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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where the Crawdads Sing

Agreed. It was over-written schlock.

[Anonymous]

The Elena Ferrante novels. I know I should like them, but I found them (well I only attemptedthe first) just insufferable. Did nothing for me. Nada.

[Anonymous]

The Goldfinch

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Goldfinch

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Yes - I thought AHWOSG was just ok. That’s actually how I feel about all David Sedaris books too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Goldfinch

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Yes - I thought AHWOSG was just ok. That’s actually how I feel about all David Sedaris books too.

And Running with Scissors. Sorry LOL your mention of that book just brought a lot to mind.

[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 And while it was outdated, I could relate to the narrator in a way (or at least put myself in his shoes).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.

I had to read it in middle and again in high school. Holden was just an unlikable little twerp

[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.

I had to read it in middle and again in high school. Holden was just an unlikable little twerp

But I feel like that was the point? Salinger created a wholly unlikeable narrator to get under your skin and make you think.

[Anonymous]

Also add Jodi Piccoult to my list

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Bible.

[Anonymous]

Harry Potter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:- Into Thin Air
- The Shack
- In the Woods (though I did feel seen by a recent thread about this book)
- We Need to Talk About Kevin
- The Dinner
- Defending Jacob
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed
- The Silent Patient (OMG so boring for 95% of the book)

Hated the Silent Patient - boring!
and the Dutch House.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Untamed by Glennon Doyle! Unreadable.

100% agree!!

[Anonymous]

David Sedaris!

[Anonymous]

Pro-Salinger PP here - Holden was supposed to be a jerk! Not every character has to be 'likeable'. Have you guys ever read Lolita?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pro-Salinger PP here - Holden was supposed to be a jerk! Not every character has to be 'likeable'. Have you guys ever read Lolita?

Yes, I love The Catcher in the Rye. My teen son definitely pegged Holden as a PITA and recognized some of his less charming behavior in him.