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Book List - Famous Books You Hate!

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<?=$who;?> Famous Books You Hate! If there's a book that's well-known, but you secretly hate it, vent here. They made you read it in high school or book club, but they couldn't make you like it! Edit
List created by Mamie on Jul 6, 2010
List Votes: 32 Books: 86 Contributors: 47 Watchers: 40 List Type: Open
1
Kraduate
Karen D. (Kraduate)
Twilight Collector's Edition (The Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
The book that started the phenomenon is now available in a deluxe collector's edition! Featuring a ribbon bookmark, cloth cover, ragged edges, new chapter opener designs, and a beautiful protective slipcase, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike. Bella Swan's move to Forks, a...  more

Book Votes: 64
2
Mamie
Mamie
The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, Bk 2) (Audio CD) (Unabridged) by Dan Brown & P...
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to...  more

Book Votes: 55
3
thehappyfew
Ryan F. (thehappyfew)
Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin
From her humble beginnings to her time in the spotlight as the first female Republican Vice Presidential candidate,Sarah Palin has led an extraordinary life. Going Rogue will recount her political experiences,her time as Mayor of Wasilla and as the first female governor of Alaska,as well as her...  more

Book Votes: 45
4
nordicgirl
Randi C. (nordicgirl)
Wicked (Wicked Years, Bk 1) by Gregory Maguire
 The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so...  more

Book Votes: 39
5
Mamie
Mamie
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Originally published in 1954, William Golding's Lord of the Flies is one of the most disturbing and celebrated novels of modern times. A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. At first they revel in the freedom and celebrate the absence of...  more

Book Votes: 38
6
Shervivor
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - ,
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne & George Stade (Editor)
America’s first psychological novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a dark tale of love, crime, and revenge set in colonial New England. It revolves around a single, forbidden act of passion that forever alters the lives of three members of a small Puritan...  more

Book Votes: 29
7
Shervivor
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - ,
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
A novel that explores the darkest depths and brightest hopes in the souls of men, Moby-Dick is an impassioned drama of the ultimate human struggle. Complete and unabridged, introduction by David Herd.

Book Votes: 28
8
Shervivor
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - ,
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
When The Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939, America, still recovering from the Great Depression, came face to face with itself in a startling, lyrical way. John Steinbeck gathered the country's recent shames and devastations--the Hoovervilles, the desperate, dirty children, the dissolution...  more

Book Votes: 27
9
cswrawr
Christina W. (cswrawr)
Left Behind (Left Behind, Bk 1) by Jerry Jenkins & Tim F. LaHaye
When the trumpet sounds, where will you be? Passengers in an airborne Boeing 747 find out in this riveting novel by renowned Christian speaker Tim LaHaye and master storyteller Jerry Jenkins. Without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread...  more

Book Votes: 27
10
nordicgirl
Randi C. (nordicgirl)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
"My greatest thought in living is  Heathcliff. If all else perished, and he remained, I should  still continue to be... Nelly, I am  Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as  a pleasure... but as my own being."  Wuthering Heights is the...  more

Book Votes: 26
11
jjs488
John S. (jjs488)
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger's famous and enduring chronicle of Holden Caulfield's journey from innocence to experience is the quintessential coming-of-age novel--though it's an unusual one, in which the hero tries to cling to the simplicity of childhood, achieving a kind of maturity almost in...  more

Book Votes: 23
12
tina72
Tina Y. (tina72) -
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's Syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a...  more

Book Votes: 20
13
klayrr
Claire W. (klayrr)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
In his introduction, Harold Bloom states that The Great Gatsby "has become part of what must be called the American mythology." This volume offers a complete critical survey of the novel, including examinations of its structure and narrative stance, redefining of the hero, and more. This series...  more

Book Votes: 20
14
drcjsnider
C.J. S.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Who is John Galt? This famous rhetorical question rings through Ayn Rand's best-selling novel as the people's anthem of despair in depressed economic times. Set in the future, the novel follows capitalist magnates as they battle looters, strikers, and the impending ruin of the United States'...  more

Book Votes: 19
15
espagnolisme
Brie S. (espagnolisme)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus -- three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of...  more

Book Votes: 18
16
Mamie
Mamie
Outlander (Outlander, Bk 1) by Diana Gabaldon
Unrivaled storytelling... unforgettable characters... rich historical detail... these are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon's work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured millions of readers. Here is the story that started it all,...  more

Book Votes: 18
17
Mamie
Mamie
New Moon (Twilight, Bk 2) by Stephenie Meyer
Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find...  more

Book Votes: 18
18
Generic Profile avatar
Cheryl C.
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
No description available.

Book Votes: 17
19
Generic Profile avatar
shan2001
Heart of Darkness (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) by Joseph Conrad
A masterpiece of twentieth-century writing, Heart of Darkness (1902) exposes the tenuous fabric that holds "civilization" together and the brutal horror at the center of European colonialism. Conrad's crowning achievement recounts Marlow's physical and psychological journey deep into the heart...  more

Book Votes: 17
20
canadianeh
Rosemary F. (canadianeh)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance+Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the...  more

Book Votes: 17
21
Mamie
Mamie
Beloved by Toni Morrison
"An extraordinary novel." -The New York Times Toni Morrison's magnificent Pulitzer Prize-winning novel brings the unimaginable experience of slavery into our comprehension. Set in rural Ohio several years after the Civil War, it is the story of Sethe, an escaped slave, who has risked her life...  more

Book Votes: 15
22
danielle0421
Danielle W. -
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years. Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye....  more

Book Votes: 15
23
Neon635
Christine M. (Neon635) -
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The hero is Pip, who is reared by his sister and her husband, Joe Gargery, the blacksmith. Later he is informed that he is to be reared as a gentleman of 'great expectations,' as an unknown person has provided money for his education and expects to make him his heir. This patron is...  more

Book Votes: 15
24
wendyk96
WENDY C. (wendyk96)
Outlander (Outlander, Bk 1) by Diana Gabaldon
The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon -- when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach -- an "outlander" --...  more

Book Votes: 14
25
doodlina
Cristina L. (doodlina) -
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
'Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy.' So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein. Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her...  more

Book Votes: 14
26
Mamie
Mamie
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
_The Pearl_ is an enduring and classic fable, sensitively told, in simple and beautiful language. It is the story of a fisherman who found a pearl beyond price, the Pearl of the World. With the pearl, he hoped to buy peace and happiness for himself, his wife and their little son. Instead he...  more

Book Votes: 12
27
iluvlibros
Jessica S. (iluvlibros) -
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert & Geoffrey Wall (Translator)
For this novel of French bourgeois life in all its inglorious banality, Flaubert invented a paradoxically original and wholly modern style. His heroine, Emma Bovary, a bored provincial housewife, abandons her husband to pursue the libertine Rodolphe in a desperate love affair. A succès de...  more

Book Votes: 12
28
Piper
Sandra (Piper)
The Red Badge of Courage (Tor Classics) by Stephen Crane
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All...  more

Book Votes: 12
29
Mamie
Mamie
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
On the surface, Henry and Clare Detamble are a normal couple living in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Henry works at the Newberry Library and Clare creates abstract paper art, but the cruel reality is that Henry is a prisoner of time. It sweeps him back and forth at its leisure, from...  more

Book Votes: 11
30
Mamie
Mamie
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan's symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose. On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis...  more

Book Votes: 11
31
nan47
Nancy W. (nan47)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The romantic clash of two opinionated young people provides the sustaining theme of Pride and Prejudice. Vivacious Elizabeth Bennet is fascinated and repelled by the arrogant Mr. Darcy, whose condescending airs and acrid tongue have alienated her entire family. Their spirited courtship is...  more

Book Votes: 11
32
Generic Profile avatar
Dw P. (squarespot)
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: A Practical Guide for Improving Communicatio...
Popular marriage counselor and seminar leader John Gray provides a unique, practical and proven way for men and women to communicate and relate better by acknowledging the differences between them. Once upon a time Martians and Venusians met, fell in love, and had happy relationships...  more

Book Votes: 11
33
DimensionX
Judy (DimensionX)
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes 'unstuck in time' after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of...  more

Book Votes: 10
34
nordicgirl
Randi C. (nordicgirl)
Julie and Julia : My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
Nearing 30 and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, Julie Powell resolved to reclaim her life by cooking, in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves'...  more

Book Votes: 10
35
wendyk96
WENDY C. (wendyk96)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All...  more

Book Votes: 10
36
Mamie
Mamie
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Tragic story of wasted lives, set against a bleak New England background. A poverty-stricken New England farmer, his ailing wife and a youthful housekeeper are drawn relentlessly into a deep-rooted domestic struggle in this hauntingly grim tale of thwarted love. Considered by many Wharton?s...  more

Book Votes: 9
37
Generic Profile avatar
Karen E. (thebakerswife) - ,
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Also Rises was Ernest Hemingway's first big novel, and immediately established Hemingway as one of the great prose stylists, and one of the preeminent writers of his time. It is also the book that encapsulates the angst of the post-World War I generation, known as the Lost Generation....  more

Book Votes: 9
38
tsatske
Latricia F. (tsatske)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for FictionPi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates...  more

Book Votes: 9
39
tashaw
Natasha W. (tashaw)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
There are few more convincing, less sentimental accounts of passionate love than Wuthering Heights. This is the story of a savage, tormented foundling, Heathcliff, who falls wildly in love with Catherine Earnshaw, the daughter of his benefactor, and of the violence and misery that result from...  more

Book Votes: 9
40
erinblondy
Erin M. (erinblondy)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare & Barbara A. Mowat (Editor) & Paul We...
Each edition includes:   * Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play * Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play * Scene-by-scene plot summaries * A key to famous lines and phrases * An introduction to...  more

Book Votes: 9
41
Mamie
Mamie
Gulliver's Travels (Wordsworth Classics) by Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift's classic stirical fable was first published following the 'South Sea Bubble' and other financial and commercial scandals which sadly strike a chord in our own times. It introduced many fictional lands and peoples which have since entered the English language, including the minute...  more

Book Votes: 8
42
Generic Profile avatar
Karen E. (thebakerswife) - ,
Hamlet (Signet Classics) by William Shakespeare
The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark: Shakespeare's classic tragedy of love, madness, and revenge was first enacted in London in 1602. Young Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is in mourning for his dead father, is visited by his father's ghost telling him that he was murdered by his own brother,...  more

Book Votes: 8
43
Generic Profile avatar
Cassie S. (cassie86) - ,
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost...  more

Book Votes: 8
44
sheesh
Lisa B. (sheesh)
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
When it was published in 1955, Lolita immediately became a cause celebre because of the freedom and sophistication with which it handled the unusual erotic predilections of its protagonist. But Vladimir Nabokov's wise, ironic, elegant masterpiece owes its stature as one of the twentieth...  more

Book Votes: 8
45
Mamie
Mamie
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair’s muckraking masterpiece The Jungle centers on Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant working in Chicago’s infamous Packingtown. Instead of finding the American Dream, Rudkus and his family inhabit a brutal, soul-crushing urban jungle dominated by greedy bosses,...  more

Book Votes: 7
46
GrannyJill
Jill H. (GrannyJill) -
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong...  more

Book Votes: 7
47
GrannyJill
Jill H. (GrannyJill) -
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Ken Follett had long been a staple of the bestseller lists for his novels of intrigue and espionage. Then came The Pillars of the Earth, a grand novel of epic storytelling that readers and critics quickly hailed as his crowning achievement. Now, The Pillars of the Earth is available for the...  more

Book Votes: 7
48
Mamie
Mamie
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
You've never met anyone like Randle Patrick McMurphy... the hero of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. He's a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the ward of a mental hospital and takes over... He's a lusty, profane, life-loving fighter who rallies the other...  more

Book Votes: 6
49
thehappyfew
Ryan F. (thehappyfew)
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Four mothers, four daughters, four families... In 1949, four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind in China. United in loss, and with new hope for their daughters' futures, they call themselves the Joy Luck...  more

Book Votes: 6
50
Generic Profile avatar
Holly Anne B. (ambalish)
Ernest Hemingway's a Farewell to Arms (Barron's Book Notes) by Ernest Hemingway &...
No description available.

Book Votes: 6
51
Generic Profile avatar
Holly Anne B. (ambalish)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
Saga of a group heroes who set forth to save their world from evil. A brotherhood of 'hobbits,' elves, dwarves, and people is formed to combat evil forces. Tolkien drew on his extensive knowledge of folklore and the classics to create the worlds and creatures described in the trilogy, which...  more

Book Votes: 6
52
onthesamepaige
Paige M. (onthesamepaige)
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A SEPARATE PEACE is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the...  more

Book Votes: 6
53
carmenm
Carmen M. (carmenm)
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Astrid is the only child of a single mother, Ingrid, a brillant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery - but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls...  more

Book Votes: 5
54
ASJ
Alice J. (ASJ) - ,
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
NATIONAL BESTSELLER PULITZER PRIZE WINNER National Book Critic's Circle Award Finalist A New York Times Notable Book One of the Best Books of the Year The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, The Denver Post, The Kansas City Star, Los Angeles Times, New York, People,...  more

Book Votes: 5
55
Mamie
Mamie
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title--offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All...  more

Book Votes: 4
56
icantswim
Heather D. (icantswim) -
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Pearl S. Buck's epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of a China that was -- now in a Contemporary Classics edition. Though more than sixty years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer Prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics. "I...  more

Book Votes: 4
57
Mamie
Mamie
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down. His wife has been killed; a mysterious stranger offers him a job. But Mr. Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow than is possible, warns that a storm is coming -- a battle for the very soul of America . . . and they are in its...  more

Book Votes: 3
58
Mamie
Mamie
The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud & James Strachey (Translator)
FREUD'S REVOLUTIONARY THEORY This ground-breaking work, which Freud considered his most valuable, forever changed the way we think about our dreams. In it, Freud made this century's startling discoveries about why we dream, what we dream about, and what dreams really...  more

Book Votes: 3
59
Generic Profile avatar
Stephanie C. (stephanie12861)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
ALDOUS HUXLEY (1894-1963 British-born novelist, poet, essayist, philosopher and mystic, Huxley was fascinated by the wilder margins of psychology, medicine, the occult, drugs and religion. He was a man of exceptional vision and foresight, and his breadth of learning was astounding. He wrote over...  more

Book Votes: 3
60
damon
Carrie A. (damon)
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert & Lowell Bair (Translator) & Leo Bersani (E...
This exquisite novel tells the story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature--Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and...  more

Book Votes: 3
61
damon
Carrie A. (damon)
Wuthering Heights (Barnes Noble Classics Series) (BN Classics) by Emily Bronte
Emily Brontë’s only novel, Wuthering Heights remains one of literature’s most disturbing explorations into the dark side of romantic passion. Heathcliff and Cathy believe they’re destined to love each other forever, but when cruelty and snobbery separate them, their...  more

Book Votes: 3
62
Generic Profile avatar
Brian H. (col-stuckinmyteeth)
The Hunger Games (Hunger Games, Bk 1) by Suzanne Collins
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to...  more

Book Votes: 3
63
mommy2girlz
Aimee B. (mommy2girlz) -
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. This improbable story of Christopher's...  more

Book Votes: 3
64
Mamie
Mamie
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Leaving behind a world on the brink of destruction, man came to the Red planet and found the Martians waiting, dreamlike. Seeking the promise of a new beginning, man brought with him his oldest fears and his deepest desires. Man conquered Mars—and in that instant, Mars conquered him. ...  more

Book Votes: 2
65
Shervivor
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - ,
The Idiot (Penguin Classics) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky & David Magarshack (Translator...
In The Idiot, Prince Myshkin, a saintly man, is thrust into the heart of a society obsessed with wealth, power, and sexual conquest. He soon finds himself at the center of a violent love triangle in which a notorious woman and a beautiful young girl become rivals for his affections. Extortion,...  more

Book Votes: 2
66
Shervivor
Sherry G. (Shervivor) - ,
The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams
Snitter and Rowf, fugitives from the horrors of an animal research center who escape into the isolation -- and terror -- of the wilderness.

Book Votes: 2
67
sheesh
Lisa B. (sheesh)
The Liars' Club : A Memoir by Mary Karr
When it was published in 1995, Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club took the world by storm and raised the art of the memoir to an entirely new level, as well as bringing about a dramatic revival of the form. Karr’s comic childhood in an east Texas oil town brings us characters as...  more

Book Votes: 2
68
wendybird
Wendy R. (wendybird)
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband's presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House -- and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, "almost in opposition to itself." A kind, bookish only child...  more

Book Votes: 2
69
wendybird
Wendy R. (wendybird)
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery & Alison Anderson (Translator)
Renée is the concierge of a grand Parisian apartment building, home to members of the great and the good. Over the years she has maintained her carefully constructed persona as someone reliable but totally uncultivated, in keeping, she feels, with society's expectations of what a...  more

Book Votes: 2
70
scifiponygirl
Tory M. (scifiponygirl)
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of love and war won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to give rise to two authorized sequels and one of the most popular and celebrated movies of all time. Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None take us into the burning fields and...  more

Book Votes: 2
71
Flight
Flight -
No Reason for Murder by Ayako Sono
This sober novel features a worthless seducer who cold-heartedly rapes and kills his victims...except for Yukiko, a Christian, who offers him a moral lifeline, even after his imprisonment.

Book Votes: 1
72
sevenspiders
sevenspiders -
Jude the Obscure (Oxford World's Classic) by Thomas Hardy
Hardy's last and most controversial novel, Jude the Obscure caused much outrage when it was published in 1895. Jude Fawley, poor and working-class, longs to study at the University of Christminster, but his ambitions to go to university are thwarted by class prejudice and his entrapment in a...  more

Book Votes: 1
73
Mamie
Mamie
A Slipping-Down Life by Anne Tyler
"Without Anne Tyler, American fiction would be an immeasurably bleaker place."NEWSDAYEvie Decker is a shy, slightly plump teenager, lonely and silent. But her quiet life is shattered when she hears the voice of Drumstrings Casey on the radio and becomes instantly attracted to him. She manages to...  more

Book Votes: 1
74
Generic Profile avatar
J. M. (nena)
March by Geraldine Brooks
As the North reels under a series of unexpected defeats during the dark first year of the war, one man leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. Riveting and elegant as it is meticulously...  more

Book Votes: 1
75
coolelle
Laurie H. (coolelle) - ,
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gent. by Tristram Shandy
No description available.

Book Votes: 1
76
wendybird
Wendy R. (wendybird)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
A memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a...  more

Book Votes: 1
77
carmenm
Carmen M. (carmenm)
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
For more than two hundred years, the Owens women had been blamed for everything that went wrong in their Massachusetts town. And Gillian and Sally endured that fate as well; as children, the sisters were outsiders. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, but all...  more

Book Votes: 1
78
Generic Profile avatar
Brian H. (col-stuckinmyteeth)
Mockingjay (Hunger Games, Bk 3) by Suzanne Collins
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President...  more

Book Votes: 1
79
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Brian H. (col-stuckinmyteeth)
Catching Fire (Hunger Games, Bk 2) by Suzanne Collins
Fresh from their improbable victory in the annual Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta get to enjoy the spoils only briefly before they must partake in a Capitol-sponsored victory tour. But trouble is brewing... President Snow tells Katniss directly he won't stand for being outsmarted, and she...  more

Book Votes: 1
80
Mamie
Mamie
Running with Scissors : A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the...  more

Book Votes: 1
81
Mamie
Mamie
Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth, Bk 1) by Terry Goodkind
Twilight has fallen upon the Three Kingdoms: a grey time that could foretell either dawn or descent into bitter night. Richard Cypher, woodsman and warrior, is chosen to bear the powerful Sword of Truth, but his enemy, Darken Rahl, is a royal mage who commands armies, hideous beasts and -- more...  more

Book Votes: 1
82
wendybird
Wendy R. (wendybird)
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
Richly imagined, gothically spooky, and replete with the ingenious storytelling ability of a born novelist, The Good Thief introduces one of the most appealing young heroes in contemporary fiction and ratifies Hannah Tinti as one of our most exciting new talents. Twelve year-old Ren is...  more

Book Votes: 0
83
melange
Yvette (melange) -
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham & John O'Hara Cosgrave II (Illustrator)
Readers today are still fascinated by "Nat," an eighteenth-century nautical wonder and mathematical wizard. Nathaniel Bowditch grew up in a sailor"s world -- Salem in the early days, when tall-masted ships from foreign ports crowded the wharves. But Nat didn"t promise to have...  more

Book Votes: 0
84
Mamie
Mamie
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer emerged as one of the most original writers of his generation with his best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated. Now, with humor, tenderness, and awe, he confronts the traumas of our recent history. Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret...  more

Book Votes: 0
85
jpat
Gerald P. (jpat) -
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman named Jenny Bonnet is shot dead. The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days,...  more

Book Votes: 0
86
mommy2girlz
Aimee B. (mommy2girlz) -
Never Let Me Go (Movie Tie-In Edition) (Vintage International) by Kazuo Ishiguro
From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, comes an unforgettable edge-of-your-seat mystery that is at once heartbreakingly tender and morally courageous about what it means to be human.Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from...  more

Book Votes: 0

List Comments

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Comment added 9/9/20 by Natasha R. (pittsteelfan) - , :
I liked a lot of books on this list, but and I know this sounds harsh I hate anything by Joseph Conrad.

Comment added 3/31/18 by Jay N. (ajdowning):
I'm surprised to see so many classic novels on here. The only famous book I really hate is Anthem by Ayn Rand.

Comment added 10/10/16 by Mamie:
Every time I see someone hate "A Separate Peace" I feel a little less alone :)

Comment added 6/26/16 by Suzy T. (suzyt):
Some of these are books that I love, but She's Come Undone and A Separate Peace are my most hated books of all time.

Comment added 4/26/16 by Jody M. (jodymcgrath) - :
I love this list. I hate some of these books, but I liked some also. They are all suppose to be fantastic though. Lol!

Comment added 3/26/16 by Michelle G. (mixelleleigh):
She's Coming Undone is the most stupidly irrelevant book. The fish tank scene is horrible!

Comment added 3/25/16 by Cheryl H. (hoppytoad79):
'Romeo and Juliet' is taught totally wrong if it's taught as a tragic romance. The 'Twilight' series is pure sexist, misogynistic crap. Bella is passive, a whiny snob, Edward's abusive, Jacob's abusive, the writing sucks, SO MUCH FAIL!

Comment added 12/20/15 by Marta R. (marta73):
I love Outlander but many of the others deserve being on this list.

Comment added 11/24/15 by Karen R. (karenerrn):
Glad Brave New World is on this list

Comment added 11/24/15 by Karen R. (karenerrn):
Catch 22 was one of the few books I gave up on..painful to read/boring

Comment added 11/5/14 by Andrew N. - , :
Terry Goodkind - Wizard's First Rule. For being so famous and well-liked in the fantasy genre, it is perhaps the blandest and most agonizing read I have had in a while. Maybe just never gave it a good chance.

Comment added 12/11/13 by Tory M. (scifiponygirl):
Absolutely hate Gone with the Wind, just added to this list. Only book I've never been able to get past the first chapter on!

Comment added 9/18/13 by Beth V. (betnel) - , :
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer. I could not stand that book.

Comment added 7/28/13 by Ann W. (topaintwithwords) - , :
I loved A Separate Piece in high school, and I gave it to my son to read in homeschooling. He was meh about it.

Comment added 6/25/13 by Beverly H. (sallyforth):
The entire Outlander series by Diana Gabalden is great. I've read Moby Dick 3 times and still don't like it. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the best books of all time. Had to read "Gulliver's Travels" - just don't care for Swift's satire.

Comment added 4/22/13 by Mamie:
We had to read both A Slipping Down Life & A Separate Peace too. Both such terrible books!

Comment added 4/20/13 by Paige M. (onthesamepaige):
The two worst books I had to read in high school were A Slipping Down Life and A Separate Peace. I'm glad someone already added Slipping, but I HAD to add Separate. The entire class loathed it. :)

Comment added 3/24/13 by Julie M. (catholicnative):
thought for sure that I'd see "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs. worst ever!

Comment added 2/8/13 by Amanda P. (amandalparks):
There are several titles on here I adored but even more I've never read. Romeo and Juliet is the original this-teaches-young-girls-to-be-stupid story. Bella & co have got nothing on Juliet killing herself over a guy she's known for three days. Gah!

Comment added 9/3/12 by Henry C. (rhclayto) - , :
Anything by Ayn Rand.

Comment added 9/29/11 by Kate G. (katiethewriter):
Agreed for sure about the Twilight crazy. Lord of the Rings, too! I fell asleep every time I tried to read the damn thing. Ugh.

Comment added 8/21/11 by Erin M. (erinblondy):
Is it weird that I love Shakespeare, but hate his two most famous plays with a bloody passion? Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet both make me crazy. Mrrrr. Thanks for going on that journey with me.

Comment added 7/17/11 by Karen P. (elsewhere):
Wicked... Good musical, hated the book. I thought it was poorly written, but what do i know, the man has published many books.

Comment added 3/28/11 by Holly Anne B. (ambalish):
Tolkien must have been on crack when he wrote The Lord of the Rings - especially The House of Tom Bombadil.

Comment added 2/15/11 by Wendy R. (wendybird):
I also hated "she's come undone"...but I'm interested that you liked one of his others. I'd like to give him a second chance...

Comment added 1/8/11 by Mar:
I could not stand "She's Come Undone"....hated it! However, one of my all-time favorites is Wally Lamb's "I Know Some Things Are True" and simple cannot believe this the same author!

Comment added 1/6/11 by Jill H. (GrannyJill) - :
Love this list!! I'm in a bookclub and it's interesting what books some people absolutely love and others despise!

Comment added 12/1/10 by Shannon R. (alien12) - , :
To Wendy C. How could you not like Huckleberry Finn!

Comment added 11/27/10 by WENDY C. (wendyk96):
I agree with a lot of these, especially THe Time Traveler's Wife. I disliked all of the main characters and the love story was so creepy. The movie was actually better than the book.

Comment added 11/27/10 by WENDY C. (wendyk96):
I really hated The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I tried to like Outlander. It had so many great reviews, but I had to give up after the 2nd book.

Comment added 11/16/10 by Mamie:
Comment deleted 1/9/11 by Mamie

Comment added 11/15/10 by bestallaroundgirl:
LOL! I strongly agree with many and strongly disagree with others on the list. Great idea for a list!

Comment added 11/14/10 by Neal H. (ragster):
I think this a great idea, certainly thought and discussion provoking. I just wish that the person nominating a book could post a brief comment about WHY they disliked the book.

Comment added 10/21/10 by Jeanne G. (IlliniAlum83) - , :
Great idea for a list and I found half a dozen or more that I agree made me cringe, but I finished them!

Comment added 8/23/10 by Christine M.:
Wanted to add "Atonement" to the hated list. Total garbage, unending sentences and paragraphs that would turn off the most committed reader.

Comment added 8/15/10 by Ryan F. (thehappyfew):
I thought I was gonna have to commit my own sort of blasphemy and to kill a mockingbird on the list but was happy to know I have brave brothers and sisters out there! I hate explaining why I didn't like that book to nearly everyone.

Comment added 8/6/10 by Danielle W. - :
I hated the main character in 'She's Come Undone'. She was so unlikeable I almost stopped reading it several times but for some reason I felt the need to torture myself until the very end since so many people recommended it to me.

Comment added 8/3/10 by Caroline O. (cmoh):
OH add The Poisonwood Diary and The Time Travelers Wife...those sucked and everywhere I turn they are still there...

Comment added 7/27/10 by Mark J. (CrazyaboutFantasy) - :
I was so happy to see Ethan Frome on this list.

Comment added 7/17/10 by Mamie:
Thanks! There are a lot of un-enjoyable books out there :)

Comment added 7/17/10 by Flight - :
I think this is a great list idea.

Comment added 7/7/10 by Judy (DimensionX):
I also have a list of Worst Books Ever - come check my list out!

Comment added 7/7/10 by Judy (DimensionX):
Comment deleted 7/7/10 by Judy (DimensionX)