Books you "should" love, but just don't

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harry potter series. One case where the movies were much better than the books.

I love Harry Potter in general, but book 5 - Order of the Phoenix was way too long. Should’ve been edited by at least 1/3. The movie was definitely much better.

As a side note, I read HP as the books were coming out in the 2000s, and I think part of the fun was the anticipation of what comes next. I spent a lot of time on discussion forums where people were trying to predict things (some predictions turned out to be more interesting than the actual result). I’ve since reread the series several times and it’s definitely not the same experience when you read it straight through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harry Potter - yes! If one more person says "but have you read the books...you won't be able to put it down....I read it in one day..." Okay come one people.

The only thing worse than Harry Potter books is all the Harry Potter merchandising, theme parks, tours, jokes, the counter culture, people dressed in Harry Potter costumes, people referencing the characters in conversation (assuming we all know the characters)…sigh, it all makes me dislike the books even more!

[Anonymous]

The entire Outlander series is in need of a good editor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the Light We Cannot See

Agree. I've tried reading it twice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harry potter series. One case where the movies were much better than the books.

I love Harry Potter in general, but book 5 - Order of the Phoenix was way too long. Should’ve been edited by at least 1/3. The movie was definitely much better.

As a side note, I read HP as the books were coming out in the 2000s, and I think part of the fun was the anticipation of what comes next. I spent a lot of time on discussion forums where people were trying to predict things (some predictions turned out to be more interesting than the actual result). I’ve since reread the series several times and it’s definitely not the same experience when you read it straight through.

Yeeeeesss! This is where I stopped. The books were becoming terribly bloated ... thinking JK Rowling might not have appreciated the editing process at that point. I will stand by #1 and #4 as being very good books. My kids thought I was crazy for stopping ... oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Harry potter series. One case where the movies were much better than the books.

I love Harry Potter in general, but book 5 - Order of the Phoenix was way too long. Should’ve been edited by at least 1/3. The movie was definitely much better.

As a side note, I read HP as the books were coming out in the 2000s, and I think part of the fun was the anticipation of what comes next. I spent a lot of time on discussion forums where people were trying to predict things (some predictions turned out to be more interesting than the actual result). I’ve since reread the series several times and it’s definitely not the same experience when you read it straight through.

Yeeeeesss! This is where I stopped. The books were becoming terribly bloated ... thinking JK Rowling might not have appreciated the editing process at that point. I will stand by #1 and #4 as being very good books. My kids thought I was crazy for stopping ... oh well.

HP is ok, but I have enjoyed her dectective series.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know those books that everyone raves about .... "must reads". And try as you might, and as intellectually stimulating as they are, you just cannot read one more page.

For me it's A Prayer for Owen Meaney (John Irving). I just found it so tiresome.

What's yours?

Ugh yes, I hated this book! But I liked a lot of John Irving's other books

[Anonymous]

Where the Crawdads Sing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Harry Potter

As an elementary school teacher, I really wanted to like the Harry Potter series, but fantasy books simply aren't for me. I read the first one and I can see why the series is loved by so many, but I had no desire to read the others.

[Anonymous]

100 Years of Solitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where the Crawdads Sing

Yes, this was awful.

[Anonymous]

Babbit. Boring boring boring…. Except for one scene where everyone drinks too much. But god, what a hard book to get through.

[Anonymous]

Haven't read all the pages but I have tried and can't get into For Whom the Bell Tolls. I just can't get through it. My husband loves it.

[Anonymous]

JoJo Moyes- I did like The Girl You Left Behind and a couple friends were gushing about Me Before You and I just did not like it at all. Tried another one too and gave up after the first couple chapters.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Agree on The Nightingale and add anything by K. Hannah.

Classic category: Catcher in the Rye
Such a spoiled, callow protagonist

You are not alone. My friends and I all hated that book, especially Holden. What a whiner. His sister, Phoebe, was OK, though.

I came here to say this too! Couldn’t stand the book or Holden.

Also agree with the PP who posted about 100 years of Solitude - couldn’t get past 50 pages. I loved Love in the Time of Cholera though.

Another book/ author I couldn’t ever stand was Atlas Shrugged/ Ayn Rand.

Did you hate Holden Caulfield and the book when you were in highschool (or whenever you first read it)?

I loved the book because it was an easier read than some of the other required reading. Pretty quick pace. And while it was outdated, I could relate to the narrator in a way (or at least put myself in his shoes).

I've read it again a few times over the years and can understand why anyone who's read it in the past 15 years might find it obnoxious.

I still love books written in that style of colloquial prose.

Ok add Catcher in the Rye to my list too. Somehow I did not get assigned it in school and read it as an adult. My husband’s theory is that I was too old to relate to it at that time.

I read it in high school and hated it. Holden was a whiny B.