Awful, awful, awful books....

[Jah Lush]

George Orwell's 1984 Keef? Sacrilege... ok I'll give you one thing it's bloody despressing but I'm very glad you said it has a lot to say and it's well written.

[mockney piers]

Yep, 1984, one of those books that changed my life. Wonderful, but I can understand that there are patches where the plot, such as it is, doesn't exactly race along.

As opposed to 1421, some rubbish conjecture about how a Chinese boat circumnavigated the world, discovered America, invented farming, antibiotics, pasteurisation and split the atom. Hmmm.

[Keef]

Like I say, it says a lot, and it is an important book. But I just didn't exactly find it to be a page turner. I was 15/16 when I read it though, problem with having to do books for English exams, kind of takes the pleasure out of them... Although I did like Lord of the flies. :-S

[Jah Lush]

I devoured everything that Orwell ever wrote when I was in my teens and early 20s. In fact I'm gonna add one or two onto the good books section.

[mockney piers]

I was perhaps a tad younger, but crucially it wasn't a study book, but just one I picked off the shelf myself.

[indiepanda]

Keef Wrote:

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> 1984 is a book that I found to be very hard work.

> Obviously it has a lot to say, and it's well

> written and all that, but frankly it bored me.

Me too. it's one of the few books I've started and not got beyond the first few chapters. Mind you it was over 20 years ago I tried (during english lit GCSE)

The other one that really defeated me was by Kazuo Ishiguro - the guy who wrote The Remains of the Day which I liked, but his next book, The Unconsoled was dreadful - like having a confusing dream, which to be fair I think it was meant to be, but it was torture nonetheless.

I can remember trying to read The Silmarilion when I was a kid, but it didn't hook me, loved Hobbit and LOTR though.

Oh and agree on Wuthering Heights too - I was so disappointed - was meant to be some great romance, and you open the book up and discover one of them is already dead, and it becomes clear quickly neither of them are very nice people either. All too turgid for my liking, same as the rest of the miserable Bronte sisters output. Stick to Jane Austen, much more enjoyable.

I did manage to finish the Da Vinci Code, but I refused to buy a new copy, just got a tatty one from a charity shop, and it was as bad a pot boiler as I expected it to be, went straight back in the charity shop afterwards.

Can add Dickens to the mix too - one writer who is better on TV / film - the plots are good enough and watching cuts out all his waffle - was he paid by the word or something.... yawn. Though again, I last tried to read him 20 years ago... might appreciate it now.

[Brendan]

The Life of Pi bored me shitless.

I get it already, religion, India, conflicting beliefs, crisis and conflict, keeping a tiger alive, symbolism etc. Now fuck off.

[mockney piers]

Anything by Jostein Gaarder. Gaaaaaah (sound of finger forced down throat)

[TillieTrotter]

I loved the Life of Pi, I use to read it to my boys when they were little. They loved it.

[Brendan]

I know Tillie. Everyone I know who read it liked it which is why I persevered and actually read the whole thing. I normally just put a book down if it is boring me but with Life of Pi I thought I must be missing something and it would get better.

It didn?t and I felt left out of the Life of Pi club.

What I tend to like in books is the deconstruction of established ideas to expose the entropy in the world around us or stupid humour. Preferably stupid humour that deconstructs established ideas to expose the entropy in the world around us.

[Brendan]

Actually I?m a bald faced liar. I didn?t actually read the whole thing. Most of it though.

[TillieTrotter]

Maybe it was just the way I read it...amazing character voices and all. You're welcome to join the next bedtime story Brenda;-)

For appalling spelling

[Keef]

Normally I enjoy Mike Gayle's books, just because they're nice easy reading, but he writes very realistic characters I think. Anyway, the first one was called "My Legendary Girlfriend". Fortunately this was not the first one I read, because if it had been, I am pretty sure I never would have read another one. So slow, and so so depressing!

[Keef]

May be being unfair here, but just couldn't (despite really trying) finish Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. Think it would have been much more fun for someone in their 20s in 90-95, if read at that time, but it definitely hasn't aged well, and is just too full of nerdspeak for my brain!

Hmmm, I think I may have written that on this forum before ages ago... Oh well.

[clare]

Anything by Tony Parsons.

Lovely Bones

[boosboss]

The most boring book ever must be Catcher in the Ryzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

I loved the Hobbit as a kid too - but found Lord of The Rings too wordy when I read them afterwards. Read all three and enjoyed them, but started skipping big chunks of boring flowery description to get to the story.

[snorky]

the unholy trinity of shit filled reading slop:

Parsons

Pearson

Proulx

I have to admit that Proulx can write, its just shes forgotten that a plot would help a bit

On the Parsons theme, I have a soft spot for Burchill - a vitriol pissing hag of dubious politics, but she does rant very well

Pearson should be drowned in a bucket of her own urine, though I " dont know now she does it"

Go to the Mind shop and see whats racking up - what is Todays equiavelent of the Herriot & Maclean donations of yesteryear ?

Beckham Biographies, Public school Potter, anything with txt language as its USP ( LOLS GR8 etc ), Bloody Dan Brown, Crap with comic sans on its cover ,Pointless drivel by Paul Cohelo

Theres too much to list innit

[HonaloochieB]

Finnegan's Wake - James Joyce. What the fuck?

Tarantula - Bob Dylan. What the fucking fuck?

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig. What the fucking fuck, you bastard.

[mockney piers]

ha ha, with you on all of those!!

[Sue]

Ulysses.

Lord of the Rings.

Glass Bead Game (Herman Hesse).

Couldn't get through any of them. Tried several times.

Loved Life of Pi though :)

[flapjackdavey]

wheres' Wally .... flippin rubbish .

[Sue]

Bunty Annual.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Jane Eyre - quite robust though, got hurled across the room a number of times.

Enjoyed Wide Sargaso Sea

[HonaloochieB]

Sue Wrote:

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> Bunty Annual.

Are you sure? If it featured any adventures of The Four Marys, then have a care, for you toy with my juvenile sexuality.

Which Mary? Cotter? Raleigh? I couldn't make my mind up.

Probably bacause on the back cover of each 'Bunty' there was Bunty, disporting herself in her underwear.

Distracting me from the wholesomeness of the the Marys, and enticing me into the whole 'cutting out the Bunty figure, the clothes, ensuring you include the 'tabs' so that you can press them over Bunty's compliant body'

Think again, Sue.