well, THAT was the worst book ever!

[kethria]

If we go way back... A Separate Peace... I hated that more than Gatsby and Johnny Tremain

[Ceiling Fan]

I'm going to date myself, but I hated "And Ladies of the Club..." that was written by an older lady, and published in the mid 80s. People just ranted about how good the book was, and how amazing blah, blah, blah. If I remember correctly, it was about 1400 pages in papaerback, and each page was horrendous.

I made it part way through, and threw it out in the yard.

Oh yeah. Completely unreadable, I made it about halfway though before giving up.

The other I remember from this same period was A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Please, just, no.

[GreenHall]

It's been a few years ago now, but I wound up with a copy of The Historian - like so many mentioned before, interesting premise.  I can read a LOT of dreck, so I kept trying to figure out why THIS book was so awful to me - i finally decided it was passive - I kept reading thinking something interesting was about to happen, and interesting things did happen - in oh so passive ways that weren't interesting.
I think this was a best seller that year, and every time I think about it, I just cannot imagine that many people liking it.

[Maujer]

If we go way back... A Separate Peace... I hated that more than Gatsby and Johnny Tremain

Did you grow up in MA? I know very few people outside of Massachusetts who had to read this book in high school, including my husband who is from CT.

I also hated that book.

[Giggity]

See, now, I adore A Confederacy of Dunces. It makes me laugh out loud consistently, in a weird and not entirely comfortable way.

Here's one I cannot admit to Gentleman Friend, whose favorite book it is: I hate Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It's everything unlikable about hippies, except possibly the Nag Champa.

[Giggity]

It's been a few years ago now, but I wound up with a copy of The Historian - like so many mentioned before, interesting premise.  I can read a LOT of dreck, so I kept trying to figure out why THIS book was so awful to me - i finally decided it was passive - I kept reading thinking something interesting was about to happen, and interesting things did happen - in oh so passive ways that weren't interesting.
I think this was a best seller that year, and every time I think about it, I just cannot imagine that many people liking it.

YES. No one did anything. Things just happened.

[Firecat]

A number of books I like (in some cases, love) have been mentioned as "I hates" by other posters.

To each his/her own.

I don't think anyone disagrees with the to each their own idea...and there are some books I liked fairly well mentioned on here as hates, too. ("The Great Gatsby" for one - I didn't love it, but I didn't mind it. Also "Wuthering Heights" and "Pride and Prejudice.")

But I don't mind if other people hated them; just different taste and experiences, is all. I think it's kind of interesting, actually.

[Ceiling Fan]

See, now, I adore A Confederacy of Dunces. It makes me laugh out loud consistently, in a weird and not entirely comfortable way.

Here's one I cannot admit to Gentleman Friend, whose favorite book it is: I hate Jonathan Livingston Seagull. It's everything unlikable about hippies, except possibly the Nag Champa.

Oh dear Deity, yes. Along with Love Story and every bad remake of it.

Time Traveler's Wife: Love Story, with time travel = gluuuurge  

[Spriggy]

The Great Gatsby - I was forced to read that book twice (once in high school and once in college).  In my opinion they all should have died in the end.  Would have been a much more satisfying ending.

The Mists of Avalon - So slooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.  Of course I was forced to read it for a college class (along with 11 other books for that class!!)

Shopaholic Series - Does the main charater never learn?!?!

[Mikayla]

I am a big fan of Ann Rule and her true crime books, but there is one I despise.  It is Every Breath You Take, about the tragic murder of a mother of quads, perpetrated by her ex.  Nobody but nobody deserves what happened to this young woman, but it was difficult to empathize with her, as, throughout the book, she came across as a social climber, all about the $$$, and egging on her ex, excusing a lot of his behavior as long as he was providing a great lifestyle for her, and even enabling him in criminal behavior at some points.  Then, following their divorce, she married a man who was physically abusive to the two daughters she'd had with the ex, and that's where she completely lost me.  Ms. Rule explains away and excuses all the bad acts and poor choices made by this woman throughout the book.  I was still heartbroken when the murder was described, and I will reiterate that she did in no way "have it coming to her"; she was just harder to empathize with than many other crime victims.  

I also wanted to throw Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult through a plate glass window.

I'm a huge fan of Ann Rule, but I had an identical reaction to this book!  And I've also seen minor variations of it in other books, but not to where it was a big deal.  I just think she goes overboard sometimes in her acceptance of "victimhood" (if that makes sense). 

[geordicat]

Oh Mists of Avalon.  Dang that book took forever.  

I'm plodding through Count of Monte Cristo right now.  So far the movie is tons better.  So so so much extra stuff and sub plots and characters that don't have anything to do with the main story.  

[Íkorna]

I wanted to like Revolutionary Road, but the characters were so unlikeable that I couldn't care much about their dramas. I loved Gilead, but its sequel/companion Home just didn't do it for me-- absolutely nothing happened. In Gilead it worked, in Home, not so much. I didn't like Q&A (The book Slumdog Millionaire is based on) very much either. I don't know if I'll like it now, but in late middle school/early high school I read Washington Square and wanted to hurl it across the room.

[LadyPekoe]

A number of books I like (in some cases, love) have been mentioned as "I hates" by other posters.

To each his/her own.

I don't think anyone disagrees with the to each their own idea...and there are some books I liked fairly well mentioned on here as hates, too. ("The Great Gatsby" for one - I didn't love it, but I didn't mind it. Also "Wuthering Heights" and "Pride and Prejudice.")

But I don't mind if other people hated them; just different taste and experiences, is all. I think it's kind of interesting, actually.

I actually really like these threads.  It's interesting to see what other people like and don't like.

I think I'm the lone person to love Wuthering Heights  

[Red1979]

I mentioned this before, but I was extremely disgusted with The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.  The story sounds good but it was just badly written.  The main problem is the book has no quotation marks which I know is also one of your peeves, Juana.

I read this too!  The premise sounded so great and then it was just so flat.  And don't start me on how they didn't explain anything about the brother.  I spent the whole book waiting to get more details on that and then..nada.

[Red1979]

Twilight - I don't even know where to start on my hatred of that book.

Atlas Shrugged - If you make it through the full book someone should hand you an award and throw a parade in your honor.  Who is John Galt? 

After page 1000, who the heck cares.  That's entire book is a testament to pretension.

Wicked - I like to pretend I never read that one so Oz stays as a fond memory for me.

The Historian - If you want to find a book that makes Dracula incredibly boring, go for this one.  And they certainly aren't lying with the "historian" title--every narrator talks like a history professor, which begs the question of why you need multiple narrators if they all sound the same.

Pretty much anything on the Oprah book club list, I was sucked into that on more than one occasion.  Fool me once Oprah, shame on you--fool me twice...