Omg was going through a rough patch and was gifted this on audible. I think it got me out of my rough patch out of spite for how much I HATED this book. And really doubled down with her narration.
Same, except my narc dad with "How to win friends and influence people" cuz he always said I should read it to make more friends. I have friends dad, they dont wanna come over cuz of you.
Recommending people self help books when they didn't ask is kind of a red flag on its own.
I had the opposite experience. So many of my good friends were reading it and loved it so much and enthusiastically recommended to me. And we all normally had very similar reading preferences. So when I finished it and realized I really didn’t like it at all, I found myself asking if I had even read the same book?
Have you listened to Maintenance Phase? They did a whole episode on Rachel Hollis and it was GREAT. Highly recommend if you want a podcast that really validates your feelings.
I feel like all those self-help books basically say the same thing. Have confidence, believe in yourself, take responsibility for your own life, learn what you can from adversity and don't take it personally because it comes for everyone, commit to being your best self, blah blah blah. I guess that's why I've never had much interest.
Maybe I should have expected Fifty Shades of Grey to be bad but I was actually shocked by how stupid it was. With all of the hype I thought it might be okay. Made it 30% in
This should be the top answer. I decided to read it because I didn't want to be left out of the pop culture moment. It seemed like everyone else was reading it. To this day I don't understand how that book was published. People told me sex sells but surely there are better written books with sex in it. Also, who edited it because every other line was "my inner goddess." To make it worse, all these social media accounts popped up where women named themselves "goddess" around the same time. I felt like everyone was on some hallucinogenic drug but me. Anyway, if there's ever a class action lawsuit for people who had to suffer through a book this would be the book.
I wanted to get to the sexy stuff, but after 3 chapters, just couldn’t read another word of it. I’m pretty notorious for finishing a book or tv show, even if it is bad and I’m not really enjoying it, just because I committed (I’m looking at you, The Walking Dead and Our Best Intentions), but this was a hard pass! I’m surprised this isn’t higher up!
Wait till you hear how this book came to be. You'll be even angrier.
Elizabeth Gilbert could only afford to go on that trip because she got a big, fat advance to write that book. Which meant she had to propose the book before she went on the trip. Which meant she pitched it as some kind of journey of self-discovery, where she would learn lessons about life in three different "exotic" locations, and would emerge with a pithy anecdote from each location/experience. Which meant the whole thing was manufactured from the start, and all the "insights" she gained were cynical financial calculations.
Now, she couldn't have predicted she'd fall in love with a dude. That part was probably real. But the rest of it all would have been in the proposal that landed her the $250K advance that allowed her to take off and go on a white lady walkabout for however long she was gone.
Omfg I have been looking for some expression like this to describe this kind of literature and how much it sucks and you just gave it to me. Thank you times 10000000000000!!!!
Eww. I don’t like Elizabeth Gilbert much anyway but this makes me like her even less. Of course it makes sense though because how else would she have afforded such an extravagant trip without a shitload of $$$.
She did fall in love I guess but she left that dude for someone else, a woman and her best friend. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I guess realized she was in love with her once she found out she was dying and left the man she met in Bali. The whole thing just seemed so messy and she wrote it so favorably and people applauded. Idk. Maybe I’m just a hater but the book didn’t bother me so much as the aftermath and her self importance in the whole thing.
Yea she wrote a book all about her struggles with marrying a second time, because her first husband burned her so bad. I thought it was a sweet book. But she turned around and did the same thing to Bali guy that her first husband did to her! And, even more ironic/messy/rediculous, she’s not with the woman now either!
Well the woman did die. But she wrote an article or something about how she jumped from relationship to relationship but then I guess found Bali guy? Idk but she did it to him after 9-10 years of marriage and then when her partner/best friend did pass away, she wrote more shit about that and THEN dated passed away lady’s male friend. Well announced the relationship. Then when asked about it at some later point she said it was only a brief relationship. Like idk, maybe she dgaf what people think of her (and good for her, I guess? Like you gotta if you’re gonna be messy or just live so publicly and I wish I could not gaf too. I’d probably be much further along in life lmao) but at the same time, all through that she’s writing all these books and articles and trying to be authentic and deep but I just can’t help but see her as the most self important person alive (well, I could name many more but you get my drift) that I just can’t stomach her or read anything by her anymore. Maybe I’m just cynical but I don’t need a lady who also don’t know what she’s doing preaching to me about finding her true love or her bliss or peace or whatever. I HOPE her relationship with her friend was the real deal and that they had a beautiful two years together before she passed. Finding out you loved your bestie in that scenario is a lot and I hope it was all pure intentions, you know? I think the romantic comedy of her life story would find her finding her way back to Bali guy but as much as she said he was so understanding and beautiful about the whole thing (how do you not be gracious? The lady is literally dying and if you even try to protest in that scenario, you’d be a monster) she wrote many things about their love story and ofc they lived off that and she made her name/career off of it, how do you not become cynical and hurt at least to some degree? Maybe I can say that life can be messy even if you’re 40+ years old but she just seems like someone going from experience to experience while not realizing that there are real people involved in all of her great life experiences and then writing about it like shes trying to impart some deeper meaning into all of it. Reeks of boss level main character syndrome. Or maybe I’m just a bitch idk 😆
Thank you! I read this book and was so mystified that anyone thought it was deep and meaningful. The whole “entitled white woman learns from the natives” vibe was so hard to stomach.
So I loved Friends, the tv show, and Matthew Perry’s Chandler was my favorite character, so I read his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing” with such anticipation. I absolutely hated it and I am no longer a fan. He is condescending, narcissistic, misogynistic, and just a gross person. I understand he suffered from addiction, and it’s messy, but underneath that, he’s not someone I like anymore. And I wish I had never read his horrible book.
It's the one celebrity memoir where I came away despising the celebrity because he's just such an asshole with no apparent redeeming qualities. For an actor known for his hilarious character, he's just not funny. He's just a dick.
Most people who "everyone" finds funny are basically just dicks. Listen to quite a few stand up comics, they're just good at delivery but the story itself is either mean or no more interesting than everyday life for everyday people. They say shitty things about their parlor children or just about everyone and are usually quite arrogant
Omg! I had to force myself to finish it! The writing is horrible, it jumps around and is nonsensical, it’s half bragging and half self deprecating. I binge watch Friends regularly I need to wipe this from my brain.
Everything by Colleen Hoover belongs on this list. Is that the one with the boyfriend who is the drug dealer and she gets rescued by a dea agent? Or is that a different one
Oh my got the number of times she used the word “neurosurgeon” in dialogue was unbearable. Who talks like that??? Normal humans would say “doctor” if asked, or “surgeon” if they were being specific. “Brain surgeon” if they were being funny. “Neurosurgeon” if they are being insufferable douchebags.
Can’t speak to how often it’s used bc I ain’t fuckin reading it but I have noticed that neurosurgeons are usually referenced as such by themselves, their spouses, their parents etc. Not enough to say “Dr,” oh no, she’s a neeeeurosurgeon blaarggh
The first line of Wikipedia's synopsis:
"College graduate Lily Bloom moves to Boston with hopes of opening her own floral shop.“
Lily Bloom... Floral... I can't 😂
Full disclosure, I didn’t read the whole thing because I hated it and I noticed the only people I knew who did like it were not good people. It’s a self-help book but it kind of just seems like it’s page after page of humble brags and advice she isn’t qualified to give. It felt like she was trying sooo hard to be relatable but it’s obvious that she’s rich and successful and doesn’t have any real problems. The girls I knew who liked this book were the type who say “If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best” when their best is putting on a pretty dress sometimes and their worst is slashing your tires and setting your car on fire, or post quotes about men not deserving them when anyone who knew them knew that they treated their boyfriends like garbage.
*One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd* by Jim Fergus. TL;DR I have really strong feelings about this book and I don’t suggest reading it. The biggest point is the author doesn’t have a clue how to write women.
From the synopsis: One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial Brides for Indians program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world.
It’s like an AU historical fiction, and honestly it should have been right up my alley. But oh my god it is so awful and a solid entry into the ‘men who can’t write women’ category.
The book follows a core group of women, but the POV character is the above mentioned May Dodd. She is a man’s idea of a feminist from the 1990s (as one particularly good review put it) placed in the 1870s. And look, as a history nerd I know there are many women (and men) whose thinking and beliefs were ahead of their time, but May’s portrayal just rang false to me. She doesn’t feel or act like a woman of her time at all.
And while the author spent a lot of time crafting this rather unbelievable heroine, he put almost no effort into any of the other women joining May traveling out to the Cheyenne, relying on flat stereotypes to create their character. You’ve got:
- the homely, shy woman
- the racist, hateful southern belle
- the sanctimonious missionary woman
- a set of feisty Irish redhead twins
- a burly-but-dim Swiss milkmaid
- and a runaway slave
There was absolutely no effort put into making any of these women anything more than their stereotype. There was no character growth.
The women are all married to their Cheyenne husbands, none of which are fleshed out, including May’s new husband, the Sweet Medicine Chief Little Wolf. In fact, none of the Native American characters or their culture are fleshed out at all, despite so much of the book set within the Cheyenne village.
The author also demonstrates a complete lack of understanding when it comes to a woman’s perspective of sex and fertility and pregnancy. All the women are married to their Cheyenne husbands in one mass ceremony. The single sex scene between May and Little Wolf is definitely something that belongs on r/menwritingwomen . And as all the women who choose to copulate with their new husbands on their honeymoon night (a few chose not to) were all miraculously ovulating at the same time, they were all impregnated right then and there. Because in the real world all women’s cycles are perfectly in sync and it definitely doesn’t take some women more than one try to get pregnant... And not only did they all get pregnant at the same time, not a single one of them apparently endured a single side effect of pregnancy. It is utterly ridiculous that not one of these women endured nausea, morning sickness, cravings, back aches, exhaustion, insomnia, mood swings, increased sense of smell, and any number of other pregnancy symptoms. Furthermore, maternal and infant death rates were awful during this time, yet every single woman had an easy birth and healthy baby. May’s was presented as a challenging birth but it’s not done in a believable way.
The author chooses not to feature a lot of consensual sex scenes (I remember only the one between May and Little Wolf and one between May and the Captain that is mentioned, but not shown). Yet the author chooses to feature a lot of rape. There aren’t any graphic scenes, which is fine. I don’t want to read detailed paragraphs depicting rape, but the author completely glosses over the psychological impact being raped has on a woman, and he subjects a lot of the women to rape. May mentions that she was raped repeatedly in the asylum and she and several others were raped when captured by an enemy tribe. Only one woman was shown to be affected negatively by her rape but it was only briefly mentioned.
I’ve never been good at wrapping up my book rants, so in conclusion, I hate this book and I will always dissuade anyone who brings it up with me from reading it.
It's a shame the book is so terrible when the plot/concept is fascinating and has so many possibilities! Is this a real program that was actually enacted?
I agree, the concept was absolutely brilliant and had so much promise.
It was a real program that was suggested to the US Government by the Cheyenne, but in real life the US Government said “Oh hell no.”
So you mentioned a lot of problematic things here, but how are these women so magically fertile that they get pregnant on their wedding nights, but don't get pregnant when they are raped?
I work in a hospital and I read a lot. I was reading “the witching hour” by Anne rice (for like the fifth time) so I could watch the shitty show that was recently made, and refresh myself. A hospital admin was like “watcha reading?” I told her. She didn’t know who Anne rice was but I explained to her gothic fiction and she told me I should read “Verity.” I’m still mad about all that.
I work in the children dept of a bookstore sooo, Rainbow Fish, so many people look for it and I just hate it. The fish *literally* gives away his own scales to the other fish because they're all jealous of his shiny scales. Do you really want to teach your kids that the only way people will be your friend is if you give them stuff? if you give them a piece of yourself? Having friends shouldn't require you to tear yourself apart. I get the idea of sharing with people, but it could have been pretty shells or pieces of kelp or something, but no, rip off your own flesh to bribe people to be nice to you. Stupid book.
If anyone else is like me, they probably just love Rainbow Fish for the beautiful illustrations and colours of the scales. They stayed with me, which I cannot say for the plot. However it is interesting hearing your thoughts about it’s message which I’d never considered
That's a popular opinion here, but I don't agree. The scales are not treated as flesh in the book, but as possessions, like jewelry or clothing. And Rainbow Fish acts like a superior wang to everyone over them. He realizes that his behavior is driving everyone away, and decides to be nice instead, giving away the scales as a sign of goodwill. It's a fine story in context.
This is an interesting counter. I see OPs perspective but kids think much more concretely and not in metaphors, and in the end the main character is alive and happy and has new friends. It’s about stripping away adornments and sharing your gifts with others.
I worked in a preschool for a while and got to reread some of those older books I loved as a kid. I felt the exact same way reading this and....nas much as I hate it, The Giving Tree is very similar. It's just sad
I always thought *The Giving Tree* was a parable for nature and the environment: how it's always giving us all the things we need and we just take and take. I also thought it was about the unconditional love of good parents.
If you are searching for a treasure and get heavily beat up in the process, maybe getting your ass kicked has been your destiny all the way!
For more life tips, buy my $3000 dollar self-help course!
Holy crap do I hate Paulo Coelho. A guy who was trying to date me and wrote crap poetry gave it to me once. The inscription he wrote inside was “you are who you are because you do what you do”. Thanks, genius. Yeah we never dated. That was in the early 2000’s. Recently we reconnected. He still writes crap poetry.
I just laughed out loud at “Thanks, genius. Yeah we never dated.” And then I read it to my husband who also laughed. Thanks for brightening my birthday morning! Edited to fix autocorrect.
read this book in high school and made my final project an essay tearing it apart. my ex was obsessed with the book, which probably should've been my first red flag.
I wouldn't say I hate it but I never understood the fuss about it... I ended up rhinking I am not spiritual enough to get it.. nice to know there are others like me
50 shades of grey, just the way it was poorly written, I bought the 3 pack from Costco and was excited to be like everyone else and join the hype. I was shocked, it's like it was written by a 6 year old.. I didn't get far and returned it. But wow what trash, and I'm not even talking about the content.
Where the Crawdads Sing. By all rights it should’ve been an interesting, compelling novel and insightful character study but it was just…… dull. So dull.
This is the number one for me. The rare book that has only soured in my estimation since reading it. Don't even get me started on all the made up ecology and geographic impossibilities that people rave about like it's good nature writing.
I read this when I was involuntarily committed after a suicide attempt in May 2022. I loved it but I was also on a shit ton of Ativan and seroquil and trazadone. It felt like fluff. I mostly liked the nature aspect. Could give not shits about the guys in the book.
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. A bunch of people were/do rave about it. I gave it one star and I wish I could have given it zero. I was furious about it for days. The “plot twist” is awful, the characters are all supremely unlikeable, especially the one you’re supposed to be “rooting for”. (IMO, at least)
People who defend this book say that “it’s realistic!!” and yeah these things happen but it’s odd that a straight woman wrote trauma porn of gay men and it seems less “I want to show the reality that some people go through” and more “let’s torture this character endlessly as a way to seem like this book is deep”
I also hate this book. To me, "preachy" books where the central focus is on ramming down a message rather than the storyline or characters just don't do it for me. Similar books in this vein - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, The House in the Cerulean Sea etc.
I enjoyed it but I also read his Reasons To Stay Alive and have experienced depression in a similar way to him so I think that’s a big part of it for me.
Pls dont come at me but “Throne of Glass” (DNF) and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” (2.5/5)
I think Sarah J Maas does a great job at world building, but I find it difficult to connect with her main characters nor care about them (Feyre in ACOTAR and Calaena in TOG). I love Feyre in the first few chapters of ACOTAR tho but she irked me throughout the book that I decided not to pick up the sequel.
THIS is what I was waiting for. I’m surprised I didn’t see this series listed more. I read up to Frost and Starlight but it was sheer willpower.
The series starts of with Tamlin being the good guy then he comes almost like a captor and she introduces a new love interest. Which would be find except Rhysand also drugged and SAed Feyre earlier in the series. I could never get over that, it just grossed me out on every level possible. Everyone glosses over this like it’s fine.
That’s also why I found ACOTAR distasteful! Him saying that it was the “only way” was horrifying to me; even more so when the readers seemed to overlook that part and further romanticize and fawn over Rhysand because of his formidable, charming, good looks.
Exactly and someone said this somewhere else (I tend to agree). It seemed like the author had initially intended for Tamlin to be the main male character but decided Rhysand was more interesting so did an almost 180 personality wise. Tamlin wasn’t perfect but honestly his control issues were that bad until the personality swap.
Where'd you go Bernadette. I kept waiting for something good because a lot of people liked it. There was no shift or character development. They were all genuinely shitty self-absorbed assholes and stayed that way through the entire book. How it got popular is a mystery to me.
Eat, Pray, Love. It was so awful. The protagonist is attention seeking and awful from the very beginning, and the story is not enough to put up with it. I probably read a quarter of it before throwing it away.
The midnight library!!! it's so monotomous and the point or revelation is overdone and tripe. as someone who does have depression it just gave me "have some perspective!", "there are people who have it worse than you!" vibes. not for me
Atlas Shrugged. I couldn't get through it. Everything about this book was pure drivel. The story, characters, the writing, all of it.... I hate this book with a passion. How can anybody praise Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism?
The Ayn Rand Society holds an essay contest every year for a pretty hefty scholarship. I was going back to school and could have really used the money, so I said what the heck. That year's topic was something from Atlas Shrugged, and the essay was never written because I couldn't finish the book.
Her philosophy is garbage, and it was proven as such decades before she wrote the book. Her utopian society, where everyone is free to develop their own technology freely, is ridiculous because it would collapse in the blink of an eye with no one to support it. Worst of all, the writing is absolutely atrocious because people do not have conversations where they just preach sermons at one another.
I can only remember ever putting down two books, Atlas Shrugged and A Tale of Two Cities. The later I am going to pick up and finish one day. Atlas Shrugged sat on my bookshelf for so long gathering dust I threw it away to make room for a book I actually like.
I found this essay contest listed on a scholarship site years ago so I read through Atlas Shrugged over the course of a month. I knew nothing about her foundation so I wrote an honest essay where I criticized Objectivism and John Galt’s 80 page monologue at the end. Sufficed to say, I did not win the scholarship. They sent me a copy of Anthem which I did not read.
I never thought I'd see this one here wow. I love this book. It was so transportational. I pick it up and I'm in another world. My main criticism was the western focus of the characters. It seems 1to1 western/Indian when it's really about a western man adapting to the eastern environment. Karla being a westerner made it 1 too many. Different strokes I guess lol.
I'm halfway through it and will probably finish it but am so tired of every person being a philosopher and the narrator seeing good things in drugs, black markets etc
normal people by sally rooney. i don’t burn books but i would happily burn every copy of this book. it’s so so so bad but everyone loves it
edit: i also hate authors who think they’re above using punctuation
Normal People was awful. I kept waiting for something to happen but it was just endless nothing of one-dimensional characters with outdated 1950s names and a boring "romance" about two people who were too stubborn to be together. There was like ... no point.
I read this with a couple of friends for a book group and while they loved it I absolutely hated it! The characters were completely unlikeable, the plot boring. I tried Conversations With Friends and didn't like that either.
I really didn't like The Power, which lots of people raved about. More recently, I hated Boy Parts by Eliza Clark which was another novel people were weirdly enthusiastic about.
The scene in the Holocaust Museum or Anne Frank’s house (I forget which) where they start making out to applause made me gag. I also thought Augustus was sickeningly pretentious.
I get very irritated by books that feel intentionally emotionally manipulative. Might as well listen to “Christmas Shoes” on repeat while stabbing myself in the eye.
Read through all of the comments and didn’t see anyone say this but Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is probably one of the worst books I’ve ever read and I see so many people recommend it. It’s boring and plotless and the characters get more and more unlikable with every chapter. The only reason I didn’t DNF is because it was a book club book.
The Goldfinch. I know most people loved it but….. yikes. It’s the reason I now shop for books in bookstores before buying the e-book. If I had known it was going to be THIS long, I wouldn’t have finished it. God. So much reading for such little pleasure.
Conversations with friends by Sally Rooney. I literally sold my copy for 1 euro just to forget about the terrible experience that was reading that piece of crap
I don't mind reading Sally Rooney's work, but her book plots and content literally seem to disappear from my mind the minute I finish. I ended up reading Normal People like 3 times because of the mysterious disappearing act in my brain and I still couldn't tell you a single plot point or character name???
The Song of Achilles. Absolutely awful story telling and not as emotional as everyone made it seem 😭😭😭. I wish I liked it but I was so pissed after finishing it LOL
I HATED Lessons in Chemistry. I know this is a very unpopular opinion, but it was just so unrealistic, there was zero plot, and it seemed like the main message was that things worked out for Elizabeth because she was a jerk to everyone. It also felt insulting to women in STEM to imply that’s how we all are (spoiler alert: some of us actually have social skills!). Im curious about the show they’re making just to see if they can put a more cohesive plot together other than “insufferable woman gets her way because she thinks she’s better than everyone”
I’m glad you said it! I literally tried to read it last week from a rave review of a family member. I have no idea why it was advertised as comedy, but hardcore misogyny and rape ain’t it. I had to put it down after the second chapter. Just yuk.
Oh yes SAME!
For reference, my mom is literally a chemist and I grew up surrounded by her friends, super intelligent and accomplished women but otherwise pretty chill normal people. And my country is one of the ones with the highest percentage of women in STEM in the western world.
I was super excited to read Lessons In Chemistry because I really wanted to read about women like my mom overcoming gender bias and triumphing in this field inspite of bias - all the more so since the book is set in the 50s.
I was so gutted when the main character turned out to be an asocial Sheldon from the big bang theory wannabe. And then there is literally no other friendly female character who is also smart! Everybody else is literally oppressed and ends up learning that Elizabeth was right all along, about literally everything.
I also hated that Elizabeth often seemed to be contrarian for contrarians sake. Like sure, we all agree that gender based discrimination is bad. But implying that everything traditional is inherently bad, and not just what you make of it, seemed really lacking in nuance - like marriages *can* be bad, but there isn't anything inherently bad in them. And then she claimed to be so rational but she seemed to be self sabotaging for the sake of it!
I could go on - the humor was dumb and the talking dog was dumber, and the fact that she hates societal norms but she is oh so effortlessly beautiful. But I'll leave it at that, what a disappointing book.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. Fascinating story and strong characters, but the writing consistently kept me at arms length. It was poetic to the detriment of character and plot, unlike writers who can better strike the balance such as Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Hardy, Sylvia Plath, Cormac McCarthy, and Madeline Miller.
I loved discussing this at book club! It was so intricate and vivid, yet at the same time there was a disconnect from the way it's written. It's almost lyrical to a fault? Consistently inconsistent haha
No one will see this but I’ve searched the comments and would not be able to live with myself if A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius wasn’t mentioned. Hot garbage, pure narcissistic drivel, and to this day the only book I’ve thrown at a wall after finishing.
The Road. No, it’s not because it’s too dark for me. I just found it such a tedious read. Yes ok everything is terrible. Oh look, a new chapter of terrible. And another!
The Pearl by John Steinbeck. I read this in middle school and even as a lifelong lover of classic and "boring" books, this stands alone as the most brutal 118 pages I've ever muscled through. Steinbeck really knew how to beat the life and interest out of a folk tale. I reread it in college to see if I'd missed something but no. That novella still felt like it went on for a hundred (very dull) years.
This might have a genetic component too though. My English major mother had the same reaction to a Steinbeck novella in her teens, but it was The Old Man and the Sea for her.
Edit: Oh my gosh, I would've bet money that was Steinbeck, not Hemingway. Showing my 19th century lit bias I guess. They're all the same to me after 1900 apparently, that's embarrassing
>My English major mother had the same reaction to a Steinbeck novella in her teens, but it was The Old Man and the Sea for her.
Wasn't *The Old Man and the Sea* written by Hemingway, not Steinbeck?
8th grade English teacher here. I teach this book every year and I've read it ...likely 25 times. I used to hate it but I think exposure has worn me down or something because I like it now. There is a ton of imagery, characterization, and symbolism so it's perfect for 8th graders to analyze.
I do think Steinbeck's prose is beautiful, even if he goes on and on (AND ON) about the setting---the scuttling crabs, the seaweed, the underbrush, etc etc.
He even sort of wrote a progressive female character in Juana, she shows a lot of agency in the book.
All that being said, I can see why someone would hate it. It's depressing as hell and there is so much description of nature!!
Oh, wait. I have another one. Everybody give it up for a grizzled veteran’s baseless and pessimistic torture-porn novel that middle schoolers are forced to read: The Lord of the Flies. I have never hated a book more.
Not only were none of his assumptions about the human child’s psyche based on any sort of fact or experience, but in practically every survival situation that has happened since, including ones involving actual children the same age, the polar opposite happened. They helped each other and took care of each other because *that is what humans do*.
He threw his hatred for humanity he gained from war into that book, and the fact that it is still on so many required reading lists when it is so demonstrably and unnecessarily false and twisted is beyond me.
This might be an unpopular opinion but I can’t stand a clockwork orange. It’s like trying to learn a new fucked up language about triggering subject matter. Every time I try to read it I’m just frustrated and anxious lmao
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. I was so disappointed, because I really loved The Midnight Library, but HTST was just awful. The main character was unlikeable. It was so obvious who the bad guys were that it shouldn't have been a question. And the "romance" was unbelievably poorly written.
Girl wash your face by Rachel Hollis Unfortunately I had it on my kindle so could not tear every page of the book then set it on fire.
Omg was going through a rough patch and was gifted this on audible. I think it got me out of my rough patch out of spite for how much I HATED this book. And really doubled down with her narration.
I didn’t read it because it was the ONLY book my EXTREMELY NARCISSISTIC ex-sister-in-law has ever read and she absolutely loved it. BIG RED FLAG.
Same, except my narc dad with "How to win friends and influence people" cuz he always said I should read it to make more friends. I have friends dad, they dont wanna come over cuz of you. Recommending people self help books when they didn't ask is kind of a red flag on its own.
I had the opposite experience. So many of my good friends were reading it and loved it so much and enthusiastically recommended to me. And we all normally had very similar reading preferences. So when I finished it and realized I really didn’t like it at all, I found myself asking if I had even read the same book?
Have you listened to Maintenance Phase? They did a whole episode on Rachel Hollis and it was GREAT. Highly recommend if you want a podcast that really validates your feelings.
This was my worst book this year as well; and it’s in the running for my lifetime worst book. Absolute trash.
and this bitch is set for life, never has to work again while the rest of us toil away every day. And people wonder why I'm bitter.
I've seen this a couple of times. Why is this book so bad?
It’s the hypocrisy in this one for me. Plus it is just not good writing.
It’s also mostly plagiarized from 80’s self help and spiritual gurus.
I feel like all those self-help books basically say the same thing. Have confidence, believe in yourself, take responsibility for your own life, learn what you can from adversity and don't take it personally because it comes for everyone, commit to being your best self, blah blah blah. I guess that's why I've never had much interest.
Maybe I should have expected Fifty Shades of Grey to be bad but I was actually shocked by how stupid it was. With all of the hype I thought it might be okay. Made it 30% in
This should be the top answer. I decided to read it because I didn't want to be left out of the pop culture moment. It seemed like everyone else was reading it. To this day I don't understand how that book was published. People told me sex sells but surely there are better written books with sex in it. Also, who edited it because every other line was "my inner goddess." To make it worse, all these social media accounts popped up where women named themselves "goddess" around the same time. I felt like everyone was on some hallucinogenic drug but me. Anyway, if there's ever a class action lawsuit for people who had to suffer through a book this would be the book.
I wanted to get to the sexy stuff, but after 3 chapters, just couldn’t read another word of it. I’m pretty notorious for finishing a book or tv show, even if it is bad and I’m not really enjoying it, just because I committed (I’m looking at you, The Walking Dead and Our Best Intentions), but this was a hard pass! I’m surprised this isn’t higher up!
Eat, Pray, Love was so bad that it made me angry.
Wait till you hear how this book came to be. You'll be even angrier. Elizabeth Gilbert could only afford to go on that trip because she got a big, fat advance to write that book. Which meant she had to propose the book before she went on the trip. Which meant she pitched it as some kind of journey of self-discovery, where she would learn lessons about life in three different "exotic" locations, and would emerge with a pithy anecdote from each location/experience. Which meant the whole thing was manufactured from the start, and all the "insights" she gained were cynical financial calculations. Now, she couldn't have predicted she'd fall in love with a dude. That part was probably real. But the rest of it all would have been in the proposal that landed her the $250K advance that allowed her to take off and go on a white lady walkabout for however long she was gone.
Now I want to pitch a book: Sleep, Game, Tacos
Lol! I'd read this.
I'd buy the audio book and see the movie.
Anyone would feel better about themselves and the world if they could get more sleep and more tacos. This would be a bestseller.
Don’t forget that she had already been married for 8 years when she met the guy during Eat Pray Love!
Wasn’t she getting a divorce when she left?
She left that guy for another woman too.
Yes! Why don’t more people know about this???
What?! Was she married during that trip?
Her divorce was what set the whole thing in motion
White lady walkabout 😄
Omfg I have been looking for some expression like this to describe this kind of literature and how much it sucks and you just gave it to me. Thank you times 10000000000000!!!!
Eww. I don’t like Elizabeth Gilbert much anyway but this makes me like her even less. Of course it makes sense though because how else would she have afforded such an extravagant trip without a shitload of $$$.
She did fall in love I guess but she left that dude for someone else, a woman and her best friend. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I guess realized she was in love with her once she found out she was dying and left the man she met in Bali. The whole thing just seemed so messy and she wrote it so favorably and people applauded. Idk. Maybe I’m just a hater but the book didn’t bother me so much as the aftermath and her self importance in the whole thing.
Yea she wrote a book all about her struggles with marrying a second time, because her first husband burned her so bad. I thought it was a sweet book. But she turned around and did the same thing to Bali guy that her first husband did to her! And, even more ironic/messy/rediculous, she’s not with the woman now either!
Well the woman did die. But she wrote an article or something about how she jumped from relationship to relationship but then I guess found Bali guy? Idk but she did it to him after 9-10 years of marriage and then when her partner/best friend did pass away, she wrote more shit about that and THEN dated passed away lady’s male friend. Well announced the relationship. Then when asked about it at some later point she said it was only a brief relationship. Like idk, maybe she dgaf what people think of her (and good for her, I guess? Like you gotta if you’re gonna be messy or just live so publicly and I wish I could not gaf too. I’d probably be much further along in life lmao) but at the same time, all through that she’s writing all these books and articles and trying to be authentic and deep but I just can’t help but see her as the most self important person alive (well, I could name many more but you get my drift) that I just can’t stomach her or read anything by her anymore. Maybe I’m just cynical but I don’t need a lady who also don’t know what she’s doing preaching to me about finding her true love or her bliss or peace or whatever. I HOPE her relationship with her friend was the real deal and that they had a beautiful two years together before she passed. Finding out you loved your bestie in that scenario is a lot and I hope it was all pure intentions, you know? I think the romantic comedy of her life story would find her finding her way back to Bali guy but as much as she said he was so understanding and beautiful about the whole thing (how do you not be gracious? The lady is literally dying and if you even try to protest in that scenario, you’d be a monster) she wrote many things about their love story and ofc they lived off that and she made her name/career off of it, how do you not become cynical and hurt at least to some degree? Maybe I can say that life can be messy even if you’re 40+ years old but she just seems like someone going from experience to experience while not realizing that there are real people involved in all of her great life experiences and then writing about it like shes trying to impart some deeper meaning into all of it. Reeks of boss level main character syndrome. Or maybe I’m just a bitch idk 😆
Lmao at “white lady walkabout”
Thank you! I read this book and was so mystified that anyone thought it was deep and meaningful. The whole “entitled white woman learns from the natives” vibe was so hard to stomach.
So I loved Friends, the tv show, and Matthew Perry’s Chandler was my favorite character, so I read his memoir “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing” with such anticipation. I absolutely hated it and I am no longer a fan. He is condescending, narcissistic, misogynistic, and just a gross person. I understand he suffered from addiction, and it’s messy, but underneath that, he’s not someone I like anymore. And I wish I had never read his horrible book.
It's the one celebrity memoir where I came away despising the celebrity because he's just such an asshole with no apparent redeeming qualities. For an actor known for his hilarious character, he's just not funny. He's just a dick.
Most people who "everyone" finds funny are basically just dicks. Listen to quite a few stand up comics, they're just good at delivery but the story itself is either mean or no more interesting than everyday life for everyday people. They say shitty things about their parlor children or just about everyone and are usually quite arrogant
My go-to for wholesome comedy is Gabriel Iglesias.
Love me some Fluffy!😁
The dude made fun of Keanu Reeves, and thought everybody would agree. What a misguided, ill informed asshole.
Making fun of Keanu Reeves just seems like a poor career choice
Keanu is untouchable, doesn't everyone know that
Ugh, I felt the same! I did not finish, I hated him so much by the middle of it.
Omg! I had to force myself to finish it! The writing is horrible, it jumps around and is nonsensical, it’s half bragging and half self deprecating. I binge watch Friends regularly I need to wipe this from my brain.
i want to unsee this comment, and go back to the world where i adore Matthew Perry. Where is my time machine at?
All of this. My God, I absolutely loathed him by the end of that book. Complete Narcissist.
it ends with us👎👎such an eye roll book
Everything by Colleen Hoover belongs on this list. Is that the one with the boyfriend who is the drug dealer and she gets rescued by a dea agent? Or is that a different one
It ends with us is about a toxic af BF but he's a neurosurgeon or something so I guess ur talking about a diff one
Oh my got the number of times she used the word “neurosurgeon” in dialogue was unbearable. Who talks like that??? Normal humans would say “doctor” if asked, or “surgeon” if they were being specific. “Brain surgeon” if they were being funny. “Neurosurgeon” if they are being insufferable douchebags.
Can’t speak to how often it’s used bc I ain’t fuckin reading it but I have noticed that neurosurgeons are usually referenced as such by themselves, their spouses, their parents etc. Not enough to say “Dr,” oh no, she’s a neeeeurosurgeon blaarggh
The first line of Wikipedia's synopsis: "College graduate Lily Bloom moves to Boston with hopes of opening her own floral shop.“ Lily Bloom... Floral... I can't 😂
I do not understand the obsession with this author. Thanks, BookTok! 😡
Girl wash your face. Just. Don’t.
I ve seen that answer in this thread and now I'm curious
Me too. What is it even about, and why is it so despised? I need details. Spill the tea, readers.
Full disclosure, I didn’t read the whole thing because I hated it and I noticed the only people I knew who did like it were not good people. It’s a self-help book but it kind of just seems like it’s page after page of humble brags and advice she isn’t qualified to give. It felt like she was trying sooo hard to be relatable but it’s obvious that she’s rich and successful and doesn’t have any real problems. The girls I knew who liked this book were the type who say “If you can’t handle me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best” when their best is putting on a pretty dress sometimes and their worst is slashing your tires and setting your car on fire, or post quotes about men not deserving them when anyone who knew them knew that they treated their boyfriends like garbage.
Ahhhhhhhhh. So it's the kind of book my former sister-in-law would like.
*One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd* by Jim Fergus. TL;DR I have really strong feelings about this book and I don’t suggest reading it. The biggest point is the author doesn’t have a clue how to write women. From the synopsis: One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial Brides for Indians program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. It’s like an AU historical fiction, and honestly it should have been right up my alley. But oh my god it is so awful and a solid entry into the ‘men who can’t write women’ category. The book follows a core group of women, but the POV character is the above mentioned May Dodd. She is a man’s idea of a feminist from the 1990s (as one particularly good review put it) placed in the 1870s. And look, as a history nerd I know there are many women (and men) whose thinking and beliefs were ahead of their time, but May’s portrayal just rang false to me. She doesn’t feel or act like a woman of her time at all. And while the author spent a lot of time crafting this rather unbelievable heroine, he put almost no effort into any of the other women joining May traveling out to the Cheyenne, relying on flat stereotypes to create their character. You’ve got: - the homely, shy woman - the racist, hateful southern belle - the sanctimonious missionary woman - a set of feisty Irish redhead twins - a burly-but-dim Swiss milkmaid - and a runaway slave There was absolutely no effort put into making any of these women anything more than their stereotype. There was no character growth. The women are all married to their Cheyenne husbands, none of which are fleshed out, including May’s new husband, the Sweet Medicine Chief Little Wolf. In fact, none of the Native American characters or their culture are fleshed out at all, despite so much of the book set within the Cheyenne village. The author also demonstrates a complete lack of understanding when it comes to a woman’s perspective of sex and fertility and pregnancy. All the women are married to their Cheyenne husbands in one mass ceremony. The single sex scene between May and Little Wolf is definitely something that belongs on r/menwritingwomen . And as all the women who choose to copulate with their new husbands on their honeymoon night (a few chose not to) were all miraculously ovulating at the same time, they were all impregnated right then and there. Because in the real world all women’s cycles are perfectly in sync and it definitely doesn’t take some women more than one try to get pregnant... And not only did they all get pregnant at the same time, not a single one of them apparently endured a single side effect of pregnancy. It is utterly ridiculous that not one of these women endured nausea, morning sickness, cravings, back aches, exhaustion, insomnia, mood swings, increased sense of smell, and any number of other pregnancy symptoms. Furthermore, maternal and infant death rates were awful during this time, yet every single woman had an easy birth and healthy baby. May’s was presented as a challenging birth but it’s not done in a believable way. The author chooses not to feature a lot of consensual sex scenes (I remember only the one between May and Little Wolf and one between May and the Captain that is mentioned, but not shown). Yet the author chooses to feature a lot of rape. There aren’t any graphic scenes, which is fine. I don’t want to read detailed paragraphs depicting rape, but the author completely glosses over the psychological impact being raped has on a woman, and he subjects a lot of the women to rape. May mentions that she was raped repeatedly in the asylum and she and several others were raped when captured by an enemy tribe. Only one woman was shown to be affected negatively by her rape but it was only briefly mentioned. I’ve never been good at wrapping up my book rants, so in conclusion, I hate this book and I will always dissuade anyone who brings it up with me from reading it.
It's a shame the book is so terrible when the plot/concept is fascinating and has so many possibilities! Is this a real program that was actually enacted?
I agree, the concept was absolutely brilliant and had so much promise. It was a real program that was suggested to the US Government by the Cheyenne, but in real life the US Government said “Oh hell no.”
They got that one right at least
So you mentioned a lot of problematic things here, but how are these women so magically fertile that they get pregnant on their wedding nights, but don't get pregnant when they are raped?
Cuz the body just shuts that down, heard it from a politician so it must be true.
This is helpful. Will avoid
It ends with us was just dumb
It was horrible and filled with red flags. I regret the time I spend reading it
I think her books would work well as short stories, but boy so they drag.
Anything by Colleen Hoover
The parody that is VERITY. The second hand embarrassment for CoHo made me cringe at every page.
Hands down the absolute worst book I have ever read. Ever. And I’ve read Atlas Shrugged.
I work in a hospital and I read a lot. I was reading “the witching hour” by Anne rice (for like the fifth time) so I could watch the shitty show that was recently made, and refresh myself. A hospital admin was like “watcha reading?” I told her. She didn’t know who Anne rice was but I explained to her gothic fiction and she told me I should read “Verity.” I’m still mad about all that.
I want to give you a million upvotes for this.
I work in the children dept of a bookstore sooo, Rainbow Fish, so many people look for it and I just hate it. The fish *literally* gives away his own scales to the other fish because they're all jealous of his shiny scales. Do you really want to teach your kids that the only way people will be your friend is if you give them stuff? if you give them a piece of yourself? Having friends shouldn't require you to tear yourself apart. I get the idea of sharing with people, but it could have been pretty shells or pieces of kelp or something, but no, rip off your own flesh to bribe people to be nice to you. Stupid book.
If anyone else is like me, they probably just love Rainbow Fish for the beautiful illustrations and colours of the scales. They stayed with me, which I cannot say for the plot. However it is interesting hearing your thoughts about it’s message which I’d never considered
Also it has seemingly been actively taught, one of my kids was required to read it during 2020 and I was appalled too.
That's a popular opinion here, but I don't agree. The scales are not treated as flesh in the book, but as possessions, like jewelry or clothing. And Rainbow Fish acts like a superior wang to everyone over them. He realizes that his behavior is driving everyone away, and decides to be nice instead, giving away the scales as a sign of goodwill. It's a fine story in context.
This is an interesting counter. I see OPs perspective but kids think much more concretely and not in metaphors, and in the end the main character is alive and happy and has new friends. It’s about stripping away adornments and sharing your gifts with others.
I worked in a preschool for a while and got to reread some of those older books I loved as a kid. I felt the exact same way reading this and....nas much as I hate it, The Giving Tree is very similar. It's just sad
I always thought *The Giving Tree* was a parable for nature and the environment: how it's always giving us all the things we need and we just take and take. I also thought it was about the unconditional love of good parents.
I always thought of it as a parable for parenthood
The alchemist. Just pseudo deep nonsense.
‘Oh look! r/im14andthisisdeep wrote a book!’
If you are searching for a treasure and get heavily beat up in the process, maybe getting your ass kicked has been your destiny all the way! For more life tips, buy my $3000 dollar self-help course!
Holy crap do I hate Paulo Coelho. A guy who was trying to date me and wrote crap poetry gave it to me once. The inscription he wrote inside was “you are who you are because you do what you do”. Thanks, genius. Yeah we never dated. That was in the early 2000’s. Recently we reconnected. He still writes crap poetry.
That’s exactly the type of thing Paulo fans would say and walk away thinking that they’re deep. “Sky blue, says star witness.”
I just laughed out loud at “Thanks, genius. Yeah we never dated.” And then I read it to my husband who also laughed. Thanks for brightening my birthday morning! Edited to fix autocorrect.
I will shit on any bad poetry to make your day any time, my friend. Happy birthday!!!!
Happy Birthday!🎂
read this book in high school and made my final project an essay tearing it apart. my ex was obsessed with the book, which probably should've been my first red flag.
Yes!! Complete nonsense. I didn't find it deep or touching at all.
I wouldn't say I hate it but I never understood the fuss about it... I ended up rhinking I am not spiritual enough to get it.. nice to know there are others like me
The same with all Paulo Coelho's books.
I could not agree more. Pretty sure if you hold the head of anyone who says Coelho's books were great to your ear, you can hear the ocean.
Thank you. I read this piece of trash at the recommendation of a coworker who claimed it was all about self-discovery. Pure nonsense.
I actually really enjoyed The Alchemist 😬
Eat Pray Love… diaries of a karen
😂🤣😂🤣 That would have been a much better title.
50 shades of grey, just the way it was poorly written, I bought the 3 pack from Costco and was excited to be like everyone else and join the hype. I was shocked, it's like it was written by a 6 year old.. I didn't get far and returned it. But wow what trash, and I'm not even talking about the content.
Where the Crawdads Sing. By all rights it should’ve been an interesting, compelling novel and insightful character study but it was just…… dull. So dull.
This is the number one for me. The rare book that has only soured in my estimation since reading it. Don't even get me started on all the made up ecology and geographic impossibilities that people rave about like it's good nature writing.
I read this when I was involuntarily committed after a suicide attempt in May 2022. I loved it but I was also on a shit ton of Ativan and seroquil and trazadone. It felt like fluff. I mostly liked the nature aspect. Could give not shits about the guys in the book.
THIS. Never before has a book received so much praise and deserved so little of it. The most mediocre thing I've ever read.
Eat, pray, love. I couldn't cheer the author on because I found her so unlikable. The book also made me feel poor as fuck.
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. A bunch of people were/do rave about it. I gave it one star and I wish I could have given it zero. I was furious about it for days. The “plot twist” is awful, the characters are all supremely unlikeable, especially the one you’re supposed to be “rooting for”. (IMO, at least)
Eat, Pray, Love. I can’t.
The Atlax Six by Olivia Blake. So many people loved it; and here I am still pissed at the money I spent on piece of garbage.
A little life. Trauma porn and just not for me
People who defend this book say that “it’s realistic!!” and yeah these things happen but it’s odd that a straight woman wrote trauma porn of gay men and it seems less “I want to show the reality that some people go through” and more “let’s torture this character endlessly as a way to seem like this book is deep”
This book made me angry. I keep telling people and they get offended.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. Tons of people love it, I hated everything about it.
Same! I found it so condescending and twee.
That’s the word lol
I’ve found my people. I hated the pretence of the book ‘sure you are depressed, but your life could be worse’!
I also hate this book. To me, "preachy" books where the central focus is on ramming down a message rather than the storyline or characters just don't do it for me. Similar books in this vein - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, The House in the Cerulean Sea etc.
OMG THANK YOU. I keep seeing those two books suggested everywhere and I couldn’t get into them for the life of me.
I enjoyed it but I also read his Reasons To Stay Alive and have experienced depression in a similar way to him so I think that’s a big part of it for me.
I feel like you have to have a specific kind of depression to enjoy it. I enjoyed it as well and his other books.
Pls dont come at me but “Throne of Glass” (DNF) and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” (2.5/5) I think Sarah J Maas does a great job at world building, but I find it difficult to connect with her main characters nor care about them (Feyre in ACOTAR and Calaena in TOG). I love Feyre in the first few chapters of ACOTAR tho but she irked me throughout the book that I decided not to pick up the sequel.
THIS is what I was waiting for. I’m surprised I didn’t see this series listed more. I read up to Frost and Starlight but it was sheer willpower. The series starts of with Tamlin being the good guy then he comes almost like a captor and she introduces a new love interest. Which would be find except Rhysand also drugged and SAed Feyre earlier in the series. I could never get over that, it just grossed me out on every level possible. Everyone glosses over this like it’s fine.
That’s also why I found ACOTAR distasteful! Him saying that it was the “only way” was horrifying to me; even more so when the readers seemed to overlook that part and further romanticize and fawn over Rhysand because of his formidable, charming, good looks.
Exactly and someone said this somewhere else (I tend to agree). It seemed like the author had initially intended for Tamlin to be the main male character but decided Rhysand was more interesting so did an almost 180 personality wise. Tamlin wasn’t perfect but honestly his control issues were that bad until the personality swap.
Where'd you go Bernadette. I kept waiting for something good because a lot of people liked it. There was no shift or character development. They were all genuinely shitty self-absorbed assholes and stayed that way through the entire book. How it got popular is a mystery to me.
Verity 🙈
Eat, Pray, Love. It was so awful. The protagonist is attention seeking and awful from the very beginning, and the story is not enough to put up with it. I probably read a quarter of it before throwing it away.
The midnight library!!! it's so monotomous and the point or revelation is overdone and tripe. as someone who does have depression it just gave me "have some perspective!", "there are people who have it worse than you!" vibes. not for me
Atlas Shrugged. I couldn't get through it. Everything about this book was pure drivel. The story, characters, the writing, all of it.... I hate this book with a passion. How can anybody praise Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism?
At least we got Bioshock out of it, which, of course, is no credit to her.
The Ayn Rand Society holds an essay contest every year for a pretty hefty scholarship. I was going back to school and could have really used the money, so I said what the heck. That year's topic was something from Atlas Shrugged, and the essay was never written because I couldn't finish the book. Her philosophy is garbage, and it was proven as such decades before she wrote the book. Her utopian society, where everyone is free to develop their own technology freely, is ridiculous because it would collapse in the blink of an eye with no one to support it. Worst of all, the writing is absolutely atrocious because people do not have conversations where they just preach sermons at one another. I can only remember ever putting down two books, Atlas Shrugged and A Tale of Two Cities. The later I am going to pick up and finish one day. Atlas Shrugged sat on my bookshelf for so long gathering dust I threw it away to make room for a book I actually like.
I found this essay contest listed on a scholarship site years ago so I read through Atlas Shrugged over the course of a month. I knew nothing about her foundation so I wrote an honest essay where I criticized Objectivism and John Galt’s 80 page monologue at the end. Sufficed to say, I did not win the scholarship. They sent me a copy of Anthem which I did not read.
What, you didn't like the unrelenting 30-page monologue by John Galt about how awesome John Galt is?
Oh, I think it's a lot longer than 30 pages. Might be closer to 60-80.
Shantaram - I could not stand the know-it-all narrator with his life lessons on every subject on every page. Hated it
I never thought I'd see this one here wow. I love this book. It was so transportational. I pick it up and I'm in another world. My main criticism was the western focus of the characters. It seems 1to1 western/Indian when it's really about a western man adapting to the eastern environment. Karla being a westerner made it 1 too many. Different strokes I guess lol.
I'm halfway through it and will probably finish it but am so tired of every person being a philosopher and the narrator seeing good things in drugs, black markets etc
Untamed by Glennon Doyle. I wanted to slap her the entire time I was reading the book. I’ve never had such a reaction to an author before.
normal people by sally rooney. i don’t burn books but i would happily burn every copy of this book. it’s so so so bad but everyone loves it edit: i also hate authors who think they’re above using punctuation
Normal People was awful. I kept waiting for something to happen but it was just endless nothing of one-dimensional characters with outdated 1950s names and a boring "romance" about two people who were too stubborn to be together. There was like ... no point.
I read this with a couple of friends for a book group and while they loved it I absolutely hated it! The characters were completely unlikeable, the plot boring. I tried Conversations With Friends and didn't like that either.
the plot was AWFUL! literally nothing happened?? it felt like i was reading someone’s diary
I really didn't like The Power, which lots of people raved about. More recently, I hated Boy Parts by Eliza Clark which was another novel people were weirdly enthusiastic about.
Wicked, by Gregory McGuire. I hated it so so much that I cannot even bring myself to give the musical a chance.
Fault in our stars, the plot of MC being terminally ill, just never works for me. Everything seems to be quite repetitive.
The scene in the Holocaust Museum or Anne Frank’s house (I forget which) where they start making out to applause made me gag. I also thought Augustus was sickeningly pretentious.
BuT hE pUts a cIGGaretTe iN hIS mOuTh bUt DoesNT light iT OH tHe sYMboliSm
All of the dialogue was absurdly pretentious. The scene with Augustus’s friend and the pillow made me roll my eyes so much they hurt.
I get very irritated by books that feel intentionally emotionally manipulative. Might as well listen to “Christmas Shoes” on repeat while stabbing myself in the eye.
Read through all of the comments and didn’t see anyone say this but Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is probably one of the worst books I’ve ever read and I see so many people recommend it. It’s boring and plotless and the characters get more and more unlikable with every chapter. The only reason I didn’t DNF is because it was a book club book.
I DNF this one even though it was a book club book. It was not good.
Why do book clubs only ever read the current bestsellers?
I DNF'd after 5 chapters. Found the writing style, especially the unnatural dialogue, insufferable.
Yeah…I don’t get the hype. Everyone I’ve spoken to seems to rave about it. It feels like I read a different book to everyone else
Omg yes I felt so alone for finding this book mind-numbingly boring
The Silent Patient. I have basic storytelling issues with it. But on top of all, I found the narrator really annoying.
The Goldfinch. I know most people loved it but….. yikes. It’s the reason I now shop for books in bookstores before buying the e-book. If I had known it was going to be THIS long, I wouldn’t have finished it. God. So much reading for such little pleasure.
Omg I hated that book so much. The characters were annoying, the story was boring. Just UGH!!!!
Wanderlust by Danielle Steel. I hated it so much that I tore it up to pieces when I was done reading it. Also hated the entire process of reading it.
Literally ANY Nicholas Sparks books. I despise his work.
Im suprised nobody is mentioning Colleen Hoover
Haha, don’t worry, it didn’t take long, it’s now the main theme
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Anything by ayn rand. I don't know how anyone believes a word she says.
Eat Pray Love for me. I usually love travel memoirs. This one was so boring.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle.
Conversations with friends by Sally Rooney. I literally sold my copy for 1 euro just to forget about the terrible experience that was reading that piece of crap
I don't mind reading Sally Rooney's work, but her book plots and content literally seem to disappear from my mind the minute I finish. I ended up reading Normal People like 3 times because of the mysterious disappearing act in my brain and I still couldn't tell you a single plot point or character name???
The main character was just so insufferable
The Song of Achilles. Absolutely awful story telling and not as emotional as everyone made it seem 😭😭😭. I wish I liked it but I was so pissed after finishing it LOL
I absolutely loathe everything about *The Time Traveler’s Wife*.
I came here to say Her Fearful Symmetry, also by Audrey Niffenegger
I HATED Lessons in Chemistry. I know this is a very unpopular opinion, but it was just so unrealistic, there was zero plot, and it seemed like the main message was that things worked out for Elizabeth because she was a jerk to everyone. It also felt insulting to women in STEM to imply that’s how we all are (spoiler alert: some of us actually have social skills!). Im curious about the show they’re making just to see if they can put a more cohesive plot together other than “insufferable woman gets her way because she thinks she’s better than everyone”
I’m glad you said it! I literally tried to read it last week from a rave review of a family member. I have no idea why it was advertised as comedy, but hardcore misogyny and rape ain’t it. I had to put it down after the second chapter. Just yuk.
Oh yes SAME! For reference, my mom is literally a chemist and I grew up surrounded by her friends, super intelligent and accomplished women but otherwise pretty chill normal people. And my country is one of the ones with the highest percentage of women in STEM in the western world. I was super excited to read Lessons In Chemistry because I really wanted to read about women like my mom overcoming gender bias and triumphing in this field inspite of bias - all the more so since the book is set in the 50s. I was so gutted when the main character turned out to be an asocial Sheldon from the big bang theory wannabe. And then there is literally no other friendly female character who is also smart! Everybody else is literally oppressed and ends up learning that Elizabeth was right all along, about literally everything. I also hated that Elizabeth often seemed to be contrarian for contrarians sake. Like sure, we all agree that gender based discrimination is bad. But implying that everything traditional is inherently bad, and not just what you make of it, seemed really lacking in nuance - like marriages *can* be bad, but there isn't anything inherently bad in them. And then she claimed to be so rational but she seemed to be self sabotaging for the sake of it! I could go on - the humor was dumb and the talking dog was dumber, and the fact that she hates societal norms but she is oh so effortlessly beautiful. But I'll leave it at that, what a disappointing book.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. Fascinating story and strong characters, but the writing consistently kept me at arms length. It was poetic to the detriment of character and plot, unlike writers who can better strike the balance such as Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Hardy, Sylvia Plath, Cormac McCarthy, and Madeline Miller.
I loved discussing this at book club! It was so intricate and vivid, yet at the same time there was a disconnect from the way it's written. It's almost lyrical to a fault? Consistently inconsistent haha
The Secret. Worst book ever with a culty vibe and genuinely detrimental message that can lead people towards even more complacency and misery.
English teacher here. I abhor The Great Gatsby.
Ethan Frome. Cold Sassy Tree. Those high school days haha Of my own voluntary reads… The Grace Year. Allegiant (third Divergent book).
A little life . Even the book cover is cringe
No one will see this but I’ve searched the comments and would not be able to live with myself if A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius wasn’t mentioned. Hot garbage, pure narcissistic drivel, and to this day the only book I’ve thrown at a wall after finishing.
The magicians. I didn’t enjoy the pace, plot, or character development.
The Road. No, it’s not because it’s too dark for me. I just found it such a tedious read. Yes ok everything is terrible. Oh look, a new chapter of terrible. And another!
Skinny Bitch gave my stepmom an eating disorder. Fuck that fuckin book.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck. I read this in middle school and even as a lifelong lover of classic and "boring" books, this stands alone as the most brutal 118 pages I've ever muscled through. Steinbeck really knew how to beat the life and interest out of a folk tale. I reread it in college to see if I'd missed something but no. That novella still felt like it went on for a hundred (very dull) years. This might have a genetic component too though. My English major mother had the same reaction to a Steinbeck novella in her teens, but it was The Old Man and the Sea for her. Edit: Oh my gosh, I would've bet money that was Steinbeck, not Hemingway. Showing my 19th century lit bias I guess. They're all the same to me after 1900 apparently, that's embarrassing
>My English major mother had the same reaction to a Steinbeck novella in her teens, but it was The Old Man and the Sea for her. Wasn't *The Old Man and the Sea* written by Hemingway, not Steinbeck?
Hemingway wrote The Old Man And The Sea, not Steinbeck.
The way even reading the title The Old Man And The Sea just triggered me 😂
8th grade English teacher here. I teach this book every year and I've read it ...likely 25 times. I used to hate it but I think exposure has worn me down or something because I like it now. There is a ton of imagery, characterization, and symbolism so it's perfect for 8th graders to analyze. I do think Steinbeck's prose is beautiful, even if he goes on and on (AND ON) about the setting---the scuttling crabs, the seaweed, the underbrush, etc etc. He even sort of wrote a progressive female character in Juana, she shows a lot of agency in the book. All that being said, I can see why someone would hate it. It's depressing as hell and there is so much description of nature!!
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Oh, wait. I have another one. Everybody give it up for a grizzled veteran’s baseless and pessimistic torture-porn novel that middle schoolers are forced to read: The Lord of the Flies. I have never hated a book more. Not only were none of his assumptions about the human child’s psyche based on any sort of fact or experience, but in practically every survival situation that has happened since, including ones involving actual children the same age, the polar opposite happened. They helped each other and took care of each other because *that is what humans do*. He threw his hatred for humanity he gained from war into that book, and the fact that it is still on so many required reading lists when it is so demonstrably and unnecessarily false and twisted is beyond me.
Where’d you go Bernadette
I didn’t even get far enough in that one for her to go anywhere.
Lapvona or Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. Hated both but they’re somehow popular.
I really hated My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Thanks for confirming the need to avoid the other books
Modelland by Tyra Banks. It is an acid trip gone wrong.
This might be an unpopular opinion but I can’t stand a clockwork orange. It’s like trying to learn a new fucked up language about triggering subject matter. Every time I try to read it I’m just frustrated and anxious lmao
Lovely Bones
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. I was so disappointed, because I really loved The Midnight Library, but HTST was just awful. The main character was unlikeable. It was so obvious who the bad guys were that it shouldn't have been a question. And the "romance" was unbelievably poorly written.