over rated books

[dumb]

What books have you read that people have raved about and you thought were really over rated?
I read
1) "curious incident of the dog in the night time" got to the end and thought "so?? whats the big deal" was it a kids book?
2) The first Harry Potter book (which I read in secret cause I was ashamed lol) it's just an ok kids book, whats the fuss about?
3) "A boy named it" I'm sorry but I just thought I dont know if I believe him and I dont care!! (I know that sounds harsh but...)
4) "on the road" by jack whatshisname dull dull dull !
5) "Lord of the flies" again dull!

[dot.hawkes]

Oh those by the woman author who has murders, she's done a few recently and they are all best sellers, the one I read was about hostages in an office building but is was lame.

[cliffsdoll]

the da vinci code, sick of hearing about it

wuthering heights

pride and prejudice

actually i love the ones you mention dumb, apart fro 4 and 5.

[SaxyJag]

"We Need to Talk About Kevin" - I read three chapters and thought, 'no wonder the old man left you if you bore him like this.

"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" - predictable and nothing special.

"The Water Babies" - my god, can that bloke ramble on.

"Gangsta Rap", by Benjamin Zephaniah. It won the local teen book of the year award last year, much to the organisers' surprise. The man should stick to poetry, because in this novel, his characters just go around doing their thing and nothing much happens, really.

Interesting that "Curious Incident", "Boy Named It" and "Lord of the Flies" are three of my favourite books.

[dumb]

Weird isnt it? lol
I love wuthering heights!
And thinking about it I also remembered "A star called Henry" - Roddy Dotle OH MY GOD! It was awful!!

[sophie_1003]

Just finished Wuthering Heights and the end was a real let down, but I think a lot of classics seem like that, they don't have exciting endings, Pride and Prejudice was the same anyway! I did like 1, 3 and 5 though. With Harry Potter the first 2 aren't brilliant but then they get a bit better! If I read a book and can't get into it I just leave it after about 3 pages or so! I'm reading The Time Travellers Wife at the moment; which, so far, is really good.

[LeMarchand]

I've necer been able to get through "Lord of the Rings", and I like fantasy - and loved the films. I can't "skip" bits of books, and JRRT's habit of stopping the book for a song, poem or historical interlude ruins it for me. (Though curiously, when Michael Crichton - at least in his earlier books - drops in a huge infodump about the science his characters are encountering, I find that OK).

Maybe I wasn't in the right mood or have too much testosterone or something, but I couldn't get into "The Lovely Bones". I intend to go back to it, but gave up. Every woman I know who's read this loves it, but I'm the only guy I know who's attenpted it, so it could be a gender thing.

[WendyS]

"To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Wolf

[dumb]

Totally agree with you sophie_1003 I have always been dissapointed by the end of Wuthering Heights (but love the rest so much it's still one of my favourites)
And you LeMarchand I LOVE fantasy and have never finished Lord of the Rings. Thought it stared really well but got bogged down and gave up.

[msemma]

Have to disagree on 'the curious incident...'! I wrote a 4000 page essay on it's merits at university. Available on request for the unconverted ;o) Detest anything with a Bronte on the cover.

[waimarie]

Hi dumb, it's the da Vinci code for me. I tried to read it on holiday last year and was bored out of my skull (with the book, that is). I thought it poorly written, overlong and rambling. Considering the number of copies sold it must be me but I hope the film is an improvement.

[dumb]

Oh well msemma at least if it ever comes to us choosing books we wont be fighting over them :-)
I havent tried the da vinci code waimarie because my mum said exactly the same thing, she thought it was awful.

[jake-the-peg]

5 people you meet in heaven

Anything by Thomas Hardy

Half of the books written by Umberto Eco (the other half are pure magic)

And 5 people you meet in heaven again because it really irritated me.

[Karen2005]

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Maybe I don't like simply-told stories, but I got to the end of The Alchemist thinking "so what". I thought No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was OK, but I'm glad I'd read reviews saying that it is more like a series of short stories than a novel. There is no depth to it, the characters are two-dimensional, the anti-men sentiment annoyed me (strange, considering the book was written by a man) and none of it rang true to me at all. I'm in no hurry to read the rest of the series.

[tweenyb]

oh my god the most utterly over rated book has to be Lovely bones, astory told by a girl that has been murdered looking down on her family over the years to come but it had such a naff ending i really wish i hadnt wasted several hours of my life...

funny some movies are sooo over rated too such as the blair witch and Kill Bill

[Narolines]

No, Waimarie, it's not you - The Da Vinci Code is utter drivel. I used to find Jane Austen hard going, but I now find her very readable - you do have to get into an early 19th century mindset to get the best from her, though; while P & P is probably the most accessible Austen, my favourite is Emma. I do find the Brontes (all of 'em!) pretty dreary though - I've tried several times to read Jane Eyre and never got more than two-thirds of the way through it.

[Lizziedrip]

Lovely Bones - bit of a damp squib

Catcher in the Rye - read as teen had thought it a classic until re-read recently - dreadful!!

Time Travellers Wife - haven't the patience of a flea for this one

Anything about someone's tragic past, I'm sorry if that sounds callous but I read for entertainment, and would only blub my way through these.

[Fulton]

For years I had tried to get a copy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainance, The title was the best part of thr book. Very disappointed!

Catch 22 was like wading through mud!

[spotit3]

I asgree with you about a 'Boy Called It'. I thought there were quite a few contadictions in it which made me disbelieve the story. I also read 'Angels's Ashes' and wondered why on earth it ever won a prize.