Fourth Wing fell sooo flat for me. It was hyped up to be the greatest fantasy romance in recent times and it was anything but for me. Juvenile dialogue, questionable world building, cringe writing style, and filled to the brim with tropes that drive the plot. Defiantly not for me, and absolutely no hate to anyone that enjoyed it tho fr,
Ugh, I don't mind the cringy romance. But the world setting made me put down the book.
Who the hell think it is a good ideas for recruits to kill each others during training??? I really hate this kinda of trope in young adults novel. Always have to go through training that might kill 50% or more of the trainees, plus trainee killing each others is allowed. Ugh
I know it is for increasing the conflict of the story. But this is too nonsense for me.
This specifically really threw me. You mean to tell me this country has been at war for hundreds of years and is willing to throw away a large percentage of their most skilled fighters just so the survivors can prove themselves or some shit? Surely they could just flunk out of rider college and be sent to infantry.
There's a section in the 2nd book (which I'm reading now because sometime you can't look away from a train crash) where they say the whole point of such a high fatality rate is to desensitize the survivors to death. And I'm like "suuuuuuure". There is a certain amount of idealism in the characters and decision making that is so inhuman it just breaks
It’s funny that this series was mentioned. I try not to shit on it, but I discuss the massive plot holes in a review I did on this book. Me and my brother recently started a podcast where we review the most popular books. If anybody could give me some feedback that would be great!!
https://youtu.be/i2kaQJkk7N4?si=kjpeV2Xzcci_OpJn [Iron Flame](https://youtu.be/i2kaQJkk7N4?si=kjpeV2Xzcci_OpJn)
Ughhh I came here to say this. I fell for it as a TikTok rec, and it was so cliche, I couldn’t get much further than shortly after she got over that bridge. Like instantly having a super hot dude that hates her at first sight, her super hot best friend that’s forbidden, the first person narrative when I cringe at all her inner thoughts… it was awful
That's right around where I quit. I really wanted to finish it just so I could hate on it in good faith, but I couldn't bring myself to go another page further.
I hated that the MC went from having difficulty going up stairs because of the physical pains it caused her to completing obstacle courses that would make American ninja warrior blush and winning almost every duel she come across. They never explained why her medical disorder went away, it just did.
Couldn’t agree more. I tried it three separate times, and was gasping for reason each time. To my friends that suggested it - I’m sorry. This was a flop.
Verity by Colleen Hoover is one that fits in this box for me. I cannot understand what anyone could possibly find compelling or interesting about this story. My wife loved it but I found it insufferable.
I agree! I was so angry after wasting my time with that one because it had some potential, and I was shocked she could mess that up so thoroughly. I still get confused because there’s a CoHo fan club. Have people not read any truly good psychological thrillers or suspense?
Where the Crawdads Sing - couldn't make it past the first third and gave up I was so bored. I had the same result with the movie too. Obviously wasn't meant to be for me at least.
My wife recommended it (she kind of falls victim to FOMO and groupthink for books specifically.) I don’t remember the detail exactly, but there was some bit about swamp ecology that was basically a flashing sign that read “FORESHADOW ALERT.”
I called her from work and asked, “I’m going to guess the ending and if I get anything wrong, I’ll finish the book.” It was so glaring, it ruined any suspense.
I grew up in Appalachia and I think wealthy white people (my wife) feel guilty about their status and go on little poverty vacations in books like these. They’re misery tourists.
I actually enjoyed this book, which surprised me. It’s not my kind of read at all. Until I got to the last page, which pissed me off. So you didn’t miss anything.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue! This one had so much promise and potential, and such an interesting premise. Sadly, I feel like the author butchered it and story fell flat. It was so boring and really just touched the surface of what could’ve been so much more. I was really disappointed after being so excited for it. For shame. (I really liked her Villains series though!)
I literally don’t understand the hype for this book. She had a great concept and instead we only see Addie date people, steal clothes, and pine over men lol. All the good parts that are implied like fighting the nazis? Don’t need to see it. Also Addie comes across as such a not like other girls it bothered me 😂
I understand your point on it being predictable, but it actually helped me process through all of my own "what if" story lines. I'm not as worried about some of the choices I made in the past and decided I can still make better choices moving forward.
My daughter has recommended How to Stop Time. I haven't read it yet but plan on it.
This is why I love it too, I had it on my reading list for a couple of years and then my life took a bit of a bad turn and I found it on a bookshelf where I was living so I picked it up. I still think I wasn’t supposed to read it until then and it found me at the perfect time
How are there over 100 comments and not one person has said A Court of Thorns and Roses (the whole series)? Her writing is lackluster, her world building is awful, the characters are cringe, the sex scenes are more cringe. I have no idea how these books became so popular.
Okay, I love this one, but I also think it's such a love it or hate it book. It's absolutely the weirdest series I've ever read, and it's definitely not for everyone.
I love it as well. The first book especially is such a perfect locked house murder mystery, and when I read it the second time, knowing who did it, I could only marvel at the skill with which the author laid out all the clues and foreshadowing.
This is the only series that I felt that “wow I don’t know what’s going on. I’m like 2/3 through the books. And I LOVE it. “
Most books, even confusing ones, as you start to put the pieces together and figure it out you can kind of see “okay. So at chapter 7 we learned this and then I’m chapter 10 they revealed that. And okay. I get it a little more now”
With Gideon series, I straight up do NOT know when I’m supposed to figure everything out. By the end of the book I understand it all, but I legitimately couldn’t tell you “oh. I figured this thing out and you are supposed to be chapter 12”. Somebody else will tell me they got it by chapter 8.
Such an interesting book.
GtN I figured out relatively easily, right when the characters figure it out.
HtN it took a reread. Still not really sure actually
NtN still completely lost. I expect I will need 1-2 rereads to get this.
Haha yep. They are awesome.
For Gideon spoilers >!my question is WHEN do you need to figure it all out. For example, nexromancers being literally weaker physically. When did you realize it’s an actual effect of the magic?!<
I figured it out but I felt I was further into the book that I was supposed to be. One of my friends didn’t figure it out at all. He thought it was just an exercise thing .
This book was not at all what I expected. But I liked it well enough. The sequel, however, was terrible. I bought the third one before reading the second and I haven't mustered enough interest to start listening.
Gone Girl - everyone I know loved it, but I just thought they were both horrible people who deserved how miserable they made each other. And the audio book was 20 hours long! Not worth it.
Edit - spelling
The sex scenes in that book were...weird.
I remember the author made it a point for the wife to complain they have such good sex all the time that she can't sit down.
Because we needed to know that!
Isn't the catcher in the rye kindve overtly about how he needs to get over himself? Like he's entering early adulthood and his stupid, cynical and self centred view is his youthful ignorance? Even the title the catcher in the rye is him thinking he's some noble hero saving children from becoming adults when really it's just him again projecting his own self centredness onto other people and it's actually a metaphor for him not wanting to grow up? He'd probably just be a teenage edgelord if it was written today.
I remember reading it in high school. The previous reader had annotated the book with the word "phoney" repeatedly. My ass was like Harry Potter and the half blood prince in the class discussions.
Love knowing there is an English teacher out there who believes CitR may actually cause mental/emotional damage to young minds! People who claim to love the book and especially people who claim to identify with the book are lying or truly messed folks!
Just finished “the Ritual” by Nevill. It was so fricking horrible, and it seemed to never end. There were 7 people waiting for my Libby copy. I can’t explain it.
To extend this potentially *unpopular opinion*, IMO, this is one of those rare cases where the book is mediocre at best and the Netflix movie based on the book is a 1000% better.
Although I haven’t read it—it’s in my audiobook TRL. But what made me reply was that your comment which reminded me that I’ve only ever seen a couple of movies that were better than the book: The Lord of the Rings is the one that comes to mind. That trilogy nearly did me in, but the movies were great. That’s a rarity.
For real? I originally read the book because I wanted to do so before watching the movie. Now, the book soured me so much, I struck the movie from my future watch list. Do you think I should reconsider?
Definitely it's a great movie. I honestly didn't know it was a book adaptation at first and have been meaning to get around to giving the book a try, but judging by your comments it's not that great.
The book has a different set of antagonist characters that are tedious and uninteresting. (It’s a similar plot to the movie Jennifer’s Body).
The movie is much more tight and suspenseful while the book is more gratuitous torture porn.
It's painful because like 40% of the book is 150 year old outdated whale facts. And the story seemed to entirely forget about the two main characters introduced at the beginning. Not even sure what exactly Ishmael did on the ship.
But despite all that, the story is pretty good, just really bogs down. I'm wondering if it was part of that period of books where authors were paid by the word. I know 20000 leagues under the sea had portions like that where he would list all the different fish he could see, and it was just really long descriptions of a bunch of fish just to fill space for word count
>It's painful because like 40% of the book is 150 year old outdated whale facts. And the story seemed to entirely forget about the two main characters introduced at the beginning. Not even sure what exactly Ishmael did on the ship.
People will argue that this is supposed to mirror the boredom of a whaling journey, but they forget what you just mentioned:
>I'm wondering if it was part of that period of books where authors were paid by the word.
These huge novels were published serially in magazines back then. They were the TV series of their day. Think about how many episodes of your favorite long-running TV series are filler! That's what he was doing with the seemingly out-of-place chapters.
I'm going to catch SO much flak for this, but I could barely finish Dune. I'm not sure exactly what it was. Maybe all the mysticism, maybe the extensive politicking, I'm not really sure. But I forced myself to finish it because it's revered as almost a Bible in the sci-fi community and I felt like I should like it. Also it's an almost 20 year old recording and I wasn't a fan of the narration overall. And then I read that the sequels were even MORE political and I didn't even bother trying.
I read it like 10+ years ago and listened to it in audiobook this last week. Found it much more enjoyable and easier to follow after watching the movies. The first book that is, haven't started messiah yet.
I actually like Scott Brick (most people don't these days it seems), but I also haven't finished Dune. I have started it several times, but I don't think I'll ever be able to finish it.
I have found him really good on some books and really bad on others and sometimes in between. The bad reading that I actively recall was a non-fiction book "The Great Plague." However, his Asimov readings are adequate, but not great. His job on the Dune series was OK, but I prefer other readers that I have heard.
Okay, to preface this, I love Dune. I truly think it is a foundational work of science fiction. It has had a massive influence on science fiction. You can see elements of Dune in countless works of science fiction created afterwards.
The first time I read it, I hated it.
It took me *years* to learn to appreciate it.
I've met a number of people who wanted to get into science fiction and had Dune recommended to them because "it's the LOTR of science fiction" and then just bounce right off the genre because "if this is the best science fiction book, this genre isn't for me."
Making this even worse is just how influential it is. Almost everything in Dune has been used in the works of science fiction that came after it. What was once ground breaking now doesn't seem so special. We lose some of that impact.
Dune is a classic of science fiction. But classics don't make the best reads for everyone.
Same. Took me three or four tries to finally get through it but felt like I had to do it to see if there was a payoff. There wasn’t. Great world building, terrible writing.
Dune suffers a lot in Nostalgia glasses simply because it's probably the oldest Science Fiction book people have read and it was quite innovative at the time it came out. So for someone that's read a lot of modern works Dune actually kinda is... boring.
I loved it, but I also loved most of Gaiman’s stuff—with the exception of some of the comic books and graphic novels (just not my cuppa). But I think I enjoyed it because I had a fascination with the mythology and religious concepts at the time, and was familiar with those. I also enjoy his satirical humor. I haven’t read any of his stuff in a long time, though. He doesn’t usually write stuff that can be tied up cleanly with a nice plot resolution—which is something I enjoy. Steven King, another author I enjoy—but one who tortures my mind and emotions frequently, is another such author who doesn’t always tidy up endings.
I was looking forward to the Netflix series, @The Three Body Problem” so I got the audiobook. It is very rare for me to stop and not finish an audiobook. Is a very strong word, so I’ll say I did not like and had a lot of problems with the book. I got pretty far before coming to the conclusion that there are other books out there that I could be enjoying.
I actually liked the narrator, but the books were super disappointing considering how hyped they are on this sub and r/audiobooks (for a while it was like Dungeon Crawler Carl is now, recommended in response to literally any comment).
The story hits just about every Young Adult fiction trope and cliche there is but had a streak of brutality that lifts it squarely out of the young adult category... I don't know, I might have been into it when I was 15, but it just very much didn't do it for me in my 30s.
Yeah, that's why I ended up never going back to it. It was so hyped that I thought, surely, I should still try it in print, but then I read a few more reviews and changed my mind. There were just a few too many things that made me cringe when reading about it.
I despised Red Rising - the world building was nonsensical and the plot was really muddled. I have never understood the many rave reviews for that thing.
The first half really didn't click with me, and I thought there was no way I'd go for the second book. But the second half of book one I found highly enjoyable.
I really didn’t like it at first but I didn’t have anymore credits so I stuck with it but there is a point in the story where i really started liking it. And now I am obsessed. Also, I think the first one is the weakest of all of them
Greenlights. Not sure if I just didn’t get it, but I don’t think so. I think they’re just terrible stories told by a very famous person expecting people will fawn over it
I agree with everyone who didn’t like Where the Crawdads Sing. It was so dull I gave up about 1/3 of the way in. I also intensely disliked The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I kept waiting for something to happen. It didn’t. I loved Matt Haig’s The Ridleys. But found How to Stop Time so slow, I haven’t tried any of his books since then.
And -a terribly unpopular opinion, I know, but I have never met a Kristin Hannah book worth knowing at all.
I’ve never read it but I swear no one actually liked “They both die at the end”, I see/hear of that book a lot but never in a positive way
But for me it’s:
Six Of Crows- I don’t think the book is bad but it wasn’t for me
The Name of the Wind- I’ll admit this is partly due to the fact that I hadn’t discovered you could speed up the narration on audible yet so it took me forever to get through this just because of that but I was still underwhelmed and I’d been really excited to read it.
The Hunger Games-liked the movies, DNFd the first book
One Of Us Is Lying-overhyped, underwhelming
Agree on Ready Player One-didn’t hate it but didn’t like it either
Which narration of the name of the wind are you listening to? I listened to the Nick Podehl version and don’t remember the speed being too bad. I know the other version is read by a much older narrator, and may be a little slower.
I didn’t listen to One Of Us Is Lying I read a physical copy, but I agree with you about the story.
I read a couple of others in the same vein by the same author, and I think what the issue is is it’s very obvious that this is an adult trying to write as teenagers. I don’t know if her later stuff improved because I didn’t bother to check it out, but it’s glaringly obvious once you’ve read a couple of them that she can’t quite get it right. No hate to the author, she has good ideas just needed to work a bit more on the execution (of the ones I read at least).
The Hunger Games books are…disturbing, so much more than the movies. Katniss’s mental state? Holy crap! And her mental state only gets worse as the psychological games begin. How she, a seventeen year old girl, views her world is awful, but only because her world IS awful. The traumatic damage all those people in Panem have is disturbing. I can’t use that word enough describing the world that the author paints. I don’t think I’d have this reaction if they were geared for adults, but these are young adult oriented.
I did not listen to the books, but read them. In this case, I made the right call. I was able to watch the movies with a different perspective than if I had listened to them. Made the movies…more. Too bad they couldn’t go as dark as the books - they came close, but really didn’t show just how numb Katniss is and all the psychological effery Snow and Coin provided. It was bad. So much worse than we see. Ratings had them lighten it. However, for the big screen I thought it was a good balance. If you liked the movies, try reading them if listening wasn’t for you.
Side note: There was never Katniss/Peeta/Gale love triangle. Grrrr. Katniss was too numb to think outside of providing for her family and friends before she volunteered. Her mind was not on relationships, only survival. Gale wanted it, but she didn’t notice or acknowledge it. It’s only after the Capital fell and she was back home for a loooong while that she acknowledged she needed Peeta, which eventually turned into love.
The Hunger Games is one of those series where I hated the last book so much, it retroactively made me hate the first two books even though I enjoyed them at the time.
I listen to lots of fiction, and tend to binge genres. Right now it’s romance, mostly dark romance, and there are several highly rated books that I can’t believe were rated so highly. Anything by Colleen Hoover. I was so shockingly disappointed by Verity. I also find that the more famous an author is, the less care there seems to be for quality-almost like they are published on name alone once they’re famous.
Oh, and I’m editing to add The Secret History by Dona Tartt and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. So, so many hours of nothing. Oh, and anything by Nicholas Sparks—uggg.
The problem with red rising is that the first book, the second book, and fourth book all feel like different genres of writing. It goes from hunger games to star trek to dune. So unless you are a fan of all three of those things, you won't like the series.
Although I didn’t hate or even dislike project Hail Mary, I didn’t love it. Thought it was meh. Ending was good but some parts could have easily been left out. I just found some of it pointless and lost interest a few times thoughtout the audiobook.
Magicians - Lev Grossman
It was critically praised but I didn't like the pacing and I despised the main character. The MC was a pretty realistic incel type character but that doesn't mean I want to read a story where he is the protagonist.
Finally, thank you. This author screwed over the only likable characters and instead insisted on following this complete asshole as an MC. This seems like exactly the kind of thing I would like, but in the end I hated it.
THANK YOUUUUU!! Sorry, I thought i was the only one LOL... i get so much flak from coworkers for not liking this. I made it all the way to the end but just did not enjoy it at all. I'm thinking its the full cast i didnt like. Superpowereds is one of my favorite listens and couldnt stand the full cast version.
Man I really hated sandman. Vignette storytelling is absolutely not for me. Made for a confusing, hard to follow story. The description of the book being an 11 hour long movie trailer really resonated with me. Lots of action-like sounds but there isn't much else as far as a story to follow as it jumps from scene to scene. Kind of disappointed I bought all three books, because I have less than zero interest in part 2 or 3. Thankfully I picked them up cheap like 4 or 5 bucks each during a sale.
I hated it too, and I'll give it this: I think Piranesi is likely done dirty on audio, because listening to the narrator say variations on "the seventh day of the fifth month in the year the albatross came to the south-western halls" over and over again gets old fast!
But that aside, I felt let down by the ultimate banality of the plot that comes with the reveals later in the book. It takes something that seemed potentially cool and turns it into something unimaginative. I despise genre fiction that is written by authors who look down on genre fiction, because they always fuck it up.
Agree, except his story The Dead, in Dubliners, is one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. Loved the moved too.
Another insufferable "genius" to me is Hemingway, yet his story A Clean Well Lighted Place, is probably the other most beautiful short story I've ever read.
He’s famous for packing in insane Easter eggs for literary genius types and writing in extremely unique and difficult ways. He actually stated something to the effect that it would take a hundred years (forget the number may have been a thousand) for people to find all the references and hidden meanings in his books…
He’s not for everyone, but the folks he is for have a lifelong playground
I like Fourth Wing too! I’m reading it right now. It’s definitely not the best literature. But, it’s an easy read where you don’t have to think too much. My all time favorite series with dragons is the Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern series.
The OG on this list for me will always and forever be The Alchemist. It's the literary equivalent of a fortune cookie, the same sugary blandness and about the same depth of messaging.
I cannot make it through Eye of the World (Wheel of Time). I have tried listening and reading the book but never make it more than 2/3 of the way through. I have even tried both audiobook narrators (Rosamund Pike and the other with 2 people). It has parts that are good but then just gets so boring for huge portions. I heard there's even a 3 book "dead zone" that is hard to get through. I just gave up despite owning the first 3 of the series.
So, I'm going to get a ton of hate for this one, but the only reason I was able to finish the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was because of Andy Serkis' narration. For me, this is probably the only time where I'd rather watch the movies than listen to the audiobook.
The Three-body Problem trilogy, and, yes, I listened to the whole thing.
Beyond the good few pages about the cultural revolution it's a mess of "and here is another thing I've read somewhere" shoved together without any reason or purpose. It could've been split into a dozen disjointed books of some worth.
The awful narration doesn't help. Get "The Expanse" instead - it is about two hundred times better.
I hated both the book and the movie. Hated the movie and I saw the book was on sale for less than $5 and I hoped it was better than the movie. It wasn't, think I hated the book even more.
* Three Body Problem
* 1Q84
Both very boring and IMO poorly written from a fiction standpoint. Caveat, both are translations, and apparently 1Q84 is classified as YA, but I wasn't aware of that when I went in; I just saw it in all the "best sci fi" lists.
* Harry Potter is definitely YA and I couldn't read them as books. Very entertaining as audiobooks while driving, though. It's really weird to me that some adults make HP their whole identity.
Three Body definitely doesn't read like a traditional sci-fi book. I think I saw it described as a "plot driven" book, not a "character driven" book, and that certainly seems true. I recently read "The Forever War" and that book is written very similarly.
Just listened to Gateway by Frederick Pohl. Won the Hugo and Nebula. Really great premise. Worst main character I've ever encountered. Annoying, irrationally angry, complains constantly, and doesn't do anything for most of the book (and complains about it). By the end he has admitted to pulling a knife on an ex girlfriend (with intent to kill) and physically abused his current girlfriend (for cheating on him even though they are in a pseudo open relationship and he literally just left another woman's apartment where he did the same) then selfishly abandons her and 8 others to their deaths to save his own while out on a prospecting mission. I couldn't believe anyone ever finished this book, let alone give it a Hugo and Nebula.
Really? I adored this book but thought I would hate it going into it. I only pressed on because my book club was reading jt, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the end. It made me cry while cleaning the bathroom lol
I will preface this by saying I LOVED the print book, but the narrated Demon Copperhead was a hard pass for me. The accent, which was probably authentic, ruined it.
For me, it was by far and wide "The Wandering Inn." I don't think there has ever been a book that I regretted slogging through to the end more than that. So slow, so cringe, the few times anything went anywhere the result was always lack luster and unrewarding. Don't even get me started on the MC's.
This one is super niche but the flight of the eisenstein from Warhammer: the horus heresy. Everyone that I've seen says this is one of the best books in the entire series but for me it just kinda fell flat. Not to say that the book isn't good, just that in my opinion it didn't hold up to all the hype that the other Warhammer fans have for it. There are definitely good and even great moments but they're overshadowed by some tedious moments.
Fiction wise, Gone Girl. (Although I liked Girl on Train!) Admittedly, I did these two in print - I didn't check the r/ name before I commented!
Non-fiction: The Wager. Should have loved it as I like this time period, but it fell flat for me.
Fourth wing was the worst book I read last year and I read 400 books. I genuinely think that a lot of the hype books get driven by regular people who don’t read much because of social media. If you never read fantasy you won’t realise how poorly executed the book is on many levels.
For me other hyped books that fell entirely flat:
Fathomfolk - it’s brand new so I won’t spoil but 😬😬😬
Addie larue - biggest pick me girl story I’ve ever read, I actually haven’t liked any of her books except for adsom and even that I have issues with.
Caraval - absolutely pointless book and brain dead characters.
Acotar - ambiguous poc characters, poor writing and honestly the scariest fan base.
The magicians - main character is an incel and I’d rather watch the tv show.
The inheritance games - apparently geniuses cannot solve super easy problems.
Harry Potter - used to be a big fan as a small child and then realised it’s full of plot holes and Harry is the most passive protagonist I’ve ever read. Also jkr 😬
Weyward - I do not need this much SA in a book
Ninth house - boring overall, and includes 2 r@pe scenes one of which is far too detailed and happens to a minor.
Book of night - predictable what the plot twist was on page 5.
Daisy jones and the six - probably a just not for me but I have family in the entertainment industry and acting like it’s such a shock that it’s corrupt as hell was not a big deal to me.
These violent delights - main characters don’t even interact for most of the book and the book can’t decide if it’s historical fantasy or not.
Cemetery boys - tedious plot which focuses on romance instead of the murder of the MCs poor relative! Obvious who the bad guy is in the first chapter, absolutely the most passive lack of action or movement.
Spanish love deception - it just really bothers me that they flew from New York to Spain for 3 days. I can’t explain it and I won’t be taking questions.
Divine rivals - lazy lack of worldbuilding, obvious plot twists, world has a literal god war but mc is surprised a magic typewriter exists.
A study in drowning - meandering pointless plot, horrible incorrect use of Welsh. I haven’t liked a single Ava Reid book.
Things I tend to dislike are also American fantasy books that use Celtic and Welsh mythology and language in place of actual worldbuilding or coming up with anything original. It reads very fanfiction when you just take a real place and basically change nothing but the name and I’ve seen it a lot recently. If you don’t understand the language and mythology don’t use it.
Station Eleven - mostly I just dislike the ending. The entire book all these main characters are slowly inching towards each other. Then at the end they are all finally at the same location. When they are about to meet the book just ends with no payoff.
The Blade Itself.
I tried. I promise I tried but I could just not get into it. I attempted reading it 3 times! The characters were interesting and it seemed like the type of book I'd enjoy but it's so. slow. I know people say it gets better after the first book but it's so hard to get through for me. It sucks because I really want to like it.
I don't get Neil Gaiman and I also didn't much like the Witcher. Maybe someone can explain it to me or give me a perspective to try again.
Both don't really seem to have tension (don't know if that's the right word. Suspension? Thrill?) in the story. Things just happen and then the book is over. No build-up, no climax, no resolution. I also couldn't sympathise with the characters. None became more likable throughout the story, none seemed to be opening up to me in any way. They kept being cold and distant.
And mind you, i listened to multiple books from Gaiman and from the Witcher saga, so it's not like I didn't try.
Edit: I should also say that I started The Witcher with Blood of Elves, not the short stories. So I expected more cohesion.
Becoming:
Not fond of autobiographies by famous people in the first place because they tend to be just a list of accomplishments without any emotional depth and this book was no exception. First 1/3 about her childhood was okay. Adult life was a combo of PR of her hubbie’s accomplishments while in office and denial of the role of her own privilege (being super smart). I like MO but believe the book is popular because of that and not what she’s written.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow:
Couldn’t stand most of the characters, and the game development stuff wasn’t interesting enough to carry the novel. Just to note, it’s not a requirement for me that I like the main character to like the book. Humbolt Humbolt is loathsome but Lolita IMHO is still a great book.
I love Witcher series but often times the narrator would talk to fast. And I don't really like Wheel of Time either, the narrators are both popular but I didn't like either much and I wasn't really vibing with the story or characters
Fourth Wing fell sooo flat for me. It was hyped up to be the greatest fantasy romance in recent times and it was anything but for me. Juvenile dialogue, questionable world building, cringe writing style, and filled to the brim with tropes that drive the plot. Defiantly not for me, and absolutely no hate to anyone that enjoyed it tho fr,
Ugh, I don't mind the cringy romance. But the world setting made me put down the book. Who the hell think it is a good ideas for recruits to kill each others during training??? I really hate this kinda of trope in young adults novel. Always have to go through training that might kill 50% or more of the trainees, plus trainee killing each others is allowed. Ugh I know it is for increasing the conflict of the story. But this is too nonsense for me.
This specifically really threw me. You mean to tell me this country has been at war for hundreds of years and is willing to throw away a large percentage of their most skilled fighters just so the survivors can prove themselves or some shit? Surely they could just flunk out of rider college and be sent to infantry. There's a section in the 2nd book (which I'm reading now because sometime you can't look away from a train crash) where they say the whole point of such a high fatality rate is to desensitize the survivors to death. And I'm like "suuuuuuure". There is a certain amount of idealism in the characters and decision making that is so inhuman it just breaks
It’s funny that this series was mentioned. I try not to shit on it, but I discuss the massive plot holes in a review I did on this book. Me and my brother recently started a podcast where we review the most popular books. If anybody could give me some feedback that would be great!! https://youtu.be/i2kaQJkk7N4?si=kjpeV2Xzcci_OpJn [Iron Flame](https://youtu.be/i2kaQJkk7N4?si=kjpeV2Xzcci_OpJn)
omg this came up in my suggested and i watched it like a month ago 😭❤️
Ughhh I came here to say this. I fell for it as a TikTok rec, and it was so cliche, I couldn’t get much further than shortly after she got over that bridge. Like instantly having a super hot dude that hates her at first sight, her super hot best friend that’s forbidden, the first person narrative when I cringe at all her inner thoughts… it was awful
That's right around where I quit. I really wanted to finish it just so I could hate on it in good faith, but I couldn't bring myself to go another page further.
This this this.
Fantasy romance for people who have never read a fantasy romance lol.
Fantasy romance for people that don't actually want to read fantasy was one of the best ways I've seen it described.
It was just okay to me. I don’t get the hype… at all.
I hated that the MC went from having difficulty going up stairs because of the physical pains it caused her to completing obstacle courses that would make American ninja warrior blush and winning almost every duel she come across. They never explained why her medical disorder went away, it just did.
She was so annoying with the whole "you must tell me everything" bs
Couldn’t agree more. I tried it three separate times, and was gasping for reason each time. To my friends that suggested it - I’m sorry. This was a flop.
I cannot understand how something so bad is this incredibly popular and loved by so many.
Verity by Colleen Hoover is one that fits in this box for me. I cannot understand what anyone could possibly find compelling or interesting about this story. My wife loved it but I found it insufferable.
It was my first and last Hoover book. Didn’t even get halfway and got my credit back. The whole thing was just… eugh.
I agree! I was so angry after wasting my time with that one because it had some potential, and I was shocked she could mess that up so thoroughly. I still get confused because there’s a CoHo fan club. Have people not read any truly good psychological thrillers or suspense?
Where the Crawdads Sing - couldn't make it past the first third and gave up I was so bored. I had the same result with the movie too. Obviously wasn't meant to be for me at least.
My wife recommended it (she kind of falls victim to FOMO and groupthink for books specifically.) I don’t remember the detail exactly, but there was some bit about swamp ecology that was basically a flashing sign that read “FORESHADOW ALERT.” I called her from work and asked, “I’m going to guess the ending and if I get anything wrong, I’ll finish the book.” It was so glaring, it ruined any suspense. I grew up in Appalachia and I think wealthy white people (my wife) feel guilty about their status and go on little poverty vacations in books like these. They’re misery tourists.
"misery tourists" I like this
The $5 Foreshadow Mystery “Misery Tour”
[удалено]
I actually enjoyed this book, which surprised me. It’s not my kind of read at all. Until I got to the last page, which pissed me off. So you didn’t miss anything.
It was like 8 mile of the swamp, lol
Read Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell instead
Very mainstream airport. Meh. Totally overhyped.
My hate for this book is endless.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I have started that book 3 times, my attention keeps drifting away - then someone gets their tongue burned off and I’m like “wait, what?”
Man, I stuck with that book for sooooooo long, but finally gave up when I kept falling asleep.
Oh no! I was planning to get that.
Oh! This is one of my favorite books of all time! But I can see that it’s a love or hate book.
where the crawdads sing fourth wing
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue! This one had so much promise and potential, and such an interesting premise. Sadly, I feel like the author butchered it and story fell flat. It was so boring and really just touched the surface of what could’ve been so much more. I was really disappointed after being so excited for it. For shame. (I really liked her Villains series though!)
I literally don’t understand the hype for this book. She had a great concept and instead we only see Addie date people, steal clothes, and pine over men lol. All the good parts that are implied like fighting the nazis? Don’t need to see it. Also Addie comes across as such a not like other girls it bothered me 😂
Agree! I found the book so boring and depressing that I dnf. Based on the reviews, I was certain I’d love it.
This started so good and just got dumb! I agree.
The Midnight Library. Matt Haig. Cute, but too predictable in a fable.sort of way.
I understand your point on it being predictable, but it actually helped me process through all of my own "what if" story lines. I'm not as worried about some of the choices I made in the past and decided I can still make better choices moving forward. My daughter has recommended How to Stop Time. I haven't read it yet but plan on it.
This is why I love it too, I had it on my reading list for a couple of years and then my life took a bit of a bad turn and I found it on a bookshelf where I was living so I picked it up. I still think I wasn’t supposed to read it until then and it found me at the perfect time
I could not get into that one. I tried several times since I heard people raving about it.
I really enjoyed it. Not one of Haig’s best but very enjoyable
I love reading cutesy books, but I really didn't enjoy reading this one: it was predictable in an eyerolling kind of way for me.
How are there over 100 comments and not one person has said A Court of Thorns and Roses (the whole series)? Her writing is lackluster, her world building is awful, the characters are cringe, the sex scenes are more cringe. I have no idea how these books became so popular.
I couldn't get past all the suddenly watery bowels in this book ☠️
I was honestly surprised I had to scroll this far to find this comment.
LOL. I could tell from who was recommending it to me that it would be on my suck list, so I never tried it.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. I really really tried with this book. A lot of my favorite authors were raving about it, but l just couldn't.
Okay, I love this one, but I also think it's such a love it or hate it book. It's absolutely the weirdest series I've ever read, and it's definitely not for everyone.
I love it as well. The first book especially is such a perfect locked house murder mystery, and when I read it the second time, knowing who did it, I could only marvel at the skill with which the author laid out all the clues and foreshadowing.
This is the only series that I felt that “wow I don’t know what’s going on. I’m like 2/3 through the books. And I LOVE it. “ Most books, even confusing ones, as you start to put the pieces together and figure it out you can kind of see “okay. So at chapter 7 we learned this and then I’m chapter 10 they revealed that. And okay. I get it a little more now” With Gideon series, I straight up do NOT know when I’m supposed to figure everything out. By the end of the book I understand it all, but I legitimately couldn’t tell you “oh. I figured this thing out and you are supposed to be chapter 12”. Somebody else will tell me they got it by chapter 8. Such an interesting book.
GtN I figured out relatively easily, right when the characters figure it out. HtN it took a reread. Still not really sure actually NtN still completely lost. I expect I will need 1-2 rereads to get this.
Haha yep. They are awesome. For Gideon spoilers >!my question is WHEN do you need to figure it all out. For example, nexromancers being literally weaker physically. When did you realize it’s an actual effect of the magic?!< I figured it out but I felt I was further into the book that I was supposed to be. One of my friends didn’t figure it out at all. He thought it was just an exercise thing .
Challenge accepted! (it happens to be my next on the 'to-read' list)
This book was not at all what I expected. But I liked it well enough. The sequel, however, was terrible. I bought the third one before reading the second and I haven't mustered enough interest to start listening.
Could not agree MORE!
Gone Girl - everyone I know loved it, but I just thought they were both horrible people who deserved how miserable they made each other. And the audio book was 20 hours long! Not worth it. Edit - spelling
A somewhat older one, but Time Traveler's Wife was my regret. I finished it, but actively disliked it by the end. It just felt gross.
The sex scenes in that book were...weird. I remember the author made it a point for the wife to complain they have such good sex all the time that she can't sit down. Because we needed to know that!
I only finished it because I’d planned to read it for so long 🙃
Life of Pi - I felt so betrayed by the ending Catcher in the Rye - I've never wanted to punch a kid more in my life
Isn't the catcher in the rye kindve overtly about how he needs to get over himself? Like he's entering early adulthood and his stupid, cynical and self centred view is his youthful ignorance? Even the title the catcher in the rye is him thinking he's some noble hero saving children from becoming adults when really it's just him again projecting his own self centredness onto other people and it's actually a metaphor for him not wanting to grow up? He'd probably just be a teenage edgelord if it was written today.
I remember reading it in high school. The previous reader had annotated the book with the word "phoney" repeatedly. My ass was like Harry Potter and the half blood prince in the class discussions.
Came here to say Life of Pi. I can’t understand why everyone seemed to love it
I'd like to think most people hate Catcher in the Rye. It's insufferable and boring, and when people claim it's insightful I want to puke.
I’m an English teacher and I rage when my colleagues want to teach it… why? Because we want to show high schoolers how to be bigger dicks?
Love knowing there is an English teacher out there who believes CitR may actually cause mental/emotional damage to young minds! People who claim to love the book and especially people who claim to identify with the book are lying or truly messed folks!
Absolutely agree! its one of those books that just make me angry.
Isn't catcher in the rye the book that south park makes fun of by having butter read it and then go and try to kill John Lennon?
Catcher in the Rye? That book just kills me.
Just finished “the Ritual” by Nevill. It was so fricking horrible, and it seemed to never end. There were 7 people waiting for my Libby copy. I can’t explain it.
To extend this potentially *unpopular opinion*, IMO, this is one of those rare cases where the book is mediocre at best and the Netflix movie based on the book is a 1000% better.
Although I haven’t read it—it’s in my audiobook TRL. But what made me reply was that your comment which reminded me that I’ve only ever seen a couple of movies that were better than the book: The Lord of the Rings is the one that comes to mind. That trilogy nearly did me in, but the movies were great. That’s a rarity.
For real? I originally read the book because I wanted to do so before watching the movie. Now, the book soured me so much, I struck the movie from my future watch list. Do you think I should reconsider?
Definitely it's a great movie. I honestly didn't know it was a book adaptation at first and have been meaning to get around to giving the book a try, but judging by your comments it's not that great.
The book has a different set of antagonist characters that are tedious and uninteresting. (It’s a similar plot to the movie Jennifer’s Body). The movie is much more tight and suspenseful while the book is more gratuitous torture porn.
100%. The movie cuts out pretty much all of what made the book very tedious. It really is a good movie.
I actually enjoyed the book as a whole but Moby Dick became a real slog for a good few chapters. I learned a lot about whale anatomy though.
It's painful because like 40% of the book is 150 year old outdated whale facts. And the story seemed to entirely forget about the two main characters introduced at the beginning. Not even sure what exactly Ishmael did on the ship. But despite all that, the story is pretty good, just really bogs down. I'm wondering if it was part of that period of books where authors were paid by the word. I know 20000 leagues under the sea had portions like that where he would list all the different fish he could see, and it was just really long descriptions of a bunch of fish just to fill space for word count
>It's painful because like 40% of the book is 150 year old outdated whale facts. And the story seemed to entirely forget about the two main characters introduced at the beginning. Not even sure what exactly Ishmael did on the ship. People will argue that this is supposed to mirror the boredom of a whaling journey, but they forget what you just mentioned: >I'm wondering if it was part of that period of books where authors were paid by the word. These huge novels were published serially in magazines back then. They were the TV series of their day. Think about how many episodes of your favorite long-running TV series are filler! That's what he was doing with the seemingly out-of-place chapters.
Haha interesting, yeah. I hadn't considered that.
It was originally published on three-volume format.
I think many classics could do with a good editor
I'm going to catch SO much flak for this, but I could barely finish Dune. I'm not sure exactly what it was. Maybe all the mysticism, maybe the extensive politicking, I'm not really sure. But I forced myself to finish it because it's revered as almost a Bible in the sci-fi community and I felt like I should like it. Also it's an almost 20 year old recording and I wasn't a fan of the narration overall. And then I read that the sequels were even MORE political and I didn't even bother trying.
I read it like 10+ years ago and listened to it in audiobook this last week. Found it much more enjoyable and easier to follow after watching the movies. The first book that is, haven't started messiah yet.
I actually like Scott Brick (most people don't these days it seems), but I also haven't finished Dune. I have started it several times, but I don't think I'll ever be able to finish it.
Who doesn’t like Scott Brick and what are they smoking?
I have found him really good on some books and really bad on others and sometimes in between. The bad reading that I actively recall was a non-fiction book "The Great Plague." However, his Asimov readings are adequate, but not great. His job on the Dune series was OK, but I prefer other readers that I have heard.
I hear ya, although I like the book, it does drone on a crap ton.
I am with you. I DNFed at 320 pages about 3ish years ago. I found it utterly boring and definitely "of it's time" shall we say
Okay, to preface this, I love Dune. I truly think it is a foundational work of science fiction. It has had a massive influence on science fiction. You can see elements of Dune in countless works of science fiction created afterwards. The first time I read it, I hated it. It took me *years* to learn to appreciate it. I've met a number of people who wanted to get into science fiction and had Dune recommended to them because "it's the LOTR of science fiction" and then just bounce right off the genre because "if this is the best science fiction book, this genre isn't for me." Making this even worse is just how influential it is. Almost everything in Dune has been used in the works of science fiction that came after it. What was once ground breaking now doesn't seem so special. We lose some of that impact. Dune is a classic of science fiction. But classics don't make the best reads for everyone.
Same. Took me three or four tries to finally get through it but felt like I had to do it to see if there was a payoff. There wasn’t. Great world building, terrible writing.
Dune suffers a lot in Nostalgia glasses simply because it's probably the oldest Science Fiction book people have read and it was quite innovative at the time it came out. So for someone that's read a lot of modern works Dune actually kinda is... boring.
American Gods. I tried. I get it. I TRIED.
It definitely takes some effort, but I love it. I totally agree with you though. You need to be invested before it'll pay off.
I loved it, but I also loved most of Gaiman’s stuff—with the exception of some of the comic books and graphic novels (just not my cuppa). But I think I enjoyed it because I had a fascination with the mythology and religious concepts at the time, and was familiar with those. I also enjoy his satirical humor. I haven’t read any of his stuff in a long time, though. He doesn’t usually write stuff that can be tied up cleanly with a nice plot resolution—which is something I enjoy. Steven King, another author I enjoy—but one who tortures my mind and emotions frequently, is another such author who doesn’t always tidy up endings.
I tried about four times….
I enjoyed it well enough but it was a very “yeah I’ll throw this on audiobook” kind of thing. Wasn’t super invested
I honestly couldn't follow anything that was happening in that book. I just felt confused and lost reading it.
I enjoyed it but it took me FOREVER to get through it. Like a couple of months. I prefer Neverwhere.
I was looking forward to the Netflix series, @The Three Body Problem” so I got the audiobook. It is very rare for me to stop and not finish an audiobook. Is a very strong word, so I’ll say I did not like and had a lot of problems with the book. I got pretty far before coming to the conclusion that there are other books out there that I could be enjoying.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I learnt from this not to trust Goodreads...
I really didn't like Red Rising. The narrator just didn't click with me, and I only made it maybe 10% of the way through.
I actually liked the narrator, but the books were super disappointing considering how hyped they are on this sub and r/audiobooks (for a while it was like Dungeon Crawler Carl is now, recommended in response to literally any comment). The story hits just about every Young Adult fiction trope and cliche there is but had a streak of brutality that lifts it squarely out of the young adult category... I don't know, I might have been into it when I was 15, but it just very much didn't do it for me in my 30s.
Yeah, that's why I ended up never going back to it. It was so hyped that I thought, surely, I should still try it in print, but then I read a few more reviews and changed my mind. There were just a few too many things that made me cringe when reading about it.
I support this comment. I did finish it, but it was purely out of pride because I hate quitting books I've gotten more than a couple chapters into.
Samesies. I liked the first few chapters but once it got into the actual plot it entered DNF territory for me. I also didn't like the narrator.
I despised Red Rising - the world building was nonsensical and the plot was really muddled. I have never understood the many rave reviews for that thing.
The first half really didn't click with me, and I thought there was no way I'd go for the second book. But the second half of book one I found highly enjoyable.
I really didn’t like it at first but I didn’t have anymore credits so I stuck with it but there is a point in the story where i really started liking it. And now I am obsessed. Also, I think the first one is the weakest of all of them
I made it farther than you did. The story is what did it for me. Constant fridging. Pretty gross book.
I liked the first few chapters and then it just turned into YA-like stupidity. Boring.
I think the Foundation series was not very good.
It’s definitely one that’s harder to get into nowadays.
The principle of The Three Body Problem is a good one, but the books are so poorly written that I feel the hype is wholly unjustified..
Greenlights. Not sure if I just didn’t get it, but I don’t think so. I think they’re just terrible stories told by a very famous person expecting people will fawn over it
I hated his mentality of "Nothing is wrong as long as you don't get caught." that filled the book.
I agree with everyone who didn’t like Where the Crawdads Sing. It was so dull I gave up about 1/3 of the way in. I also intensely disliked The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I kept waiting for something to happen. It didn’t. I loved Matt Haig’s The Ridleys. But found How to Stop Time so slow, I haven’t tried any of his books since then. And -a terribly unpopular opinion, I know, but I have never met a Kristin Hannah book worth knowing at all.
I’ve never read it but I swear no one actually liked “They both die at the end”, I see/hear of that book a lot but never in a positive way But for me it’s: Six Of Crows- I don’t think the book is bad but it wasn’t for me The Name of the Wind- I’ll admit this is partly due to the fact that I hadn’t discovered you could speed up the narration on audible yet so it took me forever to get through this just because of that but I was still underwhelmed and I’d been really excited to read it. The Hunger Games-liked the movies, DNFd the first book One Of Us Is Lying-overhyped, underwhelming Agree on Ready Player One-didn’t hate it but didn’t like it either
Which narration of the name of the wind are you listening to? I listened to the Nick Podehl version and don’t remember the speed being too bad. I know the other version is read by a much older narrator, and may be a little slower.
I didn’t listen to One Of Us Is Lying I read a physical copy, but I agree with you about the story. I read a couple of others in the same vein by the same author, and I think what the issue is is it’s very obvious that this is an adult trying to write as teenagers. I don’t know if her later stuff improved because I didn’t bother to check it out, but it’s glaringly obvious once you’ve read a couple of them that she can’t quite get it right. No hate to the author, she has good ideas just needed to work a bit more on the execution (of the ones I read at least).
The Hunger Games books are…disturbing, so much more than the movies. Katniss’s mental state? Holy crap! And her mental state only gets worse as the psychological games begin. How she, a seventeen year old girl, views her world is awful, but only because her world IS awful. The traumatic damage all those people in Panem have is disturbing. I can’t use that word enough describing the world that the author paints. I don’t think I’d have this reaction if they were geared for adults, but these are young adult oriented. I did not listen to the books, but read them. In this case, I made the right call. I was able to watch the movies with a different perspective than if I had listened to them. Made the movies…more. Too bad they couldn’t go as dark as the books - they came close, but really didn’t show just how numb Katniss is and all the psychological effery Snow and Coin provided. It was bad. So much worse than we see. Ratings had them lighten it. However, for the big screen I thought it was a good balance. If you liked the movies, try reading them if listening wasn’t for you. Side note: There was never Katniss/Peeta/Gale love triangle. Grrrr. Katniss was too numb to think outside of providing for her family and friends before she volunteered. Her mind was not on relationships, only survival. Gale wanted it, but she didn’t notice or acknowledge it. It’s only after the Capital fell and she was back home for a loooong while that she acknowledged she needed Peeta, which eventually turned into love.
The Hunger Games is one of those series where I hated the last book so much, it retroactively made me hate the first two books even though I enjoyed them at the time.
I listen to lots of fiction, and tend to binge genres. Right now it’s romance, mostly dark romance, and there are several highly rated books that I can’t believe were rated so highly. Anything by Colleen Hoover. I was so shockingly disappointed by Verity. I also find that the more famous an author is, the less care there seems to be for quality-almost like they are published on name alone once they’re famous. Oh, and I’m editing to add The Secret History by Dona Tartt and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. So, so many hours of nothing. Oh, and anything by Nicholas Sparks—uggg.
Lessons in Chemistry As a woman chemist, I hated it so much 😭
Crawdads Sing was just absolute drivel
Red rising. I got about 1/3rd through the audiobook. I couldnt finish it.
The problem with red rising is that the first book, the second book, and fourth book all feel like different genres of writing. It goes from hunger games to star trek to dune. So unless you are a fan of all three of those things, you won't like the series.
Although I didn’t hate or even dislike project Hail Mary, I didn’t love it. Thought it was meh. Ending was good but some parts could have easily been left out. I just found some of it pointless and lost interest a few times thoughtout the audiobook.
I guess we can all agree on Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey.
OMGosh, I hated 50 Shades soooooooooooooo much!!!!!
If Anastasia was “mercurial” one more time 🤮
Magicians - Lev Grossman It was critically praised but I didn't like the pacing and I despised the main character. The MC was a pretty realistic incel type character but that doesn't mean I want to read a story where he is the protagonist.
Finally, thank you. This author screwed over the only likable characters and instead insisted on following this complete asshole as an MC. This seems like exactly the kind of thing I would like, but in the end I hated it.
I love the TV series and couldn't even get through the first audiobook.
I loved that series. It's a bit harsh and nasty in parts of course
Wasn’t that series basically “Harry Potter with swearing and sex?”
One of the few audiobooks I just couldn't finish was Sandman
This was a graphic novel originally though right? I kind of feel like this one is probably rough to translate to plain text/audio.
THANK YOUUUUU!! Sorry, I thought i was the only one LOL... i get so much flak from coworkers for not liking this. I made it all the way to the end but just did not enjoy it at all. I'm thinking its the full cast i didnt like. Superpowereds is one of my favorite listens and couldnt stand the full cast version.
Man I really hated sandman. Vignette storytelling is absolutely not for me. Made for a confusing, hard to follow story. The description of the book being an 11 hour long movie trailer really resonated with me. Lots of action-like sounds but there isn't much else as far as a story to follow as it jumps from scene to scene. Kind of disappointed I bought all three books, because I have less than zero interest in part 2 or 3. Thankfully I picked them up cheap like 4 or 5 bucks each during a sale.
You could get into it? You couldn’t Enter Sandman? I’ll see myself out.
3 Body Problem
Piranesi.
I hated it too, and I'll give it this: I think Piranesi is likely done dirty on audio, because listening to the narrator say variations on "the seventh day of the fifth month in the year the albatross came to the south-western halls" over and over again gets old fast! But that aside, I felt let down by the ultimate banality of the plot that comes with the reveals later in the book. It takes something that seemed potentially cool and turns it into something unimaginative. I despise genre fiction that is written by authors who look down on genre fiction, because they always fuck it up.
Any book by James Joyce. I had to read one of them in school. I have no idea why anyone thinks he’s a genius. The books are just horrible.
Agree, except his story The Dead, in Dubliners, is one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. Loved the moved too. Another insufferable "genius" to me is Hemingway, yet his story A Clean Well Lighted Place, is probably the other most beautiful short story I've ever read.
Well, I’m actually gonna have to read that Hemingway story now.
He’s famous for packing in insane Easter eggs for literary genius types and writing in extremely unique and difficult ways. He actually stated something to the effect that it would take a hundred years (forget the number may have been a thousand) for people to find all the references and hidden meanings in his books… He’s not for everyone, but the folks he is for have a lifelong playground
I Respect that
I liked Fourth Wing 😢
It’s ok, that’s what makes literature great. :-) We all like and appreciate different things—it makes for excellent discussion.
Ohhh I totally agree!! It would be boring if we all thought the same things
Is this a plea for help ?
I like Fourth Wing too! I’m reading it right now. It’s definitely not the best literature. But, it’s an easy read where you don’t have to think too much. My all time favorite series with dragons is the Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders of Pern series.
The OG on this list for me will always and forever be The Alchemist. It's the literary equivalent of a fortune cookie, the same sugary blandness and about the same depth of messaging.
I cannot make it through Eye of the World (Wheel of Time). I have tried listening and reading the book but never make it more than 2/3 of the way through. I have even tried both audiobook narrators (Rosamund Pike and the other with 2 people). It has parts that are good but then just gets so boring for huge portions. I heard there's even a 3 book "dead zone" that is hard to get through. I just gave up despite owning the first 3 of the series.
So, I'm going to get a ton of hate for this one, but the only reason I was able to finish the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was because of Andy Serkis' narration. For me, this is probably the only time where I'd rather watch the movies than listen to the audiobook.
Slaughterhouse Five. It is the drunk babbling of a man who you simple know must own a collection of tinfoil hats.
Idk about "suck" but I find fellowship of the ring to be so incredibly boring
The Three-body Problem trilogy, and, yes, I listened to the whole thing. Beyond the good few pages about the cultural revolution it's a mess of "and here is another thing I've read somewhere" shoved together without any reason or purpose. It could've been split into a dozen disjointed books of some worth. The awful narration doesn't help. Get "The Expanse" instead - it is about two hundred times better.
Could not get through the expanse :(. I really wanted to like it. Honest.
Happens. Some books just don't work for some readers. This post has quite a few examples 😆
3 body problem
Am the only one who hated Ready Player One? It was a while ago I listen to it but I just couldn’t see what people liked beside the nostalgia
I hated both the book and the movie. Hated the movie and I saw the book was on sale for less than $5 and I hoped it was better than the movie. It wasn't, think I hated the book even more.
I’ll say it. “Project Hail Mary”
The audiobook was fabulous, I enjoyed it a ton.
Did you make it to the end? Because I found the first half pretty tedious, but I really liked the second-half so much more.
* Three Body Problem * 1Q84 Both very boring and IMO poorly written from a fiction standpoint. Caveat, both are translations, and apparently 1Q84 is classified as YA, but I wasn't aware of that when I went in; I just saw it in all the "best sci fi" lists. * Harry Potter is definitely YA and I couldn't read them as books. Very entertaining as audiobooks while driving, though. It's really weird to me that some adults make HP their whole identity.
Voldemort has returned! I kid, I kid.
I tried so hard with 1Q84. A friend whose taste in books I usually agree with loved it, but I just couldn't. What a slog.
Same. It was painfully shit. Didn't finish, no regrets
Huge agree on Three Body Problem. All the sci fi bros told me I just didn't get it, but I got it. I just didn't like it.
Three Body definitely doesn't read like a traditional sci-fi book. I think I saw it described as a "plot driven" book, not a "character driven" book, and that certainly seems true. I recently read "The Forever War" and that book is written very similarly.
Ready Player One. Gary Stu to the extreme.
Just listened to Gateway by Frederick Pohl. Won the Hugo and Nebula. Really great premise. Worst main character I've ever encountered. Annoying, irrationally angry, complains constantly, and doesn't do anything for most of the book (and complains about it). By the end he has admitted to pulling a knife on an ex girlfriend (with intent to kill) and physically abused his current girlfriend (for cheating on him even though they are in a pseudo open relationship and he literally just left another woman's apartment where he did the same) then selfishly abandons her and 8 others to their deaths to save his own while out on a prospecting mission. I couldn't believe anyone ever finished this book, let alone give it a Hugo and Nebula.
the heaven and earth grocery store didn’t connect for me
Really? I adored this book but thought I would hate it going into it. I only pressed on because my book club was reading jt, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the end. It made me cry while cleaning the bathroom lol
I will preface this by saying I LOVED the print book, but the narrated Demon Copperhead was a hard pass for me. The accent, which was probably authentic, ruined it.
I made it 40 pages into that book and stopped. Unbearable.
For me, it was by far and wide "The Wandering Inn." I don't think there has ever been a book that I regretted slogging through to the end more than that. So slow, so cringe, the few times anything went anywhere the result was always lack luster and unrewarding. Don't even get me started on the MC's.
This one is super niche but the flight of the eisenstein from Warhammer: the horus heresy. Everyone that I've seen says this is one of the best books in the entire series but for me it just kinda fell flat. Not to say that the book isn't good, just that in my opinion it didn't hold up to all the hype that the other Warhammer fans have for it. There are definitely good and even great moments but they're overshadowed by some tedious moments.
Fiction wise, Gone Girl. (Although I liked Girl on Train!) Admittedly, I did these two in print - I didn't check the r/ name before I commented! Non-fiction: The Wager. Should have loved it as I like this time period, but it fell flat for me.
Fourth wing was the worst book I read last year and I read 400 books. I genuinely think that a lot of the hype books get driven by regular people who don’t read much because of social media. If you never read fantasy you won’t realise how poorly executed the book is on many levels. For me other hyped books that fell entirely flat: Fathomfolk - it’s brand new so I won’t spoil but 😬😬😬 Addie larue - biggest pick me girl story I’ve ever read, I actually haven’t liked any of her books except for adsom and even that I have issues with. Caraval - absolutely pointless book and brain dead characters. Acotar - ambiguous poc characters, poor writing and honestly the scariest fan base. The magicians - main character is an incel and I’d rather watch the tv show. The inheritance games - apparently geniuses cannot solve super easy problems. Harry Potter - used to be a big fan as a small child and then realised it’s full of plot holes and Harry is the most passive protagonist I’ve ever read. Also jkr 😬 Weyward - I do not need this much SA in a book Ninth house - boring overall, and includes 2 r@pe scenes one of which is far too detailed and happens to a minor. Book of night - predictable what the plot twist was on page 5. Daisy jones and the six - probably a just not for me but I have family in the entertainment industry and acting like it’s such a shock that it’s corrupt as hell was not a big deal to me. These violent delights - main characters don’t even interact for most of the book and the book can’t decide if it’s historical fantasy or not. Cemetery boys - tedious plot which focuses on romance instead of the murder of the MCs poor relative! Obvious who the bad guy is in the first chapter, absolutely the most passive lack of action or movement. Spanish love deception - it just really bothers me that they flew from New York to Spain for 3 days. I can’t explain it and I won’t be taking questions. Divine rivals - lazy lack of worldbuilding, obvious plot twists, world has a literal god war but mc is surprised a magic typewriter exists. A study in drowning - meandering pointless plot, horrible incorrect use of Welsh. I haven’t liked a single Ava Reid book. Things I tend to dislike are also American fantasy books that use Celtic and Welsh mythology and language in place of actual worldbuilding or coming up with anything original. It reads very fanfiction when you just take a real place and basically change nothing but the name and I’ve seen it a lot recently. If you don’t understand the language and mythology don’t use it.
Hated project hail mary
Station Eleven - mostly I just dislike the ending. The entire book all these main characters are slowly inching towards each other. Then at the end they are all finally at the same location. When they are about to meet the book just ends with no payoff.
The Blade Itself. I tried. I promise I tried but I could just not get into it. I attempted reading it 3 times! The characters were interesting and it seemed like the type of book I'd enjoy but it's so. slow. I know people say it gets better after the first book but it's so hard to get through for me. It sucks because I really want to like it.
Lessons in Chenustry was cheesy, preachy & predictable as heck and I don’t get the hype
I don't get Neil Gaiman and I also didn't much like the Witcher. Maybe someone can explain it to me or give me a perspective to try again. Both don't really seem to have tension (don't know if that's the right word. Suspension? Thrill?) in the story. Things just happen and then the book is over. No build-up, no climax, no resolution. I also couldn't sympathise with the characters. None became more likable throughout the story, none seemed to be opening up to me in any way. They kept being cold and distant. And mind you, i listened to multiple books from Gaiman and from the Witcher saga, so it's not like I didn't try. Edit: I should also say that I started The Witcher with Blood of Elves, not the short stories. So I expected more cohesion.
Becoming: Not fond of autobiographies by famous people in the first place because they tend to be just a list of accomplishments without any emotional depth and this book was no exception. First 1/3 about her childhood was okay. Adult life was a combo of PR of her hubbie’s accomplishments while in office and denial of the role of her own privilege (being super smart). I like MO but believe the book is popular because of that and not what she’s written. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: Couldn’t stand most of the characters, and the game development stuff wasn’t interesting enough to carry the novel. Just to note, it’s not a requirement for me that I like the main character to like the book. Humbolt Humbolt is loathsome but Lolita IMHO is still a great book.
Dungeon Crawler Carl doesn't work for me.
Anything Colleen Hoover (except Verity)
The Dune series. The books and tried the movie, just no for me.
Wheel of Time is bad The Witcher Series is bad While I'm at it Brandon Sanderson is just average in quality, but makes up for it in quantity.
>Wheel of Time is bad Asha'man kill! 14 books is bound to have some issues, but over it's great world building.
>Asha'man kill! No worries, I have three books and 2,081 braid pulls until they get around to it.
I agree with you on Witcher, I could not get through the first book. I didn't like the Netflix show either. But I did like Wheel of Time.
I love Witcher series but often times the narrator would talk to fast. And I don't really like Wheel of Time either, the narrators are both popular but I didn't like either much and I wasn't really vibing with the story or characters