Books that you have read that you are disappointed with....

[AliGrylls]

I am currently reading Alias Grace. Everyone said to me - it is brilliant you must read it. I am not saying it is bad, it just leaves me feeling a little cold and also usually once I am into a book I don't put it down. I am finding it far too easy to put it down.

Has anyone else ever experienced this before You know when everyone tells you that a book is amazing / brilliant and it doesn't live up to expectations?

Mayor, I agree, I loathed Behind the scenes at the museum. I found it very disturbing and sort of exploitative.

I also loathe Paulo Coelho - misogynistic self-indulgent tosh.

And I'm usually very tolerant and will read anything.

phew

shall we start our own subterfugal book club?

dh lurves paulo coehlo, i am a bit meh tbh.

i read breakfast at tiffany's the other day. v v disappointing

Just to post on my wife's discussion, I think it interesting the number of people who have chosen the same books. I actually recommended Alias Grace to Ali, so I obviously do not agree with that one.

I really could not read The Children's book. After about 70 pages, I could hardly remember who was who. I considered writing a character chart but then decided it just was not worth it. I really loved her previous one: "Possession".

As for "Saturday", I just cannot believe the good reviews it got from the critics. From the unrealistic uxorious lust of a forty something year old neural surgeon to the tedious five page description of a squash game (and I am a keen squash player!)it was a triumph of method and research over substance and interest. It just goes to show how clubby authors and reviewers must be.

the memory box... and ttw, and almost a moon.... hate it when a book lets me down... reduced to rereading let's talk about kevin for the umpteenth time

I always find Margaret atwood very bumpy.... love cat's eye, alias grace, and robber bride but a lot of the rest I didn't enjoy.... especially edible woman and the hand maids tale

I see Alias Grace is just me. Oh well.

I liked Kate Atkinson's 'Behind the Scenes' but was very disappointed with her subsequent novels, won't be reacheing for her stuff anymore.

I love TTW and am a McEwan fan.

American WIfe was disappointing.

Wolf Hall -have given up

Am currently feeling slightly disappointed with 'The Girl with the ragon Tattoo' but haven't finished it yet.

I think I quite liked Alias Grace but I read it a very long time ago and can't remember anything about it.

I liked The Time Traveller's Wife apart from the stupid foot bit and I liked The Kite Runner but not the follow up. Loved The Book Thief.

I detest Ian McEwan and in fact spent most of lunch time today with a colleague with both of us saying how much we detest ian McEwan. Dp thinks he is the bee's knees. A strange, boring, annoying and horribly self-centred bee, with hideously smug knees, says I.

Twilight.
i read all the books hoping to god it got better as it was originally cult american, but nope.
im new to book talk, i dont know how controversial that is! hi!

I didn't like The Girl with etc, everyone raves about it but I didn't get it

Wolf Hall and The Book Thief were two that I've read recently and been disappointed by - after all the hype on them both I expected more.

Have just started The Children's Book so will see how I get on - seems as though it's another one that I may be let down by, even though I usually really enjoy Byatt's books.

I've got a long list of books I was disappointed with that others love-

American gods
The Notebook
Lovely bones
A prayer for Owen Meany

There are loads more, just can't think of them all at the moment. I have finished all of the above including 640 pages of American gods (finished today) just incase they improved but sadly for me they didn't

The Underground Man - never delivered on its promise.

A book I read about a supposed affair between some queen and a black philosopher that resulted in a child whose lineage would eventually produce the first black queen of England...can't remember the title or author, it was the first in a series of three apparently and very well reviewed in the Guardian, but I thought it was very average.

MIL gave me her copy of Mr Pip; although I expected it to be dross, I didn't expect it to be that bad. So in that sense I was disappointed. How on earth did it get nominated for any award?

Am reading Her Fearful Symmetry at the moment, having chosen not to read the Time Traveller's Wife as it sounded v dreary. I'm only a few chapters in and already it's disappointing.

Ooh I agree Alias Grace was so boring, I really couldn't have cared less about the main character. I think I finished it and remember the bare bones of the plot can't remember the end.

But I absolutely loved The children's book possibly now one of my all time favorites.

I loved The Lovely Bones but it took me a few attempts to finish Atonement. I did English at university so I am used to ploughing through the odd thing that I found dry, but that nearly defeated me. My dp loved The Da Vinci Code, I refused to read beyond the first chapter because I thought it was badly written.

Mind you, I gave up on Captain Corelli's Mandolin very early, but ended up loving it when I gave it a second go and persevered.

Agree re Owen Meany. I had a thread here recently about it. Some good bits but far, far too long.

Have just read the latest Frank Tallis and was v disappointed. Very formulaic and clunky.

So pleased others dont like Time Travellers Wife, not just me who thought "who cares?"

Loved Wolf Hall . Gone back to Muriel Spark now as never read any, the advantage of second hand book shops is no bloody tables full of promotional books, just serendipity.

Some books are overrated. Kite runner, Atonement, Time travellers wife,Mr Pip etc...
Atonement was the hardest of all, kept sending me sleep, so never finished.

What the bloody hell was that Book Thief shenanigans all about? Left me cold.

However I loved Atonement, thought it was brilliantly written and stirring.

Just goes to show.

Winner of biggest pile of shite award was bloody Kate Mosse's Labyrinth. Honest to god I gave 20 minutes of my life to that thing, then gave up in disgust.

How the hell is Kate Mosse on a a juding panel for a literary award (orange prize iirc). T'other Kate Moss would probably churn out better reads.

I was dissapointed with Stephen Fry's fiction,
Twilight was definitely biggest waste of time and I have just read the first 3 pages of "Jeremy Paxman's "The English" and had a mini -puke.

I've avoided anything by Stephen Fry, because I am 99.99% certain that (wonderful and fragant though he is) I would not like his writing.

Twilight is...well... .

Twilight books are for kids though, aren?t they? My 11 year old has read them all and even she doesn?t think they have much depth to them ? she much prefers the Vampire Diaries (books are much darker than the TV series, apparently)

OH couldn?t finish The Children?s Book ? only the second book ever he has failed to finish, and he has English degrees, so it has put me off ? it?s sitting on my windsill, daring me to pick it up?

Kate Mosse is dreadful, agree.

I found 'Interpretation of a Murder' sooooo turgid but everyone I know loved it.

And GGirl, I loved 'Behind the Scenes' but hated her next one 'Emotionally Weird'. But then read her Jackson Brodie trilogy and adored them - have you tried them?

Hated Kite Runner but loved 'Thousand Splendid Suns'

And can't abide 'Girl With...' books.

Loved Kite Runner but hated Splendid Suns!

Agree re: Interpretation Of Murder and I had v high hopes for it. I love Jackson B as a character but think the books are v contrived and annoying.