Books you hate and books you wish they were never made.

[Rekrul]

I had to read to kill a mockingbird for GCSE English, and I hated it! I found it really boring, and having to study it meant having all its messages rammed down my throat. Also I don't if its because I'm young, British or just ignorance, but I really didn't "get it" or connect to it in anyway.

If I ruled the world you would not be here right now.

Guess it's a good thing you aren't then

I blame school for my hatred of it though (although if I didn't read it at school, I wouldn't have picked it up at all).

 

[Kahunaburger]

Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and fucking Juliet. I have no idea if anybody else shares this sentiment, but for nearly every piece of literature I had to study in school, they always, inevitably, found a way to make even fascinating books into long, boring slogs of tediousness. I harbour a particular hatred for Romeo and Juliet because we studied it for two years in a row, and for the record, I think it's one of Shakespeare's more overrated plays. Hamlet -- introduced to me by an absolutely fantastic teacher, if there's any connection there -- was much better.

Romeo and Juliet's kind of an interesting case. It's basically a deconstruction of the tragedy/comedy distinction in Shakespeare's time. It starts out as a comedy, reality ensues, Meructio dies, and it becomes a tragedy. It also mocks the idiocy of romanticism and the whole "star-crossed lovers" thing (before R&J, it was Tristan & Isolde.) Of course, it's never taught this way for some unfathomable reason, to the point where Romeo and Juliet are held up as some sort of ideal lovers vs. the hormonal and stupid 14-year-olds Shakespeare wrote them as.

 

[Saviordd1]

Twilight has no right to exist, simple as that

 

[lacktheknack]

None.

This. I disliked the His Dark Materials trilogy, but that's about it. I don't wish destruction on any book.

 

[Galdrack]

I'm disappointed, 5 posts in and nobody has said Twilight yet.

I'm hoping people have the sense to not turn this into a Twilight basing thread.

Personally the worst novel I've read was How many Miles to Babylon, I had to read it as one of my leaving cert novels.

 

[Koroviev]

Can I deviate a little and hypothetically banish an art movement instead? Because I have to right a paper on Street Art, and I really, really don't want to. So, Street Art needs to go.

OT: My high school pre-calc book was an abomination. It was so abbreviated that it is a small wonder that I ultimately did well in the class. The vast majority of people did not.

 

[DoctorPhil]

Harry Potter 7,

Spoiler

only because of the ending. Voldemort anticlimacticly died in one hit by his own spell like a total noob and the epilogue sucked. These two things were the only things I hated about Harry Potter and they ruined the whole series for me. If I were older I probably wouldn't have liked the series in the first place, but as a kid it made me mad, I felt decieved and stupid for reading the series all those years.

Also, does the Bleach manga count?

 

[jumjalalabash]

Anything by Margaret Atwood. Also, Mein Kampf.

What would be the point in Mein Kampf not existing. Sure it was written by one of the most evil men in history, but if people would have read it back then then we could have aquashed him before he committed any of his atrocities.

They did read it. Just most other European powers were kinda batshit stupid (see appeasement toward Germany). Hell most germans liked the book because it gave them outlets for all the problems they had when WW1 ended.

 

[Vault101]

People aren't going to like what I have to say, but you asked.

The Lord of the Rings

The books that "defined" high fantasy. Tolkien created a format that no one has any balls to deviate from. It seems that every fantasy author (generalization, I know) just accepts the world he created as a rule for high fantasy. Everywhere it's elves, humans and orcs. Hardly ever do I see anyone try anything different. I spent so long trying to look for gems in the sea of Lord of the Rings clones that I gave up. Everyone tries to emulate it. Tolkien is the reason I can't read high fantasy anymore.

Hate me all you want. It's my opinion and you're not going to change it.

I agree actually (and GOD they are sooo fucking tedious)

that said I actually dont read that much fantasy at all, which is probably the reason I love Dragon age so much, its like MY lord of the rings

 

[Vault101]

Harry Potter 7,

Spoiler

only because of the ending. Voldemort anticlimacticly died in one hit by his own spell like a total noob and the epilogue sucked. These two things were the only things I hated about Harry Potter and they ruined the whole series for me. If I were older I probably wouldn't have liked the series in the first place, but as a kid it made me mad, I felt decieved and stupid for reading the series all those years.

Also, does the Bleach manga count?

while I dont remember the last book that much I thourght it made sense in context

anyway I read the HP books later in life (2009) and I have to say they were actually really really realy good, I loved the series...and if you think about fantasy wise its a little different (even though its not full on high fatasy)

 

[Ladette]

I wouldn't want any book destroyed, at the very least they can teach you how not to do something.

Romeo and Juliet teaches you how to make stupid, whiney leads who nobody cares about.
Catcher in the Rye teaches you how to make a completely unlikable character.
Twilight teaches you how not to write a believable romance.
And Pride & Prejudice teaches you how to bullshit for 300+ pages.

 

[Caligulust]

A lot of hate for Steinbeck here. While Grapes of Wrath wasn't exactly fun to read, it gave a pretty good description of the terrible conditions which migrants had to endure. For that, it has served a purpose.

Then again, you might be able to say the same for A Tale of Two Cities, and I hate that book.


On topic, I can't really say I want any book to have never been made. However, there are books I wish that I had never read. Such as A Separate Peace, A Tale of Two Cities, Macbeth, and Antigone. Especially Antigone.

However, I wouldn't mind it if the movie version of Macbeth with Ian Mckellen was never made.

 

[OldRat]

The Bible and Atlas Shrugged. The latter because hopefully it would also erase Ayn Rand from existence.

 

[Sacman]

I'm disappointed, 5 posts in and nobody has said Twilight yet.

That's because everyone knows Twilight isn't a book... it's an abomination...<.<

OT: Catcher in The Rye... just because it my have taken Lennon from us...

 

[Mavinchious Maximus]

the communist manifesto

 

[Efrate]

Pride and Prejudice, I had to read it in high school and I feel that Jane Austin is a small minded feminist (before you comment, I did read it front to back several times). But I did think Jane Austin's writing had benefit humankind

And Pride & Prejudice teaches you how to bullshit for 300+ pages.

One day I'll learn to quote of well.

OMFG i hated Pride and prejudice. It was so... nothing. I mean I had to read it, but I will never touch another Jane Austin work if it is in any way indicitive of her writing style. From the PoV of being one of the earlier known published female authors, I see it being historically significant, but it was so dry and uninteresting.

I like Romeo and Juliet, because it seem satirical of the archtypes portrayed, which Shakespeare just ripped from myth. I'd chuckle incessantly as I read it and people thought I was crazy. I did the same with Paradise Lost, but that's known to be intentionally satirical.

I think Tolkien killed the Medieval Romance genre, by turning into high fantasy, which in his view (actually Queen Victoria's more likely) took most of the interesting bits out of the old tales. Same with Tennyson's horrid rewrite of Le Morte d'Arthur. Thankfully, many modern fantasy writers are starting to cast Tolkien aside and write what it should be. gratful that he kept interest alive even in a bastardized form, but I'd rather read many other things.