“What are you going to blog about tonight?” asked Bookman.
“Um, donno,” I said. And felt sad since there hasn’t been much going on in my bookish corner of the world lately, everything being consumed by work and school.
“What about a list of books you wish you hadn’t read?” suggested Bookman.
“Hmm,” said I.
Lemme think.
I wish I hadn’t read The Celestine Prophecy. Oh and The Bridges of Madison County. Bookman says I read a Nicholas Sparks book once and didn’t like it but I have no recollection of it so he says it was obviously such a horrible experience that I have blocked it out on purpose.
What else? The Rising by Brian Keene. Bookman will be disappointed about that since he is the one who told me to read it for some good zombie fun.
That essay published as a small book several years ago that made a big buzz called On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt. Oh and The Alphabet and the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image by Leonard Shlain. Gak it was bad.
Then there is Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks and I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. I know people love/ed these books but I found them too sugary and the Lamb especially had an ending that was too neat and tidy. I read these for a book group, the same group that made me read Celestine Prophecy. What an awkward discussion that book was because there were several people in the group who thought it was true.
That’s enough. I had better stop before I remember any other books I wish I hadn’t read and then get morose for having wasted so much time on those books when I could have been reading something else.
What about you? Any books you wish you hadn’t read?
I wish I hadn’t read She’s Come Undone and also White Oleander, both of which I pretty much hated.
I have another bookish blog topic for you: Books You Wish You Hadn’t Read *ALREADY* (because they’re so good you wish you could read them for the first time again)
Books I’m glad I didn’t read: The Celestine Prophecy and The Bridges of Madison County (was almost convinced to read that one, but picked it up and finally decided I just couldn’t).
Books I wish I hadn’t read: Cleaving by Julie Powell, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, and The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. All complete wastes of time.
Good question! Top of the list would be The Story of O which (believe it or not) was assigned to me in an undergraduate class. Then probably The Virgin Suicides, which I absolutely hated, closely followed by Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Devil Wears Prada (though I did kinda like the movie of that last one). It’s mildly interesting that I’m sorry for different reasons in each case!
The Story of O made me feel sick too. I really really wish I could forget the sadism of that revolting book.
I also wish I hadn’t read She’s Come Undone. Most. Over-rated. Book. Ever.
I also wish I could unread The Lovely Bones, Timoleon Vieta Come Home, The Kite Runner, The Republic of Love. Damn them! Damn them all!
What a great post idea! I could probably go on and on and on with a topic like this. heh. Some that spring to mind are Eat, Pray, Love, Great Gatsby, Love in the Time of Cholera, the Vampire Diaries books… I’ll stop there!!
Great topic! There are some scary books I wish I hadn’t read, like Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates and Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (I had to sleep with that under the bed, cover upside down, it became too scary to look at), that my husband owns and I got sucked into somehow… Also a Colin Dexter mystery this year that was unimpressively sexist, even though set in Oxford. Also Her Fearful Symmetry, the ending still makes me feel gross.
What a fun post, lol!
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, Winter in Madrid by C. J. Sansom (not as awful as The Historian but so dreary), The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (a Newberry Honor??), New Moon and Eclipse (my teen daughters ended up not even wanting to read the series, so that was a waste), Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons.
Stephanie, I’d be interested to know what 5 books you would teach in a high school literature course. I just posted about it.
I’m glad I didn’t read Celestine Prophecy though it was pressed upon me, and I have managed to escape Nicholas Sparks too BUT I couldn’t escape The bridges of Madison County which was thrust upon me in a way that I just couldn’t say no. I’ll say one thing for it, it was quick. And there are a couple I’ve read for online bookgroups that I’m sorry about – one was The dive from Clausen’s pier (forgotten the author, Anne something?) and the other was a quilt novel (forgotten the title but it was the first in the series) by Jennifer Chiaverini. That last one was so cliched in language and plot I have no idea why I finished it.
Must say I’ve often thought I should read Wally Lamb but I’m clearly not getting much encouragement here so maybe I won’t.
Your bookman has great ideas – can I text him when I’m stuck for a post?
Gah! Willy Lamb! I seriously did not like She’s Come Undone, which was an awful shame as Mister Litlove had bought it for me on a trip to the States (a work trip – I stayed home). However, beyond that my brain is a complete blank (it’s eight in the morning here, so, perfectly normal) but there must be lots of others too.
Great post! Usually when I don’t like a book I give up… However, this sometimes means that I don’t give them a second chance and I feel pretty bad about that.
That’s an evil question. I wish I had tried to reread Melmoth the Wanderer because I gave up at the same moment as I did the 1st time!
I wish I hadn’t read The Gathering by Anne Enright, The Reader by Bernard Schlink and The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne (I really hated this one and it took me a year to finish it; it was a pure waste of time as what I remember of it is what I knew before reading it). I could probably find more, but I won’t bother since I probably wasted enough time on them already
Daphne, I knid of liked White Oleander but there is a fine line between like and hate in that one. Oh, and I like your suggested topic. I might have to use that!
Emily, oh are you lucky to have dodged the ones you did! I liked Secret History but I read it on a plane during a business trip and the surreality of the plane was perfect for the weirdness of the book. I have, however, just had a flashback at your mention of Purpose Driven Life. Tuesdays with Morrie. Ack!
Rohan, Story of O was assigned in an undergrad class? My, that must have been interesting. I recall now that I have read that one and I do agree with you.
Colleen, LOL, there seem to be quite a few people who wish they hadn’t read She’s Come Undone!
Amy, the kudos go to my Bookman for the post idea. I have managed to not read Eat Pray Love and with the movie starring Julia Roberts, one of my least favorite actors, I will be very happy never to read the book.
Carolyn, I avoid scary books but I can relate to scary covers! I sometimes have to put sticky notes over the creepy portions of covers on books.
andalucy, sorry about the Twilight books. I have not read any of them and never will if I can help it. But way to endure for the sake of your daughters! And I like you topic. I will have to think about my answers!
whisperinggums, I think there were few who managed to escape the long grasp of Bridges of Madison County! You may want to skip Wally Lamb, or just read the first chapter and the last chapter of the book you are thinking of and call it a day
Litlove, I get first dibs on Bookman’s ideas!
Poor Wally Lamb. At least Oprah likes him.
Willa, but at least you don’t waste time finishing a book you will be sorry you even bothered with later. That’s something!
Em, LOL, I know what you mean. As I was thinking of books I did catch myself wondering why I wasting time thinking about them!
I tend to give up on books that I’m not liking, but I did persevere with Russell Banks’s The Reserve. I was definitely not the right reader for that one!
This just happened to me. I finished Turbulence by Giles Foden and loathed it. I’ve read 130 books this year, and it’s definitely in the “3 worst books of 2010″ category.
I hope my work doesn’t appear on this particular list! I would also like to add a whole genre: any book that tells you that wishing for things makes them come true.
Feh.
I know I’m probably in the minority here, but I absolutely hated “The Hours.” I can’t understand what all the fuss over Michael Cunningham is about. Just way too pretentious, self-conscious and overwrought. How he won the Pulitzer Prize, I have no idea. I still hold it against him for gratuitously dragging first Virginia Woolf, and then Walt Whitman, into his books. Though I took great pleasure in seeing Michiko Kakutani of The NY Times slam him in grand style in a review of “Specimen Days” for doing just these things. I just wish she had done her trademark slashing of “The Hours,” as well.
Two words: White. Oleander.
For one foul nauseating reaction: bleck!
You read that?! LOL.
Ha, great topic. The book that leaps to mind is Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross, which I read for a book group and WOW it was terrible. But actually, I’m almost glad I read it, because it made me realize what a lot of terrible, terrible writing gets published and also how many readers are not at all bothered by poor writing quality, historical anachronisms, poor character development, etc. But then I just think about how awful it was to read and can’t quite bring myself to be glad.
I almost wish I hadn’t read Walden because it makes me so angry, but it’s such a cultural touchstone that if I hadn’t read it I would probably feel like I should. I do wish I’d only read it once, though, rather than three-ish times.
I agree wholeheartedly with Rizwan about The Hours. That is my 2010 choice in this category.
Otherwise, I wish I hadn’t read pretty much all of John Irving. I forgive myself The World According to Garp, just about, youthful indiscretions and all that. But why did I persist? With apologies to anyone participating in a parallel discussion on the Dolce Bellezza blog, I passionately wish I hadn’t read the Owen Meaney book!
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Someone above said they wished they hadn’t read “The Great Gatsby” – oh, sigh. It would be on my top ten list of favorite books of all time.
I think I read The Celestine Prophecy. But, it was so awful that I must have blocked it out until I read your post. I Know This Much Is True was so depressing! Wading through 9 million pages for what?! Great post.
As everyone is saying, wow, what a terrific idea for a post…. it’s one in which a reader really likes to lurk in the other people’s responses, to see how the opinions resonate with one’s own.
For me, one of the most unforgettably forgettable books I ever endured was The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass. I also very much disliked The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton. Memorably bad. As was Love in the Ruins by Walker Percy. <– A great premise, written about very poorly. [<-- As is my sentence about it].
I agree with Amymckie, for some reason I did not like Gatsby…. but I do want to read it again. [I have a feeling the fault lies in me]. Yet I loved Love in the Time of Cholera, which she disliked.
I agree with Danielle, wow, I did not like The Reserve very much at all.
And then Anthony says he disliked Owen Meany and yet it is one of my favorite books ever. It is amazing that such an arbitrary topic as "Books I Wish I Hadn't Read" can be so downright fascinatingly interesting. I guess it's because all readers bring themselves to the books.
LOL cipriano. I liked Owen Meany too but I have one friend who literally (and I mean literally) threw it across the room. To this day I still don’t understand why!
I am oddly prejudiced against Wally Lamb. His name sounds fake to me, also reminds me of that puppet Lambchop which immediately links him with sugary sweetness in my mind. And it seems you’re experience matched my assumptions, whcih makes me happy and freaks me out a little.
Top of the hated list is ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ – a small child has died accientally to teach his Nazi dad a moral lesson, ill making.
The one book I truly hated with all my heart and wished had never been written was Michel Houllebecq’s Atomised. It was tawdry and downright unpleasant and what annoyed me most is that I’m sure it’s all just a pose by the writer to get himself noticed. Unbelievably sexist.
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Dan Brown – though the DVC was more of a giggle than a retch!
Danielle, you are a smart woman. We should all be able to give up on those bad books.
Amy, hopefully the next book will be a good one and wash the bad taste of Turbulence away!
sshaver, LOL! You seem to be safe! I agree with you about that particular genre. Makes me skin crawl.
Rizwan, you know I haven’t read The Hours yet because I feared it would be exactly as you describe it. I’ve not read any of Cunningham’s books. I probably will eventually just to see but won’t hesistate to abandon it if it starts to go bad.
Kevin, LOL!
Emily, doesn’t it make you wonder how so many people seem to be able to read a book and not be bothered by bad writing? Walden made you angry? Have you posted about that before because I am very curious about why it made you angry. The more I have learned about Thoreau the more annoying he becomes to me and it’s been years since I’ve read Walden so I don’t know how I would find it now.
Anthony, I hope you haven’t started a riot amongst John Irving fans! I like Irivng but in very small doses and in the right frame of mind. But I can completely understand how he could be really annoying.
Fiona, that is one of the nice things about books, every book its reader, right? I must say I am not a fan of Great Gatsby. I’ve read it three times and just don’t see what the fuss is about. But I am glad that others love it
Bellezza, so sorry to bring back the memory of Celestine Prophecy to you! I probably read it 15 years ago and am still resentful about it. I have to just let that go!
Cipriano, it is fascinating to see what books come up, isn’t it? I didn’t like Gatsby either and thought the fault was with me so I have read it three times over the course of my life and disliked it more each time. So you may want to re-think reading it again.! I did like Man Who Was Thursday. I found it so surreal and outrageously weird that I liked it just for that reason.
Jodie, LOL! I haven’t thought of Lambchop in ages. I do think you’ve got a good sense of what Lamb is right. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas book sounds dreadful!
Stefanie, I haven’t posted specifically about Walden, but you can get a sense of my attitude toward Thoreau from this post, on his essay “Walking.” It’s his self-important arrogance and refusal to acknowledge his own privilege that really get to me.
This is such a great post. I’m trying to think about books that I wish I hadn’t read. I would have to say Bridges of Madison County is right up there on my list. I would also add a few of the Danielle Steele novels I read in my 20′s!
Reading some of the comments here is the best! I’m finding some I’ve really liked on here. Haha…
I belonged to a book club once where the members decided to read several of the books in a series by Jan Karon. The first one I thought was a bit too sweet but I kept reading the others so I would be a good book club member but my goodness that was just too much sweetness! I love comfort books but that was just too much.
Great idea for a post… I have quite a few books I wish I could get the time I wasted reading them back… But I will only give you the ones I can remmebr off the top of my head. Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom I can’t explain how much I hate this book. Columbus Slaughters Braves by Mark Friedman and No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy both of which I had to ask myself… What was the point?
“The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen is tops on my wish I hadn’t read list. Eat,Pray,Love also created some nausea. And Tuesdays with Morrie, given to me by a friend, HATED it.
Come to think of it, I never bought a book that I wished I never ever have read. See, when I shop for books, I take the time to read the summary and a few pages just to see if it’s a page-turner.
But everyone has their days, so… However, I haven’t read any books by Nicholas Sparks and I think books with zombies in it should be left in movies alone.
Wow… look at all those comments… you’ve really touched a nerve, Stefanie. As for me, my regret probably would be The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Conversely, and I’m surprised to see it in one of the comments, I would read and reread The Great Gatsby, anytime.
Oh, I did some real terrible reading when I was in school. I really regret Barbara Cartland (anyone remember the scary looking auntie of Princes Diana?), Danielle Steel, and one truly awful romance writer called Denise Robbins. Ugh!
School doesn’t count I reckon!
I wish I have never read The Da Vinci Code. All 15 pages of it.
Emily, oh yeah, I remember that Walking post! It was very enjoyable the way you got all worked up
I haven’t read Walden since college and I have fond memories of it but I wonder what I would think of it now? Will have to reread sometime.
Kathleen, I bet there are quite a few of us who wish we hadn’t read Bridges of Madison County!
Iliana, I like book clubs but sometimes the books they wrangle us into reading!
Brigot, I managed to avoid Five People you Meet in Heaven but I did read Tuesday with Morrie. Ugh!
Sean, you are lucky!
Arti, I know! I was suprised by all the comments. Maybe someday I’ll have you explain to me why Gatsby is good book
Nishita, I think you can be forgiven for reading indiscretions while in school. Call it, blowing off steam, escaping, stress relief
I am very surprised by the amount of people who disliked Wally Lamb’s “She’s Come Undone”. I thought it was an extremely well crafted book charged with an amazing sense of emotional presence. However, books I wish I hadn’t read…. well, I suffered through Helena Norberg-Hodge’s “Ancient Futures: Learning From the Ladakh”. Chapter one and two were good…. but every chapter from there-on-out was just a rehash of the start of the book! Also, I wish I hadn’t read “The Associate” by John Grisham. Both were painfull reads.