 13/03/2023 08:51

I recently gave up on Hamnet as @EineReiseDurchDieZeit will know. Meh.
Wolf Hall- I gave up on it a few years ago, but went back to it earlier this year. Slowly, calmly, and looking up each fucking Thomas as I went. (was also given the very useful hint by the 50 bookers that "he" is Thomas Cromwell himself, which was the lightbulb moment.

SpikeWithoutASoul · 13/03/2023 08:53

I listen to a few book podcasts and when there are books that are mentioned time and time again, I often buy them to read. Assumed The Camomile Lawn would be like the Cazalet Chronicles, but found every character cold and flat. Tried hard to get through The Shipping News but felt there was no plot. Had been looking forward to reading both.

People rave about those St Mary’s
books on here so I had high expectations, but they weren’t my thing at all.

Purplecatshopaholic · 13/03/2023 08:56

Catcher in the Rye - self indulgent shite. Lord of the Rings trilogy - just can’t get into Tolkien at all. Love in the Time of Cholera - his writing style is not for me! Horses for courses and all that.

toastofthetown · 13/03/2023 08:59

The Midnight Library was so transparent in its messaging it rally grated on me. That’s a general irritation I have with books though. The author should tell me the story and I decide what I think of it; it’s not the author’s responsibility to write the book and tell me what to think of it. Where The Crawdads Sing was also really disappointing as I liked the atmosphere the book built but nothing else about it was any good. I found Hamnet way too melodramatic and overwrought for me, and the thing of not mentioning William Shakespeare’s name was irritating.

I did like The Goldfinch though, with the exception of the final pages where the plot was explained to me.

Almahart · 13/03/2023 09:00

Hamnet unfortunately.

Agree the Crawdads is awful, felt obliged to read it as a close colleague recommended it so many times.

Also didn't love the Elena Ferrante books and thought I would.

Ylvamoon · 13/03/2023 09:00

cassiastatham · 12/03/2023 23:53

The Midnight Library was awful. I thought it was supposed to be uplifting but it just seemed to present different variations of bad things.

I respect Haig but I dislike him as a writer.

Came here to say something similar- such a good concept, but poorly written and very predictable!

BigBadBoom · 13/03/2023 09:00

I found the St Mary's books so disappointing too, such poor characterisation and no sense of location. Great premise, it's such a shame.

Like some of Matt Haig's books, but the Midnight Library I thought was so trite - just ticking boxes in an attempt to get a reaction.

I LOVED the Goldfinch though, I know it's a marmite book, but I didn't want it to end.

KnottyKnitting · 13/03/2023 09:02

Owen Meany- long and boring

Tangoes · 13/03/2023 09:02

One hundred years of solitude it felt like 100 years of my life trying to figure out who was who.
I didn't mind Love in the time of Cholera.
Sometimes , you need to be in a certain frame of mind for a book.I tried reading A star called Henry by Roddy Doyle and couldn't get into it.I went back to it two years later and loved it.