What books were you 'supposed' to enjoy but thought were a pile of crap? And why?

[MrsMerryHenry]

A Suitable Boy

Writing style far too poncey and utterly incapable of moving me.

Glad you enjoyed the poisonwood bible mrsmh.

I knew from p1 that I'd enjoy it - the opening paragraph is so important. If the first para doesn't lure me in, style-wise, I don't bother buying.

How's you, db? Do you know anything about tonsil infections? There's another thread I'm on in which I'm wary of not wanting to give too much medical advice, seeing as, like, I'm not actually a medic!

Cecilia Aherne's "PS I LOVE YOU"

Loads of people recommended that I read it, saying it woud reduce me to tears, make me laugh and be an all-round enjoyable read.

It was AWFUL - poorly written, twee, encouraged no empathy for the characters and I found myself irritated by the main character to the point of exclaiming out loud as I read it - much to DH's amusement!

I still haven't let on that I've read it to the people who told me it was great - I don't want to offend them!

i know everything about tonsil infections

Yes Mrs Merry - Flowers was THE 80's teen drivel.

Seriously? Or are you taking the mick? Obviously they're similar to the condition experienced by dementia sufferers, which is why I thought you'd be the ideal person to ask .

PS I love you - hahahahahhaha! It did make me cry, Frankie - with laughter! Utter crap - but I just knew they'd make a movie of it.

But, obese1 (do you mind if I call you that for short? It feels somehow...wrong) I loved Flowers...when I was 12!!

MrsMerryHenry - I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought PS I Love you was crap - loads of people I know who I had respect for, have ruined their own reputations in my eyes by telling me it was a great book!

I'm afraid I also don't see the adult mania over Harry Potter - yes, good books for kids and I have myself read 3 of them but more to see what the fuss was about really and whilst they were pretty enjoyable, I can't understand why grown men and women queued up outside WHSmiths every time a new one was about to come out!

God, you managed 3 Harry Potter books? You could climb Everest with those levels of endurance .

I know what you mean about losing respect for people - once I read the first line of Da Vinci, about 20 intelligent friends of mine plummeted in my estimation.

Mrs Merry- shorten away- I'm reverting back to usual self at midnight- just observing Star Wars day- May the Fourth an all that

And Frank - I'm with you on the the adults reading HP thing - same as Twilight - p'raps there should be age bands on them...save people making dicks of themselves in public..!

So pleased that others agree with me re 'The Island' and 'The Alchemist', but I could hardly say they were awful to the people who raved about them to me.
What was that book about 7 different ways to get to heaven? It was all about the way people were incidently involved in other people dying and some of it was set in 'heaven'. I was actually talking to out loud to the book about how dreadful it was.

I used to commute to work on the train and I swear that about 3 out of every carriage-load of commuters was deep into a Potter book and I'm SURE half of them only read them because they thought they looked cool!
Yes, MrsMH, I did well to read 3 - again, giving the benefit of the doubt to pals who suugested they were absolutely marvellous and so I felt I should give it chance to improve....I'm nothing if not a trusting friend

Rofl at luckylady!

I am so relieved to find this thread.

I get the Booker finalists or popular self important/indulgent works, without fail, every Christmas from my various ILs.

I was beginning to think that the few brain cells I have had deserted me as most of seemed dull and inexplicable.

Now I no longer have hours of commuting by train to fill, I only read things that truely captivate me.

I read voraciously and finish everything resolutely... (even if its painful to me)
except Jude the Obscure
I cannot get past the sibling murders, I have started it with good intent so many times but I cannot see the point of finishing when I read that part, Im totally depressed by that time
Things I have hated recently...
The Lovely bones - Just why?
The Alchemists Daughter- yawn
Davinchi Code - ooh, I have one trick! (lets end this chapter with some suspense....)
Perfume - bad pastiche of much better authors
The Old Curiosity Shop- sentimental victorian twaddle (goes for a lot of Dickens)
The Crimson Petal and the White - hmmm...

Could go on for ages... I take reccomendations from only a few select friends now....

i have a load of books that i've only read one or two chapters. i don't count them as disappointments. only the ones i make the effort to get through to discover they are shit cause disappointment.

I love this thread. You have slated a whole load of books that I felt guilty about not reading but instinctively felt I would hate. Now I KNOW I would hate them.
Apart from A Suitable Boy. I liked that.
Hated Brick Lane though. And Catch 22. And White Teeth. And Oryx and Crake.
All of which I was told are brilliant.

i loved brick lane.
made me cry.

The English Patient. I tried but couldn't read it.

Did enjoy a Suitable Boy though (did read it pre-children, not sure I could do it again now).

Lord of the Rings- the ONLY book I have ever started to read and not finished. Tolkien goes on and on and on and on, no boring detail is left undiscussed. Yawn.

catcher in the rye , read when i was pregnant with my first child . Just didnt get it and thought main character was dull. Oh and on the road ,tried to read it many times but only ever manage to get about three chapters in .

I got stuck on the last volume of the Lord of the Rings the other day. I remember really enjoying it as a teenager too. Just very dully written with no real characterisation. One of the very few books were I enjoy the films more than the books (ditto with Harry Potter which turns into poorly edited self indulgent twaddle in book three, having been derivative but diverting to start with).

On Chesil Beach was dire too - my mother went on about how it was just like her life (my poor father!) but I thought it very shallow. I've not read Midnight's Children, but thought the Satanic Verses very self indulgent (look at me aren't I daring and artsy)

I really enjoyed Lovely Bones though

life of pi
a suitable boy
the god of small things