Least-favorite books ever!

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Postby Debitt » Tue May 23, 2006 11:50 pm

beau99 wrote:The Stranger - Existentialism + me = no.

D: Really? I didn't agree with all of Camus' views, but I really enjoyed The Stranger.

The last page of the Great Gatsby is amazingly well written, and very tragic...but the rest of the book bored me to no end.

Controversy aside, I highly disliked the style Dan Brown used in The Da Vinci Code. Probably because it struck me as overly simplistic with no real reason to be.

Our Town. D: Boring? Yes.

Heart of Darkness. While I accuse Da Vinci Code of being overly simplistic, Conrad is on the other side of the spectrum as he tries to be too complex. He spends 4 pages describing something, and when he's done, you've forgotten what he was describing.

...and a special prize goes to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for having the worst diction EVER. I have a list of "Shelley words" that she uses OVER and OVER again - "wretch" "countenance" "benevolent" "percieved"...augh.
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Postby Puritan » Wed May 24, 2006 6:04 am

Kokoro Daisuke wrote:Heart of Darkness. While I accuse Da Vinci Code of being overly simplistic, Conrad is on the other side of the spectrum as he tries to be too complex. He spends 4 pages describing something, and when he's done, you've forgotten what he was describing.


Heart of Darkness is complex, but it has one of the most memorable lines ever. "The horror! The horror!"

I despised Demian by Hermann Hesse. I had to read it for class, and the main character falls in with an evil, self-serving guy who ends up being a messiah figure and teaching the main character how wonderful it is to be evil and do what you want. Plus the main character falls in love with his friend's mother. The book is bizarre, and I thought it was vile.

I also really dislike Heinlein's adult fiction with the exception of Starship Troopers and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, while those two books were excellent (although parts of "The Moon..." were wierd), the rest of Heinlein's adult fiction was just trashy.
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Postby Steeltemplar » Wed May 24, 2006 7:58 am

Puritan wrote:Heart of Darkness is complex, but it has one of the most memorable lines ever. "The horror! The horror!"

You could always just watch Apocalypse Now ]As I Lay Dying was the Faulkner book I liked best. Faulkner is not for everyone, but if you have the patience he's a very interesting writer.[/QUOTE]
It is not a matter of patience. I simply found it to be badly written, obtuse, and most of all unedifying. I think that the last part is my greatest criticism. Faulkner's world is one in which I would rather not indulge. It is far too dark and bereft of the light of hope and goodness.

If you like it, then that is fine. Perhaps you found some element which did not strike me. But I personally would never read it again for the reasons above and it has nothing to do with my patience nor my ability for comprehension.
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Postby Linksquest » Wed May 24, 2006 8:40 am

Kokoro Daisuke wrote:D: Really? I didn't agree with all of Camus' views, but I really enjoyed The Stranger.


I've been wanting the read this. My bro. had to read it for school. I might check this out sometime soon!
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Postby Anna Mae » Sun May 28, 2006 5:26 pm

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper was the absolute worst book that I have ever read. I read it in junior high.
>It displayed ignorance of Native American culture, etc.
>He used the word said followed by an adverb whenever someone spoke.
>The characters were often stereotypical and stupid.
>The plot was boring.
>It embodied everything that, for me, a good book should not be.
People may rant about how it's a classic and so great and blah blah blah, but I advise you to never read it if you can possibly avoid such an unpleasant event.
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look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!â€
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