Worst books of the year

So we've reviewed our favourites and now I guess it's only fair to 'fess up to the ones we flung across the room half way through. These are the ones I abandoned mid-read in 2008:

Go Tell It on the Mountain
Measuring the World, by Daniel Kehlmann
The Court of the Air
Mistress of the Art of Death
Lisey's Story (for the second time!)
Oscar and Lucinda
The Resurrectionist

And those I wish I had:
Being Emily
The Collector of Worlds
My God-Awful Life
What We Did on Our Holiday
Change of Heart
All That Glitters
The Shack

Ah. Another good thread.

My worst books of 2008 were:

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Virgin Suicides by Jefffrey Eugenides
Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton
The Mistress's Daughter by A. M. Homes

One that I abandoned so that I wouldn't slash my wrists:

One More Year by Sara Krasikov

Glad to hear your wrists escaped by the skin of their teeth (if wrists can be said to have teeth???). I must admit I rather like The Virgin Suicides and I did enjoy the only Neal Stephenson book I've read - Quicksilver but I can kind of see with both of those how they might not be everyone's cup of tea. I've so far been consistently disappointed by A M Homes, so that one comes as no big surprise. It's fairly easy to find good books but a word to the wise about the duds is invaluable!

The Mistress's Daughter is her memoir - I guess she writes fiction too? I found this book so whiney and filled with anger that I can't imagine even liking anything else by her.

The ones I've read were The End of Alice and This Book Will Save Your Life (it didn't). They were the sort of books that I could sort of see some people might like but I found them utterly soulless. Now I know I won't bother with any more.

Ooh, I wondered if there would be a stinkers thread.

I finished all mine, Several were for RL book groups, though not the same one, I belong to 4. I have listed those books I rated 1 to 2.

The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt
This was a book group choice and we all hated it, except the one who picked it. A silly, badly written, mystery with the POV having magical ability. Just awful, reminds me of an awful pink, plastic romance novels.

The author couldn't decide what season it was, so it changed throughout the book, and she described things the POV couldn't possibly see, like the shoes on a person behind a waist high counter.

I make pictures in my mind with the words, and continuity errors just bring me to a screeching halt.

Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux (non-fiction)
This was also for a RL book group. The writer goes back to Africa, where he worked in the Peace Corps 20-30 years ago ( and may have been kicked out for sexual misconduct).

He is easily the most egotistical, self-absorbed, self-important, hypocritical crank I have ever read about. It was all about him. He was angry that the people in NGOs wouldn't give him rides in their fancy cars/trucks as he travels across Africa. All the while he is excoriating them. he is singing his own praises abut how virtuous he is to not be following the tourist route or using modern - western means of travel. Which of course he does whenever he can.

He says how horrible game parks are, how bad the people are who go to them, though its OK for him. He doesn't like the whole 'Packaged' experience, but he never talks about if they are saving habitat, animals and employing locals.

He hates that the servers on a Nile cruise boat are demeaning themselves for tips, never considering how little they make and how many family members they may be supporting.

The absolute worst is when he is sitting in a private train car, waiting to leave and there is a bowl of fruit he is not eating. There are hungry children outside and he refuses to give them any, because he thinks Africans should be self-sufficient.

He sees it as a symptom of decline because one of our embassies somewhere in Africa is not interested in arranging for him a personal lecture tour of the country.

The True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole by Sue Townsend
This was a very short book, which I got to complete the Adrian Mole series. It is 3 short stories, all written in diary-letter format by three different characters.

Mole's was a much too short entry that was not funny and that was a re-hash of the same type of thing from other books (late teenager, early 20s ). The second entry is some weird travel log from the author that is not funny. The final one is a bit interesting. It is from the POV of a young Margaret Thatcher - very scary.

The Ladies from St. Petersburg by Nina Berberova
Another RL book group pick. It is a series of 3 very short stories set just before, during and after the Russian Revolution. The problem for me is that the stories were very short. They also didn't strike me as being particularly Russian. The last story had some magical realism, and was better, but still too short, and they all seemed to me to lack purpose.

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse by Victor Gischler
I wasn't expecting anything great given the title, but I thought it would be a fun, wacky book. It took itself too seriously and was more nasty than wacky.

The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Safak
A book group read. I hated the writing, the characters, the structure of the story and the ending. Just terrible. The first chapter is like reading about a female Popeye, in terms of an unrealistic cartoon character, with no explanation or motivation as to why. Then the book jumps 20 years, and you get new characters. The ending is a fizzle.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind
A book group read, though I had already bought the book to read myself.
It is just boring. The only thing that interested me was in the middle when he talks about making perfume. The rest is meh. Not much of a thriller or mystery, no horror. Just a bore.

The Dragon's Nine Sons by Chris Roberson
It had such possibilities: Aztec and Chinese empires in conflict in space. I immediately thought of Chung Kuo by David Wingrove. Not a chance. Very slow and boring. More like the Dirty Dozen (convicts on s suicide mission) in space with a dash of Hyperion (each character has a little story). Very little Chinese or Aztec feel, very slow, predictable, and boring.

Grendel by John Gardner
The monster's side of the story from Beowulf. Seemed to be mostly written in gibberish. Very pretentious chapter with a dragon on the philosophy of existence. Seemed to be written more with an eye to be different and high tone than to actually tell an interesting, coherent story.

Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
A story about child soldiers in Africa. It is written from a child's POV and in pidgin. The author is not one of the many reformed soldiers, but an American with ties to Nigeria.

I really dislike dialect in books. I would never have bought the book if I had known it was written in that manner. The story was overwhelmed by the method. The POV told about his past, his current life, and their creation myths. The narrative wandered off at odd times, like in the middle of the mayhem. Might have been to simulate a child's coping mechanism, but it killed any interest/momentum in the story.

Sky Burial by Xinran
another book group book that I had already purchased.
An interesting story of love in the face of adversity, showing courage and determination. But about 2/3 of the way in, it became just propaganda for the Chinese invasion of Tibet. How things are not so bad, even better. How well they all get along.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Another Book Group read, I already owned the book.
A long boring, pointless slog. The narrator was not needed and actually impeded the story. She was unrealistic. The ending was horrible.

Dis-Honorable Mentions (2.5 stars)

Just Desserts by Mary Daheim, Book Group Read
Ridiculous premise, and execution.

Gunpowder Plot by Carola Dunn, Book Group Read
Not a bad book about the social changes after WWI, but NOT a real mystery.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Book Group Read
One of the slowest, most boring books on the planet.

Climbing the Mango Trees by Madhur Jaffrey (non-fiction), book group read

About her childhood and the food of India. Read the book had no idea who she was before, and still have none after the book. Not well done. Have a horror of spicy and foreign food, so that didn't work either.

Slipping into Paradise by Jeffrey Masson (non-fiction), Book Group Read
About an American Ex-Pat who lives in and loves New Zealand. Supposed to be about NZ, but more about the author. Dingbat ideas. He compares his one street town to London and NYC and says he feels safer there (NZ). No kidding.

Red Poppies by Alai, Book Group Read, I already owned it
Look at Tibet in the early part of the 20th century. Follows the idiot son of a chieftain, but has no real story purpose. I found it boring.

Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan, Book Group Read, I already owned it.
Story of a group of US tourists who go to Burma/Myanmar and are accidentally kidnapped by locals, and the group doesn't know it. The ghost of the US group leader tells the story. She was murdered just before the trip.
Just didn't do anything for me. No great characters, odd story. Not up to previous Amy Tan books.

Ficus, reading your worst books list actually makes me want to go read some. Especially when I see that you have The Historian on there! (The Ladies of St. Petersburg sounds interesting to me.) Grendel also seems interesting.

Now, I haven't read Perfume. I've only seen the movie. (Which I highly enjoyed.) But I may choose to try that.

I had to put down the following:
The Gargoyle
Hard Day's Knight

Worst Book of the year:
Any Given Doomsday

I'm glad I got it as a ER book, because I wouldn't want to have paid for it.

I'm sure there are others...but I can't think of them at the moment.

Jolene,

Well to each his or her own. I know many people loved the Historian, the Women in White and Grendel.

My problem is that I am easily bored if something about the book doesn't grab me.

I can be that way, too. And it's usually the weirdest things that grab me. LOL

I recall loving The Historian, but perhaps it was just the mood I was in... I do remember parts of it being less than stellar.

I'm already caught in a book that doesn't particularly interest me, but three overwhelming reasons - 999 challenge, it's short, and we're reviewing at bookclub tonight- are compelling me to read it. (Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by Gordon Livingston).

You're right, it's weird - as you can see, I've put The Gargoyle in my shortlist of best books of the year, and I'm quite a fan of The Woman in White (though admittedly I didn't like it much the first time round but was forced to keep going as it was a set book in uni - I got to love it in the end though). I also thought The Historian was deadly boring. And yet Saving Fish From Drowning is easily my favourite Amy Tan book. It's remarkable how we can often pick up such great recommendations from each other but there'll always be something we disagree violently about - which, I guess, is what makes it interesting. I quite liked Perfume too, though I couldn't really see what all the fuss was about. Jolene is quite right, though, in saying that it's sometimes the reviews of books people hated that makes us want to read them (and not because we think that person's got terrible taste!) I've gleaned quite a few good reads from some of the more 'negative' threads on LT - especially if someone has read something that has really freaked them out - then I know it's the book for me!

LOL Booksloth. I like negative reviews much better than positive ones. I think it has more to do with the critical eye. If someone doesn't like something they are much more specific about what it is (typically). Ex. Ficus mentions one of the books being written in dialect. (I typically love books that are written in dialect; although, not particularly interested in books set in Africa.)

If I like a book, my description can be clouded by the fact that I totally enjoyed it. My reviews tend to be better if I didn't like a particular part of a book. (Ex. The end of The Historian.) Which is common because I don't always side with the character that the author may want me to.

(As for The Gargoyle, I liked it quite a bit, but eventually just lost interest. It's in my 999 to finish.)

I can't even get past the idea of The Gargoyle and have so many books to read that I'm not going to feel guilty at all.

But, surprisingly, I liked Perfume.

I'll have to pick up Perfume. Those of you that have read it....have you seen the movie? If so, how do you think the book and movie compare? I LOVED the movie. Albeit there were some cringe-worthy moments.

I read my fair share of boring or just not that great books this year. The one I will list for this topic is Pillars of the Earth. Read it for bookclub. It was mediocre and not very authentic. All these medieval people behaving like moderns. Considering the hoopla about the book, just disappointing.

The Ruins I do not know why I kept reading it.

tjsjohanna - I read Pillars of the Earth about .... 17 years ago? .... and remember loving it. I have since come to HATE books where the dialog or character actions/motivations are not authentic to the time period (or at least close) and wonder now how I would like it.

#14 Sorry, can't help there. Read the book but haven't seen the film.

#14 and #18 - ditto. I've read the book but not seen the movie.

Thanks anyway!