Name a popular book you didn't like

[Anonymous]

I’m slogging through Lessons in Chemistry now and am about to abandon it. Came so highly rated, but I hate it. Worst kind of character stereotyping. I hate that the main character is a brilliant female chemist who is obliviously gorgeous and has more than “a touch of the tism.”

[Anonymous]

Eat, Pray, Love. The voice grated on me so bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Crawdads one. Horrible.

That’s what I came in to post. Gack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Time Traveler's Wife. Ugh

I just posted about Crawdads, but I may have hated this one more. Double gack!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A Confederacy of Dunces
It’s been discussed here before but A Little Life

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him’

– Jonathan Swift

[Anonymous]

The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Hated it so hard and never saw the movie so I don't know if it was any better. I love Milo V but couldn't bring myself to sit through it.

The dog narrator was just silly and contrived to me, not at all charming...I'm not opposed to the idea but I didn't think he carried it off well at all.

Also, the scheming teenage seductress...just YUCK and felt like some kind of garbage you would hear from these "oppressed males" reverse sexism types. If an older man is in a compromising situation with a younger girl it's pretty rare that it's because she tricked and trapped him and set him up...I'm getting mad all over again.

[Anonymous]

Gone Girl so predictable
Where the Crawdads Sing— just dumb
The Nightingale— awful fluff

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wanted this forum created so that I could talk about books I didn't like. Maybe I'm just not understanding some of these books and maybe they're not written for me but there are still he popular books I really don't like. I won't make them all because that would likely give my identity away.

One I haven't mentioned to anybody is Maya Angelou's 'i know why the caged bird sings". Not to trivialize what she went through but I really finished the book like seemed like what did I just read. How critical can I be of an autobiography? Especially if it made her who she is? But seeing this put in the same leagues or above invisible man, black boy, native son. I just don't see it.

They're are several others and I hope this doesn't turn into a bash me or bash Maya because I love her other works (especially poetry) but I'm not a fan of that book.

I don't mind her fiction, but I think her poetry is cringy.

[Anonymous]

Mexican Gothic. I liked the vibe of the book but the ending just ruined it and made me so angry. Great setup then…..mushrooms? WTAF?

[Anonymous]

Another Educated hater... and didn't even try Hillbilly Elegy or Crawdads figuring they were awful

Also... The Alchemist is absolute drivel..

[Anonymous]

The Goldfinch—every stock character the author could employ. Cool native mother? Check. Warm gay antiques dealer? Check. Funny Russian friend who reminded me of every Disney sidekick animal character ever? Check. Also, like others said, it was never going to end. At least watching the author struggle to find new adjectives to describe the “gold medallions of moonlight” etc. on Amsterdam’s canals every time the characters went around them yet again was amusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eat, Pray, Love. The voice grated on me so bad.

I hated this too. A self-absorbed divorcee gets a huge publishing advance to travel the world and pretend to give up the material world in an ashram. Yuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Help. I can’t believe they made it into a movie (which was also terrible).

THIS

[Anonymous]

Bear Town
The 7 Husbands of.....


UGH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m slogging through Lessons in Chemistry now and am about to abandon it. Came so highly rated, but I hate it. Worst kind of character stereotyping. I hate that the main character is a brilliant female chemist who is obliviously gorgeous and has more than “a touch of the tism.”

I didn't love it so much either. I really appreciate what the author did - but, like, give me that character but not gorgeous and tell me what happens. I guess I get why book characters are always like at least 75 percent more attractive than people in real life - but I feel like you can then default to a story about what happens when you are very beautiful, as opposed to what happens when all this other stuff is going on and you're dealing with it. Also get off my lawn.

I did love the dog character, though/