Just to be negative, let's post the books we read in 2011 that we were not impressed with.

Okay, here are the books I didn't love in 2010 -

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel - just yuck.

The Secret Supper, Javier Sierra - never got beyond even-remotely-interested, didn't like the characters, dull, no humor whatsoever, very anti-climatic.

The Bridal Wreath (Kristen Lavransdatter: 1), Sigrid Undset - damn dour Norskies! 

That's pretty much it. There were a few others I was just okay on, but no others that I really disliked.

I will do some thinking and get back to you. Definitely starting with the Alan Savage book

ETA:

1. Love and War John Jakes
2. The Silvery Moon Edith Layton
3. The Exile Diana Gabaldon
4. Corragg Susan Fletcher
5. Juliet Anne Fortier
6. Skye O'Malley Bertrice Small
7. The Enchantress Saga Katherine Yorke
8. The Secret Eleanor Cecilia Holland
9. Captive Queen Alison Weir
10. Return to Sullivans Island Dorothea Benton Frank
11. The King's Mistress Emma Campion
12. The Sixth Surrender Hana Samek Norton
13.  Poison Sara Poole
14. Shadow Princess Indu Sundaresan
15. Secrets of the Tudor Court DL Bogdan
16. The Boleyn Wife Brandy Purdy
17. Lord of the Isles Debbie Mazzuca
18. Viking in Love Sandra Hill
19. Heart of a Warrior Betty Davidson (so bad it's funny)
20. The Queen's Lover Vanora Bennett
21. The Sheen on the Silk Anne Perry
22. Savage Lands Claire Clark

This is what I came up with:

1. Isabella - Queen Without A Conscience by Rachel Bard - not terrible, but somewhat disappointing.

2.The Harper's Quine - a Medieval Mystery by Pat McIntosh a DNF for me.

3. The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff - another DNF for me.

4. Indian Bride by Karen Fossum - finished it and wanted to throw it at the wall b/o the ending!

I thought it was interesting Cathy that you had Savage Lands by Claire Clark on your list. Her book The Great Stink was another DNF for me and I kept looking at Savage Lands wondering if it would be any better. I'm now glad that I haven't tried it!

I couldn't finish Savage Lands, and I have a few other fellow readers who went the same path. Wholly unlikeable characters and boring as hell.

These just didn't do it for me.

Owl Killers by Karen Maitland

Shadowbrook by Beverly Swerling

Tear of Pearl by Tasha Alexander  this was a disappointment because I kind of like the others in this series.

White Rose Rebel  by Janet Paisley

In the Company of the Courtesan  Sarah Dunant

A Pirates Love, by Johanna Lindsey.  Even for a bodice ripper this just stunk!!!!!

The Island of the Swans Ciji Ware

Here's my blah list:

Firebrand, by Marian Zimmer Bradley

In Camelot's Shadow, by Sarah Zettel

Night of Sorrows, by Frances Sherwood

Booth's Sister, by Jane Singer

Helen of Troy, by Margaret George (but I liked this better than Firebrand)

Someone to Love, by Jude Deveraux (ack!)

Just Plain Horrible

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme

Disappointing

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Cassandra Lost by Joanna Catherine Scott

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

The Burnished Blade by Lawrence Schoonover

The Cup of Ghosts by Paul Doherty

Patrick by Stephen Lawhead

The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford

Raven: Blood Eye by Giles Kristian

Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn

It's rare that I have a DNF, and I had a couple - one was a Sandra Worth book I can't even remember the title of, "Lady of Roses" perhaps. I also didn't finish "Faith Fox" by Jane Gardham.

Of the ones I did finish, my disappointing list would be:
 

"Flower Children" by Maxine Swann

"the Invention of Everything Else' by Samantha Hurst - I liked it being about Nikolai Tesla, I didn't like that it was Magical Realism

"Sarah" by Marek Halter - the second book I have read about Sarah of the Old Testament, and both have been disappointing, especially about the Sacrifice of Isaac. I wonder if it is because both were written by men?
 

"Possession" by AS Bayatt - I've heard people rave for years. Alas.

"Sherwood" by Parke Godwin - another that I wanted to love. It took me forever to read it.

"Firmin" by Sam Savage.  The best two opening chapters I have ever read.  It should have ended there.

"Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" - what a hot mess that woman is.

I have invoked my 50 page and out rule this year. Too many good books out there to read junk. I did read a few that I though would have to get better

The absolute worse this year was

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich - Can't imagine what possessed her to write such an awful book

Abrahim Lincoln Vampire Slayer - Seth Graham Smith - Love my vamps but this was so bad I couldn't finish it

The Captive Queen - Alison Weir - Very disappointing

Those were the worse

Alice

These are some of my DNF's:

Historical Fiction:

• Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine - the time travel format just didn't work for me. The modern part felt silly.
• A Lady Raised High by Laurien Gardner - I'm so done with this time period, so the book has to be exceptional for me to want to read it. This one wasn't.
• The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hermon - I really expected to like this one, but it just made me snooze.
• The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez - This one was a slow starter for me. It was supposed to be a mystery, but I just didn't care enough about the story to bother finishing it.
• The Chessboard Queen by Sharan Newman - This is the 3rd in her Guinevere trilogy. The 1st two were okay, but I was over the trilogy by the time I got to this one.
• The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran - This was a pretty popular book this year, but the characters of the 2 wives just did not ring true for me. I just couldn't buy it. I felt like the way they reacted to the situation was completely unrealistic.
• The Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme - I really hate to tell you how bad this one was...because I have a copy I'm still trying to get rid of, lol! The characters here were ridiculously unrealistic; almost caricature like. So, uh, if anyone is dying to read this, just give me a shout. I won't be holding my breath. ;-)

Contemporary Fiction/Mysteries/Horror

• Prince Edward by Dennis McFarland - I think this one is contemporary fiction, but I can't remember a thing about it now. No wonder I didn't finish it!
• In His Image by James Beauseigneur - First book in a series with an "end of the world" type setting, something I normally love, but this one was just silly and dull.
• Return to Me by Julia Templeton - (Paranormal romance) This just wasn't my kind of a book, but a friend really liked it so I gave it a try. Really, I couldn't tell you if this is truly a bad book or just not my thing - I didn't even read half of it.
• The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black - I loved the first book in this literary mystery series, but this one was disappointing; a yawner.

I guess I was fortunate this year...didn't read any real stinkers unlike years past.  There were a couple of books that made the "meh" category though:

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran

Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors

I had only one I'd list here:  Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourne.  I know others like that series a lot, but I didn't.

In the "I don't get what all the fuss was about" category:

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie--read it for my IRL book group; had to grit my teeth to finish it and was left with the distinct belief that the Fatwah declared on the author was the best thing that ever happened to his career...

My duds:

• Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
• Ambush by Paul Carson
• Ice by Linda Howard
• Chelsea, Chelsea, Bang, Bang by Chelsea Handler (didn't even finish)
• Slow Burn by Julie Garwood

Books I would not recommend:

The Sorrows of Young Werther - Goethe

Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea - Chelsea Handler

Fury - Koren Zailckas

The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth George Speare

Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis

Not  sure this should be called worst books but I will list the books that were most disappointing to me:

The Song of Hannah - don't bother

The Time Traveler's Wife - disappointing after all the public hype

The Help - also disappointing after all the public hype

I didn't like The Help either REK.  Just couldn't get into it.  But I so wanted too! lol

Disappointing:

Fire Bringer by David Clemenst Davis

The 6th Lamentation by Willam Brokrick

Visions of Sugar Plums  by Janet Evanovich - just plain dumb.

Remnants by K.A. Applegate (loved the Animorphs so I was surprised by how much I disliked this series)

I finished all of these books, so none of them were that bad. I would classify them as disappointing:

The Duchess and the Dragon - Jamie Carrie

Possibilities - Debra White Smith

The Guardian Flame - TL Higley

Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyers

La's Orchestra Saves the World - Alexander Mcall Smith

Her Daughter's Dream - Francine Rivers

My big disappointments for the year are:

The Nanny Returns (DNF)
Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea
A Big Little Life : A Memoir of a Joyful Dog

I didn't get the hype:

Into the Wilderness
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 
Silent in the Grave

The Trall's Tale by Judith Lindberg          

  I swapped for the book on CD as well as the hardback to read in an evening and swapped the book without even opening it.  I listened to most of the CDs and then swapped the whole package.  You would need to care (a great deal) about Norse Mythology to care about this book.  Not one good thing happens to anyone!

In the Company of the Courtesan  by Sarah Dunant   I just used the read to page 100 and if you can get into it, swap it rule.

Quakertown by Lee Martin     I read the whole thing but can't recommend it.  If someone who had something interesting to say had written it, it might have been a good story. 

The Widow's War by Mary Mackey     Same as the above.   Should have been a good story, but the author could not make even one character seem real enough to invoke any empathy.  Stilted and sad. I couldn't even care about the main character and her child. 

Lipshitz Six, orTwo Angry Blonds by T. Cooper   I can't even describe how boring and bad this was.  should have known by the lousy title.

A Reliable Wife  I finished it, but seriously, just buy a whip and whip yourself. Read something that you won't need prozac after you finish......

I didn't have and DNFs for the year, but here are a few that I didn't care for much:

The Boleyn Wife - Brandy Purdy (first person was too limiting and a totally unnecessary scene involving honey)

The Greener Shore - Morgan Llywelyn (sequel to Druids - which I liked a lot so this was disappointing)

The Lance Thrower - Jack Whyte (what was the point?)

Between Two Queens - Kate Emerson (main character was dull as dirt and whiney besides)

My 2010 Dissapointments:  (some I slogged through, some I gave up on)

Skeleton in Waiting by Peter Dickinson

The Book of Eleanor by Pamela Kaufman

Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith

Robin and the King by Parke Godwin

The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

The Language of Stones by Robert Carter

The Lover by Robin Schone