The Book Wheel

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8 Popular Books I Didn’t Like or Finish

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It’s safe to say that I will not read every book I want to read before I die. Try as I might, it’s not physically possible, which is why as an ambitious reader I sometimes have to make tough decisions. This means I have to stop reading popular books that have great reviews and have won awards because I’m just not that into them. Sometimes I finish it because I feel like I should (like The Devil in the White City and Mrs. Dalloway), but more often than not I will just put it down and move one. The most common reason that I put down a book is its narrative style. I am not a big fan of the first-person narrative where slang is concerned (like The Help).

Below is a list of popular books that most people are shocked to learn I didn’t enjoy…. or finish.

 

How about you?

Comment below with a popular book that disappointed you!

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  • Karen

    For me it was We Need to Talk About Kevin – just couldnt get into it at all.

  • I agree on the Room. I don’t get how its so popular.

  • Just seeing this post now! And – totally agree on She’s Come Undone (downright hated this one!) and The Book Thief (was okay, but I didn’t see what all the hype was about). I finished both, but only because that was back before I started DNFing. I did love The Devil in the White City, though 🙂

    • Thank goodness you agree with She’s Come Undone! Most people think I am nuts.

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  • Charlotte

    The Lovely Bones. I hated the writing and found the characters colourless, bland, boring, unbelievable. Cant understand its popularity.

    • The Book Wheel

      I hear that a lot! Well, not those particular reasons, but that people didn’t like the book. I didn’t see the movie because it looked pretty cheesy, but I enjoyed the book.

    • Florence

      I also couldn’t finish The Lovely Bones! Totally agree.

      • Truth

        Oh, I really liked THE LOVELY BONES!
        I can’t stand Paulo Coehlo. I read THE ZAHIR and that was enough for me; haven’t read any others by him.

        • I haven’t read any of Coehlo’s other works and I’m undecided on whether I will in the future. Maybe after some time has passed I’ll try another one (but perhaps not The Zahir, which I’ve never heard of).

  • The WHOLE Wolves of Mercy Falls series. That was a huge disappointment. I never finished She’s Come Undone. I have no idea why. Hmm. I guess it wasn’t good enough to finish. I loved Room, The Help and after the boring parts The Devil in White City. That was errie!!

    • The Book Wheel

      Wow. The whole series? That’s a big deal! I’m glad I’m not the only one who couldn’t get into or finish She’s Come Undone!

      Thanks for sharing!

  • Kawena

    She’s Come Undone and The Book Thief – I could not read!!
    I am glad I’m not the only one!!! I have no plans to finish either. Although I will watch the movie, The Book Thief.

  • Savvy WorkingGal

    I never finished She’s Come Undone and could never bring myself to read The Room. I didn’t dislike The Book Thief, but don’t rave about it like some others do. I liked reading the Chicago history in The Devil in The White City and actually enjoyed The Help. Two popular books I didn’t care for are Eat, Pray, Love and Gone Girl.

  • Catherine

    Oh my gosh, Allison, we are so different! Five of those are books I really enjoyed. I agree with you on The Help- actually liked the movie way better and never finished the book.
    I love this kind of question but have got to keep a list on my phone because I can never remember. The best I’ve got is Beautiful Bastard- the new Shades of Grey series that I didn’t know what shades and dropped after 3 pages. Bleech.

  • We don’t mesh together here except for The Devil in the White City. I didn’t finish that one. I have The Book Thief on my to-read shelf, so here’s hoping. I read She’s Come Undone many years ago and enjoyed it, I loved ROOM and The Help, but my never will pick up again book is Life of Pi. Horror of Horrors! AWFUL! Great post, and stopping by from SITSSHAREFEST.

    • The Book Wheel

      Thanks for stopping by! I hope you like Book Thief more than I did. Most people did!

  • Isi

    I understand your problem about the narritve style in first person because it also happens to me with the present tense in the books.
    But at the same time, I have enjoyed so much some of them that I would like you to finish them!! hehe
    Hey, a question: after confessing to the world that you didn’t like and finish “The shadow of the wind”, are Mel and Rebecca still your friends? 😉
    Great post!

    • The Book Wheel

      Mel and Rebecca are still my friends 🙂 This is my tit for tat for Rebecca not liking Kate Morton, so now we are even!

  • Rory

    I thought The Help was overrated, so much so that I’ve never bothered to see the movie either. I thought Room was rather meh. The one book, which I feel like I should love (as a huge Stephen King fan), but don’t is Carrie.

    • Rory

      And Gone Girl. I figured it out fairly early and felt the whole thing tried to hard to be shocking.

      • The Book Wheel

        Really?! I thought I had it figured out and, while I did for the most part, still loved the book.

  • I couldn’t get into The Book Thief either. I will try again, but I hope that I will like it the second time round. Too bad The Shadow of the Wind is on the list – it’s one of my favourites, but I understand why you didn’t like it

    • The Book Wheel

      Haha. I know you loved that book. It hurt my heart to put it down but I just couldn’t get into it.

  • Ky

    Great post! Instead of expressing my surprise at your list, I’ll just say…bravo for putting it out there. Popular books don’t always grab you. I could NOT stand Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Outlander is another popular book I couldn’t finish.

    Found your post at Love at First Book’s link party. 🙂

    • The Book Wheel

      Thank you! I haven’t read Wild yet but from what I know about it I am not confident that I’ll love it. I was so shocked that Rebecca put down Outlander because I devoured the first 6! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  • Just eight? When I read She’s Come Undone, I ended up taking it with me a lot of places. (Doctors’ offices, etc.) I don’t remember a lot about the book, but I remember many strangers seeing me with it and telling me that they hadn’t cared for it.

    • The Book Wheel

      Just 8. BUT, when people started commenting about books they didn’t finish, I started remembering all of the other ones that I couldn’t get into. Maybe my list is a lot longer than I thought? That’s interesting that people were telling you that they didn’t care for the book. Usually strangers only tell you when they DO like the book.

  • Crying On Airplanes

    What a great post! I was feeling so guilty about being completely not into “Tenth of December”. It’s nice to know that I am not alone. For a second, in a moment of weakness, after I gave up on this collection of stories I thought to myself: “Do I maybe simply hate beautiful things?”, but now that I have regained my composure (and with reinforcement from your post, of course 🙂 ), I have realized that maybe I simply don’t like this book. And you know what? It’s ok. We’re all entitled to our opinion. It’s just nice to know that I am right.

    • The Book Wheel

      Exactly! It’s okay not to like a book. There are a lot of books out there that are great for some people and not for me. Of course, there are also a bunch of books that I loved that not everyone else does.

  • Well, I’ll join you on some of these: Mrs. Dalloway, She’s Come Undone, and Room. However, probably because of my roots in the South and growing up and going to college there in the 1960s, I really enjoyed seeing my life through the author’s window. And I liked the Book Thief. I’ve got The Shadow of the Wind to read. What haven’t I finished because I didn’t like it besides the ones we both didn’t finish: Three Junes, The Widow of the South, and Wit’s End. Those are the ones I remember right off. Interesting post — I really enjoyed the discussion.

    • The Book Wheel

      Hopefully you will like Shadow like everyone else seems to. I haven’t heard of the other books that you mentioned and didn’t finish, but maybe that’s or the best? I think I might see The Book Thief movie when it comes out because it was the narration that I didn’t like, so maybe I’ll like the story.

  • Haha, yep, I’m one of those people with strong feelings about The Book Thief. I can see where the style wouldn’t be for everyone, but I loved it sooo much, it was definitely the book on your list which surprised me the most! I almost never DNF a book, but some popular ones I thought were just ok include Scarlet and everything by Malcolm Gladwell 🙂

    • The Book Wheel

      Well I’m glad I could surprise you, even if it was by disagreeing with you! I’ve read some Malcolm Gladwell books (not the one you mentioned) and really enjoyed them but I imagine people who don’t LOVE non-fiction would find it pretty dry.

  • I despised Gillian Flynn’s book Gone Girl and didn’t finish it. I don’t think I finished Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone either. It was a long time ago, but I think I just didn’t care enough to continue.

    • The Book Wheel

      Despised?! That’s a strong word! Of course, there are a ton of people who hated the book. I recently listed to a podcast about her book, Sharp Objects, and how it’s much better than Gone Girl. I might have to check it out, but of course, I enjoyed Gone Girl (not to the extent of the hype, but liked it nonetheless).

  • Catherine

    Total agreement with The Help and yet if you said it out loud people freaked. I thought it was overhyped but I really liked the movie. Recently, a lot of people have raved about The Paris Architect but I didn’t think it was that well written. Never captured my emotions.

    • The Book Wheel

      They totally freaked! I haven’t read The Paris Architect, so I have no opinion, but people got SO MAD at me when I said I put The Help down.

  • It’s a newer book, but so many are loving The People in the Trees. I wanted to enjoy it, but I couldn’t get into it at all. 🙁

    • The Book Wheel

      That’s so funny! I’m reading it now and had never heard of it (I found it browsing the library collection online) and now that I’m reading it it seems to be EVERYWHERE. I’m not LOVING it but I’m enjoying it. At this point, it’s a solid 3, but we’ll see where it ends up.

  • I think The Book Thief was over-hyped. It was okay, but… ehh. Not remarkable.

    • The Book Wheel

      I’ve realized that, after admitting my dislike for the book, that I am not alone. It’s comforting.

  • Great thought – provoking post!
    I agree whole-heartedly with putting down a book that’s not working for you, but it can be hard to do when everyone is raving about it.
    I couldn’t finish The Shadow of the Wind, Catch 22, Fifty Shades of Grey or Twilight. In Australia lots of folks are raving about the latest Richard Flanagan book A Narrow Road to the North, but I found it tedious and basically just skimmed it.
    I’ve also never been able to get past the first page of The Slap or any Dan Brown or Di Morrisey books.

    • The Book Wheel

      Wow! Those are some really popular books that you put down! I read Twilight before it got to be SO BIG and enjoyed them, but then again I was drugged up following wisdom teeth removals, so maybe that’s why. I never picked up Fifty Shades (or the Hunger Games, for that matter), but really enjoyed Catch 22. Of course, that was 15 years ago, so maybe I’ll read it again and see how I feel!

  • holli guin

    A popular book that disappointed me was ‘Me Before You.’ I didn’t see what the hype was all about. I found it rather depressing & I thought it could’ve had a better ending, & I thought it was a little boring in some parts too.

    • The Book Wheel

      It seems like a lot of people were kind of ambivalent about that book. I haven’t read it but plan to (someday) and am a little nervous about how I’ll feel about it. Maybe the so-so reviews will lower my standards and it will blow me away. Or, maybe, I’ll just skip it. Time will tell 🙂

  • I really enjoyed The Book Thief and The Help, but I understand not ever book is for every person. The last book I gave up on was Red Tent.

    • The Book Wheel

      Oh, Red Tent is another one I didn’t finish! Thanks for the reminder 🙂

  • Shannon @ River City Reading

    I can definitely see why some of these can be loved and hated, especially when it comes to narrative style, like Room and The Book Thief. Most recently, I was not a huge fan of Night Film, where everyone seemed to be raving about it.

    • The Book Wheel

      Obviously I’m out of the loop lately because I’ve never even heard of Night Film! I blame finals….. As for the narrative styles, at least I know what books not to bother picking up anymore and it saves me a lot of time now that I’ve confessed and acknowledged my dislikes!

  • I’ve never finished The Help, and I hated The Lovely Bones and Gone Girl. Those are the most popular ones that I flaked out on. Great post! 🙂

    • The Book Wheel

      Thanks! Gone Girl seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it book so I’m not as surprised about that one!

    • The Lovely Bones. No. Finished it but hated it. Glad I’m not the only one!

  • A popular book I read but wasn’t really into was The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I was hesitant to even start it, but I liked the author’s perspective on things on his website, the state of current societal affairs and all that, so I thought I might give his books a try. Of course, Fault is by far his most popular and highest regarded. But, eh… it was definitely not for me. I finished, but only because it was such a short, quick read. If it had been slower going or longer, I would have put it down no question. Here’s my review of that one: http://mylittleheartmelodies.com/2013/06/19/the-fault-in-our-stars/

    • The Book Wheel

      I read that one and enjoyed it but it definitely wasn’t worth all of the buzz that it received. I think it was a bit too YA for my tastes!

    • This was my first John Green book, and honestly, I wasn’t that impressed. It as ok, but I didn’t/don’t get all of the hype and most likely won’t pick up another one of his books.

  • Christine

    I hated The Lovely Bones. I got maybe 100 pages in and just stopped because I couldn’t do it anymore. I also finished Gone Girl but I pretty much hated it.

    • The Book Wheel

      That stinks! I enjoyed the book but hated the movie.

  • Mary M.

    Thank you for saying what so many of us feel. I just do not like and continue reading some popular books.

    • The Book Wheel

      You’re very welcome. Just trying to keep it honest 🙂

  • Ouch Devil in the White City and The Help are two of my favorites and The Book Thief is my favorite of all time!! I did have a tough time getting through Devil just the sheer volume of the details.

    I couldn’t get through Twilight. I didn’t listen to my gut on that one and attempted to read it when I wasn’t really crazy about the movie. I also couldn’t finish Bossypants, I got bored when shrede spent a whole lot of time talking about getting her period, not really what I wanted to read about.

    • The Book Wheel

      You didn’t like Bossypants? That’s surprising. I listened to it on audiobook while I made a trek from NC to FL and laughed the whole way. Maybe it’s better when you listen to Tina Fey talking about Tina Fey.

  • I completely sympathise with you on Virginia Woolf. I’ve read both Mrs. Dalloway and To The Lighthouse and just hated both. I feel like I should like them but nope, just not happening. I didn’t like Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series either! It always feels like a big disappointment not to like a book that everyone seems to love/ praise/ recommend. The one that surprised me the most was Veronica Roth’s Divergent. I gave it 4* but it didn’t blow me away. Considering the hype it was so, so disappointing not to feel ‘involved’ in that side of the book.
    Great post :).

    • The Book Wheel

      I remember you not loving Mrs. Dalloway. I’m a bit scared to read any of her other books simply because of it. I doubt I’ll read Divergent because it isn’t my cup of tea and I don’t think I’d give it a fair shake, regardless.

  • I am surprised by The Help mostly I guess, but I definitely know the feeling of not liking a book everyone loved. That’s how I feel about The Fault in Our Stars. And I agree with your assessment of Devil…took me awhile to get going on it, enjoyed parts, but more appreciative of it after the fact. I have a coworker who didn’t like The Book Thief either because of narrative style. Good idea for a post!

    • The Book Wheel

      It seems like The Fault in Our Stars is a popular unpopular one (make sense?). I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t love The Book Thief. People have SUCH strong feelings about it!

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