What’s the worst book you ever read? I ask that question of a lot of people and I get a different answer every time. Many tell me they’ve started plenty of bad books, but they’ve just never finished one, so maybe I should be more specific: What’s the worst book you ever read, whether you finished it or not? What made it so bad?
August 20, 2007 at 4:31 am
Hamlet’s Dresser by Bob Smith
Here is a book that is entirely misleading. It was like being taken by the hand, and lead through a thoroughly boring person’s life, one painful step at a time. If you are hoping, as the title might infer, that you are going to enter the magic world of the theatre, you are quite wrong. Mostly he is a confused teen (?) that wanders around his lifeless neighborhood thinking about nothing of interest, sleeping in people’s cars… This guy, who never did more than pick up sweaty costumes backstage in a community theatre somewhere entirely forgetable, then has the gaul to quote Shakespeare, over and over, and completely out of context each time. After the third or forth quote, used to service his plotless design, one begins to wonder if he really read the plays, or just has a book of “Notable Quotes.” Later in the book he reads the plays with old people in a senior center and somehow decides that makes him an authority. So he writes this horrible book and I, fool that I was, bought it and made him the richer for it. Truly, a memoir worth ignoring.
February 14, 2008 at 10:50 am
Life of Pi. I could not get past page 100. Too preachy, self-satisfied, repetitive and verbose. Writing for writing’s sake all over the place. Also, the main idea that believing is better than reality put me off and I could not bring myself to slog through a book that totally disagrees with my beliefs. Also, the book was not able to gently lead me into that alternative belief system, but beat me over the head with it. So I call bad book.
February 28, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Grapes of Wrath – Steinbeck
I hate to say it…but I hate the book. I do not like Steinbeck’s style at all. Maybe if it had been an optional book, I would have enjoyed it more. However, we read it several years ago in a high school English class. I think there was one person in the entire class (besides the teacher) that actually enjoyed the book. For me, it was a waste of valuable time that we could have spent reading something everyone would enjoy. As an English major in college, I realize I’m not going to like every book. But…that book, I hated with a passion. Steinbeck’s style for me is simply dry and lifeless.