[Closed] Read any bad books lately?

James Ellroy's 'Blood's a Rover' - given to me by a family member. I put so much effort into it, persisted, perservered, and then within 50 pages of the end, realised that life's just too short.

Yes, I had a go at this tripe -

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I should have known better, it's got that dicksplash Clarkson bigging it up on the cover.

Indeed, after the Vulcan book, that was a real disappointment.

battlefield earth by elron cupboard. utter shite.

after the Vulcan book

Quite. That's what suckered me in. "Britain's last Topguns" FFS.

Honestly lads, you're blessed if you're reading bad books. It shows a commitment to reading such that you're prepared to take a chance on something. Because if it's shite it doesn't matter, you'll read something good next week.

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Compulsively bad.

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Smug, self-satisfied and lazyily researched (the Gorge du Verdon is NOT granite FFS!). Based around the premise that the French speak a bit funny and there is whole book's worth of patronising mileage to be made from this ground-breaking observation.

It promised me a "laugh out loud" read. I snorted briefly once on about page 4 when he describes his young tricycle riding self as "a ghastly ponce". Then it just grated on me all the way to the end.

Agreed Garry, and I've usually got 3 or 4 books on the go. I very rarely think a book's really bad, it's just that I don't like it. However, with Phoenix Squadron White really managed to turn Gold into Lead.

I tried reading Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance recently. Got about 50 pages in and had to give up.

Rik Mayal's autobiograhy, Bigger Than Hitler.
Imagine a 14 year old school boy doing nonstop Rik Mayal impressions to show off to some girls.
For 200 pages.

Worst book I ever got out of the library.

Alice In Wonderland. Thought it was about time that I read it. Utter balls. Poorly written, woeful story, no narrative flow, just a collection of random rubbish and the worst possible ending that any book can ever have.

Currently battling my way through this, because it was recommended here. Given I've been trying to finish it for 9 monhts I should really give up

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Pieface + 1 I struggled with that then gave up

Transitions by Iain Banks.

shame, I am a real fan of his work, I've tried hard with it, I really have, but it's shit. Sorry.

I tried to read No country for old men not that long ago, got about 10/15 pages in, don't know if it's just me but if i can't visualise the book in my head as I read, I'll struggle with it... so that was bad book for me.

Put me back on my bike. I have read better bog rolls.

Funnily enough before I even open the thread to see [b]flashy's[/b] comment I thought to myself "I wonder if I'll be ostracised for not enjoying [i]The Fry Chronicles[/i] which i am struggling through still since Xmas?"
Funny old world innit?

It would be an interesting thread were it not for the OP.

It was started more to say "Oh look, here's someone most people really like and he wrote a book wot I didn't like. I must tell them all on STW about this. It might get a wind-up".

Sad really.

Transitions by Iain Banks

One worth sticking with IMHO, although maybe it's more one for Iain M Banks fans rather than his Iain Banks persona.

This started off well but turned out to be truly rubbish, it's as though he changed his mind what on what he was writing part way through:

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Not at all, Darcy. It was started in response to the good books thread, not as you put it above. Sorry to disappoint. I have no issue with Stephen Fry at all, in fact I find much of his work very funny. As such, I was disappointed to read such a rubbish book. See above re Roland White as well.

I don't believe you flashy 😛

Umberto Eco: 'The Name of the Rose'.

The film was pretty good but this book was utter pish. I read 50 pages before giving up having got mightily sick of constant "God, we're not worthy!" comments. Get. On. With. It.

I liked "Pandora's Star" by Peter F. Hamilton but it got really tedious - far too many words. I had to skim read big chunks of it to keep interested.

L. Ron Hubbard. Ye gods what dross. I was given 'Battlefield Earth' for my birthday before I found out he was that nutter who created the scientologists. I still thought it was complete crap.

humm am I weird or am I not reading enough? I haven't read a bad book in ages to be fair. Maybe the sarah douglass first trilogy was "bof", but I wouldn't qualify it as bad. It needs re-reading, in the appropriate language 😉

Maybe the sarah douglass first trilogy was "bof",

*Wonders how many other people will get that! 🙂 One of my favourite Frenchisms...!

I'm reading the biggest pile of tripe I've read for ages - Good Night Vienna by JH Schyrer. I think I picked it up expecting it to be a gipping read, instead it's a quasi Mills & Boon with a picture of Hitler on the cover. If I read one more bloody time how he trembled in her luxuriating presence or somesuch utter claptrap I will, I will....be even more grumpy. And 10/10 for lazy historical research!

Am gritting my teeth trying to get it done with. Can't wait to read something decent.

Wonders how many other people will get that!

The Business by Iain Banks, such a shame as it promised much for the first half of the book, then turned into the biggest pile of crap I ever read, total waste of a couple of days of my life. A shame as I really like a lot of his stuff.