Bad Books

JukeBoxJosh

OK, I'm doing a book review right now on A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck, and I really don't like it. I didn't make it past the 4th chapter (out of 15) because of all the Farmer Speak. And this is coming from a kid who's 2nd language is Internet Speak, which sometimes doesn't use letters!

Anyways, I was just wondering, what bad books have you read?

MajinMetroid

I've tried to force myself to read the first Dragonlance book twice, Autumn Twilight, and I just can't make it past chapter 10 or so... It's like, so much stuff happens but at the same time, nothing happens...

Anyone read it? Should I soldier on?

raquor

I picked up a book by Joanne Bertin called "The Last DragonLord" It's an excellent book by a first time author. Highly recommended.

Then I picked up the sequel: "Dragon and Phoenix" and I just can't finish it. It's the same characters and the story isn't terrible but it's not the same as the first one...I'm not sure if it's too politcal or what but it's just not that great.

Another set of books I didn't care for was The "Black Fleet Crisis" trilogy of Star Wars books by Michael Kube-McDowell, far far too political for my tastes. Not nearly enough action and adventure. Too much standing around talking and debating.

Kiey

Ethan Frome, my god do I hate this book with a passion. It is so horrendously bad. We had to read it in my Sophomore HS English class, and I think I was probably the only one who actually read it. It starts off weird, and I figured it would get better as it went along, but it just got worse and worse until the end when it reached a level of horrid unseen by even Uwe Boll. My English teacher actually admitted to the class that he hated teaching the book, but he was forced to since it was part of the curriculum. I've never heard a teacher say something like that about something they were teaching before or after that.

Apreche

Ethan Frome

We were just talking about bad books last weekend, and Ethan Frome was the book. I was going to post it, but I was not surprised to see it listed here already. This might just be one of the most hated books of our generation.

HungryJoe

Ethan Frome was a great book. I'll admit, there are no Pokemons and there are no internets, but if you'd actually read the book, you'd find that it contains a truly great, tragic story.

I think about it often. I'm not kidding. I actually think about it a lot, especially when I'm depressed or when I wish that I could have something that I can't have. When I was young, I identified with Ethan, since he wants so desperately to leave his rural home and go somewhere to study engineering.

When Zena, Warrior Princess was on TV, I couldn't hear the name "Zena" without thinking of "Zeena" from Ethan Frome.

Jason

Moll Flanders, 1722. Painfully slow, periphrastic, Puritan tripe. Thank you, 18th Century British Romantic Literature 561.

Rym

Great Expectations
Anything ever written by Piers Anthony
Tree of Red Stars
Any Dragonlance book except The Legend of Huma (which itself was marginal)
Anything ever written by R.A. Salvator
Dragon's Gold, Serpent's Silver, Chimera's Copper

The ones in red are the only books I have ever started reading and then stopped without finishing.

gomidog

My heavens lad, A Day No Pigs Would Die was the bane of my 9th grade English class life. With its backwards rural god-baggery and gruesomely detailed descriptions of pig copulation, I would probably put it in the top ten of my least favorite books. (All the rest of the assigned literature I consumed happily...only this one made me completely annoyed). The scene when he is getting dragged through the woods while hanging onto a cow's "goiter" and he has lost his pants? Spare me.

Also I just read Maximum Ride, a story about kids who are genetically engineered with wings who escape from a lab and are on the lamb from their tormentors. Story sounded promising but the writing was HORRIBLE! Awful-awful-awful. They used "OMHO" in the text in a non ironic way! I finished the book, nothing was resolved, and I flung it across the living room with great vigor.

Li_Akahi

Ethan Frome, my god do I hate this book with a passion. It is so horrendously bad. We had to read it in my Sophomore HS English class, and I think I was probably the only one who actually read it. It starts off weird, and I figured it would get better as it went along, but it just got worse and worse until the end when it reached a level of horrid unseen by even Uwe Boll. My English teacher actually admitted to the class that he hated teaching the book, but he was forced to since it was part of the curriculum. I've never heard a teacher say something like that about something they were teaching before or after that.

I concur.

HungryJoe

Great Expectations? Seriously? I can't believe you guys.

I felt very close to Pip because my dad was a farrier/blacksmith, so I knew exactly what the job was like for him. I also know exactly what it's like to try to rise above your class and have the posh kids/adults remind you of where they think you're supposed to be.

Miss Havisham has haunted my dreams ever since I read that book. She was spooky. I can visualize her drawing room as if I was actually there. I can't see a wedding cake without thinking of her. When she told Estella, "You can break his heart.", my heart actually skipped a beat. I remember it clearly to this day.

That book had a profound effect on me. It was brilliant.

The bad books that I think people should avoid are anything by Robert Ludlum. His dialogue is so corny and affected it really destroys the pace of what could be a good story.

JukeBoxJosh

My heavens lad, A Day No Pigs Would Die was the bane of my 9th grade English class life. With its backwards rural god-baggery and gruesomely detailed descriptions of pig copulation, I would probably put it in the top ten of my least favorite books. (All the rest of the assigned literature I consumed happily...only this one made me completely annoyed). The scene when he is getting dragged through the woods while hanging onto a cow's "goiter" and he has lost his pants? Spare me.

And that is about as far into the book I actually "read." The rest I skimmed for notes and quotes and things.

HungryJoe

Ethan Frome, my god do I hate this book with a passion. It is so horrendously bad. We had to read it in my Sophomore HS English class, and I think I was probably the only one who actually read it. It starts off weird, and I figured it would get better as it went along, but it just got worse and worse until the end when it reached a level of horrid unseen by even Uwe Boll. My English teacher actually admitted to the class that he hated teaching the book, but he was forced to since it was part of the curriculum. I've never heard a teacher say something like that about something they were teaching before or after that.

I concur.

I'll bet if somone added one sentence like: "As he was walking up the hill to his lonely house, Ethan pulled out his DS and found a new Pokemon", all you punk kids would be saying, "OMG! What a great book!"

You kids don't know a good book when you see it.

Moll Flanders, 1722. Painfully slow, periphrastic, Puritan tripe. Thank you, 18th Century British Romantic Literature 561.

It was slow, it was bad, but it wasn't exactly tripe. Kidnapped by R.L. Stevenson was worse.

It was interesting how Moll had all those husbands die, but was more concerned about her finances.

JukeBoxJosh

I'll bet if somone added one sentence like: "As he was walking up the hill to his lonely house, Ethan pulled out his DS and found a new Pokemon", all you punk kids would be saying, "OMG! What a great book!"

You kids don't know a good book when you see it.

That would make a book crap!
Although, I would like to see a book written entirely in Picto-Chat, like that book Ttyl.

HungryJoe

I'll bet if somone added one sentence like: "As he was walking up the hill to his lonely house, Ethan pulled out his DS and found a new Pokemon", all you punk kids would be saying, "OMG! What a great book!"

You kids don't know a good book when you see it.

That would make a book crap!
Although, I would like to see a book written entirely in Picto-Chat, like that book Ttyl.

You know you would love it. Slap a Pokemon on anything and you little bastards will kill each other to consume it.

If I changed all instances of "pig" in A Day No Pigs Would Die to "Pokemon", you'd be all over it.

JukeBoxJosh

Hellz no! If I loved Pokemon so much I wouldn't have traded/sold all of my games to get my GameCube!
... I think that had little relevance...
But I would seriously hate it. Because it would seem... gimmicky? (I hope I'm using that right)
And really, if I wanted some Pokeman, I would just turn on my DS and play some FireRed or Mystery Dungeon.

whatever

I hardly ever read bad books of my own accord because I cease reading immediately if a book doesn't catch my interest within the first few pages. Usually, the only way I'll ever hate a book is if it's forced upon my as a school assignment, and, even then, I usually just read the wikipedia article. The only time in recent memory where I actually got angry at a book is A Series of Unfortunate Events 13, and not because it was poorly written, or boring or anything, but because it didn't solve any of the mysteries presented in the previous 12 novels.

JukeBoxJosh

That reminds me, I didn't finish the 2nd Harry Potter book. It bored me, if I remember correctly. And now I just wanna see the movies.

One Sin

Let's see . . . . every Harry Potter book aside from the first and maybe the second and third (and those aren't exactly classics either). Everything after that is dull, plodding, and overly dramatic. I like my fantasy novels without teen angst, thank you very much.

Kiey

Ethan Fromewas a great book. I'll admit, there are no Pokemons and there are no internets, but if you'd actually read the book, you'd find that it contains a truly great, tragic story.

WHAT?! Tragically stupid maybe.

All I have to say to prove that its a horrid horrid book is that he tries to kill himself by sledding, on snow, into a tree. A tree! I'm sorry but I can't feel remorse for stupid people/characters, regardless of how tragic their life is, especially when its their own damn fault.

Li_Akahi

Nothing could possibly save Ethan Frome. He wasn't tragic, just an idiot.

Johannes Uglyfred II

ERAGON.

'Nuff said.

Neito

ERAGON.

'Nuff said.

I remember someone took that book and ran it through some online "Mary Sue index" site.
It scored worse than most fanfictions.

YoshoKatana

I think the first and third Harry Potter were ok, but the others weren't that good. I didn't like Great Expectation or Lord of the Flies that much. The one book that I've ever put down without finishing was Eragon. God, that was awful.

AtheriShadow

Playing the dumb devil's advocate:

Eragon = Star Wars

Eragon = Bad

Therefore,
Star Wars = Bad?

Double Z

 
The bad books that I think people should avoid are anything by Robert Ludlum. His dialogue is so corny and affected it really destroys the pace of what could be a good story.
 
I totally agree, I tried reading The Bourne Supremacy and it was painful, the story had so much going, but the pace was just all over the place.

HungryJoe

WHAT?! Tragically stupid maybe.

All I have to say to prove that its a horrid horrid book is that he tries to kill himself by sledding, on snow, into a tree. A tree! I'm sorry but I can't feel remorse for stupid people/characters, regardless of how tragic their life is, especially when its their own damn fault.

So, you've never been stuck in a tragic situation that someone else would think is all your fault? And yeah, he tried to kill himself by sledding into a tree - and very nearly succeeded. Would it have been a better story if he took poison?

. . . just and idiot.

Res ipsa loquitur. Anyone who doesn't like this book is "and" idiot.

Kiey

It would have been a better story if he hadn't been a wuss for the entire book, unable to decide between his wife who is "sick," and wanting to run off with her nurse. Obviously his wife isn't exactly the best person for him, but come on, the entire book is just him mopping around unable to make any sort of decision. And when he finally does, it involves killing himself in the stupidest way possible. Had they actually killed themselves (in a better way as well,) it still would have been stupid, just not as stupid.

It would have been better if they had at least run off together, maybe then there is some sort of accident which leads to the same outcome as appears in the last chapter. Then at least there would be a really nice tragic irony to the end. The only thing really tragic about the book is having to read it.

HungryJoe

. . . the entire book is just him mopping around unable to make any sort of decision. And when he finally does, it involves killing himself in the stupidest way possible. Had they actually killed themselves (in a better way as well,) it still would have been stupid, just not as stupid.

Yeah, he can't make a decision, like the dude in that crappy play Hamlet.

Read it again. Killing themselves wasn't exactly on the top of their list of goals when they sledded into the tree. They were happy earlier in the book when they had been sledding. They wanted to recapture that happiness before they died.

Now, I don't want to go all Oprah on you here, but this book helped me whenever I've felt depressed enough to actually wonder about suicide. I've never thought about it seriously, and a large part of the reason why is that I don't want to end up like Ethan.

Kiey

Well see thats the thing, you are judging the book based on a personal connection to it. I'm not saying thats a bad thing, but it certainly alters your perception of the book. There are certainly bad things that I like because I connect with them, but it doesn't make them good.

HungryJoe

Respectfully, Kiey, I think you're the one judging the book from personal reasons. It's a good book judged by the objective standards of the Western Canon.