Author Topic: DON'T READ THAT!!!  (Read 1516 times)

Offline Queen of the Night

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #15 on: May 24, 2018, 12:25:15 am »

The only book I rage-hate is "50 Shades of should never have been published". Not because it used to be fanfic (that's how many good books got started", but because it's just so bad and totally glorifies an abusive relationship. The only good thing about having read it, is that I got to write the snarkiest review I've ever written  8).

There are other books I hate, but none that actually make me furious got published like that one.

This!  OMG this.

And the BDSM isn't very accurate, either. 


Offline AngelicGamer

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #16 on: May 24, 2018, 01:01:52 am »
Ha! I'm the exact opposite with My Sister's Keeper! I wanted to throw the movie across the room for changing the ending!  ;D

I haven't read WGWG, but Looking for Alaska was rather good, I though. I liked it better than The Fault in Our Stars.

The only book I rage-hate is "50 Shades of should never have been published". Not because it used to be fanfic (that's how many good books got started", but because it's just so bad and totally glorifies an abusive relationship. The only good thing about having read it, is that I got to write the snarkiest review I've ever written  8).

There are other books I hate, but none that actually make me furious got published like that one.

The movie felt more in line with the rest of the plot than the book did. The book gave me a big sense of deus ex machina with that ending with how she chose to end it. Just...gyah. I was holding my breath when they got to that scene because I take everything that's spoilers about movies with a huge grain of salt. I was glad those spoilers were right.

Completely agree about 50 Shades. I read a few chapters and went "nope!" as it wasn't holding my interest at all. It's sad because I really like fanfic becoming actual books of their own when it's not authors who have either plagiarized or have strongly suspected lying to get laptops and money like Cassandra Clare. She did both and she's another I would not even read it if it was the last thing on Earth to read. This explains it a lot better than I ever could: https://medium.com/@puentera/the-cassie-clare-issue-ed2a9d9f2e31



Offline AliciaLynette

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #17 on: May 24, 2018, 03:57:07 am »
I haven't ever touched 50 Shades of Shite, because I could see from the way it was trailered that it was going to be awful!

I used to belong to a book club and one of the books was We have to talk about Kevin. I managed to read a couple of chapters, but it was such laboured writing that didn't seem to go anywhere that I had to stop. It could have been a good book about the difficulties of dealing with an autistic (I think) child, but it just wasn't.

I did try reading Twilight, that's the only book I've ever actually thrown across the room! Mum wasn't impressed, since I narrowly missed hitting her with it, but she managed to read less of it than I did, and I didn't finish the first chapter! Another in that vein was the first Game of Thrones book, it sounded like it might be interesting, even with the constant deaths, but no.

I actually quite like the Dick/Felix Francis books, true they're not a patch on Dick & Mary's ones, but as stand-alone books they're not bad.

ETA: corrected Dick Francis' son's name, I thought I knew it, then reached for a book which happened to be one of theirs and realised I had it wrong!
« Last Edit: May 24, 2018, 11:47:59 am by AliciaLynette »

Offline Athersgeo

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #18 on: May 24, 2018, 07:17:21 am »
This may get me in trouble, but Great Expectations.

It was one of my set texts for GCSE English Literature lo these many years ago now and while I've managed to rehabilitate Romeo and Juliet (largely thanks to Prokofiev), Great Expectations still raises mental hives.

It's so dull. And plotless. And the characters are all utterly unlikable. And when you can cut out great chunks of a novel without losing a single thing of merit, the book as too. damn. much. padding. (Dickens is reputed to have been paid by the word. Great Expectations is excellent support for that argument!)

I mean, as a piece of social history it has some merit to it, for sure, but as a novel?


Offline Free Range Hippy Chick

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #19 on: May 24, 2018, 07:31:46 am »
Oh, I think we can take all school set books as a given. I do not, cannot, will not read anything by Evelyn Waugh, ever. Ever. (And I hear you about Dickens. I can read Trollope, but not Dickens.)
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Offline Poesie

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #20 on: May 24, 2018, 08:55:59 am »
Can’t bear to read any Dickens. Couldn’t get through Great Expectations and think that did me in for the rest.

Also not anything by George Elliot. Read a whole heap of her stuff as part of an extension reading programme in high school, based on my English teacher’s recommendation.

And not Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury.

There were a few things i read for book club that made me stop wanting to go. One was Heaven is for Real. May be fine if you’re more religious than I am. For me, so much nope.






Offline Hotblack Desiato

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #21 on: May 24, 2018, 09:31:13 am »
War and Peace. I have tried so many times to read this, but have so much trouble with all the different names for the same people I give up every time.
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Offline MrTango

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #22 on: May 24, 2018, 10:20:08 am »
LadyTango tried to read "50 Shades..." but couldn't get through the first couple chapters because the writing was so terrible.

Of all the books that I've been forced to read while in school, the ones I hated the most
"Snow Falling on Cedars"
"The Grapes of Wrath" & "The Pearl" (though a couple of Steinbeck's other novels were not bad)
The first half of "A Tale of Two Cities" was terrible, but when Dickens finally got the story to France, it was at least tolerable.

Offline Kiwi Cupcake

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #23 on: May 24, 2018, 10:22:25 am »
Also, unless you can stand annoying male teenagers, pass on Will Grayson, Will Grayson too. I had to DNF it after four chapters. I didn't care if the main characters of the same name but different backgrounds were going to be okay or whatever. If one of them had stopped either whining or focusing on people's size and gayness, I would have stuck it out. Neither did. I am going to try Looking for Alaska and hope it's a fluke on John Green but we'll see. I don't know what to try of David Levithan to see if that was a fluke too but we'll see.

My first book of David Levithan's was Boy Meets Boy and I thought it was really cute and fun. I read it years ago so I may need to reread to see if I still feel the same.

I have Will Grayson in my stack to read and I'm sorry to see the bad review. I'll probably still read it anyway.

Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #24 on: May 24, 2018, 12:02:38 pm »
I'm sure people will shoot me, but dear lord did I hate Outlander.  I don't understand how people enjoy it.

First, I hated the main character.  Second, I was originally so excited to see how this woman would adapt to suddenly finding herself in the past.  But she pretty much just seamlessly adjusts.  Like imagine going back in time, just the smells alone should take some adjusting.  But nope.  And she accepts incredibly quickly that she just time-traveled.  Like she doesn't periodically express much wonder or excitement or awe that this crazy miraculous thing has happened.  Nope.  It's like someone told her that her doctor's appointment got moved from Tuesday to Thursday.

Then of course, there's the ****.  And while yes, I know that **** is an issue in that time, and an issue in romance novels, but **** was the constant plot progression.  Need to move the story along?  Let's try to **** someone.  Okay, let's do that again.  Now again.  Okay let's try to **** someone else.

I loved the idea of this time traveling romance, but it had none of the interesting elements of that kind of story.  Just lots and lots of **** and a main character I wanted to punch in the face.
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens
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Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #25 on: May 24, 2018, 12:08:54 pm »
Also, unless you can stand annoying male teenagers, pass on Will Grayson, Will Grayson too. I had to DNF it after four chapters. I didn't care if the main characters of the same name but different backgrounds were going to be okay or whatever. If one of them had stopped either whining or focusing on people's size and gayness, I would have stuck it out. Neither did. I am going to try Looking for Alaska and hope it's a fluke on John Green but we'll see. I don't know what to try of David Levithan to see if that was a fluke too but we'll see.

David Levithan was my professor and I met John Green way back when we "Looking for Alaska" used to be called the blowjob book. ;) So I've got a lot of familiarity with their books and their writing.

I'd recommend "Every Day"by David Levithan.  It's really plays with the idea of what love means to identity and I think it's so beautiful.  As for John Green, I feel like he keeps writing the same two characters over and over.  The too smart bookish guy and the unattainable, mysterious intriguing girl he's interested in.  I actually really preferred "The Fault in Our Stars" to "Looking for Alaska". I even preferred an "Abundance of Catherines" to "Looking for Alaska".  I felt like the latter isn't quite as deep as it's trying to be.
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens

Offline gorplady

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #26 on: May 24, 2018, 12:25:09 pm »
I'm sure people will shoot me, but dear lord did I hate Outlander.  I don't understand how people enjoy it.

First, I hated the main character.  Second, I was originally so excited to see how this woman would adapt to suddenly finding herself in the past.  But she pretty much just seamlessly adjusts.  Like imagine going back in time, just the smells alone should take some adjusting.  But nope.  And she accepts incredibly quickly that she just time-traveled.  Like she doesn't periodically express much wonder or excitement or awe that this crazy miraculous thing has happened.  Nope.  It's like someone told her that her doctor's appointment got moved from Tuesday to Thursday.

Then of course, there's the ****.  And while yes, I know that **** is an issue in that time, and an issue in romance novels, but **** was the constant plot progression.  Need to move the story along?  Let's try to **** someone.  Okay, let's do that again.  Now again.  Okay let's try to **** someone else.

I loved the idea of this time traveling romance, but it had none of the interesting elements of that kind of story.  Just lots and lots of **** and a main character I wanted to punch in the face.

I feel like she *did* express a lot of awe and clearly stuck out like a sore thumb, but quickly realised that in the time period she was in (remember, her husband was a historian) that she'd be killed as a witch if she *didn't* adapt quickly.

I don't remember there being a ton of **** in the first book, other than Jamie's. There's certainly threats of it, but not actuality.  (And I'm just rereading the whole series now in anticipation of the next book...)

Offline Random Heroine

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #27 on: May 24, 2018, 12:33:13 pm »
I'm sure people will shoot me, but dear lord did I hate Outlander.  I don't understand how people enjoy it.

First, I hated the main character.  Second, I was originally so excited to see how this woman would adapt to suddenly finding herself in the past.  But she pretty much just seamlessly adjusts.  Like imagine going back in time, just the smells alone should take some adjusting.  But nope.  And she accepts incredibly quickly that she just time-traveled.  Like she doesn't periodically express much wonder or excitement or awe that this crazy miraculous thing has happened.  Nope.  It's like someone told her that her doctor's appointment got moved from Tuesday to Thursday.

Then of course, there's the ****.  And while yes, I know that **** is an issue in that time, and an issue in romance novels, but **** was the constant plot progression.  Need to move the story along?  Let's try to **** someone.  Okay, let's do that again.  Now again.  Okay let's try to **** someone else.

I loved the idea of this time traveling romance, but it had none of the interesting elements of that kind of story.  Just lots and lots of **** and a main character I wanted to punch in the face.

I feel like she *did* express a lot of awe and clearly stuck out like a sore thumb, but quickly realised that in the time period she was in (remember, her husband was a historian) that she'd be killed as a witch if she *didn't* adapt quickly.

I don't remember there being a ton of **** in the first book, other than Jamie's. There's certainly threats of it, but not actuality.  (And I'm just rereading the whole series now in anticipation of the next book...)

There was constant *almost* raping.  I felt like there was very little plot at all beyond that.  I don't remember much awe coming for her at all.  It was like a couple sentences at the beginning and then just nothing.   And I don't mean adapting in her behavior as much as in her thoughts.  It didn't feel realistic to me and overall I found her character unlikeable.
"Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain, of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day." - Charles Dickens

Offline AngelicGamer

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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #28 on: May 24, 2018, 01:09:32 pm »
Thank you Kiwi Cupcake and Random Heroine for your recs on David Levithan! I really was at a lost of what to try to read of his - I always try to give authors at least a 2 book try before I give up on them - and I just didn't know of him. I know of John Green, as I have a friend that's a John Green fangirl and would gush about all his books, and she's been the one pushing me to read Looking for Alaska. I think, for him, I'm going to try either Abundance of Catherines or Fault in Our Stars before Looking for Alaska. Maybe both! :D



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Re: DON'T READ THAT!!!
« Reply #29 on: May 24, 2018, 01:13:31 pm »
....

There were a few things i read for book club that made me stop wanting to go. One was Heaven is for Real. May be fine if you’re more religious than I am. For me, so much nope.

I am really quite religious, and I wouldn't touch that book with a 10-foot pole, just based on what I've heard.

I think using God as an excuse for sucky writing comes perilously close to "taking His Name in vain."
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