[Cellar_Door]

One that springs to mind with me is Anna Karenina. There wasn't one character in the book I felt anything but rage for. The part where she kills herself wasn't a moment too soon.

What, if any, books did you loathe?

[sadoldbird]

Wuthering Heights. Nasty bunch.

[d0lphin]

Harry Potter! I tried to read it to my younger son when he was about 9 but we both hated it and gave up.

[alternate]

Not sure "hate" is the right word but I have tried and failed to get in to the Dark Tower books numerous times.

[g-bhxu]

All books forced to read for GCSE English Literature (except An Inspector Calls)

To Kill A Mocking Bird, The Old Man And The Sea, etc...

[Abcinthia]

Lolita. I really tried to like it and forced myself to finish it but I really disliked it. Everyone else I know absolutely loves it.

[Cellar_Door]

Originally Posted by alternate

Not sure "hate" is the right word but I have tried and failed to get in to the Dark Tower books numerous times.

I know what you mean, I really tried to get into the whole Game of Thrones thing and just find it tedious. Why do authors use a million adjectives when one will do? I will try one last time and if I can't get into the swing of it then it'll be free to good home.

[ravensborough]

Heart of Darkness. The Penguin Edition is not even a hundred pages long, but it took me a whole month to get to the end!

[elliecat]

Anything by Salman Rushdie, I studied him for my degree and never once finished any of his books. I could never understand what the fuss was about.

[Teddybleads]

Originally Posted by Cellar_Door

One that springs to mind with me is Anna Karenina. There wasn't one character in the book I felt anything but rage for. The part where she kills herself wasn't a moment too soon.

What, if any, books did you loathe?

A spoiler might have been nice, not all of us have got round to karenina yet.

[Phyllis Stein]

White Teeth by Zadie Smith - hundreds of pages of densely written tedium

[Cellar_Door]

Originally Posted by Teddybleads

A spoiler might have been nice, not all of us have got round to karenina yet.

Gah, apologies Teddy, I wrongly presumed everyone and his dog was aware of the fact (a bit like the sixth sense 'twist').

[Teddybleads]

Originally Posted by Cellar_Door

Gah, apologies Teddy, I wrongly presumed everyone and his dog was aware of the fact (a bit like the sixth sense 'twist').

Never mind, it's not high on my list and they way my memorys going I'll have forgotten in a few years.

[goldberry1]

Originally Posted by alternate

Not sure "hate" is the right word but I have tried and failed to get in to the Dark Tower books numerous times.

Same here.

[the_lostprophet]

The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Found the epistolary form in Celie's language irritating to read and I thought the ending was unrealistic - would like to say why but don't really want to post spoilers. Wouldn't have got to the end if I hadn't had to read it for one of my degree modules.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This was just hippy patronising tripe IMO. Constantly bashing the reader over the head with the philosophical themes. I kept thinking 'Yes, we get it!'. There was really no need for the author to treat his readers like fools. Going by the Amazon reviews this is a bit of a love it or hate it book. I think I'm just a bit too cynical for something like this.

[Teddybleads]

I found the Kite Runner very convoluted? It was all too neatly fitted together and the ending was the cherry on the cake. Too convenient and implausibly perfect.

[d0lphin]

Originally Posted by Teddybleads

I found the Kite Runner very convoluted? It was all too neatly fitted together and the ending was the cherry on the cake. Too convenient and implausibly perfect.

Wow, that's one of my top 2 books for the very reasons you hated it!

[Studmuffin]

Catcher in the Rye. I didn't empathise with Holden whatsoever, he really needed to get over himself.

[Tiger Rich]

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. Had it highly recommended to me by a couple of friends but it bored me senseless.

[solarflare]

Originally Posted by Studmuffin

Catcher in the Rye. I didn't empathise with Holden whatsoever, he really needed to get over himself.

I just found the whole book tedious, dull and with no real point, and I never understood the acclaim with which it is held, although I just assumed the fault lay with me and I was just not cultured or literary-minded enough to "get" it.

[Lowri]

Originally Posted by Studmuffin

Catcher in the Rye. I didn't empathise with Holden whatsoever, he really needed to get over himself.

Same, although I'm glad I read it.

The book that failed to hold my imagination was Pride and Predujice. Found the whole thing pretty boring actually!

[Jimmy Connors]

Ginger Rogers: My Story. It had a lot of great reviews yet I found after 500 odd pages I knew no more about her than I did before I started.

A huge disappointment.

[PhoenixRises]

I don't think I "hate" any books really, but a book I really couldn't get into was Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, I have tried to complete the book around about six times now, but the main character is just so brattish that I always want to slap her. She reminds me of a very spoilt cousin of mine. But I don't really hate the book, just isn't my cup of tea.

And I rarely follow book trends so I don't know what is popular or not - unless there seems to be a lot of news items and chatter in the offices. So I don't know if there were other books I disliked that were popular or not But saying that I am pretty lucky in the fact that I enjoy most books I have picked up.

[Cellar_Door]

Originally Posted by PhoenixRises

I don't think I "hate" any books really, but a book I really couldn't get into was Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, I have tried to complete the book around about six times now, but the main character is just so brattish that I always want to slap her. She reminds me of a very spoilt cousin of mine. But I don't really hate the book, just isn't my cup of tea.

And I rarely follow book trends so I don't know what is popular or not - unless there seems to be a lot of news items and chatter in the offices. So I don't know if there were other books I disliked that were popular or not But saying that I am pretty lucky in the fact that I enjoy most books I have picked up.

I know what you mean, I always feel bad just hating on a book, as it's obviously a labour of love for the authors, and I daresay with Anna Karenina that it wasn't the style of prose but the characters, which is probably a testament to Tolstoy's wonderful writing abilities.

[trinity2002]

Catch-22. Although when I've mentioned this before someone usually pops up to tell me that is because I didn't understand it. I thought I grasped it quite well, and I still didn't enjoy it.

Catcher in the Rye - I agree with someone above it was just tedious and bored me to tears.

Wuthering Heights - it took me two attempts. I don't know why I bothered in the end.