Worst book you've ever read?

[Gillstay]

War and Peace was excruciating. Tried to finish but failed.

I really enjoyed that but was at the stage when reading books was plain sailing.

 

[raleighnut]

I believe every newly-married couple were given a copy as a gift from the state.

Sounds like effective contraception

 

[Dogtrousers]

An American glowingly told me about `Lonesome Dove' a western best seller. It was long, boring and shite.

When I was a young chap I met a Scottish woman who recommended Grey Granite by Lewis Grassic Gibbon. In order to impress her I duly read it. I was not impressed and neither was she.

 

[Grant Fondo]

God, it's miserable!

 

[Alex H]

God, it's miserable!
View attachment 751396

How soon does he die? Do you have to wait till the end?

 

[robjh]

I dragged myself through the first two LOTR, Never started Return of the King (or certainly never finished). Have seen the films, but never felt the need to watch again in their entirety although I probably did waste money on the DVDs or even Blu-Rays (a bit like Skyfall, I've probably seen the second half 10 times on ITV2 )

I can't remember if I read The Hobbit, probably did as it was short (unlike the appalling films, wtaf, 3 full length films from a book with about 200 pages).

Never tried to read any other fantasy or sci-fi books, just not my thing at all.

Another awful book I was forced to read at university was Madame Bovary in the first year of my French degree, slightly less painful just going straight to the translation (sadly I couldn't find an English film adaptation ). Put in the same bucket of period drama dullness as the Brontes and Austin

Personally I loved LOTR as a teenager, especially when I read it for the second time aged about 16, although I really don't think I'd have the inclination for it now. But at that time I found a depth and completeness in Tolkien's imaginary world, and a sense of anchoring in European mythology, that no-one else has matched. I also loved it for the runes and Elvish language, which helped foster a lifelong interest in language and linguistics in me. However I hated the films, which seemed an abomination of dumbed-down and glitzed-up multi-hour tedium with all the subtlety and depth whacked out of them along with important parts of the plot.

I also endured Mme Bovary in 1st year university French, and remember nothing about it other than a drudge-like task that just had to be endured, but to be fair I felt like that about most formal study of literature as that was just not I wanted out of my languages and dropped those parts of the degree course as soon as I could.

 

[Reynard]

I quite enjoyed LOTR, although it *does* take a fair while to really get going i.e. the whole "leaving the vale" thing with Tom Bombadil.

Another really awful set of books are the Thomas Covenant ones. Just dire.

 

[robjh]

The Good Soldier Švejk/Schweik. A long meander in every sense around the war fronts of the Austro-Hungarian empire, full of what might have been witty in-jokes to (ex-) Austro-Hungarians in 1920 but in a clunky translation and quite lost on me. And it was only when I reached the last page and it stopped almost mid-sentence that I realised that the author never finished it.

 

[Profpointy]

Sounds like effective contraception

Maybe the opposite. "My darling Fritz, this book is scheisse, come to bed"

 

[Grant Fondo]

How soon does he die? Do you have to wait till the end?

Pretty much

 

[Yellow Fang]

Life of Pi. The most hard going and boring book on the planet. They even made it Into a film

Glad to hear it. Gave up after the first chapter.

 

[Yellow Fang]

The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin - some king of SciFi thing. So bad I had to read it twice just to be sure

The Redemption of Time, written by Baoshu, is supposed to explain things but it's just as unfathomable as TTBP

Disagree with you on the Three Body Problem. That was pretty good.

 

[Yellow Fang]

Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie, about 20 pages anyway.

Anything that has won a literary prize.

I read it. It did not get any better.

 

[Yellow Fang]

An American glowingly told me about `Lonesome Dove' a western best seller. It was long, boring and shite.

Disagree with you there. It was brilliant. I read all four books.

 

[welsh dragon]

Disagree with you on the Three Body Problem. That was pretty good.

I didn't read the book but they made it into anseriesin Netflix I think.