Worst book you've ever read

Killing Pablo

Got sick reading it, that writer is a fascist.

I know lots of people love it, but I hated Infinite Jest. Supposedly David Foster Wallace is a genius of contemporary American literature and the book is a masterpiece and finishing and enjoying it is a sign of the intellectual superiority of the reader. But getting through just the first 1/3 was the most painful experience of my life.

The Red Tent.

I did a customer review of it for Amazon: "I can review this book in seven words: "Biblical women menstruating over hay together."

Blech, it was terribly written. The amazing part is a lot of the negative reviews are all about how it's not true to the Bible, blah blah. Oy, those folks are SO missing the point.

Originally posted by Bags:
The Red Tent.

The movie version with Sean Connery was excellent, though.

anna karinina
i really don't care about each blade of grass in czarist russia

The Cat Who Could Walk Through Walls. As I was nearing the end of the book I kept wondering how can he tie this up in the 40 pages…30 pages…20 pages remaining? Ends very poorly and makes the rest just that much worse.

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
anna karinina
i really don't care about each blade of grass in czarist russia

If we're including books I never finished, this one would definitely be on my list.

Books I didn't finish because they were hippie crap:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig

Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon

i had to read "the good earth" by pearl buck back in 7th grade. i remember it being pretty brutal. but i still aced the test.

glamorama by bret e. ellis

what a waste by such a great

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
anna karinina
i really don't care about each blade of grass in czarist russia

If we're including books I never finished, this one would definitely be on my list.

I loved this book. In fact, Tolstoy is one of my favorite writers ever.

On the other hand, probably my least favorite is John Irving. God, I hate his works!

Damascus Gate - hated it

Ender's Game

Getting Divorced in Maryland

The worst book I read to completion:

Zen and the Art of Motorcylce Maintenance

Books that did not hold my interest so I did not complete:

Tropic of Cancer
Brave New World

Brave New World: We had to read it in school. I rather liked this book.

To Kill A Mockingbird: We had to read it. I didn't fancy it, or finish it either. Plus they showed the film in class so everyone would pass the test regardless. It must be quite awful if they have to do that.

I can think of some textbooks I had that were pretty bad, but if we limit it just to fiction, my worst required reading book was easily James Joyce's A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man. All I can say is, thank freakin' God for Cliffs Notes.

Never finished it but "Atlas Shrugged" was torture.

cold mountain, couldnt finish it, was a gift

could not be bothered to finish Infinite Jest or Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

the invisible man- ralph ellison (but i loved native son by richard wright)

a widow for one year- john irving