Books that defeated you!

I loathe books written in the present tense, too; especially ones about historical events. I borrowed a friend's copy of Wolf Hall, but I couldn't even bring myself to start it...

I gave up on Catch 22, so repetitive.

I tried reading Henry James after seeing Portrait of a Lady and The Golden Bowl dramatised many years ago, but taking a whole chapter to describe 5 minutes of 'action' was just soul destroying. I did enjoy The Aspern Papers, though.

I recently gave up on The Poisonwood Bible. The blurb enthused about the genius of the author, but I just didn't like it at all. Luckily I got it in a book swap rather than bought it, so it's going back!

I rarely give up on books, but sometimes regret the time wasted reading them...

Funny you should have started this thread today Terribull because I have just done that rare thing for me and abandoned a book.
It was Frantzen’s ‘The Corrections’, a book that has been praised to the skies, ‘ greatest American book of the 21st century’ etc etc. Just read the reviews on Amazon! I think it must have been a freebie from them.
Anyway, I read the first chapter at lunchtime and started the second and knew I couldn’t face any more. He rambles, rambles, rambles with whole pages, even two, without a full stop, lots of commas. The characters I couldn’t warm to either.
I read the minority 1 star reviews on Amazon and was happy to see I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t appreciate the great work.
Btw TerriBull, I started Cloud Atlas in some trepidation as I’d heard it was hard going. However, I loved it! It would be a boring world if we all loved/hated the same things.

War and Peace

At the risk of sounding very uneducated I gave up on the latest Robert Galbraith The Black Heart.

I did try Cancer ward by Solzenitsen,
Three Men in a Boat
Satanic Verses,and War and Peace,couldnt get on with them either.
I Read purely for escapism and peasure.
Of it dosent soothe or interest me,it dosent get read.

I did get through The Luminaries, it was okay, but much too long.
Have to disagree with grandyma though, really loved ‘A Little Life’

Have tried to read Labyrinth by Kate Moses a number of times! Just can’t get going with it.

Oh, I loved The Corrections, EkwaNimitee, and I really enjoyed Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies as well (I found The Mirror And The Light heavy going though).

But what do I know? I’ve enjoyed Richard Osman’s books.

Absoluting hated Kim by Rudyard Kipling. We had to read it aloud in class, in turn, and it was the most tedious and boring book I have ever had the misfortune to have to read. Totally unsuitable for 13 to 14 year olds. I have always been an avid reader, read very fast, and I, sad to say, was very intolerant of my classmates who did not have the same enthusiasm that some of us did.

The Mirror And The Light was heavy going till about two thirds of the way through. I rarely give up on books but now I won't buy any that I feel I am not going to enjoy.
Some of the classics I loved and some bored me but I used to keep on to the end. Not any more.

Ekwanimitee
Can’t believe you gave up on The Corrections, have another go, it might surprise you

TerriBull As the parent of a child who died tragically I did not think The Lovely Bones was 'shite' as you so crudely stated. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of bereaved parents out there who have identified with that book. I'm just one of them.

I really enjoyed the Wolf Hall trilogy, but my complaint would be the size and weight of the Mirror and the Light, impossible to read comfortably.

I was listening to the car radio one day, and they were discussing Vera Britains Testament of Youth, just listening was bringing tears to my eyes, so I rushed out and bought it, and obviously it was very worthy, the subject unbearably sad, but I couldn’t get into it, I found it to be very flat and boring, and it took me ages to get through it.
I thought it read more like a text book.

Oh, just remembered. Michelle O'Bama's autobiography. So worthy, so dull. I never got as far as her becoming First Lady.

So disappointing because I admire her greatly.

Oh MOnica - so with you on Martin Amis, the old poseur. I did finish The Unconsoled by Kazua Ishiguro, but that's hours of my life I've wasted...

Aged 14, I borrowed Anna Karenina from the school library. I enjoyed it, so my next one was War and Peace. I gave up after about 3 chapters, but then a few years ago I bought a cheap paperback copy from Amazon to have another go. This time I finished it, but definitely did NOT enjoy it.

Lovely Bones.. Agree rubbish.
Got half way through Lord of the rings.. Got bored
War and Peace only few chapters, life is too short!

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.
The Beekeeper of Aleppo.

suninthewest

The Hobbit and Watership Down. Everyone seemed to be talking about them and enjoying them at the time I read them and I couldn't understand the attraction of either. I kept wondering what it was I was missing in both novels and never found out.

I cheated on Watership Down and watched the film.

dogsmother

Plenty …….. have no interest in books that don’t “ do it for me”
A waste of time, if I’m not enjoying something it’s put down in favour of something else. There are so many books to be enjoyed.

Yes, I totally agree with you. I know within a page if I am going to enjoy a book by the way the author 'talks' to me.

I think I would have missed some very good books if I had abandoned them too quickly, and I would always have that niggle that I may have missed something great.
Not Catch 22 though, I’m prepared to be defeated there.

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, I’ve tried several times and never reached beyond Page 60.

‘Where the Crawdads sing’. I started it twice but it was so slow I gave up. I know I am in the minority.

At school I hated ‘The pilgrim’s Progress’ - dire imo, all that slough of despond stuff. I quietly read Enid Blyton and loved it. No wonder I still love ginger beer.

Susie
You made a good choice.
It’s so hard to follow, the story itself could be interesting, it was a good idea, but so much unnecessary nonsense.
In my opinion it was at least twice as long as it needed to be.

I an fighting a losing battle with The Mirror and the Light: present tense, tedious detail, and impossible weight.