Top Ten Books I Hated, Loathed, and Otherwise Abhorred

I'm stepping on toes this week.

Please forgive me if I step on yours.

No harm intended.

Here goes...

As High as the Scooter Can Fly

 

Is this the worst book I've ever read?
Yes, I think it is. I kept thinking,
Someone published this...it has to get
better. But, no, it did not. Flat
characters and the moralistic plot
typical of a fairy tale, but without
any of the charm of a fairy tale.
Instead, the entire book was simply
mean-spirited. Don't waste your time.

The Celestine Prophecy

I've hit a low point in my reading life.
I cannot believe that I not only started,
but actually read to completion this
terrible book. I found it "in the
wild" and felt obligated to read it.
I'm not sure whether
this is supposed to be fiction or
nonfiction, but, whatever it is,
it was strange and poorly written.

The Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman

The best thing about this book is the
title. Middle-aged woman is abandoned
by her husband for m-a-w's (very youthful)
assistant. I missed the revenge
of the title. Don't waste your time.

The Body Artist

Let me see if I can explain the plot
of this book! DeLillo describes every
detail of the breakfast of a husband
and wife. Then the husband kills himself.
The wife later finds a (psychic?)
man living in her house and develops
a relationship with him. It felt to
me like this was written as an exercise
for a creative writing class; very forced.

Awful...I absolutely hated this book. I finished it, feeling horrible inside,

 feeling like I'd read something profane. However, my friend, K---, loved it,

especially what she called "its spiritual overtones"! Go figure! 

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

This is one of those books that people either adore or they despise. I'm in the second group. I hated this book. Loathed it. Wanted to set it on fire. I absolutely don't get it. And one of my favorite people in the whole world has told me she loves this book. It's, in fact, her favorite book. How can that be?

I know I am missing something, but this book shocked me and offended me. Help me with this, someone.

Do I really have to tell you why I hated this book? It is obvious, I think, to anyone who is more than a casual reader that this book is profoundly awful. Cardboard characters. Unlikely plot points. The only redeeming aspect of the book is apparently the real-life beauty of the real bridges of Madison County. I say, instead of reading this awful book, spend the three hours and go take a tour of the bridges themselves.

I've really done it now. I'll never be Librarian of the Year if I hate the Bible of librarians, now will I? And I do. I hate this book. I'm sorry, my fellow librarians, but I loathe this book for the same reason that I loathe all textbooks...a know-it-all voice...color-by-numbers, one-shoe-fits-all, this-is-how-you-do-it text...tedious, tedious, tedious....

I could go on and on...

those sickly sweet children's picture books with cute animal characters...

boy-meets-girl-and-they-hate-each-other-at-first-but-suddenly-

realize-it's-not-hate-but-love-they-feel...

textbooks of every sort...

literary novels full of beautiful and clever phrases and nothing else, 

written by 23-year-olds who haven't even had their first child...

self-help books aimed at the miserable who are so desperate

 for relief that they will pay yet another $25 for yet another book

that tells you to get out there and make friends...

Whew. I'm ranting a bit, I think, but I'm stopping now.

Tell me, what books do you hate?

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

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