Worst book you have ever read?
I was gonna post this in Rob's topic, but I figured a new topic would be better.
These are just my own opinions, I am not asking anyone to agree or disagree with them.
For me, it's a close tie between Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
Treasure Island, to me, I thought that parts of it were good, mostly near the beginning, then it began to get extremely dull. Even though it is quite a short novel, I found it fairly tough-going, simply because I would read a bit of it, become very bored and lose my motivation to continue for a couple of weeks.
Sunset Song is more of a mixed bag, we had to study it for English, I think it's written fairly well. The author does a great job of conveying his theme of inevitable change on many levels, personal, cultural, social etc, and the Aberdeenshire countryside is described beautifully. However, the book's actual content has several moments that make me think negatively on the book as a whole, for instance, near the beginning of the book, a Calvanist father essentially justifies forcing his wife to have sex with him because "God wills it", and another instance is where that same father wants to have sex with his daughter, "just like they did in olden times". Not to mention when the protagonists husband comes home from training to be a soldier, then rapes his wife.... There are a lot more moments such as those throughout the book, which cumulatively make me feel unpleasant after reading the book.
So, those are my least favorite books, please, share yours with us.
Thanks to SBIzokronus for the fantastic sig!
Every Twilight book. Never read them. Never need to. All those annoying girls forced me to sneer everytime I here "Edward" or "Jacob".
"Bless Me Ultima," what a waste of my time.
NINJA!
Every Twilight book. Never read them. Never need to. All those annoying girls forced me to sneer everytime I here "Edward" or "Jacob".
Despite never reading them, you have hit the nail on the head. I, for some unknown reason, read the first book which was poor at best. I then read the second to see if it improved only to be greeted by that moaning little vampire-wannabe harping on about how much she missed Edward. Nothing happened. At least the first one had events, however tedious they were, but the second book literally has no content. I've been informed that the third is "even better" but somehow I imagine it to be worse. Even if it is better that wouldn't be saying much. Truly, truly awful.
Also, I agree partly on treasure Island that it is very tough-going and requires interest and determination to "enjoy" (although surely enjoyment should be natural 
) As you said, it's quite good in parts but some bits, to me, seem not to fit in and are quite pointless. Definitely not the worst book I've read but not the best.
Catcher in the Rye. There's nothing deep about Holden and he doesn't have any real problems other than losing a brother. He just has an extremely negative view of life, doesn't appreciate anything anyone does for him, and doesn't let anybody love him. He's a brat, nothing more, nothing less.
I love how you mostly named books that are supposed to be "good", because what's the fun picking on obvious junk by Dan Brown or Michael Crichton?
I vicariously read Twilight through following a blog called "Mark Reads Twilight So You Don't Have To", at buzznet.com. The poor guy forced himself to read the entire thing, one chapter a day, then wrote about his opinion of it. He suffered horribly and we all grieved for him.
To be fair, Michael Crichton does actually have good works, and they often translate really well to film. I can't speak the same for Dan Brown.
Hrm. I don't remember actually reading Catcher in the Rye during school. I probably did, but... who knows.
I have some books from older history classes that were pretty dry, so those can count. Otherwise, I'd either say Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South or Ludlum's Bourne Ultimatum. Both were boring enough that I just stopped reading them.
It's ironic how Bourne Ultimatum isn't a very fun book, but in the movie version, it's kickass.
Especially when this comes on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98ngMkvxsAg
*snap*
INSTANT suspense!
Lol the top comment on that video:
"You can play this song while you're printing out porn pictures at the office for extra suspense and adrenaline."
It's true though.
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun!
*looks around, boss is whistling, walking down hallway*
"Gotta hurry!"
Treasure Island, to me, I thought that parts of it were good, mostly near the beginning, then it began to get extremely dull. Even though it is quite a short novel, I found it fairly tough-going, simply because I would read a bit of it, become very bored and lose my motivation to continue for a couple of weeks.
I agree partly on treasure Island that it is very tough-going
You guys are really down on Treasure Island! I read it for the first time last year and considered it a "middle of the pack" book. It didn't make my recommended list but it wasn't among the worst either. Parts of it were rather exciting.
So, those are my least favorite books, please, share yours with us.
The books I've read and finished over the last four years have all had some redeeming qualities. Among the worst was Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young. I like Neil Young and expected a full autobiography but it was mostly about what he was doing at the time he wrote the book. Some chapters read like an advertisement for his startup company "Pono".
There have been several audiobooks that I tried to listen to but quickly put down, usually because the language was difficult to comprehend at full speed (A Tale of Two Cities and A Clockwork Orange). I'm sure these would be good books to sit down and read at your own pace.
The only audiobooks I gave up on due to content are A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky. Again I admire both authors and agree with their points of view. Howard Zinn's book is all about the downtrodden in America - those who were slaughtered, enslaved, or otherwise abused. I just couldn't maintain a level of outrage chapter after chapter. Chomsky, on the other hand, makes a point and then beats it to death with studies and data to back it up. I'm going to try another of his books and see if it's any better.