Really Rubbish Books

I had a bit of a chick lit phase, they were mainly a bit rubbish, the best of the bunch, in my opinion were the "Confessions of a Shopaholic " series.

Hello Fanny , like your grandmother l have to see a bad book through to the end. So many bad books have come my way over the years but “l have started so l’ll finish”.
I am the kind of person that will read anything even leaflets that come with any medicine.
One thing a rarely read are instructions on how to operate household electrical’s.

Raven Black by Anne Cleeves. I plodded on and finished it, never again. So many people on GN rate A C, I will never again be able to read any by her.

Reading is meant to be an enjoyable experience. It’s not like doing homework! If you’re 50+ pages into a book and you’re not loving it - ditch it. There are so many other books out there to choose from. Why waste your time finishing a nonsense one?

I hate Dickens. There I've said it and now I'm going to hide behind the sofa . It's not the stories but the way they're written. The only book of his that I finished was Hard Times. I had to read it as part of my degree. I called it Hard Going and forced myself to read a chapter each day until it was over.

It's so subjective, isn't it? Life seems too short to persevere with an unenjoyable book but I do try with prizewinners to see what all the fuss is about. Some Booker prizewinners have been a real disappointment. Howard Jacobsen's The Finkler Question was deeply unpleasant. I tried three times but couldn't get into Bernadine Everisto's much praised Girl, Woman, Other but loved co-winner Margaret Atwood's The Testaments and last years' winner, Douglas Stuart's Shuggie McBain.

The writer I cannot get along with is JoJo Moyes. I know she is hugely popular but found Me Before You and After You inplausible and irritating. Trying to marry serious issues with wanting to be a comedian. I had to read them for a book group and was pleased to find I wasn't the only dissenter in the discussion. Takes cover ...

The Thursday Murder Club . Dull dull dull . I gave up on the audible version after 2 hours .

I am like your gran, FannyCornforth; I hate giving up on a book, but I have nearly done it with a few lately, mostly ham fisted detective novels, and a ready to do it with my latest read “The Three Body Problem”. What on Earth made me (a bear of very little brain) think I would get through a book that has the words “quantum physics” littered through it? My SiL tells me that Netflix are going to serialise it. I think I’ll wait for that! I wonder who’ll get a starring role??

If a book hasn’t grabbed me after say 20 pages, I ditch it. Life’s too short.
That’s why I’m reluctant to buy Kindle versions of unfamiliar authors. In a library, shop or charity shop, you can not only read the blurb, but look at the first couple of pages, to see whether you like the author’s style. I’ve often returned one to the shelf because something’s put me off.

I won’t name any ‘rubbish’ books here, though, since it’s so subjective - one person’s waste of time is another person’s cracking read - one person’s tedious bore another person’s hours of enjoyment.

Alima

Raven Black by Anne Cleeves. I plodded on and finished it, never again. So many people on GN rate A C, I will never again be able to read any by her.

well that's strange, because I loved the Shetland series, have really liked many of her books but really couldn't get started on Raven Black. I gave it a couple of attempts, convinced it must be me, but finally admitted defeat after just a couple of chapters. Life is too short to read awful books.

Urmstongran

Reading is meant to be an enjoyable experience. It’s not like doing homework! If you’re 50+ pages into a book and you’re not loving it - ditch it. There are so many other books out there to choose from. Why waste your time finishing a nonsense one?

It took me years to accept that this was perfectly fine - like leaving food on my plate, or leaving a play/film before the end.

vampirequeen

I hate Dickens. There I've said it and now I'm going to hide behind the sofa . It's not the stories but the way they're written. The only book of his that I finished was Hard Times. I had to read it as part of my degree. I called it Hard Going and forced myself to read a chapter each day until it was over.

I had to read that for 'A' level and loathed it.
Then I saw it televised and it came to life - if only they'd done that years before.

FannyC I'm rather like your Grandmother - 'I've started so I will finish'. However, I have abandoned a couple over the last two years:
I've just doggedly carried on until the end of one about New Zealand in the early days; the first book was good but the second was not and the ending ridiculous.

A Santa Montefiore book called The Affair; hers are OK but this was dire. A Lesley Pearce book which was free on the Kindle - usually hers can be quite good but not this one. Abandoned after a couple of chapters.

They are often freebies on the Kindle, they take up space but I try not to delete them just in case I forget and download them again!

@Witzend. You can get free samples of Kindle books. Look to the right on the Amazon page on your computer for Free Sample ot Try a Sample on the Kindle itself.

Maybe the title should be “books I have hated”?

“I am pilgrim”. Gave up halfway. Too grim for words
“The girl with all the gifts”. Sci fi. Yuck
“Rivers of London”. Fantasy thing. Some people love it. I didn’t.
“Believe me”. Eddie Izzard autobiography. Strange for someone I respect hugely for his intellect among other things, his book was just plain dull!

vampirequeen

I hate Dickens. There I've said it and now I'm going to hide behind the sofa . It's not the stories but the way they're written. The only book of his that I finished was Hard Times. I had to read it as part of my degree. I called it Hard Going and forced myself to read a chapter each day until it was over.

I was given Oliver Twist to read when I was 9. I enjoyed it weirdly. It saying I would read Dickens now though.

“I am pilgrim”. Gave up halfway. Too grim for words
My sister-in-law recommended that one saying it was one of the best books she had read for a long time, so I downloaded it but couldn't get on with it.

My niece writes supernatural books I bought one in support. I only read one chapter it was absolute twaddle, thankfully I’ve no idea what it was called.?

At the age of 14 I read Anna Karenina and loved it, so decided to have a go at War and Peace, but gave up afyer a few pages. About 5 years ago I decided to have another go and bought a copy from Amazon. I finished it, but it was hard going.
I recently started my first ever book by Marian Keyes, The Break, but after a couple of chapters I decided it was absolute rubbish and gave up, unusual for me, and I don`t fancy trying anything else by her.

Callistemon, my turn to duck under the sofa- I can’t stand Jane Austen... I find her the Aga saga of the XIX century.
It took me many years to learn that life was too short to plough through books I didn’t enjoy. I have stopped now. I have to confess to enjoying the occasional flummery.?

I loved Dickens when I was younger, but not now.
Now I am prejudiced about any book which suggests that ‘you’ll like it if you liked . . . ‘

I used to persevere till the end, but now if I don’t like it after the first few chapters, I abandon it. I’ve returned quite a few Kindle books for that reason.
Often I do what StatenIsland mentioned and read a sample on the order page.
I tried desperately to like Sophie Kinsella books, but they are on my NTBR pile.

The Slap. Aussie thing. I cannot remember the author but I have been Told the book was pants.

Sorry, it was vq, I addressed my comments to.. apologies ?

Thursday Murder Club
Midnight Library

couple of massively over hyped books among the current crop of best sellers (in my humble opinion)

Lincoln In the Bardo Won everything including The Booker, hated it.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell that's a whole chunk of my life, I'm never going to get back and the tv series wasn't much better.
Lovely Bones - Hurled it across the room when I finally finished it, I didn't like The Time Travellers Wife either. Both books are flaky. suspend belief whimsy. I realise much of that doesn't appeal to me.
Transcription can't believe I'd ever hate a book by Kate Atkinson but I'm glad this wasn't one of the first of hers I happened to pick up, it might have put me off her as a writer. Most of her books I've really enjoyed.
That awful Sarah Pinborough book "Behind her Eyes Amazon have now turned into a series. Preposterous!

I found Dickens really hard going at school plus Shakespeare. I’ve not got to grips with Dickens but I love some of the dramatisations on TV. Shakespeare is similar but since going to the Pop up Globe in NZ with my daughter it’s really come to life. If you’re in the standing area the players and the audience often intermingle.

I read some Herman Hesse as a teen and Narcissus and Goldmund was a good read. The Glass Bead game was quite different. I must have tried to read it four or five times but gave up.

Ken Follett’s historical novels are very readable but some of his other stuff is not so good. Phillips Gregory is another author who’s earlier novels are gripping but the later ones just seem to lack the same depth. Same comments go for Wilbur Smith.

I’ve generally given up on chick lit, even as escapism. Maybe I’m just too fussy.