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What do you think is the most overrated book of last 50 years

What do you think is the most overrated book of last 50 years

Renee #questionnaire

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1,217 Answers

Annie

Harry Potter

17
Reply
Christine

Agreed.

3
Liisa

Agreed

4
Annie

Oh gosh I thought books would be thrown at me for that answer!

1
Frances

Eh, I have not read them except for 40 pages of one of them; I was reading it en route to giving it to someone.

1
Catherine

Just not something I ever felt like giving myself, or my kids over to. They are no worse the wear and I’ve definitely moved on ?

1
Janet

I read the first one to get an idea of what my son was reading.

1
Kelli

Awww. I really really enjoyed the Harry Potter books! Potay-to, Potah-to! haha.

3
Annie

@Kelli that’s the best part! Po-tay-to!

0
Jan

Shades of Gray series

40
Reply
Melanie

Definitely not deserving of any of its attention.

2
Carole

Extremely poorly written….. I couldn’t make it through the first chapter.

2
Liisa

Agreed

0
Lynda

@Carole , this is exactly what happened when someone loaned me the series! Ugh.

1
Linda

Very, very overrated! But she made a fortune on it.

0
Arwen

Twilight

20
Reply
Kathleen

Hated it.

0
Kathleen

The Bridges of Madison County.

0
Liz

Remember that adults weren’t the target audience for them.

0
Janet

The Time Traveler’s Wife.

8
Reply
June

I enjoyed it.

0
Kathleen

Hated it.

0
Angela

Twilight and Shades of Grey – no question.

25
Reply
Renee

I completely agree!!!!

1
Ginger

I agree too

0
Serena

Gone Girl

21
Reply
Monty

I tried reading this book twice and couldn’t do it.

3
Sandra

It was one of the hardest books I have ever read, but worth the struggle. The first half is so hard, after that I finished in a day.

1
Melanie

Agree! Boring

1
Monty

@Sandra Really? I’ve only tried listening to the audiobook; maybe if I switched to the physical book, I’d have an easier time?

0
Sandra

@Monty possibly. The hard part is there is not a single likable character so you don’t care what happens to them. The only way I got through the first half was a friend kept pushing me.

2
Monty

@Sandra Hm. Interesting. Maybe I’ll just stick with my gut feeling and not try it. Maybe when I have less on my to-read list (which will probably never happen) I’ll pick it up and try

1
Cheryl

This book wasn’t, and will never be, a classic, so it’s not worth the struggle. Too many other worthwhile books to read!

1
Sandra

You are correct it is definitely not a classic.

0
Diane

Goldfinch

16
Reply
Connie

Agreed

0
Connie

100 Years of Solitude

10
Reply
Christine

For shame! Also, 100 Years of Solitude turned 50 last year.

0
Curt

Gravity’s Rainbow

0
Reply
Brenda

Girl with tge dragon tattoo

8
Reply
Laurel

Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

7
Reply
Vicki

In my teen years i thought this book was the bomb. I found a copy last year and tried reading through it and couldn’t help laughing at myself. SO ’70’s!

2
Amy

Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey.

23
Reply
Dee

Amen sister!

1
Cathey

50 Shades!

2
Karen

YES!!!!

1
Sarah

Just about to say the same! 🙂

0
Deborah

@Cathey definitely!!

1
Marnie

Amen sista!

0
Sara

50 Shades of Grey

19
Reply
Jennifer

50 Shades

18
Reply
Jane

50 Shades of Grey…et al

16
Reply
Megan

Eat Pray Love.

22
Reply
Jane

Omg the most self indulgent book ever! Hated it!

4
Cathy

So glad to hear someone else say that! I couldn’t finish it – that woman irritated me so much!

5
Jane

@Cathy me too! Lol

1
Kathleen

Pap

0
Dennis

Eat, Pray, Love.

14
Reply
Megan

We posted this at same time. Haha. Terrible book.

1
Dee

Absolutely! Weak.

1
Kathleen

Pap

0
Cat

MHO, Potter series. SORRY but you asked.

4
Reply
Orla

The Girl on the Train

12
Reply
Liz

Couldn’t finish it.

1
Catharine

50 shades of gray

22
Reply
Cecily

Was shocked to see it on the list here. Another example of the dumbing down process everywhere?

7
Kim

@Cecily Me as well.

1
Judy

I’m With you on that!!!!!

1
Shelley

All the Christian Gray books!!!

15
Reply
Renee

Twilight series
Shades of Grey series

16
Reply
Becky

Twilight

13
Reply
Kristi

Gone Girl

7
Reply
Carol

Go Set a Watchman (To Kill a Mockingbird, #2) by Harper Lee.

7
Reply
Melissa

First one that came to mind for me, too

1
Denise

Ugh! I’ve tried to block it out because it’s just not the way I ever want to think of Atticus.

2
Janet

I was so very disappointed with this book, I loved To Kill a Mockingbird so much that I’ve read it a few times again after originally reading it in English class in high school in 1969. I’m glad she didn’t publish Go Set A Watchman first.

1
Janna

Bridges of Madison County

8
Reply
Stephanie

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

11
Reply
Judy

Yes!!! What a drag!

3
Robin

I thought this was good but was like….seriously? The Pulitzer? It was too long and dragged in so many places.

3
Melissa

That sadly explains a lot of award winners…

0
Stephanie

@Robin – that was one of my many complaints about this one. And I didn’t really like most of the characters in the book. I was able to finish but it was a slog.

1
Catherine

Couldn’t finish it, then I saw all the love on this site, thought well maybe I’d try again, but now I think you guys have made up my mind!

0
Portia

Glad I saw this! I just started it and decided to stop around page 100 because it bored me. More I don’t feel so bad!

0
Jane

50 shade of gag me

37
Reply
Martie

agreed

1
Angela

agree

2
Krystle

I was going to say 50 Shades of Gross, but I like yours as well.

4
Missy

So dumb!

0
EN

50 shades by far

15
Reply
Nicole

Gone Girl. I have not read Harry Potter, but I have no desire to read it either.

9
Reply
Nell

Couldn’t finish it.

0
Nancy

Harry potter are so good, Rowling is very creative.

5
Nicole

I could not finish Gone Girl either. I picked it up and put it down several times for six months then gave up. I know the book is always better than the movie, but I went to see the first Harry Potter before I even knew that it was a book. I fell asleep in the theater.

0
Rickee

Gone Girl was totally overrated. Awful book.

0
Lisa

50 shades of gray.

17
Reply
Kim

I so agree with this!!

0
Johanne

The Girl on the Train!

9
Reply
Annie

I. Hated. This. One.

2
Julie

Atlas Shrugged.

13
Reply
Kevin

I hated it too, but it was originally published 61 years ago, in 1957.

1
Julie

Oh, see, it’s sucked for longer than I thought!!!
In that case, the Twilight series.

2
Susie

50 shades

13
Reply
Claire

50 Shades of Grey and Twilight series are what my Dad calls “serious trash” and I completely agree with that!

15
Reply
Linda

Catcher In The Rye..

5
Reply
Nancy

Love it!

0
Toni

First published in 1951.

2
Billy

“The World According to Garp” & “A Confederacy of Dunces”.

6
Reply
Dave

To cite one I read: E L Doctorow’s Ragtime.

0
Reply
Nancy

I loved that one, lol!

1
Dave

Loved the first half.

0
Jaime

One of my favorites.

0
Jaclynn

The Alchemist

11
Reply
Lisa

Bridges of Madison County

12
Reply
Valerie

For sure!

0
Cheryl

Agreed.

0
Denise

Yaaasssss

0
Debbie

Loved it

0
Susie

Love Story

7
Reply
Karen

That book was popular when I was in college. All the girls in my dorm were reading it. I started reading it and wondered when it was going to get good. It never did.

0
Liz

@Karen yes

1
Liz

50 shades

16
Reply
Charlotte

The Shack

23
Reply
Lora

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

4
Reply
Susan

I liked it. Did get a little bogged down every once in a while. But overall I can recommend it.

1
Suzan

I had to force myself to finish this one. Moved at a glacial pace.

1
Denise

I totally agree!

0
Pamela

Gone Girl

3
Reply
Susan

disagree, with respect. i thought the story was well thought-out. I was tense while I read it, but enjoyed it.

0
Melissa

Beyond cliche and unoriginal.

1
Debbie

@Susan same here

0
Melissa

I agree. I thought it was transparent. But many people loved it. To each their own?

2
Sheryl

That’s easy. The Goldfinch. Winner of the Pulitzer and winner of most hours of my life I’d like to have back because of a book.

12
Reply
Susan

Sorry. Loved it.

4
Debbie

I thought it was excellent.

3
Susan

Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

11
Reply
Kathleen

Another real winner! Not!

0
Stacy

That I’ve read? Confederacy of Dunces. Also Lolita.

4
Reply
Susan

YES finally someone says these books!!!! I thought it was me missing something.

1
Sharon

Gone Girl , 50 Shades were my worst.

4
Reply
Beth

Haven’t read 50 Shades so I’m going to say Twilight.

7
Reply
Debbie

To me there’s no comparison. Twilight was original. 50 Shades was drivel.

0
Kara

I was surprised that I liked Twilight given that I am a huge Anne Rice fan.

0
Megan

Twilight might be cheesy but it wasn’t poorly written. 50 Shades was bad.

0
Pamela

Matter of opinion

2
Reply
Nicole

50 Shades

11
Reply
Debbie

Agreed!

0
Linda

Agree

0
Mary

Gone Girl…runner up…Bridges of Madison County

4
Reply
Debbie

It’s very subjective. I liked both of those, lol

1
Mary

Indeed, it is! ?

0
Nora

The Corrections ?

4
Reply
Mary

Such an annoying book.

1
Becky

that’s what i said too!

1
Marj

50 shades and The Great Gatsby – surprised they are on the list because they are both so inferior to so many other books.

3
Reply
Meredith

The Great Gatsby was published more than 50 years ago.

2
Loretta

Actually The Great Gatsby was written in the 1920’s.

2
Meredith

@Loretta Yes, that was my point. The question was most overrated book written in the last 50 years.

0
Annette

The Great Gatsby is a literary masterpiece published more than 50 years ago.

6
Meredith

I love it, but different strokes for different folks.

1
Kathleen

Gatsby was a beautiful piece of prose. Fitzgerald’s use of the language was quite affecting. I just reread it and loved the writing and the message.

1
Stephanie

Fifty shades of grey

13
Reply
Debbie

Fifty Shades

8
Reply
Linda

Fifty shades. I was surprised and disappointed it was on the list.

10
Reply
Annette

I think it is there because of a reader’s poll.

0
Shelby

twilight

6
Reply
Debbie

Respectfully disagree. I liked it.

0
Chris

50 Shades of Grey

7
Reply
Meredith

50 Shades of Gross & its progeny.

8
Reply
David

100 Years of Solitude!

6
Reply
Christine

Turned 50 last year…

0
Patty

50 shades

5
Reply
Anita

Fifty Shades

9
Reply
Barbara

Eat, Pray Love. V disappointed.

6
Reply
Meredith

Definitely overrated.

3
Barbara

@Meredith Thank you. I was afraid it was just me!

2
Meredith

No way & the movie was even worse.

2
Patricia

The Alchemist

6
Reply
Meredith

YES! Thank you! Everyone raves about this book & I just found it annoying.

1
Barbara

Thanks; I’m taking it off my
List!

0
Meredith

I enjoyed Coelho’s The Witch of Portobello much more.

1
Pam

And Veronika Decides to Die.

0
Glenda

50 Shades! Most definitely!

7
Reply
Sue

Goldfinch

0
Reply
Debbie

Loved it, especially the first half.

2
Nonna

One of my all time favorites!

1
Randi

Without a doubt Fifty Shades of Gray.

7
Reply
Gina

bridges of madison county. I actually threw it away when I was done, didnt want anyone to see it on my shelf.

7
Reply
Jude

I agree, i’ve been waiting to see if someone would say that. I hope that no young woman ever read it.

1
Sheila

I hated it too!

0
Merla

I can’t knock any book that only takes and hour to read and 3 hours to get over

1
Danette

Eat pray love and 50 shades

9
Reply
Lynn

Fifty Shades

7
Reply
Nonna

Definitely. A true waste of paper.

1
Barbara

Naked Came the Stranger.

0
Reply
Adelheid

50 shades of grey

11
Reply
Catherine

Room

1
Reply
Meredith

Really? One of my friends loved it & its been on my to read list. I saw the movie before I knew it was a book.

0
Catherine

I absolutely hated it, but I’m typically in the minority with that opinion.

2
Jude

What was it about Room that you didn’t like?

0
Rachel

I appreciated it, but won’t read it again.

0
Merla

I like it – a lot –

2
Becky

i thought it was very good.

2
Catherine

I just didn’t care for the story or the writing.

0
June

I actually read it twice, the second time just before the movie came out. I enjoyed it both times.

0
Marian

I made the mistake of listening to it on audio. The voice of the little boy who was narrating it was soooo terrible.

0
Susan

50 Shades Of Grey

13
Reply
Bonnie

Kindred and Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler), The Women of Brewster Place (Gloria Naylor), Waiting to Exhale (Terry McMillan)

1
Reply
Abby

The Girl on the Train

3
Reply
Barbara

Liked the book, but there was no one to root for regarding all the loathesome characters. The baby, perhaps?

2
Laura

The Corrections by Jonathan Frazen.

1
Reply
Amy

The Red Tent

0
Reply
Becky

OMG I loved that book 🙂

3
Tammy

Me, too! One of my very favorites!

0
Michelle

Gone Girl

5
Reply
Sharon

Goldfinch

3
Reply
Nikki

Twilight, I made myself finish it hoping it would get better.

3
Reply
Erin

Fifty Shades

9
Reply
Jeni

50 shades of gray

6
Reply
Carole

The Girl on the train. Started reading it really anxious to like it–but coudn’t

8
Reply
Paula

50 Shades if Gray

8
Reply
Steve

50 Shades of Drivel

8
Reply
Laurie

Fifty Shades of Grey.

5
Reply
Susan

Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston

3
Reply
Becky

oh, i love that book.

1
Jane

Me too!

0
Erin

Me, too!

0
Carrie

loved it!

0
Mary

Fifty Shades and Twilight!!

6
Reply
Mindy

The Shack

7
Reply
Sharon

I loved the Shack.

1
Meredith

I haven’t heard of that one. I guess I’m not missing much.

0
Rachel

Tried to read it, it’s a “dead kid” book though, and I cant.

0
Douglas

I’d have to agree. That book just wore me out. It went on and on about really nothing at all. I was never so glad for a book to come to an end.

0
Katie

SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5….

3
Reply
Amy

Huck Finn.

2
Reply
Meredith

Published in 1884.

2
Denise

I’m almost ashamed to admit it!

1
Amy

@Meredith Oops!

0
Meredith

@Amy I’m probably the only one who even cares. Such a rule-follower with no life…this is what it leads to!

1
Amy

A Fine Balance then. One of the bleakest, least hopeful books I have ever read.

0
Amy

No, the question stipulated the last 50 years. I forget how old I am.

3
ReneeQuestion author

@Amy Me too

0
Jane

To Kill a Mockingbird

3
Reply
June

One of my favorites of all time!

1
Jane

I feel really bad not liking it. I didn’t actually dislike
it, I just don’t understand the hoopla about it.

0
Cindy

Love in the Time of Cholera

2
Reply
Jane

WTH? Loved it!

0
Shanta

I loved it too!

0
Nicole

Agreed! I couldn’t stand this one! ?

0
KD

Bridges of Madison County…

4
Reply
KD

It was hot…He was hot…His truck, Harry, was hot…

1
Graciela

Eat Pray Love!!!! I could not even sit through the movie with my FAVORITE actor Javi Bardem!!!!!!

6
Reply
Rachel

I think mine have already been covered

0
Reply
Elizabeth

Fifty Shades and Twilight

7
Reply
Tama

Ugh to both of them!

0
Andrea

Gone Girl

7
Reply
Merla

The Underground Railroad

3
Reply
Catherine

Started this book and could not finish it.

0
Courtney

Same! I tried to stick with it but just couldn’t get into the story.

0
Carrie

Loved this one!

0
Becky

The Corrections

2
Reply
Kathy

50 Shades of Grey

9
Reply
Carol

Satanic Verses and 50 Shades of Grey.

2
Reply
Renee

Came here to comment the same 2 books!

0
Nicki

Gone Girl

3
Reply
Kathy

What? I thought it was well crafted.

1
Sheron

Anything by Nicholas Sparks.

15
Reply
Sandy

Hillbilly Elegy

2
Reply
Maria

50 Shades of Grey and Eat, Pray, Love

5
Reply
Renee

Couldn’t finish either!

0
Amy

The DaVinci Code. Sorry. I know I’m all alone on that.

7
Reply
Beth

You are not alone.

2
Meredith

No, actually someone above you also named that one. It was the first comment I saw when I started looking at this thread.

0
Dorine

You’re certainly not alone!

0
Stephanie

It was entertaining brain candy, but not great literature. I put it in the same category as Clive Cussler thrillers.

1
Kathy

@Stephanie, that’s the reason I like it! Easy entertaining read.

0
Linda

One sentence chapters. So annoying. I figured they paid him by the page – many more than half blank!

0
Lynn

Fifty Shades of Grey

6
Reply
Elizabeth

All the 50 Shades. Hunger Games. The Rowan Girls. So many that the “critics” loved. Most of them were so trashy I didn’t get past the 1st chapter. When I
read trash, I don’t want it presented as Literature.

1
Reply
Anna

Hillbilly Elegy

3
Reply
Barbara

Good one. That was so over-hyped.

0
Tanya

Go set a Watchmen. It completely ruined To Kill a Mockingbird for me.

6
Reply
Barbara

Another good one 🙂

0
Veronica

I made a conscious decision not to read Go Set a Watchman for that very reason.

0
Patrice

Same for me…wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to read it.

0
Tanya

@Veronica good call

0
Bobbi

50 Shades of Grey

6
Reply
Pam

Anything by Jonathan Franzen. In my opinion the most overrated, over praised author of the last 20 or so years.

8
Reply
Becky

self indulgent crap, imho 🙂

2
Pam

Couldn’t agree more.

2
Cindy

Fifty Shades of Grey

3
Reply
Vicki

The Bridges of Madison County and Eat, Pray, Love

5
Reply
Stephanie

Confederacy of Dunces

5
Reply
Marian

I listened to it with Nick Offerman as the narrator. I think that made it for me.

0
Stephanie

I listened on audio, the reader was good. I just found the story tedious.

0
Marian

@Stephanie Fair enough. I was sad the author didn’t get a chance to publish more books. Sigh.

0
Lisa

Everything I never told you. Although I’m glad I gave the little fires everywhere a chance because I loved that.

0
Reply
June

Liked Little Fires.

1
Jaime

I liked Everything I Never Told You but my friend I loaned it to didn’t like it at all. There was a thread on this site a couple weeks ago discussing Little Fires Everywhere. Many people seem to have disliked it. It was pretty torn. Haven’t read it, but it’s on my shelf. I’m sort of wondering…

0
Lisa

give it a chance…

1
Lori

Bridges of Madison County

6
Reply
Judith

The Alchemist.

10
Reply
Debra

This was my first pic from the list, and I had to start over 3 times. Hated it. Total waste of time. (Although the author says there is no such thing as time.)

1
Judith

@Debra Terrible book. Didn’t say anything I hadn’t heard a thousand times elsewhere and a totally boring book to boot. Only good thing I can say, it was short.

0
Carolyn

Life after Life

0
Reply
Jackie

50 shades of grey. DaVinci Code.

2
Reply
Delinda

50 Shades of Grey and The Shack.

3
Reply
Chrissy

Harry Potter series

1
Reply
Sally

At least it got kids reading

2
Kathy

I will be a lifelong lover of magic/fantasy. I LOVE that series. Have read it multiple times and just recently rewatched the movies.

1
Tanya

50 Shades and The Coffin Quilt

0
Reply
Elizabeth

Alchemist

6
Reply
Brianna

Fifty shades ughh

7
Reply
Laura

The Immortalists by Benjamin.

0
Reply
Sally

Fifty Shades of Grey

5
Reply
Mary

50 shades

4
Reply
Nancy

50 Shades is pretty much a given, so I will add DaVinci Code.

2
Reply
Laurie

The Shack

2
Reply
Vivian

Fifty shades

4
Reply
Beth

Fifty Shades and the Twilight series.

3
Reply
Cindy

Fifty shades

4
Reply
Valerie

Poisonwood Bible

0
Reply
June

Love anything by Barbara Kingsolver!

1
Joan

Really??. Dang I just picked that up at a used bookstore….

0
Moira

@Joan I loved it read it twice\

2
Liz

@Joan I loved it! It made me a Kingsolver fan.

1
Mark

50 shades and twlight

3
Reply
Jessica

Hunger games, twilight

2
Reply
James

The hunger games story is good but I can’t get past the annoying villains, they’re so over the top evil they’re cartoons. George Orwell would look at this book and tell them to turn it down a notch

0
Christina

Girl with the dragon tattoo and 50 shades

4
Reply
Amy

Interesting reading through all these comments. I think there is also a difference between overrated by critics and overrated by the general population. For example, 50 shades is perhaps the most mentioned here, and that was not a critical favorite! That was a book that gave a lot of people a thrill (I suppose, I never read it), and so it was widely talked about, but not because it was a great book.

11
Reply
Laura

I think a lot of it is when people tell you something is the best book ever….and then you read it and find it’s mediocre. Although my pick was The Corrections. It was a critical darling, but I felt it was a badly written book

2
Julie

I started 50 shades, couldn’t get through it, was so poorly written…

3
Carole

@Julie exactly!

1
Chris

50 shades and twilight series

6
Reply
Kelli

Fifty Shades of Gray and its sequels

5
Reply
Karen

Define overrated? By the public or by litery circles.

3
Reply
ReneeQuestion author

By both I asked this question because I read most books online now over my phone. I have Kobo and Bookbub as well as Google Play store available to order books (kid in a candy store lol) But how many of us have recently read reviews or synopsis of a book we might be interested in and have them compared to either Gone Girl…didn’t read this or Girl on the Train…one of the most mediocre books I’ve ever read So I just would not want public opinion or literary criticism to define what we read Read what you like and what you enjoy.

5
Joan

Well said

0
Greg

The Da Vinci Code is one. The Hunger Games are too. And The Wheel of Time – vastly overrated.

1
Reply
Kelly

For middle school students, Hunger Games is accessible and engaging.

0
Flo

The Da Vinci Code got me back into reading – loved the book!!

1
Kelly

@Flo exactly: if one thinks a book is overrated consider its audience

1
Flo

@Kelly What exactly are you trying to say about me??

0
Kelly

@Flo not you: this thread

0
Kelly

@Flo that is how threads work ?

1
Liz

@Flo @Kelly. That’s why so many on here have said Twilight. Like Hunger Games adults weren’t the target audience.

1
Kelly

@Liz totally: as a middle school teacher, I cringed when girls especially loved Twilight, but didn’t get in their way. Teachers especially can’t put down things children love.

0
Liz

@Kelly I was too at time. We even put Team Edward and Team Jacob signs above the room numbers. Made me want to read Wuthering Heights, which I disliked much more than the last 2 Twilight books.

1
Teresa

Fifty shades of grey

9
Reply
Stacy

50 shades of anything. Hated it

6
Reply
Jody

Fifty Shades

8
Reply
Chad

50 shades of trash

9
Reply
Emily

50 Shades of Grey for sure….. the worst piece of writing I have ever read.

6
Reply
Kelli

Amen to that, sister!

1
Deby

Yes, Yes, and Yes!!!!

1
Stephanie

Yep.

1
Kim

The Handmaid’s Tale

3
Reply
Susie

Harlequin Romance Novels

6
Reply
Susie

Harry Potter….
*runs away quickly*

5
Reply
James

Ready Player One, it’s the worst book I’ve ever read. Nothing but crappy notaslgia BS

0
Reply
Brianne

Gone Girl ?

3
Reply
Alison

The Goldfinch

4
Reply
Barbara

I agree. I’ll never get those hours back!?

1
Thomas

Atlas Shrugged

1
Reply
Katie

Oh and Twilight

1
Reply
Loisann

The Poisonwood Bible

3
Reply
Kelly

@Loisann that makes me sad.

1
Kelly

Ok to be honest. I am not even sure if I would love it as much the second time, but I LOVED the doors it opened for me.

0
Annie

Not a fan either.

1
Lana

Goldfinch! Least favorite ever

3
Reply
Alison

That book made me so mad! I only stuck to it because everyone said it was so good. But the kid had a chance to change his life and he didn’t, and then he had a chance to change his life and he didn’t. On and on. I will never get back the time I wasted on that book. It was the same story told many times.

1
Joan

@Alison glad to know this….

0
Kelly

50 shades….so awful so cliché, just read some damn porn if that’s what you want

7
Reply
Lynne

Def the worst book I almost read : /

0
Rachel

Agreed!

0
Dona

Gone girl. Fifty shades x3.

2
Reply
Peggy

Gone Girl

1
Reply
Susan

The worst

0
Ina

50 Shades of Grey…. the whole series.

6
Reply
Sam

Anything by Dan Brown.

10
Reply
Jennifer

I totally agree.

0
April

Agreed!

0
Patricia

Twilight. Heroine made me angry. Could have been one book instead of dragging it out for three.

5
Reply
Jackie

Fifty shades

7
Reply
Peggy

Fifty Shades

8
Reply
Karen

Bridges of Madison County

7
Reply
Annie

Fifty Shades

3
Reply
Margaret

One Hundred Years of Solitude (like walking in quicksand) and the twilight series.

5
Reply
Randi

I loved this book!

2
Jennifer

I don’t think anyone actually believes that Fifty Shades and Twilight were “good”. Full Disclosure: read both.

6
Reply
Heidi

Bridges of Madison County came to mind first

5
Reply
Stacy

Hell yes!!!

0
Barbara

Fifty Shades.

14
Reply
Pam

I agree

1
Linda

Horrible…..

0
Janet

Ditto

1
Reply
Bev

Eat Pray Love

12
Reply
Rachel

Agree!

1
Stacie

Hah! Made it through Eat, and only halfway thru Pray before I couldn’t stand her anymore.

7
Loretta

I found this book so incredibly boring. UGH!

1
Stacie

@Loretta The good parts were boring. The rest was insipid and self-aggrandizing. I think @Bev re-opened an old wound here. ?

2
Berta

@Stacie LOL. I hated the movie. Not even Julia Roberts could make me like it.

3
Bev

@Loretta Same here!

0
Kathy

On Chesil Beach.

1
Reply
Chris

Interesting question, but certainly underlines the “different strokes for different folks” concept. And thank goodness there is that super-high-impact book out there for each of us, even if we have to endure those super-highly-negative-impact books to find it!

4
Reply
Valerie

The Bridges of Madison County

2
Reply
Valerie

And Fifty Shades

7
Reply
Judy

Agree

1
Eileen

I’ll agree with 50 Shades

6
Reply
Mary

Fifty Shades

3
Reply
Jeri

The Help

2
Reply
Eileen

i loved The Help and thought that book was important

2
Jeri

Important, yes; overrated, yes.

0
Moira

And it has become some of our cultural clichés i.e. chocolate pie

2
Roni

I disliked it because blacks have been living The Help the majority of the 20th century and a book had to make whites realize the struggle black women went through…? Like, really? That says a lot about people who became “woke” after reading this book. My grandmother and the majority of her sisters were domestics.

1
Jeri

Exactly.

1
Jeri

I’m kind of shying away from books like “The Help,” and movies like “Mudbound,” There’s more than one way to tell our story.

1
Roni

@Jeri, exactly! I’m tired of hearing the same story, told the same way. My 16 year old son liked Mudbound but the story is new to him. I love the Hidden Figures story.

1
Jeri

More “Hidden,” less “Mudbound.”

1
Brooke

Not sure about the last 50 years, but recently, the biggest let down for me was The Wife Between Us. I was so excited to read it because of all the hype. I had a hard time getting into it, and when I finished it, it was just “ehh.”

1
Reply
Sue

The Nightingale…might be a good story, but I couldn’t get past the poor writing. I didn’t even think about Fifty Shades because I wouldn’t even take a fleeting glance at that book.

2
Reply
Eileen

wow, I loved The Nightingale. Different strokes?

3
Sue

@Eileen Everyone loved it. Must be something with me.

1
Raquel

I thought it was just me!

1
Susan

Fifty shades

4
Reply
Ephrem

Twilight twilight twilight

3
Reply
Eileen

I wasn’t too impressed with The Goldfinch. Too long.

1
Reply
Ephrem

The list

1
Reply
Kristina

Wicked

1
Reply
Diana

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

0
Reply
Linda

Totally agree on the Water for Elephants! Not impressed.

1
Joan

What do you people think of Kristin Hannah? Specifically The Great Alone?

1
Reply
Joan

Thinking of purchasing…

0
Brooke

I just got it from BOTM, but havent read it yet

1
Loretta

I didn’t care for it. I finished it but found the characters very frustrating.

1
Linda

@Loretta Same.

2
Diane

don’t\ like Kristin Hannah as a writer, at all.

1
Joan

Ok thanks everyone ?

0
Ruth

50 shades

1
Reply
Andrea

Life of Pi!!!

3
Reply
Joan

Hated that!

0
Natalie

The Night Circus

4
Reply
Dori

This is on my list… disappointed???

0
Natalie

Unfortunately I was very disappointed. The descriptions of the circus and attention to details were outstanding, but I thought the story line fell flat. However, don’t let me dissuade you from reading it. I know that many who read it really enjoyed it.

1
Robyn

50 Shades = worst book ever!