Books you stopped reading . . .
I hate over-long books. You need 600 pages to tell that story, Steve King? Really? Economy of words mean nothing to you? I could tell that same story in 200 pp. You dick. I want a story, not a fucking paperweight. This is a trumped-up excuse to sell hardcovers at inflated prices.
Tuffy the Dump Truck may rarely increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The risk may be greater if you have heart disease or increased risk for heart disease (for example, due to smoking, family history of heart disease, or conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes), or with longer use. Tuffy should not be taken right before or after heart bypass surgery. Also, Tuffy may infrequently cause serious (rarely fatal) bleeding from the stomach or intestines. This effect can occur without warning symptoms at any time while taking Tuffy. Older adults may be at higher risk for this effect. (See also Precautions and Drug Interactions sections.) Stop taking Tuffy and get medical help right away if you notice any of the following rare but serious side effects: bloody or black/tarry stools, persistent stomach/abdominal pain, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, chest/jaw/left arm pain, shortness of breath, unusual sweating, weakness on one side of the body, sudden vision changes, slurred speech. Ask your doctor if Tuffy is right for you.
I like big books if the stories are good. It's like I don't want them to end. That's how I've felt about most of King's really big ones like The Stand, It and Under the Dome.
I read the first 3 Dune books back when I was 10 or 12. They were difficult at the time, but influenced the way I think greatly, the actual thought process. I read other Herbert books later came to the conclusion that the man might just have had mysogynistic tendencies, but I could be wrong.
I was talking about this with someone. Nightrious maybe. For the most part, i agree. I mean, if you're going to write 600 pages, make it worth it. Don't just take me somewhere, take me so far away that i can't see the ground anymore, so i don't know what up and down are anymore, make me lose bits of myself inside there that i'll spend the next couple months trying to get back out.
That's how The Magus was for me, which is a pretty long book. So very worth it.
Thus far, I've never not finished a book I started. I have had trouble with a few; Brave New World, Diary, Crime. I can't imagine giving up on American Psycho! However, I haven't been reading seriously for my whole life, and I am very picky about me selections.
"There’s no use in denying it: this has been a bad week. I’ve started drinking my own urine." -Patrick Bateman
It took me ages to finish On Chesil Beach, but I'm glad I did. I have yet to finish Kavalier and Clay. I probably should.
Brentinlouis Wrote: What was that rule about being intentionally annoying?
Yeah I really liked the Stand and Under the Dome. I haven't read It yet.
i'm with Tuffy.
i hate long books. i hate getting boged down in unnecessarily long and rambling prose.
I really hated this book. For some very strange reason this was one of my AS level study books. It took me ages to finish. Most of the characters were horrible and the story was the same. I do like victorian gothic novels, but this just went on forever. I also hated how a lot of authors of this period used the same first name for two characters, it just gets confusing! Anyway, listening to an audio version with BBC actors didn't help and I got a low C on my exam. Determined not to be defeated, I retook the exam a few months later; after studying the stupid book word by word, I managed to get the highest A in my yeargroup. The essay question was on the personification of the timultuous moors or something dull like that.
Yeah, I just don't like how awful all the characters are. I mean, I know that's supposed to be the point, and how they love through the hatred, but fuck that. If I can't like a character, I don't wanna read about them.
^^^I've been saying this for years. Length, along with the ending of The Dark Tower series, really pissed me off.
I got bored with 1984.
You're a brighter little soul than all of the jaded people here. Never take them seriously. NEVER.
That's exactly what a survey on Salon.com reported was the number one complaint from readers. Too many writers emphasize other things like mood, impressive language,setting/atmosphere, and character study over plot and story.
There are books I'll read over and over because its language is prose cotton candy, like Moby Dick. A Stephen King opera is not one of them. When I pick up King, I want a story.
Yeah, I don't hate long books, just needlessly long ones. I love Moby Dick and Ulysses; both fairly long, but I wouldn't cut a single word from either.
Tuffy the Dump Truck may rarely increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The risk may be greater if you have heart disease or increased risk for heart disease (for example, due to smoking, family history of heart disease, or conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes), or with longer use. Tuffy should not be taken right before or after heart bypass surgery. Also, Tuffy may infrequently cause serious (rarely fatal) bleeding from the stomach or intestines. This effect can occur without warning symptoms at any time while taking Tuffy. Older adults may be at higher risk for this effect. (See also Precautions and Drug Interactions sections.) Stop taking Tuffy and get medical help right away if you notice any of the following rare but serious side effects: bloody or black/tarry stools, persistent stomach/abdominal pain, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, chest/jaw/left arm pain, shortness of breath, unusual sweating, weakness on one side of the body, sudden vision changes, slurred speech. Ask your doctor if Tuffy is right for you.
One book I stopped reading because it was terrible, but got tricked into coming back to it was The Other End Of Time, by Frederik Pohl.
In TOEOT, two hundred pages go by with the characters sitting in a featureless room, talking. That's nearly another novel inside this book where nothing happens. Zip. The better characters were one dimensional, the rest were simply unbelievable. You've got a serious fucking problem when the most intelligent character in your novel is an alien named "Dopey", folks.
I read his Gateway a long time ago and it was outstanding so I revisited TOEOT. The quality of writing in those two books was so divergent, I couldn't believe the same person wrote them. After the first fifty pages, I read as an educational example of how not to write.
It holds the distinction of being the third worst book I've stuck with in my life.
Amazing considering Gateway is one of my all time favorites.
it's brilliant. Wait until you're older. Like, not in a condescending way, but seriously. you'll appreciate it one day. 
Brentinlouis Wrote: What was that rule about being intentionally annoying?
Levi - I totally agree with you here. 1984 is such an important book.
thank you. I only read it last year for a class, and I was blown away. Changed everything. Couldn't believe I hadn't read it before.
Brentinlouis Wrote: What was that rule about being intentionally annoying?
I stoped Great Expectations after 200 pages just couldnt do the last 300 and some! It was to deppressing Ill try it again in a few years im sure.
I also stoped God Hates Us All I was a bit disapointed with it. But I will start that agian in a bit I was enjoying it then just wasnt! Im not sure why.
I also loved 1984. Sure, it's maybe not that fast paced but the descriptions of the surroundings and the overall feeling of the novel makes it a favorite of mine.
"Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested."
"Jemand musste Josef K. verleumdet haben, denn ohne dass er etwas Böses getan hätte, wurde er eines Morgens verhaftet"
it's brilliant. Wait until you're older. Like, not in a condescending way, but seriously. you'll appreciate it one day. :)
yeah, once you become jaded and cynical like the rest of us, it'll make more sense and be entertaining as hell.
It's not so much the point that they love each other in SPITE of being awful...more BECAUSE of it. They don't love each other for being proper and witty and polite, the way people usually do in Victorian novels. They love the gross, visceral, wild stuff, the real humanity of one another. Not the elegant social construct. Think about it in terms of Cathy's love for Linton vs. her love for Heathcliff.
There is hope, but not for us.
That makes sense. I mean, I get it, but I am skewed by my own desires for how romance should be a little bit, and I think that I also just got to a really boring part. It was after Catherine has the baby and then Heathcliff is lurking, and I was like, blaaaaaaahhh...
Me too actually. I just got around to reading it within the last year. I couldn't believe I hadn't read it yet.
Seriously, 1984 is the fuckin tits.
"A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism." -Carl Sagan
"Am I cruel? Probably. Is she an idiot? Yes." -jane s.
Jane belongs in the Victorian age with me.
it's brilliant. Wait until you're older. Like, not in a condescending way, but seriously. you'll appreciate it one day. :)
yeah, once you become jaded and cynical like the rest of us, it'll make more sense and be entertaining as hell.
I'll try in a couple years, then.
You're a brighter little soul than all of the jaded people here. Never take them seriously. NEVER.
Stopped reading "The Angel's Game" this week at page 417, I think. Just threw it down in disgust. I loved "The Shadow of the Wind" but this book doesn't compare. Think "Memnoch the Devil", which I also threw down in disgust, but not as bad.
I tried reading Atlas Shrugged twice before I picked it up one last time and basically skimmed the first hundred or so pages (mostly the loooooong speeches and whatnot). After that, it picked up and I breezed through the rest and found it quite interesting (except maybe the constant love triangles she insists on including in pretty much every novel).
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
I bought it after several people recommended it. I stopped 20 pages in. All those goddamn adverbs: "He chewed thoughtfully." I was told that King wrote it when he was for all intents a kid. It shows.
I tried Gunslinger and quit 3 times before I finally powered my way through it. Get to the second book by any means necessary. The Dark Tower series is awesome, and when you finish Wizard and Glass, those memories of the struggle with book 1 will be forgotten.
^Agreed.
I also understand the annoyance of too much description. I remember getting annoyed with the sentence "He was smiling with his mouth, but not with his eyes." (or something along those lines) He uses that a LOT in almost every single book.
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
Against the Grain by JK Huysman. THE DRIEST fucking book I've ever read. Pure description. Except for one part where supposedly he sets up a 16 year old kid so that he has access to a brothel for a month for free. Des Esseintes, the main character, pays it for the kid, in the hopes that after a month, the kid will turn to violence to get money to go back because he's addicted, and end up murdering someone. The guy wanted to turn someone into a killer indirectly. Wow. But this is in the middle of a sea of pure description about the shit on his walls and what not. Bleh.
I started reading A Million Little Pieces (prior to Frey disappointing Oprah), put it down and forgot about it. I was quite a ways into it, but all I heard was whine, whine, whine, bitchmoan, whine. It could've been because I was at a point in my life where that's what I wanted to do, and didn't want to hear someone else doing it. Either way, maybe I'll finish it eventually, I'm just not in any big hurry.
Absolutely couldn't stand The Devil in the White City. Although I did find out that the same landscape designer who was responsible for Central Park also designed the Biltmore Estate grounds here.
I started Hearts in Atlantis, but kept picking up more interesting books.
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
when i found out a million little pieces was bullshit, i took it back, and got Wicked instead. Best life changing return ever.
Brentinlouis Wrote: What was that rule about being intentionally annoying?
Good choice.
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
Absolutely couldn't stand The Devil in the White City. Although I did find out that the same landscape designer who was responsible for Central Park also designed the Biltmore Estate grounds here.
Did I already mention that I hated this book? Never finished it. Most boring book about a serial killer ever. (I feel like I've said all this elsewhere, or maybe it was this thread.)
"A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism." -Carl Sagan
"Am I cruel? Probably. Is she an idiot? Yes." -jane s.
Absolutely couldn't stand The Devil in the White City. Although I did find out that the same landscape designer who was responsible for Central Park also designed the Biltmore Estate grounds here.
Did I already mention that I hated this book? Never finished it. Most boring book about a serial killer ever. (I feel like I've said all this elsewhere, or maybe it was this thread.)
I think I remember it being mentioned in another thread, because I thought, "That's exactly how I felt."
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
I think I'm the only person who loved Devil in the White City.
Do you feel left out of the haters club?
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
Been wanting to read this for a few years. Haven't really gone out of my way to find a copy yet.
Tuffy the Dump Truck may rarely increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The risk may be greater if you have heart disease or increased risk for heart disease (for example, due to smoking, family history of heart disease, or conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes), or with longer use. Tuffy should not be taken right before or after heart bypass surgery. Also, Tuffy may infrequently cause serious (rarely fatal) bleeding from the stomach or intestines. This effect can occur without warning symptoms at any time while taking Tuffy. Older adults may be at higher risk for this effect. (See also Precautions and Drug Interactions sections.) Stop taking Tuffy and get medical help right away if you notice any of the following rare but serious side effects: bloody or black/tarry stools, persistent stomach/abdominal pain, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, chest/jaw/left arm pain, shortness of breath, unusual sweating, weakness on one side of the body, sudden vision changes, slurred speech. Ask your doctor if Tuffy is right for you.
Yeah. I can send you my copy if you want. I need it for a couple of weeks still, because it's what we're taking the final on, but I've given up reading it. It's torture for me. I hope I'll be able to wing it on that final.
Too, I remember being really exited to read it because I had been reading about Holmes online, then like two days later I came across this book at Borders. I was like, whoa I have to get this. But my mom didn't want me reading about serial killers, so I had to wait till I wasn't at the mall with her to get it(I was probably 16). And as I was reading it, I kept waiting for it to get good, then, about 250 pages in, I let reality sink in and stopped reading it.
"A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism." -Carl Sagan
"Am I cruel? Probably. Is she an idiot? Yes." -jane s.
page 251 is where the good stuff starts.
Been wanting to read this for a few years. Haven't really gone out of my way to find a copy yet.
This looks like my kind of book. Reminds me of a few books by Raymond Roussel that i was trying to find several months ago.
I finished Devil in the White City. It's been a long time since I have been that acutely disappointed in a book.
There is hope, but not for us.
Oh! There it is. You're too kind. But send it to Eddy (see below) as I'm not going to have time to read it for a while yet anyway. Thank you, good sir.
Tuffy the Dump Truck may rarely increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The risk may be greater if you have heart disease or increased risk for heart disease (for example, due to smoking, family history of heart disease, or conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes), or with longer use. Tuffy should not be taken right before or after heart bypass surgery. Also, Tuffy may infrequently cause serious (rarely fatal) bleeding from the stomach or intestines. This effect can occur without warning symptoms at any time while taking Tuffy. Older adults may be at higher risk for this effect. (See also Precautions and Drug Interactions sections.) Stop taking Tuffy and get medical help right away if you notice any of the following rare but serious side effects: bloody or black/tarry stools, persistent stomach/abdominal pain, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, chest/jaw/left arm pain, shortness of breath, unusual sweating, weakness on one side of the body, sudden vision changes, slurred speech. Ask your doctor if Tuffy is right for you.
The 2nd book in R.R.Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Don't know why, I loved those books. I'll get back to it eventually.
FUBU and KFC have anounced their move to combine forces and fullyn focus on targeting more 'ethnic' audiences. In other news, McDonalds, Starbucks and Wal-Mart have combined to become The United Corporate of America. Moving on...
Oh, and one of my friends lent me that book Eragon and I thought it seemed like a Tolkien ripoff.
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
That would be because it is a Tolkien ripoff.
Tuffy the Dump Truck may rarely increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The risk may be greater if you have heart disease or increased risk for heart disease (for example, due to smoking, family history of heart disease, or conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes), or with longer use. Tuffy should not be taken right before or after heart bypass surgery. Also, Tuffy may infrequently cause serious (rarely fatal) bleeding from the stomach or intestines. This effect can occur without warning symptoms at any time while taking Tuffy. Older adults may be at higher risk for this effect. (See also Precautions and Drug Interactions sections.) Stop taking Tuffy and get medical help right away if you notice any of the following rare but serious side effects: bloody or black/tarry stools, persistent stomach/abdominal pain, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, chest/jaw/left arm pain, shortness of breath, unusual sweating, weakness on one side of the body, sudden vision changes, slurred speech. Ask your doctor if Tuffy is right for you.
I had my suspicions...
"We're developing a new citizenry. One that will be very selective about cereals and automobiles, but won't be able to think."
— Rod Serling
"Chuck calls Noah fortnightly on his bakelite rotary phone and gives him publisher's insider information and stock tips."- Tuffy
This past week, I got about 20 pages further into Dune than I usually do and then put it down again. I think I'm going to give up on it entirely. I just can't get into it at all.