“What’s the worst ‘best’ book you’ve ever read — the one everyone says is so great, but you can’t figure out why?”
This one is easy: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. Oh.My.God. I read 50 pages. I hated every character. I hated everything that every character was doing. Finally I just staggered away.
Random thought: the worst movie I ever sat through: Tree of Wooden Clogs.
19 comments:
I've never heard of this book.
I have to say though, when I read, I try hard to read the whole book, even if I don't like it. It's something my Dad, who has similar reading taste, drummed into me when I was younger - you can't judge a book until you've read the whole thing. I understand that when I read a book that starts boringly slow, but picks up and becomes amazing.
It's only happened a few times that I've put books down, and I've always sworn I will read them again. It just wasn't what I wanted at the time. I will read them though,
Simple. The Life of Pi.
I couldn't get into it. Actually i have bad luck with any Man Booker Prize winner... (or short-list)
I believe 50 pages is enough to judge a book, If I don't like it by then why waste the time.. I love books that grab me from the 1st sentence :) WOW now that is a book!
I think that was the last book I finished that I should have stopped after 50 pages. I don't do that anymore!
I think the title alone would have stopped me on this one!
My vote goes for anything by Anne Rice.
At Swim Two Birds Flann O'Brien.
it has words,that are formed into something resembling sentences, and these sort of sentences are grouped into paragraphs..
but really, its just heaps of words, and some punctuation and spaces piled onto a page.
Unreadable
but Jerzy Kosinski's book Steps--
I hated that book. it gave me nightmares, it depressed me.
it grabbed hold of me, it held me tight, in its grip. each work was knife, each page left me bleeding.
and i could not put it down.
I suffered each work. it was a train wreck, and i was held captive I was the wreck.
Less painful, but just as gripping, Ringalevio by Emmit Groggan. (sadly, i no longer own that book.)
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I know people love this, but I hated pretty much every minute of it. I did read the whole thing, though, in hindsight I wish I would have stopped at 50 pages (or less).
Oh...I've got this book on a 'someday , maybe' list. Maybe it should be on a 'noday, never' one instead :o)
It's got a great title though (which I guess is often a warning sign)
Warmest
Rob
Oooh, wrtmaus beat me to it, add me to those who are confounded by the Confederacy of Dunces popularity. Gah.
I love the staggering away! I actually bought this book and wound up giving it away without reading it because when I took a look at it, it didn't really seem like my cup of tea. (Plus a friend of mine really hated it and it sounded like I would too.)
I have to say it was The Da Vinci Code. I tried. I really tried. I just couldn't do it.
I didn't like "Staggering Genius," either. What was all the fuss about with it?
I kind of loved 'Staggering Genius' but I really didn't get the whole Confederacy of Dunces thing...
I hated that book so much. I don't know why I finished it. I also agree with Life of Pi. But the absolute worst book that I ever read was Breaking Dawn, in the Twilight series.
Heh, that was a challenging one. I made it through because I read it for a book group. I ended up enjoying it for the most part but still don't quite get what all the fuss was about.
Oh, somebody got to the Da Vinci Code before me!!! The book disgusted me. But I read the whole damn thing because it was a gift from my family and my oldest daughter had slammed through it and knew I was waiting for a library copy and my birthday was coming up. Great post!
I have never read that Dave Eggers book, and had never been drawn to trying to read it, so....after reading about your view of it I'll probably never get around to it.
Good seeing that a few other people here mentioned not liking "The Da Vinci Code". I could not even get through the first chapter. All my book reading buddies couldn't undertand it.
The worst book I ever read all the way through(wanted to through it against the wall a few times, but plowed on through it to the very end because if was our book club's selection at the time)was Tom Wolfe's "I Am Charlotte Simmons".
"...wanted to THROW, not through.." Sorry-my brain is tired and fuzzy after a rare late night out.
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