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Most disappointing books you've read this year?

160 replies

whatausername · 14/12/2023 14:56

Off the top of my head, mine are Modern Baptists by James Wilcox, Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding and Three Tales by Gustave Flaubert. The first two, to be fair, are very much of their time but even so they were incredibly unfunny and not particularly well written.

OP posts:
Knackeredhamster · 15/12/2023 06:37

The Thursday Murder club, so bloody tedious I was really disappointed and thought how can this be written by him!
I didn't give up but drip drip read it and it took ages.

9 Perfect Strangers, really crap and I've liked other ones by her.

Mushroomwithaview · 15/12/2023 06:41

This year's greatest disappointment was Tom Hanks - The Making of Another Motion Picture Masterpiece. I think he's a smart guy and probably has clever things to say, but I was so far removed from the target audience of the book that it was entirely unrelatable to me. I wanted to love it. It's my only DNF this year.

MargotMoon · 15/12/2023 06:46

Came on to say Lessons in Chemistry but have been beaten to the punch by almost everyone! What the hell was all the stuff about the dog?!

I bought myself The Fraud by Zadie Smith as a Christmas present to read over the holiday so will be gutted if that's rubbish. I've loved everything else she has written.

Also have the Island of Lost Trees by Eli Shafak waiting on my Kindle so hope that's not a dud.

londonguild · 15/12/2023 06:50

Lessons in chemistry- what a load of old waffle!!
I was falling asleep whilst trying to read it!

renthead · 15/12/2023 06:52

I'm so glad other people have said Lessons in Chemistry. I've been dipping in and out of it for over 6 months and I just cannot seem to finish the damn thing, although it won't defeat me. I just keep thinking what is the point of this book? And I had such high hopes.

The Marriage Portrait was also incredibly disappointing, that one I did officially give up on. But I find Maggie O'Farrell very uneven as a writer- she can be brilliant or boring.

Leafysuburb · 15/12/2023 06:52

I listened to the sequel to P.S. I love you. It was so so so so bad it angered me most of the way through and whenever I think about it I get annoyed. (Spoilers to follow)

It was essentially a flashback book to the first book but where it got details wrong and you find out that Jerry was a controlling arsehole. The main character essentially child traffics a baby too which we are supposed to find endearing and a wholesome finish.

It was my own fault, I never should have thought reading Celia ahern after being 15 would be a good idea and especially not listening to it straight after running grave (which was amazing)

RAD15 · 15/12/2023 06:59

Mothership4two · 15/12/2023 03:45

@Strokethefurrywall

Reminders of Him - Colleen Hoover. I'd never read her before so decided to see what the fuss was about...

I did the same with Verity which was so bad it was almost funny

Completely agree on Verity. It was so bad. I cannot bring myself to read any of her other books now.

AngryBirdsNoMore · 15/12/2023 07:04

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. It got such rave reviews. Just really didn’t enjoy it, and it felt like it was patting itself on the back for being so clever. Same style as Hilary Mantel but…not as good.

AngryBirdsNoMore · 15/12/2023 07:10

I also hated The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller. It actually made me cross I hated it so much. But it was back in January and I can’t remember why I disliked it so much!

PurplePim · 15/12/2023 07:11

Owlish by Dorothy Tse. It had moments of genius and some great descriptions but mostly I felt it was just chaotic and unclear. I saw a review that described it as a fever dream, which is spot on. It was thought provoking, in a way, but I could never recommend anyone uses their time reading it when they could be reading something else.

LadybirdDaphne · 15/12/2023 07:17

Act of Oblivion - Robert Harris: billed as a historical chase-based thriller, more a slow plod through the American wilderness with fanatical arseholes you couldn’t give two shits about.

I liked The Marriage Portrait though. Don’t get on with Kate Atkinson in general so didn’t bother with Shrines of Gaiety.

Knackeredhamster · 15/12/2023 07:18

Oh no I can't imagine reading a fever dream.
I'd go mad!

How unpleasant

SpringingJoy · 15/12/2023 07:22

The Thursday Murder Club.

There was such hype about it and I thought it was bloody awful. It jarred me at every page and I just couldn't get into it at ALL.

It's one of the very, very few books in my life that disengaged me so much I didn't even finish it...gave up about a third of the way through.

Cabbagey · 15/12/2023 07:25

I'm another person who didn't finish 'Lessons in Chemistry'. The main character was like a scientist that would be written for a very dull cartoon.

'Really Good, Actually' I was on a loooong waitlist to get this from the library following a friends' recommendation. Like listening to acquaintance moan about her breakup for hours, with a couple of scenes that made me cringe myself inside out.

Flamango · 15/12/2023 07:32

Loved The Marriage Portrait! Shrines of Gaiety and Lessons in Chemistry were just OK for me.
Murder at Evensong I didn’t get at all. It wasn’t cosy crime, the main character wasn’t at all interested in the crime. He was just living his life whilst some crimes were happening and he’d occasionally hear about them. It was essentially an account of a vicar going for walks and making his mum tea.

The Satsuma Complex was horrible. Caused the biggest discussion at our book group, we all hated it and have no idea how it got near a publisher.

Also How Much of The Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang. Was looking forward to this, I love a Western. A couple of pages in (SPOILER) the 10 year old “boy” character turned out to be a little girl with a carrot in her knickers. This kids “identity” turns out to be a big part of the book. Not what I was in the mood for, now or ever.

shockeditellyou · 15/12/2023 07:35

DoraChance · 15/12/2023 06:35

I started In Memoriam this week and really can't get on with it. I've put it back on the shelf for now and will try it another time. Disappointing as I've heard so many good things about it.

Often I think books that are massively hyped, with the gorgeous covers and sprayed edges, don't live up to their promise. Most of my favourite authors have been dead for at least fifty years 🤣

Do keep on at it - I’ve just finished it. At the beginning I was sneery - it was almost like First World War Heartstopper fanfic but it gets much better.

Tistheramseason · 15/12/2023 07:40

I've got another one - Sorrow and Bliss.

(Spoilers below)

Main character: horrible, but I can get on board with that. Main relationship: very unhealthy yet I think we're supposed to be glad they don't break up? It seemed to be saying all or at least most childfree women secretly want children (they don't) and most annoyingly of all the "mental health condition" the whole book is based around... doesn't really exist. I know it's fiction but come on. Probably my most hated book of the year, though I didn't go into it with the same expectations that I did with the Elizabeth Day one.

pharmachameleon · 15/12/2023 07:54

I have a lot of books I didn't finish this year!

Leonard and Hungry Paul-WTF was that? The most boring book ever!

Tomorrow etc. Again really boring. I listened to it on Audible and the accents were really grating so perhaps I may have enjoyed it more if I read the book itself.

Rivers of London. I didn't realise this would be a fantasy novel so had to give up when I started reading about the rivers being magical beings.

dayswithaY · 15/12/2023 07:55

I wanted to finish “Grown Ups” by Marian Keyes because I love her but no, it just rambled on, going nowhere with irritating characters. There was a whole section about some of the characters going to a Spice Girls concert that was not connected to anything, just thrown in. No thanks.

Verity is the only Colleen Hoover novel I have read and yes, it was hilarious for all the wrong reasons. But, I do know two young women who previously, have never read for pleasure but are now tearing through all of Hoover’s books as they love them so much, so she’s all right by me.

JustAnotherCunningStunt · 15/12/2023 07:57

Ah forgot the Monica Heisey one- very good description from @Cabbagey - what a whine fest… expected better from a Schitts creek writer.

Also hated Magpie but that wasn’t this year.

IVFNewbie · 15/12/2023 07:57

The Birdcage, Eve Chase- I felt swindled at the end. Great writing. AWFUL story.

mamaduckbone · 15/12/2023 08:04

How to Kill Your Family.
It was my poolside holiday read but I found it such hard work, and the main character irritated the hell out of me.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 15/12/2023 08:11

AngryBirdsNoMore · 15/12/2023 07:04

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. It got such rave reviews. Just really didn’t enjoy it, and it felt like it was patting itself on the back for being so clever. Same style as Hilary Mantel but…not as good.

Read Hamnet for the first time and was distinctly unimpressed. Read it this year for the second time and loved it. I have a rule now to ignore all the reviews, esp the ones printed on book covers, and esp if they're by Stephen Fry or Graham Norton. 😀

Sourisblanche · 15/12/2023 08:13

I guess there’ll be a lot of Lessons in Chemistry copies in charity shops this Christmas!

I’ve got Hamnet hardback I keep meaning to start.

I read the latest Kate Mosse books this year and was a bit disappointed. Found the characters a bit unbelievable really, good v evil stuff. Haven’t read the 3rd in the series, not sure I want to.

TigerDroveAgain · 15/12/2023 08:18

Oh no! I've just downloaded Lessons in Chemistry at the recommendation of a pal. Come to think of it, the same pal who bought me a copy of A Little Life which is hands down the worst book I've read for years