Worst of 2012...(transferred from old BOOKOHOLICS)

[rapa]

• Posted by barbincolorado on December 15, 2012 at 4:13pm in BOOKOHOLICS

And here's the place to share your WORST read of 2012!

My WORST read was The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.  In fact, I confess that I haven't even finished it.  I'll give it another try at some point, but... I truly could not find anything in the part of it that I read that appealed to me.  I was seriously disappointed, as I had expected to like it very much.

 Reply by Phyllis on December 15, 2012 at 4:26pm

I agree. What a disappointment

Reply by rapa on December 15, 2012 at 8:14pm

Worst....no problem!  Seldom indulge in his books but:  GUILTY WIVES by James Patteson/David Ellis. Implausible storyline!!!  Marked it "Yuck!"

Reply by grammyk on December 16, 2012 at 11:25pm

I'll agree with you on this one, rapa.  I used to read all his books but not so much anymore.  I still like the Alex Cross series and the Women's Murder Club series; other than that it really depends on who the co-author is.

 Reply by readstoomuch on Sunday

Patterson's book are really yuck any more. I've pretty much taken him off my list. Even his latest Alex Cross made me not want to read him any more.  I think he needs to put some to rest and quit just churning out all over the  place. 

 Reply by Ursula on December 15, 2012 at 9:55pm

This one is easy since I struggled to finish this book for weeks before finally giving up.....and now I'm wondering why I kept trying.  The book is The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.  It concerned young college students as they graduated and dealt with their problems.  I just didn't find any of the 3 main characters engaging.

Actually 2 things kept me going: I loved his last novel, Middlesex, which won the Pultizer Prize, and this book keeps showing up on lists of the best books of 2012.  Somebody please tell what I'm missing!!

Reply by Tomereader on December 16, 2012 at 12:48pm

Worst:  I will have to defy popular opinion and vote for "Gone Girl" as my worst read.  It started off an interesting premise, a different approach to telling a story:  he talks, she speaks from her diary.  Suddenly it just declined into a nasty sex-based story, peopled with folks who seemed (to me) to be one or two bricks shy of a load. 

Despite reviews/awards, I give thumbs down. 

Reply by readstoomuch on Sunday

 

I was not a fan of this book either.  Same reasons you gave. I feel like people are settling for less in rating this one so high. The characters were idiots! 

Reply by Nancy Tnbopeep on December 17, 2012 at 8:18am

 

I'm going to catch grief over this I know as I heard about it when I first tried to read: The Kitchen Help, by Kathleen Grissom. I so wanted to like this (a lot of us say that about books we don't care for and/or can't finish) but I just couldn't finish it. Too much violence, sadness & nothing that ever lifted me up or gave hope. I put it down & walked away.

Reply by readstoomuch on Sunday

My worst pick is same as Barb's  - The Casual Vacancy.  Maybe because I was just so disappointed in it and its hype.  I never finished it but may one day  - or may not! lol 

 

 

 

[Mandy Muffin]

My worst book was one I thought was going to be a great read as it had received numerous awards.  "A Visit from the Goon Squad," by Jennifer Egan was too much for me, as it dealt with punk rockers, drugs and a host of dysfunctional people I didn't care about.  It was a patchwork of individual short stories the author had published in various venues over the years and was not a free flowing story.  I put it down and gave it up as a lost cause.  http://www.amazon.com/Visit-Goon-Squad-Jennifer-Egan/dp/0307477479

[Teddybear67]

I always love Micheal Palmer's books. His book Oath Of Office was awful. I only got half way through it and quit. This is may worst pick for 2012.

[Carolyn Tewell]

PALMER has had sooo many bad books!  I've loved his earlier stuff - but won't even try anymore.  Thanks for bringing up the Author!~mellow

[Carolyn Tewell]

DANG!  I have so many ALERT! ALERT! WARNING! WARNING! - Bad reads in 2012 - but I just toss aside and back to Library - forget Titles and Authors.  DRAT!  I'll do better record keeping in 2013~mellow

[Glenda Scheideler]

Re:  Gone Girl -- it was an 85% book.  -- I can't give it a "worst" rating because I couldn't put it down for 85% of the book -- and then I just had to stick with it to see how it ended.  I was a little annoyed at the ending - it was like spending 3 1/2 hours watching a football game, only to see your team lose.  I guess I was annoyed that they were able to pull me in - but they did.