Books Not Recomended

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clivex

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Well

Worst written rubbish that had "good reviews" that I have had the misfortune to waste 100 pages on was Man and Boy by Tont Parsons

Utter drivel... Dreadfully written, self righteous, charmless, poor characterisations and generally very boring. and yet it hit the market at the right time and was "read" by thousands

More highbrow...i found william faulkner virtually unreadable. Like James Joyce, if its painful to follow...then i cant be bothered.
 
As this thread has been entered upteen times, this is up the the same award.

PLEASE READ PINNED TOPIC ABOUT MAIL ERROR ABOVE


Duh.... :brows:
 
Sorry, Brian but having tried them both again, I have to go for Catch 22 and On The Road. The first is unreadable the second is just dreadfully dull.
 
I have tried Catch 22 four times, Bar, each time wanting to like it as it is a "classic", but I have never made it past half way.
 
Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gribbon. This was the set text when I did my Higher Grade English many moons ago and it was the most boring, torturous, uninteresting book I have ever attempted to read. I didn't finish it. I did, however, pass my English exam somehow.
 
Catch 22 is one of the very few books I put down without finishing. Couldn't get into it at all.
 
Originally posted by PDJ@Sep 11 2006, 05:38 PM
Sorry, Brian but having tried them both again, I have to go for Catch 22 and On The Road. The first is unreadable the second is just dreadfully dull.
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It`s pretty rare for PDJ and i to agree, but he`s right here. I got half way through On The Road and just gave up. boring, boring boring.

The only other book i`ve ever started and not finished is a Frederick Forsyth one - The Devil`s Alternative which featured Freddie trying to be too clever with multiple plotlines.
 
Isn't it funny? I just can't understand how anyone can have trouble reading or not like "Catch 22".

But then again, I struggle to see what adults find in the Harry Potter series.

Bar the Bull - it must have been a difficult choice...
 
Originally posted by BrianH@Sep 11 2006, 09:39 PM
Isn't it funny? I just can't understand how anyone can have trouble reading or not like "Catch 22".

But then again, I struggle to see what adults find in the Harry Potter series.
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Agreed and agreed again.
 
I've just finished reading aloud 'A Blitz Childhood' to my Mother - it's an autobiographical account of living in the World's End of Chelsea (she lived at the time in the 'other' end, volunteering to drive a London County Council ambulance for the Light Rescue workers).

I got her to do verbal impersonations of the sounds of the different types of bombs (screaming, buzz, etc.), the pom-poms of anti-aircraft fire, and the drones of the German bombers coming over to offload. I did my best to affect a variety of accents for the occasional discourses, too. All of which added to the gaiety of the experience, if not to the consternation of any passing staff in the home. You get a different insight into the way a book's written when you have to croak your way through two or three chapters of it at a time!
 
Originally posted by PDJ@Sep 11 2006, 04:45 PM
I have tried Catch 22 four times, Bar, each time wanting to like it as it is a "classic", but I have never made it past half way.
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But that's where the really surreal shit kicks in!!!

Although I know what you mean about it being hard to read. It has little flow to it and feels jerky and, unless you are really paying attention, you will quite often find yourself wondering what the fvck is going on. However, when you finally do find yourself in the "same place" then it is infinitely rewarding.

Must go, I have a new batch of Egyptian cotton to deliver to the mess hall.
 
At the time, the Beat writers and poets (and they were usually both, with varying degrees of coherency and success) seemed interesting and original. Decades later, when you're not constantly on the puff or dinged on coffee with added special mushrooms, they seem self-regarding and humourless. Reading both 'Alices' again, though, makes me wonder if Carroll wasn't on both much of the time!
 
I just finished a piece on the Beats for the Rare Book Review [it was centred on Ginsberg and Howl but I did quite a bit of research]. I found the following, which tells us that On The Road is the most expensive ms ever sold at over $12 MILLION. Hmmmm

See http://www.cbc.ca/news
 
The Missus handed me a copy of a History of Tractors in Ukrainian. Thought I was losing touch with my feminine side, apparently. Holy Fcuk it is truly gruesome.
 
I wouldn't really recommend Conn Iggulden's Emperor series - although the stories are entertaining enough they are historically ludicrous & it really wound me up! Had to put down Stephen King's Insomnia too - it was doing a good job of putting me to sleep, never mind the title! One I read recently was a bit dodgy too - Mo Hayder's Pig Island - the reviews were bad but it seemed ok until around 3/4 of the way through when it just got ridiculous. Disappointing as I've very much enjoyed Mo Hayder's previous books.
 
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