1PaperbackPirate
For the 19th year in a row, here's the place to post your "clunkers" of the year: the books you just couldn't get through, the ones you threw across the room, or the books you finished but really disliked. Go ahead, tell us how you really feel! :-)
Post one or several and tell us why it gets your vote as a clunker.
Worst of 2006
Worst of 2007
Worst of 2008
Worst of 2009
Worst of 2010
Worst of 2011
Worst of 2012
Worst of 2013
Worst of 2014
Worst of 2015
Worst of 2016
Worst of 2017
Worst of 2018
Worst of 2019
Worst of 2020
Worst of 2021
Worst of 2022
Worst of 2023
Remember, one reader's clunker is another reader's treasure!
Post one or several and tell us why it gets your vote as a clunker.
Worst of 2006
Worst of 2007
Worst of 2008
Worst of 2009
Worst of 2010
Worst of 2011
Worst of 2012
Worst of 2013
Worst of 2014
Worst of 2015
Worst of 2016
Worst of 2017
Worst of 2018
Worst of 2019
Worst of 2020
Worst of 2021
Worst of 2022
Worst of 2023
Remember, one reader's clunker is another reader's treasure!
2PaperbackPirate
I had 2 clunkers this year, Kill Joy by Holly Jackson and Maui Writers Ink: Supernatural Tales by Maui Writers Ink.
I loved The Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, but Kill Joy felt like a money grab, that-series-was-successful-let's-shoehorn-in-a-prequel.
I feel bad for saying I didn't like Maui Writers Ink, supporting local authors and all, but the stories were too short for my taste, some only 1 or 2 pages, most without a plot or point it seemed. I did appreciate learning a little more about island beliefs and traditions.
I loved The Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, but Kill Joy felt like a money grab, that-series-was-successful-let's-shoehorn-in-a-prequel.
I feel bad for saying I didn't like Maui Writers Ink, supporting local authors and all, but the stories were too short for my taste, some only 1 or 2 pages, most without a plot or point it seemed. I did appreciate learning a little more about island beliefs and traditions.
3BooksCatsEtc
There were a number of books I DNF'd over the year, but I'd have to go back and look them up and . . . maybe later.
One book that seems to be very popular and that I found unbearable was The Radleys, by Matt Haig. It's Haig's entry into the vampire mythos, about a family of vampires so determined to live as normal people that they haven't even told their two teenagers that they're all vampires. Of course disaster is inevitable.
The premise is interesting and has potential but the execution was so, so boring! I couldn't work up a flicker of interest in any character, they were all so meaningless and vapid. It wasn't because the main characters were vampires either, the human characters were just as tedious.
I was wondering at one point if the story was boring intentionally, to underscore the listlessness of the vampires' lives when living in a manner unnatural to them, but no -- they were still sleep-inducing lumps towards the end when they became more accepting of their natures.
In addition, there were a number of goofs (one of them a huge, plot changing goof) that irked me and really should have been caught by a proofreader or editor, but they faded into the background compared with the basic problem.
There was a movie made from this book, with some changes, and I watched it hoping it would be one of those instances where the movie was better than the book. It was not. This is just a dull, dull story.
One book that seems to be very popular and that I found unbearable was The Radleys, by Matt Haig. It's Haig's entry into the vampire mythos, about a family of vampires so determined to live as normal people that they haven't even told their two teenagers that they're all vampires. Of course disaster is inevitable.
The premise is interesting and has potential but the execution was so, so boring! I couldn't work up a flicker of interest in any character, they were all so meaningless and vapid. It wasn't because the main characters were vampires either, the human characters were just as tedious.
I was wondering at one point if the story was boring intentionally, to underscore the listlessness of the vampires' lives when living in a manner unnatural to them, but no -- they were still sleep-inducing lumps towards the end when they became more accepting of their natures.
In addition, there were a number of goofs (one of them a huge, plot changing goof) that irked me and really should have been caught by a proofreader or editor, but they faded into the background compared with the basic problem.
There was a movie made from this book, with some changes, and I watched it hoping it would be one of those instances where the movie was better than the book. It was not. This is just a dull, dull story.
4ahef1963
The worst book I read this year is The Dallergut Dream Department Store. It's a South Korean book, and I was hoping for better, but the plot was adolescent at best, and the writing tortuous.
I also truly disliked Agnes Grey. At least now I have read some of each Bronte sister, Emily, Anne, and Charlotte. It was so pious. I'm no hater of piety but this book went overboard, with a main character willing to cut herself off from love and pleasure and the little joys of life in the name of faith.
I also truly disliked Agnes Grey. At least now I have read some of each Bronte sister, Emily, Anne, and Charlotte. It was so pious. I'm no hater of piety but this book went overboard, with a main character willing to cut herself off from love and pleasure and the little joys of life in the name of faith.
5krazy4katz
My least favorite books are in my "Officially Unfinished" Collection.
I think there was only one this year:I tried to read Peter Pan because I had read Darling Girl earlier and wanted to see what the connection was. Well, it obviously isn't the Disney version and I just could not tolerate it. No, couldn't finish even that short little book!
I also have an "On Hiatus" collection but that one is just for books that were maybe too long to finish at that moment. They are books I plan to go back to, but I see there are over 30 now (sigh…).
I think there was only one this year:I tried to read Peter Pan because I had read Darling Girl earlier and wanted to see what the connection was. Well, it obviously isn't the Disney version and I just could not tolerate it. No, couldn't finish even that short little book!
I also have an "On Hiatus" collection but that one is just for books that were maybe too long to finish at that moment. They are books I plan to go back to, but I see there are over 30 now (sigh…).
