Suggested by Janet:
How about, “What’s the worst ‘best’ book you’ve ever read — the one everyone says is so great, but you can’t figure out why?”
Tough question. I like most of the "classics" that I've read, so I can't go that way. You'll never hear me complain about high school required reading! I think the answer for me is probably The Time Traveler's Wife, which is this sci-fi/chick-lit hybrid that I thought was just awful. It's hard to even begin to articulate all the things I didn't like about it- the amateurish writing, the author's habits of dropping brand names and pop culture references instead of actually defining the characters by their behavior, the off-key sexual content, the narcisstic characters, etc. Reading the book's Amazon reviews I know I'm not alone here but I also know I'm in the minority! But you know what? I can live with that.
I have heard enough not so good reviews of this book from people I trust that I have not even tried to read it.
ReplyDeleteYou're the second person today to mention that one as the worst "best" book they've read.
ReplyDeleteI am hearing more and more people talk about how much they dislike this book.
ReplyDeletehttp://barneysbookblog.blogspot.com/
Second time someone listed this today. I didn't and won't read it.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind being a minority.. reading should be for fun so read whatever interes you unless it's for work or study..
ReplyDeleteNow I'm sure I don't want to read it :)
:) I'll go out on a limb here and say I really, really like TTW. It took a while to get into the story, but once I did, I really enjoyed the love story. I'm eager to see how this is interpreted in the movie version, though. Seems like that would be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteHehe I remember this book fondly & hope to read again, I think there is a movie coming out too? I wonder what that will be like...
ReplyDeleteI'll come down on the same side of the fence as Karen H and Alea, I don't remember the book terribly well, but I remember that I liked it. Sometimes I think I have to be in the right mood to really enjoy a book or movie. My "worst" best book is The Life of Pi....I just thought it was awful, and for the life of me, I can't figure out what everybody loved about it. *Shrug...I guess I just didn't get it. Sadly, even my then 17 year old son liked it.
ReplyDeleteOh well, different strokes and all that....
I enjoyed some parts of it better than the others. Her new release has stirred up a buzz.
ReplyDeleteDa Vinci Code for me. It doesn't have any competitor.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThe Time Traveler's Wife was another novel that turned me off in the first chapter. I am with you on that one. Awful.
Oh god I loved The Time Traveler's Wife. The one for me would be The Secret Life of Bees. It was just blah. I would love to have read that story as written by Harper Lee.
ReplyDeleteyou said the magic word to turn me off - SCI-FI Blech!
ReplyDeleteMy BTT is here
I'm going to make the same comment on your blog that I made on Swapna's: I feel a bit shocked that this book is making it onto people's "worst book" list! I absolutely loved it!
ReplyDeleteI began reading it ages ago, when it first came out in hardback. I didn't buy it, fortunately. I checked it out of the library.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't get through it, found it to be a yawn. I didn't finish it.
I agree completely with your choice, I found that book to be very polarizing though, there seem to be no in between opinions on it.
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