Worst/Most Boring Book You've Ever Read

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Originally posted by Cerpin Taxt quote: Originally posted by Shaoblane In our english class, were assigned to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. THIS IS THE WORST MOST BORING BOOK EVER! I didnt think ANYTHING could out-suck Huckleberry Finn. So far, I'm on chapter 4, and it's incredibly boring. I read it and pages later I stop and then "Whoa! I read all that but...why dont I remember any of it? Oh yeah! Because this is as BORING AS HELL!" ACK! I cant even find the bloody publishing year on it. Holy crap! This is the 75 year special edition! WHAT THE HELL! Ah! There it is...1924...wow... The best one...hmm...ummm...oh wow...I havent read very many good ones...erm...everyone here has read Harry Potter and LOTR...OKAY! I got one!! R.L Stine wrote four books called the Cheerleader series. It's cool cause it's all about cheerleaders in high school...GETTING KILLED BRUTALLY Y A CURSE! It's a hoot. The main character is some chick named Corky, the first death is her twin, then when she gets her sisters boyfriend things start to be all death destruction pain again. The first one is called Cheerleaders: The first evil. But GEEZ Gatsby is sooo bad. I was convinced nothing could out-suck Huckleberry Finn until this but DANG! I mean, if Huckleberry Finn is as good as American Literature gets, we can only go down from there. In my opinion, you have no idea what you're talking about. Gatsby's a classic and Fitzgerald is a genius. Go back to your Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket.

I know it's a classic...but it still sucks.

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Originally posted by Shaoblane quote: Originally posted by Cerpin Taxt quote: Originally posted by Shaoblane In our english class, were assigned to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. THIS IS THE WORST MOST BORING BOOK EVER! I didnt think ANYTHING could out-suck Huckleberry Finn. So far, I'm on chapter 4, and it's incredibly boring. I read it and pages later I stop and then "Whoa! I read all that but...why dont I remember any of it? Oh yeah! Because this is as BORING AS HELL!" ACK! I cant even find the bloody publishing year on it. Holy crap! This is the 75 year special edition! WHAT THE HELL! Ah! There it is...1924...wow... The best one...hmm...ummm...oh wow...I havent read very many good ones...erm...everyone here has read Harry Potter and LOTR...OKAY! I got one!! R.L Stine wrote four books called the Cheerleader series. It's cool cause it's all about cheerleaders in high school...GETTING KILLED BRUTALLY Y A CURSE! It's a hoot. The main character is some chick named Corky, the first death is her twin, then when she gets her sisters boyfriend things start to be all death destruction pain again. The first one is called Cheerleaders: The first evil. But GEEZ Gatsby is sooo bad. I was convinced nothing could out-suck Huckleberry Finn until this but DANG! I mean, if Huckleberry Finn is as good as American Literature gets, we can only go down from there. In my opinion, you have no idea what you're talking about. Gatsby's a classic and Fitzgerald is a genius. Go back to your Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket. I know it's a classic...but it still sucks.

I agree with Liz, the should officially rename this thing The Gay Gatsby

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Originally posted by Ace of Spades quote: Originally posted by Shaoblane quote: Originally posted by Cerpin Taxt quote: Originally posted by Shaoblane In our english class, were assigned to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. THIS IS THE WORST MOST BORING BOOK EVER! I didnt think ANYTHING could out-suck Huckleberry Finn. So far, I'm on chapter 4, and it's incredibly boring. I read it and pages later I stop and then "Whoa! I read all that but...why dont I remember any of it? Oh yeah! Because this is as BORING AS HELL!" ACK! I cant even find the bloody publishing year on it. Holy crap! This is the 75 year special edition! WHAT THE HELL! Ah! There it is...1924...wow... The best one...hmm...ummm...oh wow...I havent read very many good ones...erm...everyone here has read Harry Potter and LOTR...OKAY! I got one!! R.L Stine wrote four books called the Cheerleader series. It's cool cause it's all about cheerleaders in high school...GETTING KILLED BRUTALLY Y A CURSE! It's a hoot. The main character is some chick named Corky, the first death is her twin, then when she gets her sisters boyfriend things start to be all death destruction pain again. The first one is called Cheerleaders: The first evil. But GEEZ Gatsby is sooo bad. I was convinced nothing could out-suck Huckleberry Finn until this but DANG! I mean, if Huckleberry Finn is as good as American Literature gets, we can only go down from there. In my opinion, you have no idea what you're talking about. Gatsby's a classic and Fitzgerald is a genius. Go back to your Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket. I know it's a classic...but it still sucks. I agree with Liz, the should officially rename this thing The Gay Gatsby

It's funny you say that, because anyone who has read the book would notice the implied homosexuality in it. If you didn't see that, go back to chapter 2. You will see it there. However, Gatsby is most definatly not gay as he is the American Archetype and he spends his entire life trying to be with the WOMAN he loves. In my opinion The Great Gatsby is an awesome book, and Liz, if you hate it so much you could always use the cliffnotes to bypass actually having to read it. I know many people who do that instead of reading a book, there is no shame in it.

As for the most boring book I've ever read, I would have to say either the Last Of the Mohicans or Ivanhoe. I didn't really like either of those when I read them a few years ago. I nearly went insane from boredom because of them.

Bah You've missed an important "classic":

"The Grapes of Wrath"

This gawd-awful waste of 600+ pieces of paper devotes an entire chapter to a turtle crossing the road.

AN ENTIRE CHAPTER TO A TURTLE CROSSING THE ROAD, I SAY!!!

I picked this book for my junior-year English class back in High School and only read the first 60 pages. Then I made a presentation in front of the class about it (thank you cliff notes) and wrote a decent paper on it as well ( ::kisses cliff notes:: ). The end where (don't highlight if you're easily offended)

spoiler (highlight to read):

A woman whom has miscarried breast-feeds a starving man in a barn

pretty much sums up my opinion of this title: It sucked.

::drumbeat::

Wow, I had no idea this thread was that old.
However I see someone beat me to this one.....
That was a book in need of Cliff Notes if there ever was one.

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Originally posted by Sharpshooter005 quote: GREAT EXPECTATIONS was different. There was something new to hate on every page. We're currently reading this in english class...wheee...fun...

At one time I would have added Lord of the Flies but after reading it again in college, I found I kinda liked it. Okay, at least it doesn't go into the dispise category anymore.

Madrona

The Lottery Rose - An abused kid wins a half-dead rose bush in a drawing, gets taken away to a catholic orphanage, and always turns to the thorny rose for comfort.

The Scarlet Letter - I'm not going to tell you you what I had to do to get through the book.

The Catcher in the Rye - Felt like the kid had kidnapped me at gunpoint and had me tied up so that he could tell me how he bacame the way he was, changing moods randomly. If this did happen to me for real, I'd hope he'd shoot either me or himself so I wouldn't have to listen to his crap anymore.

Come to think of it, the stories I hate are the ones whose prime objective is to make you fell sorry for the charecter or make you want to change society as a whole. I rarely feel sympathy for the victims.

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Originally posted by Shaoblane In our english class, were assigned to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. THIS IS THE WORST MOST BORING BOOK EVER! .... R.L Stine wrote four books called the Cheerleader series. It's cool cause it's all about cheerleaders in high school...GETTING KILLED BRUTALLY Y A CURSE! It's a hoot. .... But GEEZ Gatsby is sooo bad. I was convinced nothing could out-suck Huckleberry Finn until this but DANG! I mean, if Huckleberry Finn is as good as American Literature gets, we can only go down from there.

We did, how do you think we wound up with a four book revenge fantasy about cheerleaders?

(And I'm writing this as someone who read alot of the goosebumps books when I was younger. Entertaining? Yeah, the one about the ghost in the beach caves or whatever was fun. Better than Gatsby? Lord no.)

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Wow, I had no idea this thread was that old.

I know. Damn...great expectations..that takes me back.

Okay so it only takes me back about a year. But it still takes me back.

I agree Great Gatsby is one of the most boring books ever. My teacher thought it was great though...Its just sort of hard to pay attention to a book whose simplified summary is "Rich White people with problems". Meh. Great Expectations was not so bad. I think the worst book ive ever tried to read is called "Snow Wolf". Political Thriller, which is an oxymoron if you ask me.

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Originally posted by BigOZ I agree Great Gatsby is one of the most boring books ever. My teacher thought it was great though...Its just sort of hard to pay attention to a book whose simplified summary is "Rich White people with problems". Meh. Great Expectations was not so bad. I think the worst book ive ever tried to read is called "Snow Wolf". Political Thriller, which is an oxymoron if you ask me.

Wow, I hate to get into an arguement over Gatsby, but I do beleive you missed the point of the book. If you summarize the book as "Rich white people with problems" you obviously have no idea what the book was trying to say. (Please note: I'm trying to keep calm right now) The book is a warning to America. Gatsby is supposed to be America. Americans are ambitious, and America is the only country where we can really pursue those ambitions. However, Gatsby turned his ambitions into an obsession. Instead of simply wanting to be great and rich, he wanted to become rich and great so he could be with Diasy, who by the time he met her had changed completely. His obsession ends his life, a metaphor for what can happen to America if we change our ambitions into obsessions. Oh, and very few main characters are rich in Gatsby. Let me think, Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, and Jordan. Thats all. Myrtle, Tom, Nick and lets not forget, the personified eyes of God, aka T.J. Ekleberg are not rich. Sorry for posting this, I just had to say that. I can't make you like the book, its your opinion, However, I cannot let you make such a statement.

P.S. If someone wants to start an arguement off of this post, please refrain from doing so. I was just stating a fact about Gatsby's theme, I'm not trying to fight over the whether it is a good book or not.

The most boaring and worst books I have ever read were Jane Eyere and A Tale of Two Citys I mean come one when your getting paid by the word of corse your going to over flood the book with information! Blahhh That and also Our Town blahh *shivers*

How come every "worst book ever" on this thread tends to be a classic? Have none of you ever read a sucky contemporary book? Bah, this is why English classes are murder on literature... crams books unwillingly down people's throats and causes them to have a distaste for the books, so they never approach them on their own... either that or you all have really poor taste.

But enough of me being cranky, on topic time. While I can't really say what the worst book I've read is (I've read too many to ever single out just one), the book I'm most disappointed in was To Kill a Mockingbird. I mean, it wins a Pulitzer Prize and I read it and its just so... mediocre. Disappointing.

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Originally posted by TanookiJoe How come every "worst book ever" on this thread tends to be a classic? Have none of you ever read a sucky contemporary book? Bah, this is why English classes are murder on literature... crams books unwillingly down people's throats and causes them to have a distaste for the books, so they never approach them on their own... either that or you all have really poor taste. But enough of me being cranky, on topic time. While I can't really say what the worst book I've read is (I've read too many to ever single out just one), the book I'm most disappointed in was To Kill a Mockingbird. I mean, it wins a Pulitzer Prize and I read it and its just so... mediocre. Disappointing.

I am not really sure why people tend to dislike school reading and books most would consider classics. I have found that a lot of the great books I have read were through school in some way; if not required reading, then a book recommended to me by a teacher or schoolmate.

Personally, I find a lot of contemporary books (though certainly not all of them) to be dry and rather repetitive...perhaps it is because almost every theme has been explored in literature in some way by now.

I will say I am somewhat surprised at the anti-Gatsby sentiments expressed in this thread...I do not think I've met many people who have despised that book or thought it boring in life, and I've met a lot of people who generally despise reading in general but still find that book enjoyable.

Oh well, to each his own. I certainly don't criticize the poor misguided souls who dislike The Scarlet Letter, so I won't start criticizing those who dislike The Great Gatsby. Though I will say, it is an excellent reference for standardized essay tests (AP English exams, SAT II Writing/new SAT exams, just to name a few)...

I really liked Gatsby. I read it awhile ago though, so I forget exactly why...I just recall liking it much more than most books I read in school.

Out of the hundreds of required reading materials in school, I'm surprised I listed only four to five books out of those hundreds. I rather liked most of what I was assigned - 1984 Revisited, The Yearling, Tom Sawyer, The Door in the Wall, On the Beach (depressing as all hell), Frankenstein, Great Gatsby, even Pride and Prejudice.

My complaint against the books I listed (Scarlet Letter, Hunchback, Tess, etc) is because I do not like the writing style or storytelling. Simple as that. Nothing against them being classics or that they were taught by Language Arts Nazis, it's just that their story or prose rubs me the wrong way.

The only author that a teacher absolutely ruined for me was Emily Dickenson, but I still have a collection of her poems that I'm slowly learning to appreciate again.

As for contemporary books, I find anything written by lawyers, doctors, religious zealots, and criminologists to be drier than lint on toast. The most entertaining writing comes from antique dealers, musicians, and bootcamp rejects. Brilliant writing comes from those who use mind-altering chemicals.

Of course, I also believe in Mindless Escapism.

I just read "The Color Purple" which I thought was really good.

The last book I read that I thought sucked was "Fahrenheit 451".

Fahrenheit 451 was one of my favorite books we read in school, along with Childhood's End, Brave New World, Frankenstein, Les Miserables, and Siddhartha.

But this thread is about books I've hated so I'll say The Scarlet Letter. Puritans are just crazy. We're reading The Great Gatsby right now so we'll just have to see about that one...

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Originally posted by Lt. Smith Fahrenheit 451 was one of my favorite books we read in school, along with Childhood's End, Brave New World, Frankenstein, Les Miserables, and Siddhartha.

Every single one of those books (especially Brave New World <3<3<3 ) are awesome.

As for me, I found a new hatred.

Women's Rights Emerges Within the Antislavery Movement 1830-1870

AND THAT'S THE DAMN BOOK TITLE!

I'm on page 80 and am reading it for history. I want to track down the editor and personally kill her.

You have to be a history major nutjob to be able to read through such books without going to sleep, Cerpin.

<--- (history major nutjob)

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Originally posted by Lady Tesser You have to be a history major nutjob to be able to read through such books without going to sleep, Cerpin. <--- (history major nutjob)

Want to read it for me? It details everyting and anything about the Grimke sisters. I'm all for womens rights and sufferage, but...yeah...please kill me....