Author Topic: DON'T READ THAT!!!  (Read 1519 times)

Offline whiterose

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 136
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #60 on: June 06, 2018, 05:20:09 pm »
Do NOT read "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire.

No matter how much you like the musical- which I hear is much better, even though overrated.

The book was horrendous. I still have not gone to see the musical- though I listened to the soundtrack- simply because the book was that awful.
I have pet mice!

Offline GloryAndCrumpets

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 296
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #61 on: June 06, 2018, 07:35:27 pm »
- Ready Player One: read like the worst of the gamer gate guys. Very few female gamers - so surprising when they were as good as guys! So much worship over knowing useless information and anyone who didn't was ridiculed.

- Outlander: I was okay until the very last ****. It felt totally unnecessary as far as plot devices. I am not a fan of using **** to shock and appall the reader. It's lazy. The semi-**** also felt unnecessary except for one that I could see as a character developer.

- 50 Shades of Gray: She graduated college without an email address, without a computer, without a drink, and without ever being attracted to anyone ever. Besides the terrible writing and the abusive relationship, she was legitimately a terrible friend and an idiot. I only finished it because I was tweeting a review. I didn't have the heart to read the other books.

I didn't read the actual book, just snarky breakdowns on a couple of blogs and I could not believe that part. "Holy crap, I'm on Google!" Seriously? Seriously????? You honestly expect us to believe that in the 21st century you are graduating college near the top of your class without ever having owned or even apparently used a computer, email, or the internet? No. Just no. And I say that as someone who enjoys reading Victorian novels, likes to write letters on aged paper with a quill pen, got an actual oil lamp as a graduation present, and whose dream wardrobe would contain no outfits more recent than probably 1923.
Agree Agree x 1 View List

Offline MariaE

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
  • Location: Denmark
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #62 on: June 07, 2018, 12:32:32 am »
Do NOT read "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire.

No matter how much you like the musical- which I hear is much better, even though overrated.

The book was horrendous. I still have not gone to see the musical- though I listened to the soundtrack- simply because the book was that awful.

I saw the musical first, fortunately. It is MUCH better and is obviously only loosely inspired by the book - not based on it. The book is boring as.

I didn't read the actual book, just snarky breakdowns on a couple of blogs and I could not believe that part. "Holy crap, I'm on Google!" Seriously? Seriously????? You honestly expect us to believe that in the 21st century you are graduating college near the top of your class without ever having owned or even apparently used a computer, email, or the internet? No. Just no. And I say that as someone who enjoys reading Victorian novels, likes to write letters on aged paper with a quill pen, got an actual oil lamp as a graduation present, and whose dream wardrobe would contain no outfits more recent than probably 1923.

That part got to me to. But apparently she did have an iPod. So what.... she just never put any new music on it?

Offline Athersgeo

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 65
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #63 on: June 07, 2018, 06:27:54 am »
I didn't read the actual book, just snarky breakdowns on a couple of blogs and I could not believe that part. "Holy crap, I'm on Google!" Seriously? Seriously????? You honestly expect us to believe that in the 21st century you are graduating college near the top of your class without ever having owned or even apparently used a computer, email, or the internet? No. Just no. And I say that as someone who enjoys reading Victorian novels, likes to write letters on aged paper with a quill pen, got an actual oil lamp as a graduation present, and whose dream wardrobe would contain no outfits more recent than probably 1923.

That part got to me to. But apparently she did have an iPod. So what.... she just never put any new music on it?

Well, depending on the iPod you don't need a computer to get music on there - just a wifi connection and an iTunes account. Though the whole not having an email account would make even that part a bit of a challenge (it's been years since I registered for iTunes but I'm fairly sure one of the bits of info they required was an email address!)

And, just because it's entertaining as all get out:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/608134 - how to make a long, tedious and badly written trilogy into a surprisingly satisfying short story. With bonus mythology and witch craft.

Offline Kiwi Cupcake

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 135
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #64 on: June 07, 2018, 09:57:25 am »
I didn't read the actual book, just snarky breakdowns on a couple of blogs and I could not believe that part. "Holy crap, I'm on Google!" Seriously? Seriously????? You honestly expect us to believe that in the 21st century you are graduating college near the top of your class without ever having owned or even apparently used a computer, email, or the internet? No. Just no. And I say that as someone who enjoys reading Victorian novels, likes to write letters on aged paper with a quill pen, got an actual oil lamp as a graduation present, and whose dream wardrobe would contain no outfits more recent than probably 1923.

That part got to me to. But apparently she did have an iPod. So what.... she just never put any new music on it?

I didn't read the book either but do professors even accept physical papers anymore? I thought papers are mostly emailed to them nowadays. Did she handwrite them or manage to find a typewriter with enough ink tape? And don't most professors distribute class notes and announcements via mass email to student's school assigned email?

Did she use her helpless little girl routine (from what I saw in commercials for the movie) to get other people to download music?

That is the dumbest detail ever. But the whole book sounds pretty dumb.
Agree Agree x 1 View List

Offline MariaE

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
  • Location: Denmark
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #65 on: June 07, 2018, 04:46:56 pm »
That is the dumbest detail ever. But the whole book sounds pretty dumb.

Oh, so dumb! I took great satisfaction in tearing it to pieces on Goodreads  ;D ::)
Like Like x 1 Agree Agree x 1 View List

Offline Apis Mellifera

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 33
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #66 on: June 07, 2018, 07:27:44 pm »
- Ready Player One: read like the worst of the gamer gate guys. Very few female gamers - so surprising when they were as good as guys! So much worship over knowing useless information and anyone who didn't was ridiculed.

- Outlander: I was okay until the very last ****. It felt totally unnecessary as far as plot devices. I am not a fan of using **** to shock and appall the reader. It's lazy. The semi-**** also felt unnecessary except for one that I could see as a character developer.

- 50 Shades of Gray: She graduated college without an email address, without a computer, without a drink, and without ever being attracted to anyone ever. Besides the terrible writing and the abusive relationship, she was legitimately a terrible friend and an idiot. I only finished it because I was tweeting a review. I didn't have the heart to read the other books.

I didn't read the actual book, just snarky breakdowns on a couple of blogs and I could not believe that part. "Holy crap, I'm on Google!" Seriously? Seriously????? You honestly expect us to believe that in the 21st century you are graduating college near the top of your class without ever having owned or even apparently used a computer, email, or the internet? No. Just no. And I say that as someone who enjoys reading Victorian novels, likes to write letters on aged paper with a quill pen, got an actual oil lamp as a graduation present, and whose dream wardrobe would contain no outfits more recent than probably 1923.
I'm there, too.  I wish I could find the one comic I saw ... there was a male figure reading  the first book, with various incredulous expressions "What? That's not the way that works" kind of dialog.  Then he reached the end, closed the book and said "Best ending ever!"  Then someone drops the other two volumes on the desk/table, and he says "Damn it!"

But the short story in Aethersgeo's link was a fun read (I'm not going to say "better than the source material" because almost *anything* is better than that particular source material.  Except for the original source material (my daughter read the first book of Twilight,  I got through about 40 pages before I couldn't take it any longer).

Offline Morrigan

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 99
  • Location: Canada
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #67 on: June 07, 2018, 09:13:39 pm »
Whitefern - V.C. Andrews. This is the sequel to My Sweet Audrina, and i didn't think it could be worse. I was so very wrong.

Wait.

Just.....wait.


THERE WAS A SEQUEL??!!??

Oh my stars.....   :o :o ??? ??? :o :o

(I need a puking smiley.)

Yes - the sequel came out in 2016. I hoped it was better than the first - I love how I can try to think pleasant thoughts about books sometimes.

Offline GloryAndCrumpets

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 296
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #68 on: July 03, 2018, 06:02:47 pm »
I can't believe I didn't think to mention this earlier, and it's probably too late for most people anyway but- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Seriously, DO NOT READ THIS. If there was one book I could erase from my brain entirely, it would be this one. I love, love, love the Harry Potter books and this completely ruined everything about them. The characters that were back from the books were all terrible (not at all like themselves!), and lots of important characters I was curious about (like Luna and Neville) didn't make an appearance, although given how badly the other characters were botched, that might actually be a good thing. The plot was stupid and made absolutely no sense, the "twist" was ridiculous and actually kind of gross and everything about it was just bad, bad, bad. Frankly, I'm kind of appalled that J.K. Rowling signed off on it. The only thing I liked about it was the friendship between Harry's and Draco's sons. That was really sweet, but everything else was garbage and I refuse to consider any of it (except the aforementioned friendship) as canon. Again, I really wish I could just delete it from my brain because I feel like it's tainted all the original books for me and I hate it for that. Screw you, Cursed Child. Just...screw you.
Agree Agree x 1 View List

Offline Kimmers

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 54
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #69 on: July 03, 2018, 06:56:59 pm »
I can't believe I didn't think to mention this earlier, and it's probably too late for most people anyway but- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Seriously, DO NOT READ THIS. If there was one book I could erase from my brain entirely, it would be this one. I love, love, love the Harry Potter books and this completely ruined everything about them. The characters that were back from the books were all terrible (not at all like themselves!), and lots of important characters I was curious about (like Luna and Neville) didn't make an appearance, although given how badly the other characters were botched, that might actually be a good thing. The plot was stupid and made absolutely no sense, the "twist" was ridiculous and actually kind of gross and everything about it was just bad, bad, bad. Frankly, I'm kind of appalled that J.K. Rowling signed off on it. The only thing I liked about it was the friendship between Harry's and Draco's sons. That was really sweet, but everything else was garbage and I refuse to consider any of it (except the aforementioned friendship) as canon. Again, I really wish I could just delete it from my brain because I feel like it's tainted all the original books for me and I hate it for that. Screw you, Cursed Child. Just...screw you.

This 100%.  I couldn't agree more!

Offline VorFemme

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 68
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #70 on: July 03, 2018, 09:31:23 pm »
Look at it as Severus Potter's nightmares and the only part of the dreams that came true is that he did make friends with Scorpius...it's not a good explanation of what happened, but it's better than accepting the rest of it as actual events in canon.

It's a kid's nightmares as he wonders what school is going to be like and it gets so weird that he doesn't exist at some point and there is this horrible person born of horrible parents who does horrible things...

The only other part I liked was adult Harry and adult Draco talking a bit...poor Draco, he got assigned other Death Eaters' kids as "friends" instead of getting to make them on his own.  Wonder what might have happened if he'd ignored "the rules" while he was at school?
Like Like x 1 View List

Offline MariaE

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 101
  • Location: Denmark
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #71 on: July 04, 2018, 12:52:04 am »
It reads like badly written fanfic, but I kinda liked it. I agree that I will never consider it canon though... but then, I don't consider the equally badly written epilogue canon either.

(On the other hand, there are some extremely well-written famfics out there that I do consider canon... so there, JKR!  ;D )
Like Like x 1 View List

Offline GloryAndCrumpets

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 296
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #72 on: July 04, 2018, 02:19:07 pm »
It reads like badly written fanfic, but I kinda liked it. I agree that I will never consider it canon though... but then, I don't consider the equally badly written epilogue canon either.

(On the other hand, there are some extremely well-written famfics out there that I do consider canon... so there, JKR!  ;D )

I didn't have a problem with the epilogue (I don't quite get all the hate around it, actually), but in my head canon, Luna and Neville end up together. Come on Rowling, NOBODY CARES ABOUT HANNAH ABBOTT!

Offline Lynn2000

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 624
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #73 on: July 04, 2018, 04:19:33 pm »
Do NOT read "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire.

No matter how much you like the musical- which I hear is much better, even though overrated.

The book was horrendous. I still have not gone to see the musical- though I listened to the soundtrack- simply because the book was that awful.

I didn't care for the book either. I've never seen the musical, but I like folktales and stories based on them (which I think The Wizard of Oz counts as), so I thought I would give it a try. Also someone gave me the book as a present as she really loved it. I couldn't finish it. It was just weird, in a very slow and opaque way, and I didn't really understand what was happening a lot of the time.

Personally I was okay with Twilight--I've read all the books and own all the movies. But, as an adult, I like inappropriate vampire stories. I could see how it would be disturbing to have an actual teenage girl read the books and think it should all be taken seriously. I really thought Bella was going to turn out to have a brain tumor or something, though, and that would explain her hallucinations, the voices she heard, her bizarre behavior, etc.. The final book just took it all over the top into enjoyable Crazytown. But again, I think you have to be reading it with a smirk.

I didn't care for A Series of Unfortunate Events. I couldn't finish the first book because to me, it was just... a bunch of horrible things happening to innocent kids. I mean that's exactly what it was billed as, but I just couldn't find that entertaining. Same with Redwall--I knew it was about a bunch of anthropomorphic animals who have battles, but then I started reading and it's like, "It's a bunch of animals getting hurt and killed! No!"

For a while The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen was popular--kind of Gossip Girl but in the 1890s Gilded Age New York. The books are beautiful and fat, with lush ballgown-clad girls on the cover. But all the characters were very self-centered, even the "good" ones, and I felt there was just so much distance from all of them, I couldn't connect with any. Then you had the good girl in a secret physical relationship with a servant, and she wasn't the least bit worried or angsty about that--it just kind of lost all credibility at that point for me. Like it was so unbelievable in the setting that I actually thought it was a setup for a dream sequence or something.

I have to put in a plug for Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl, etc.). I have read a lot of her books and have several more in my stack to read. They always follow the same pattern: partway through, I realize I hate all the characters, and wonder if I should keep reading. Then I remember I always have this reaction to her books, and I should just sit back and enjoy the characters getting their comeuppances.

I didn't care for the classics A Wizard of Earthsea or A Wrinkle in Time. To me they were both more talk than action, lots of vague philoso-babble, not much character development.

Offline whiterose

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 136
    • View Profile
Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #74 on: July 04, 2018, 04:43:51 pm »
I love A Wrinkle In Time.

I like A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Earthsea was all right.

The Luxe was a guilty pleasure read. Fun to read on an airplane. I mainly read them because they were recommended for people who liked Samantha Parkington (from American Girl). But I do not regret reading them.

Twilight
is overrated. But I do not regret listening to the audiobooks either.

Haven't gotten around to reading anything by Philippa Gregory. But a couple years ago, a customer asked for "historical romance". The first suggestion I gave her was Outlander- and she refused, saying that it was "more sci-fi than history or romance"!!!
I have pet mice!