# Ever read a book you thought you should like but didn't?



## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Sometimes I'll read a book after several people tell me it's a "must read," and then I feel guilty for not liking it. I'll think, "What's wrong with me that I didn't like it when everyone else did? What am I missing?" I last felt this way about Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Any books where you felt you were missing something?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Can't say that I ever feel like I *should* like something; I either like it or I don't.  There are times, for sure, when I don't like something as much as everybody else does, but I certainly don't feel guilty about it.  Different strokes for different folks.  Of course, if I like something and others don't, there's something wrong with them.  

If a relative wrote something and I didn't like it, I'd feel a little bad that I couldn't give them the response they hoped for, but I wouldn't feel guilty about it.

Betsy


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

I guess guilty is the wrong word. I don't actually feel guilty, but I'm often left scratching my head as to why the story was so popular.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I just shrug and move on.  People like different things.  I didn't like Titanic that much, but it struck a chord with a lot of people.  I enjoyed Lincoln but didn't love it.  I loved Moulin Rouge and The Running Man (the movie and the book).  People don't have to justify what they like to me, and vice versa.  It is what it is.

Betsy


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Carrie Rubin said:


> Any books where you felt you were missing something?


I feel like I'm missing something with some of the classics. I've read people raving about _War and Peace_ on another forum. I gave up about a third of the way in out of sheer tedium. The same with a couple of Dickens novels I've tried: _Bleak House_ and _The Old Curiosity Shop_. The only one of his I've been able to finish is _A Christmas Carol_. I don't feel guilty about not being able to enjoy them, but do wonder what I can't see that others can.

(BTW I loved _Life of Pi_ - shows how widely divergent our tastes are.)


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

_Schindler's Ark_ by Thomas Keneally. I know it's won awards. I know that it's some people's favorite book. I know it got made into a great movie. But the style drives me nuts ... at least one adjective and sometimes more in front of almost every noun, and I've never been able to get past page 3.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Sam Kates said:


> (BTW I loved _Life of Pi_ - shows how widely divergent our tastes are.)


Which I guess for writers is a good thing. Otherwise we'd be stuck with either everyone or no one reading our books.


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## timskorn (Nov 7, 2012)

Was I supposed to enjoy East of Eden?  Bored me to tears.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

Carrie Rubin said:


> Sometimes I'll read a book after several people tell me it's a "must read," and then I feel guilty for not liking it. I'll think, "What's wrong with me that I didn't like it when everyone else did? What am I missing?" I last felt this way about Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Any books where you felt you were missing something?


So funny! I saw this thread title and immediately thought "Life of Pi." I couldn't finish it and I felt left out. Like, why don't I get this when so many others have? This has happened with some other popular authors, too. I pick up one of their books, and just don't feel the love others do and wonder why? I'm very excited to see The Hobbit and I loved the Lord of the Ring movies, but I've tried to read the hobbit so many times and can't ever get past that first meeting in the hobbit's house where they're drinking tea and planning their adventure. I've tried and tried.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Yes and no - there's a few books which get a high average rating on Goodreads and I just DON'T get it at all. But it's not like there aren't other negative reviews, I'm just in the minority, which is fine. Then there are a few books where I am literally the only one to give it below 3 or 2 stars! Sometimes, that's just because there aren't many ratings yet and if I check back months later, I am no longer the only one who didn't like it. But not always.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I've pretty much figured out what I'll like and what I won't by this point in my life, and have gotten quite good at picking out books that will work for me. If they don't, I blame whoever wrote the write up for not accurately describing it! For that reason, I've never been tempted by _Life of Pi_. I'm sure it's beautifully written, but, as a concept, it doesn't appeal to me.

Similarly, in the days of "Oprah's picks", it seemed like any book she mentioned went straight to the top and garnered massively positive reviews. And I never liked one of them. So after 2 or three tries -- sometimes on purpose and sometimes not aware initially that it _was_ an 'Oprah pick' -- I started paying more attention and began actively avoiding them!


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## msf72vtny (Nov 28, 2012)

For me, _The Great Gatsby_ was good but not, well, great. And I know many people who think it's the quintessential American novel. I also never could get into Faulkner. So much of writing/reading is personal taste, I guess . . .


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## Kristine McKinley (Aug 26, 2012)

msf72vtny said:


> For me, _The Great Gatsby_ was good but not, well, great. And I know many people who think it's the quintessential American novel. I also never could get into Faulkner. So much of writing/reading is personal taste, I guess . . .


My English teacher loved this book and I could never understand why, I think it had to do with Robert Redford. I've thought about going back to read it to see if maybe now that I'm older I'll like it but I don't think I will.
I could never get into The Catcher in the Rye or A Confederacy of Dunces either


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Ann in Arlington said:


> So after 2 or three tries -- sometimes on purpose and sometimes not aware initially that it _was_ an 'Oprah pick' -- I started paying more attention and began actively avoiding them!


Just what they were hoping for, I'm sure.  I enjoyed some of the Oprah picks like "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb and "Midwives" by Chris Bohjalian, which is one of my favorites. But others just didn't do it for me, and I wondered what people saw in them.


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## Neil Ostroff (Mar 25, 2011)

I was so excited to read THE ROAD and was bored to tears by the middle. Never finished it.


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## Klip (Mar 7, 2011)

The Book of Lost Things. Hated it. Didn't even finish it and I was sure I'd love it. What a nasty little book, and it has such a pretty cover too


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## L.M.Sherwin (Sep 3, 2012)

I sort of feel that way about Charles Dicken's books. I'm currently reading A Christmas Carol and though the story is wonderfully well done, he uses forty billion adverbs and adjectives ALL THE TIME. It drives me INSANE. I do still like the story, but the writing style can grate on the nerves a bit.


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## deckard (Jan 13, 2011)

Kristine McKinley said:


> A Confederacy of Dunces either


Yep, I hear you on this one. I couldn't wait for this one to end.

Deckard


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## timskorn (Nov 7, 2012)

Neil Ostroff said:


> I was so excited to read THE ROAD and was bored to tears by the middle. Never finished it.


I can see that. I'm a big McCarthy fan, but The Road is a pretty depressing experience. Not much happens, and what does happen is fairly gruesome and even more depressing than the last occurrence. I love the way he writes though.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

Neil Ostroff said:


> I was so excited to read THE ROAD and was bored to tears by the middle. Never finished it.


Another example of how wonderfully divergent our tastes are, thank goodness. I absolutely loved _The Road_, despite or perhaps because of its utter bleakness. Didn't want it to end.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Sam Kates said:


> Another example of how wonderfully divergent our tastes are, thank goodness. I absolutely loved _The Road_, despite or perhaps because of its utter bleakness. Didn't want it to end.


Same with my husband. And yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get me to read it.


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## vyv (Oct 25, 2012)

Jane Austen books and Little Women.  I really really tired to read them several times but I kept falling asleep.  I guess the classics just aren't for me.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I can be pretty opinionated, and I always like going against the grain, so to me it hasn't happened often.  However, as a huge Stephen King fan, to the point of writing about him for various literary classes, I did feel a bit guilty when I was completely unable to finish Madder Rose.  Just could not get into it.


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## RJMcDonnell (Jan 29, 2011)

I'm a huge Nelson DeMille fan, but tried starting The Rivers of Babylon three separate times and could never get into it.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

I run into this when I was in school.  All of those books that were suppose to be "the greats", only to be left with a "huh?".  

As I got older it was people around me who said "you HAVE to read this", and I did just to humor them.  95% of the time I completely lost interest...no matter how hard I try.

Some of the more recent ones are:
-Life of Pi
-The Great Gatsby (it started good...)
-Charlotte's Web
-Anne Of Green Gables
-The Fault In Our Stars (MAYBE will try again...)
-Romeo & Juliet
-Bridget Jones' Diary
-Pillars Of The Earth
-The Divergent Series
-Books By James Patterson
-Inheritance Series
-Hunger Games Trilogy (MIGHT pick it up again, supposedly I stopped exactly when it gets good--the "games" start)

There are more...but these are more recent.  Well, "Charlotte's Web" and "Anne Of Green Gables" were from back when I was a little kid.

Tris


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## metal134 (Sep 2, 2010)

msf72vtny said:


> For me, _The Great Gatsby_ was good but not, well, great. And I know many people who think it's the quintessential American novel. I also never could get into Faulkner. So much of writing/reading is personal taste, I guess . . .


I agree %100 with the first part and %0 with the second.


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## Mandykins (Sep 24, 2012)

Yes, and it actually just happened last week. I was very excited to read a novel that should have been right up my alley and I abandoned it 30% of the way in and don't foresee myself going back. I'm really sad because I've read another novel by the same author and was absolutely hooked on the story and her writing style, this book, however, fell short and now I honestly don't know if I would read another one by her.


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## jeffaaronmiller (Jul 17, 2012)

I really thought I should like The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It's a super thick fantasy novel, the first volume of a planned multi-volume series. I usually love those kinds of books, but this one I found ponderous, plodding and the prose was rough. Mistborn was such a good novel by comparison.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Tris said:


> Some of the more recent ones are:
> -Life of Pi
> -The Great Gatsby (it started good...)
> -Charlotte's Web
> ...


Ah, yes, Romeo and Juliet was one of my least favorite books as a student. And I didn't think The Great Gatsby was so great either.


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## courtyoung (Dec 4, 2012)

When the 50 Shades of Grey phase happened, I felt like I was that person who didn't really get it. I read the first one and didn't continue on.


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## Iren (Nov 23, 2012)

Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" seemed the perfect book for me, but it only seemed.
i got bored pretty soon and started skipping pages (somwthing that i never did before).


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## brianrowe (Mar 10, 2011)

There have been a few for me lately. I was surprised by my disappointment in Paper Towns by John Green, given that Looking for Alaska and Fault in Our Stars were my two favorite books of the year! I really, really wanted to like The Casual Vacancy but had to put it down due to boredom after 200 pages. And I also can't seem to get into any of Neil Gaiman's work. Hopefully American Gods will change that.


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## Bjorn Street (Dec 18, 2012)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I just shrug and move on. People like different things. I didn't like Titanic that much, but it struck a chord with a lot of people. I enjoyed Lincoln but didn't love it. I loved Moulin Rouge and The Running Man (the movie and the book). People don't have to justify what they like to me, and vice versa. It is what it is.
> 
> Betsy


I have say, Titanic is my favorite movie... was very inspirational to me! But like you say, tastes are so different from person to person. That's what makes us HUMAN!


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

for me "The Fault in our stars" fits here and I literally just finished it this past weekend. Thought I would love it and it was ok but I didn't love it and at times went what? like it was over my head and yet I understand much more complicated stuff all the time. Maybe its my mood and RL/Current events I don't know. maybe I'll reread it at somepoint but for now its archived


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I had thought I would have liked the Lord of the Rings Trilogy back in the day, but it took a real effort to finish it (an effort I would not make today). Same with Gaiman's _American Gods_, one of the few books I have not been able to finish in my 55+ years of reading.

Mike


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## kisala9906 (Sep 4, 2011)

Two recent books for me was The Room and Hunger games. I HATED both books and I still have no idea why they are so popular! I finished both, never finished the series for Hunger Games and never will but finishing them was hard to do.
!


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## Guest (Dec 18, 2012)

Anytime I pick up a book with an awesome looking female warrior on the cover, and she turns out to not be badass enough.


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## kindlequeen (Sep 3, 2010)

I just finished A Handmaid's Tale and I've read over and over on here and elsewhere about how great and how terrifying it is supposed to be.  I just found it to be meh, I didn't really connect with it at all and it was slow.

I also didn't like: 
The Road (read it while camping so I would have little distraction and still couldn't get into it) 
Anna Karenina (I couldn't read for 6 months after I gave up on that tomb half way through)
I got the sample for 50 Shades and was so disappointed in the quality of writing which I'm a little embarrassed to admit to my friends who loved it (don't want to seem like I'm sticking my nose in the air but I am a book snob)
LOTR (bored me, the movies are good though)
American Gods (quit after about 50 pages, might try to finish it when I can concentrate on it more)
A Confederacy of Dunces (I keep it on my bookshelf to look smart)

I see so many books listed that I liked!    I am a fan of East of Eden, The Great Gatsby (read for fun, not school), the Divergent Series, Hunger Games, and a few others mentioned here.


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## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

I think if I read _Catcher in the Rye_ at a different point in my llife I would've enjoyed it a lot more. Not that it wasn't a well written narrative, rich with the literary bells and whistles I normally adore. I just couldn't attach myself to Holden and in the end... meh.

I'm also noticing a lot of people mentioning LOTR. I struggled with the first book, but the other two flew by. Then I went back to read The Hobbit and couldn't even finish it. I'm trying again though. Just for the movie.


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## Soushi (Dec 13, 2010)

Gone Girl.....big waste of my time.

50 shades of grey....couldn't get past the first 100 pages. Such poor writing, she kept biting her lower lip and blushing, every few pages. Barf.


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## EC Richard (May 20, 2011)

"Heart of Darkness". Oh brother, I could not get through that book.


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## niahflame (Apr 14, 2012)

SlaughterHouse-Five. All my friends said  I was a moron and too stupid to "get it." Yeah. Awesome.


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## Sam Kates (Aug 28, 2012)

So many books mentioned on this thread that I enjoyed. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, that it's fortuitous we have such divergent tastes or what a dull place the world would be.


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## MartinStanley72 (May 17, 2011)

Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov was a beautifully written but dull book with a truly annoying lead character. It also breaks one of the narrative taboos (for me at least) - at one key point in the book the author enters the fray to tell the reader that he's intervening on a character's behalf. I've got no problem with the kind of post-modernism that lets the author tell you that what you're reading isn't real, as long as they set the ground rules at the beginning (Milan Kundera, Machado de Assis etc.). However, when an author, in the last few pages, decides arbitrarily to step in and intervene, well, that's just laziness and, frankly, bad writing. The author is really saying that they don't know how to end the story.

The thing that really gets me is that Nabokov spends most of his introduction slating George Orwell for being an 'average' writer. Frankly, I'd much rather read somebody who writes a cracking narrative and has genuine points to make in a plain, unfussy style than a writer who crafts beautiful sentences that ultimately mean nothing and has no real idea of how to tell his story.

Shame, really, because I really enjoyed Lolita and Pale Fire (a novel that _does_ set its rules at the beginning of the novel).

This year, James Sallis' Driven was a huge disappointment. I loved Drive, which I think is one of the finest crime thrillers of recent years, but this was filled with coincidence after coincidence and felt contrived.


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