Well it is already day eleven of the book challenge and I knew we would eventually get to a topic about disliking a book. I don’t like to speak negatively about books because they are my escape but alas I have to choose one. I feel like I might get some backlash for my choice, but in all honesty, I really did not enjoy All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
Synopsis:
Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure’s agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.
I found this book to be very long and drawn out with nothing to keep me captivated. It was telling the story from the two different perspectives and they were equally as boring. You would think that one would have a somewhat interesting life but nope can’t have that. The way they ended it was also really bad and made me feel awful for wasting time to finish it. I thought it would be good from all the hype about it but in the end I was just let down. I know others might like it so just remember that it is just my opinion.
If you had to choose one book that you hate, what would it be? Let me know in the comments! Later book worms 🙂
Without a doubt Fifty Shades of Grey. In my opinion it’s one of the worst written books I’ve ever read. Just thinking about it makes me grind my teeth!😒
I have never read it but I don’t really want to based on reactions from a lot of others I have talked to.
You’re really not missing anything Erik!
I loved the concept of this book of this book but I agree the way it was written threw me off!
OMG Dani! She is just an AWFUL writer! And it drives me up the wall that people hold her drivel up as the gold standard of erotica. There are so many better writers out there.😡
I will have to agree Kim. That supposed “erotica” didn’t tickle my pickle! It made me feel like she was portraying BDSM like it was caused by trauma at some points and all the jealousy. Blah. I felt like I was reading a bad soap opera rather than an erotica!
So, soooo bad!😒😠😡
If I hate a book I’ll stop reading it and promptly forget about it.
There is a book though I did finish, but I can’t remember the title. It was by Neal Stephenson. It had great build up, worked its way towards a good finish, then ended so badly I was upset I’d invested the hours into reading the book in the first place. His ending was dull, unimaginative, not worthy of the build up. It is like he got tired of writing and couldn’t bother to write out the details for a spectacular end (or didn’t have the time) so went with a run-of-the-mill boiler plate ending.
He has more than one book that does that. Recently I found a review that stated Stephenson is well known for his poor quality endings….but then it went on to say the book being reviewed now doesn’t follow that pattern. Of course, I can’t remember the name of that book either, probably because I had put Stephenson on my blacklist.
I try and do that but I get a little OCD about books where if I start one, I have to finish it… it can be frustrating at times, especially if I’m not enjoying the book. I guess I just always hope for an interesting ending.
Yeah, I was that way once. Then I counted the number of books I had waiting to be read, the time I had to read them, the number of upcoming books I’d like to read, and my life expectancy. It wasn’t a good combination so I stopped reading really bad books. Some I’ll skim quickly to get the gist of it while I hope it gets better, but usually if it is bad I’ll stop.
That reminds me of a bad book Again I forget the specific title but I’m willing to bet all the books are like that. Eric van Lustbader’s Jason Bourne novels. We have Bourne, of course, and the villain is a woman who is as good at killing and spycraft as Bourne. She’s written like a strong woman stereotype, he builds her all up on just how great she is, how much better she is than all the men around her, how emotionally tough and strong and intelligent than everyone else. Then she meets Bourne and gradually gets in touch with her feelings, falls for Bourne,gets weepy etc. Straight out of the old James Bond 60s and 70s films: A tough competent woman is just waiting for a real man to make her feel and act like a woman.
I skimmed that book to see how it ended (which was fairly predictable and the book didn’t improve at all). I also wanted to see how old Lustbader was—based on his sexist tropes and regressive writing I figured he had to be in his 70s. Yep, he’s 70.
That book was so bad I deleted it from all my devices (wish I could remember the other series I deleted to warn everyone–blurbs sounded good with a person who finds out she’s part faerie creature, set in modern day. Instead, it was a Harlequin romance where everyone had brilliant smiles, broad chests and narrow hips for the man and curvaceous bodies and sparkling eyes for the women. My reaction after two or three chapters was, You’re f**n kidding me, how does this crap get published when some of my friends who write much better can’t.
I fired up my computer, located the ebooks and removed them with extreme prejudice, and then hunted down the two back-up copies I had on external drives and killed them as well. Not that I needed to as they were library books and would go back themselves, but it felt satisfying.
Wow yea that does sound like a load of crap. It sucks that sometimes really good writers can’t get published when they deserve it and then others get published for writing crap like you said.
I read one recently, as soon as I finished it was an instant ‘thank f for that, that was one s#”& book’
Aw man hopefully it wasn’t too long! Oh well on to the next right? 😛
Hopefully not next crap one lol
Oh man! I love this post! For me, The Alchemist – just terrible nonsense. I have no idea why so many people love it.
oh my gosh, you reminded me of a book I did hate. The Chemist (not The Alchemist). By Stephanie Meyers. I have a grad school background in chemistry and biology, and this book was so painful to read just for the science, nevermind the formulaic Jason Bourne-type spy novel, that I couldn’t finish it. I’d read some asinine passage and then have to contact a fellow biologist or chemist and say, “Listen to this passage….”
Shortly after, I found this review by a chemist which sums up much of what I thought.
https://undark.org/article/bad-chemistry-stephanie-meyer-chemist-book/
Haha wow that is brutal. I guess there is that. one book out there for everyone ;P
Haha! Brilliant. In turn, you have reminded me of this brilliant review of Dan Brown books: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/dont-make-fun-of-renowned-dan-brown/
Oh my, that review of Dan Brown’s books was merciless. And brilliant. Now that was written by one frustrated reader.
I couldn’t really think of a book stat when I read your question, and then I saw someone mentioning Fifty Shades.
It’s not that I completely agree but.. Let’s just say the smut in these books is real. And so annoyingly repetitive. Pretty sure I skimmed a whole lot of those certain scenes / chapters because it simply didn’t add anything anymore after the first or second time.
If there was, say, 90% less of THAT, I think maybe more people would’ve enjoyed it? Because I did quite like the story. Just didn’t like where the focus was at. :’)
Yes that sounds like the general consensus of most people that bring up not liking that book. But yea I get what you mean when its hard to think of a book to hate because were book lovers ….its not in our blood to hate on a book 😛
Those Jean Auel books re: Clan of the Cave Bear were like that. First ones good but after she met the lusty what’s-his-name (Jondalar?) I’d find myself flipping quickly through page after page to get back to the story. Then it’s be, “You’re doing what?Again?”. All I could think of was how does she avoid a urinary tract infection while having sex multiple times a day and living in conditions where hygiene is difficult.
This probably made me laugh harder than it should have but I completely get your point, haha!
Gone Girl… I know so many people loved it but it took me like a week to read 90 pages and just couldnt finish
I never read the book but I saw the movie and the movie was pretty good. I can imagine how it would have drawn out the book though.
Maybe it was just me and I was going through a hard time. I’m going to give it another shot eventually!😁