Name a popular book you didn't like

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Catcher in the Rye.

As an English major I could stomach most books, but this one really was the hardest one for me to get through.

Harder than Ulysses?? I liked Catcher but I read it at the right period in my life, ie high school.

[Anonymous]

+ 100 for both the Alchemist and Catcher in the Rye

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Catcher in the Rye.

As an English major I could stomach most books, but this one really was the hardest one for me to get through.

SMe, it I read it in my late 20s. The whole time I was just telling him to grow up in my head.

[Anonymous]

I'm loving this forum already for all the Crawdads hate. God that book was just terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 get what you didn't like about it. Be more specific. I didnt like Invisible man. I couldn't even finish it while I know why a caged bird sings was very engaging.

It's supposed to be inspiring but she trivializes sex, gets pregnant by a seemingly random dude didn't really talk about loving the baby or hot that changed her or anything. I just felt no love for her character at that point.

Did you miss the part where she was raped as a little girl by her mom’s boyfriend??

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

Any of the Dr. Seuss books (I know it's a kid's book, but the person who said The Giving Tree inspired me). I didn't like them even when I was a kid; they always struck me as contrived and trying too hard to appeal to kids' sense of silliness while entirely missing the mark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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 get what you didn't like about it. Be more specific. I didnt like Invisible man. I couldn't even finish it while I know why a caged bird sings was very engaging.

Same here.

[Anonymous]

"Ask the Dust" by John Fante. I wanted to beat the main character with a golf club, he's an absolutely disgusting prick. The writing was like reading the narcissistic ramblings of someone's diary with the same amount of exclamation points a new intern at work uses to show enthusiasm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where'd you go Bernadette, to me it just had no substance.

To Kill a Mockingbird, I've just never gotten why people love it so much.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 get what you didn't like about it. Be more specific. I didnt like Invisible man. I couldn't even finish it while I know why a caged bird sings was very engaging.

It's supposed to be inspiring but she trivializes sex, gets pregnant by a seemingly random dude didn't really talk about loving the baby or hot that changed her or anything. I just felt no love for her character at that point.

Did you miss the part where she was raped as a little girl by her mom’s boyfriend??

I was expecting a novelization of Still I Rise, but got something more comparable to Ain't I A Woman. This doesn't make it a bad text, but there was no point of realization like "this is what made me, now I'll go be great". I'm left at the end (now we know this is Maya's story so we know she becomes great but) wondering if the story just intendeds to repeat the cycles of abuse that Maya went through on her children. Not necessarily by Maya but by those who went through similar journeys. So that brings me to it. What made Maya different? Why did she last? Why did she become great? I'm glad it wasn't summed up in some one line thing like "she worked hard", but I was left with no inspiration for her journey. I don't have many autobiographies to compare it to, especially from black women, but normally I can find these type of moments in the story. I thought it was when she started showing again but then the ending?

I don't know. I'll say I respect it and respect her, but I can't say I like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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 get what you didn't like about it. Be more specific. I didnt like Invisible man. I couldn't even finish it while I know why a caged bird sings was very engaging.

It's supposed to be inspiring but she trivializes sex, gets pregnant by a seemingly random dude didn't really talk about loving the baby or hot that changed her or anything. I just felt no love for her character at that point.

Did you miss the part where she was raped as a little girl by her mom’s boyfriend??

I was expecting a novelization of Still I Rise, but got something more comparable to Ain't I A Woman. This doesn't make it a bad text, but there was no point of realization like "this is what made me, now I'll go be great". I'm left at the end (now we know this is Maya's story so we know she becomes great but) wondering if the story just intendeds to repeat the cycles of abuse that Maya went through on her children. Not necessarily by Maya but by those who went through similar journeys. So that brings me to it. What made Maya different? Why did she last? Why did she become great? I'm glad it wasn't summed up in some one line thing like "she worked hard", but I was left with no inspiration for her journey. I don't have many autobiographies to compare it to, especially from black women, but normally I can find these type of moments in the story. I thought it was when she started showing again but then the ending?

I don't know. I'll say I respect it and respect her, but I can't say I like it.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first of about 7 autobiographical works that Maya Angelou wrote. Some of the questions that you have get explored in great depth in later volumes.

[Anonymous]

The Glass Castle. Read it for BC, fiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great Expectations. In what way is this a good book? I read it twice because it came so highly recommended. I see zero highs in this book. Even 1984 had a cool concept. I hated this book.

Try Tale of Two Cities. More of a thriller and a better intro to Dickens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great Expectations. In what way is this a good book? I read it twice because it came so highly recommended. I see zero highs in this book. Even 1984 had a cool concept. I hated this book.

Try Tale of Two Cities. More of a thriller and a better intro to Dickens

After all the trauma Dickens has caused me, I'll probably never read another of his works. I'll probably read a James Patterson first