Books you picked up and quit because you hated it.

[Del Murder]

Ulysses by James Joyce. I'm not a big fan of prose. Couldn't understand what the smurf was going on.

I just started the Wheel of Time series and so far it's pretty boring. Of course, I'm only on chapter 3 of this 800 page monster. I usually give it 25% through before I decide to continue. It's a real commitment to read this series so I'm going to be pretty judgmental on this first 25% to determine whether or not to finish it.

[Raistlin]

I can't recall any books I've tried to read on my own time (not for school) that I hated so much I couldn't even make it through most of it. Sometimes I get bored of a series and don't finish it, but I'm usually discriminating enough that the books almost certainly won't be absolutely terrible.

I just started the Wheel of Time series and so far it's pretty boring. Of course, I'm only on chapter 3 of this 800 page monster. I usually give it 25% through before I decide to continue. It's a real commitment to read this series so I'm going to be pretty judgmental on this first 25% to determine whether or not to finish it.

I read all of the series that existed about 6 years ago. It does get a little less boring, but the biggest change is that many of the characters become more irritating. Not a series I recommend.

the bible. Lotta Awl e.

So very true.

[Tavrobel]

The Great Gatsby, The Moviegoer, and just about everything from my American literature class. American literature sucks.

[Flying Arrow]

^ Cormac McCarthy is pretty darn good. Check out Blood Meridian (that is, if you're not averse to a little (a truckload) of gore). Inspiring prose. He's getting a lot more press lately because of The Road and No Country... movies. Hell, the hermit even did an Oprah interview if I recall.

However, if you're a fantasy/sci-fi genre fan (I only assume this because of the nature of the forum that has brought us all together), check out John Crowley and Gene Wolfe. Little, Big and The Book of the New Sun, respectively, are the absolute peak of the genre. I cannot recommend them higher. Like McCarthy, these guys are inspiringly good at the top of their game.

The only book or series I can ever actually remember quitting reading due to how much I disliked it is Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind, which I quit midway through the first book due to how thoroughly inept I felt the characterization was. I even tried to re-read it and had the same reaction, and I tried a later novel in the series (Faith of the Fallen) and wound up being just as disinterested, although for somewhat different reasons (the constant nonsensical political rants didn't help my appreciation of the book). I won't give Goodkind a fourth chance.

Check out some of Goodkind's Youtube interviews. The man's insufferable. I even remember reading once that he claimed that his books aren't fantasy (not in the sense that he thinks magic really exists, but in the sense that he's so high up on his thematic interests that labeling his work 'fantasy' is a disservice to his wonderful ideas).

[Iceglow]

I just started the Wheel of Time series and so far it's pretty boring. Of course, I'm only on chapter 3 of this 800 page monster. I usually give it 25% through before I decide to continue. It's a real commitment to read this series so I'm going to be pretty judgmental on this first 25% to determine whether or not to finish it.

I read all of the series that existed about 6 years ago. It does get a little less boring, but the biggest change is that many of the characters become more irritating. Not a series I recommend.

I on the other hand do reccomend the Wheel of Time series, book one does start kinda slow it is true but I feel the series really picks up pace. The last book (which has been split in to 3 parts due to the fact that the source material left by Jordan after his death is too much to make a single book out of) written in part after Jordan's death has a lot of different things to tie together and since they have ruled out any new books entirely it will be very fast paced. Oh and it must be said, Matrim Cauthon becomes a complete mother smurfing bad ass!

[I Took the Red Pill]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I never understood all the hype around this book, I found it in-your-face-melodramatic and was simply bored by the whole thing. I haven't read anything else by him but I was so put off by The Road that I can't see myself doing so in the near future.

[Rye]

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I never understood all the hype around this book, I found it in-your-face-melodramatic and was simply bored by the whole thing. I haven't read anything else by him but I was so put off by The Road that I can't see myself doing so in the near future.

This one too. I tried reading it two or three times, but I just couldn't get through it. I recognize the writing isn't bad, but I just wasn't taken in by it.

[Chris]

Read 1/3 of Bleak House, and didn't really care for it. Saw the incredible mini-series, and decided to force myself to read the rest. I found a new sense of joy in reading it.

Side note: Bleak House is one of the most finely-produced series I have ever had the pleasure of feasting my eyes upon.

[Aurey]

Wow! I thought The Road was a pretty easy read, relatively painless, and it only took me about six hours or so to get through. We are all unique snowflakes, I suppose! ;}

Oh, just realized I never finished Only Revolutions by Mark Z. Danielewski. I had no idea what was going on, and just did not take to the stream of consciousness aspect (which is not always bad, but). I don't remember whose narrative I started with either. However, I still really want to read House of Leaves, it sounds a lot better.

[Jings]

Grapes of Wrath. I hated (what I read of) this book.

[champagne supernova]

I loved Gatsby. And I even studied it, which makes it really unusual for me to enjoy! I don't know where I would place Gatsby, but it's near the top (where Lolita is sitting).

My step-dad raves about Cormac McCarthy, so going to try read him some time.

I got put off the Wheel of Time during the 2nd last book. It had just got ridiculously long.

[The Man]

The only book or series I can ever actually remember quitting reading due to how much I disliked it is Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind, which I quit midway through the first book due to how thoroughly inept I felt the characterization was. I even tried to re-read it and had the same reaction, and I tried a later novel in the series (Faith of the Fallen) and wound up being just as disinterested, although for somewhat different reasons (the constant nonsensical political rants didn't help my appreciation of the book). I won't give Goodkind a fourth chance.

Check out some of Goodkind's Youtube interviews. The man's insufferable. I even remember reading once that he claimed that his books aren't fantasy (not in the sense that he thinks magic really exists, but in the sense that he's so high up on his thematic interests that labeling his work 'fantasy' is a disservice to his wonderful ideas).

Yeah seeing/reading his interviews and realising what a jackass he is was one reason I decided not finishing any of his works is no great loss. Especially since his "wonderful ideas" aren't all that wonderful, apart from his critique of organised religion.

^ Cormac McCarthy is pretty darn good. Check out Blood Meridian (that is, if you're not averse to a little (a truckload) of gore). Inspiring prose. He's getting a lot more press lately because of The Road and No Country... movies. Hell, the hermit even did an Oprah interview if I recall.

However, if you're a fantasy/sci-fi genre fan (I only assume this because of the nature of the forum that has brought us all together), check out John Crowley and Gene Wolfe. Little, Big and The Book of the New Sun, respectively, are the absolute peak of the genre. I cannot recommend them higher. Like McCarthy, these guys are inspiringly good at the top of their game.

I need to check out all three of these authors. I have a copy of The Road somewhere, and I picked up something by Wolfe at a Clearance sale but I really should start with The Book of the New Sun first I think.

[Miriel]

The only books that I give up on are books that I have a hard time latching onto, usually because of the style of prose. Not necessarily because it's a bad book. Bad books, I can read through fairly quickly.

Da Vinci Code
Sword of Truth - Wizard's First Rule
Twilight
Heart of Darkness

These are bad books. But I read them all. With a couple of them, after I finished I chucked the books at the wall and told it, YOU ARE A TY TY BOOK.

But books that I can't finish are stuff like Atlas Shrugged, War & Peace, Catch 22, etc. I've never finished any of those. Books I've given up on most recently: Unbearable Lightness of Being (the philosophical prose just makes me so sleepy, I can never get around to reading more than a page or two at a time), & The Wind Up Bird Chronicle (what? Seriously wtf is this book supposed to be about? Got confused. Gave up).

Wow! I thought The Road was a pretty easy read, relatively painless, and it only took me about six hours or so to get through. We are all unique snowflakes, I suppose! ;}

Yeah, I thought it was a pretty quick read myself. Not exactly painless though, it was pretty haunting. I doubt I'll ever read it again, even for a dystopian book it's really grim.

[Madame Adequate]

The Road manages to make Threads look optimistic, so yeah... it's emotionally tough to read, but I didn't find it a difficult read.

I've not been able to get anywhere with Roadside Picnic. Maybe it's a bad translation or something but it just doesn't work for me at all.

[Shiny]

The Soul of Rumi and On Photography by Sontag.

Only one I can think of is Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. I don't think that it was a terrible novel, it was just taking a long time to get into, the plot didn't seem very interesting, and I had a list of other novels I wanted to read. So I just said screw it. I think I quit right before the whole thing got juicy, too. Maybe I'll pick it up again later.

Don't bother. It's horrible. The main character has no redeeming qualities much like the protagonists in The Great Gatsby.