When I talked about recommendations the other day my sister was curious what 10 books I'd
"want to scream out a warning and throw my body between it and anyone even considering it." I'll TRY to keep it to just 10. ;)
I got some nasty comments on Goodreads for my review of this one by the author's friends. I don't know why they're complaining. I paid full price for the dang friend's book! She got her money, so just shut up! Worst writing ever! Avoid this one. Avoid it like the plague!
Anything by Brandon Sanderson I'd recommend you drop like hot iron. Oh, unless you actually enjoy self satisfied authors who let their unwarranted smugness seep into their overly detailed world building!
For two hundred pages the author introduces us to like 30 characters. No big deal right? Well it is a big deal when we not only get these characters names but an entire life history and then, those two hundred pages pass, and the author kills every single one of them off! What the heck was that?! Too long, just way too long.
Sleepless by Cyn Balog looked good, really good. I was wrong. The story was confusing, the writing was shaky and the characters were unmemorable. Beware...BEWARE!
I'm sorry but if you're going to create a character who is cursed to kill people and who supposedly feels really sorry about it, then she should probably actually FEEL bad about it! Bipolar, psycho beotch!
I'm going to finally say what I've been thinking for some time. You ready? You don't write a book by taking everything that's "trending" in YA literature and fling it together in some half assed manner with absolutely nothing actually making sense! Well, you don't do it and walk away with any self respect. I guess if it sells, and money is all you care about then go ahead.
Again we have a book that copy catted what was trending. Fine, whatever. But I repeat YOU CAN'T DUCK BULLETS! Seriously, people, does logic not matter in books anymore?
"Oh no she din't!" you say? Oh yes I did! I LOATHE this book! If I could stop everyone from reading it I would!
If you're going to write a book about bullying, revenge and this much anger, shouldn't at least one character walk away having learned something? Not some people's opinion. *rolls eyes*
Cliche fest in the guise of originality. :( This one broke my heart and I'm still holding a grudge.
What?! I've only read two of the ten, but Sanderson? I love him! I enjoyed Elantris in particular, and I'm literally reading this with a copy of The Well of Ascension sitting right next to me. Now I'm super curious to read the others and see what I think of them.
ReplyDeleteLOL! We all have different opinions. These are just mine. I'm starting to think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like Brandon Sanderson.
DeleteI don't agree with all of your assessments but I have to say I enjoyed reading what you had to say even about the books I liked. I've always liked blunt people best. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, we all have different opinions. I'm glad you appreciate my bluntness. ;)
DeleteLove that you're going against the grain and dissing some popular books! I enjoyed Wither despite the lack of logic, and found Jane Eyre boring. Haven't read the others, but people keep recommending Divergent and Intertwined to me. I always wonder what I missed when I don't like the "hot" titles, so glad I'm not alone! :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, I feel like I'm the only person in the world who didn't like Divergent. I know it's not true but I'm definitely in the minority.
Delete+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteOne of these books is my favourite novel of all time, but there are few things I respect more than a rant list, so I just wish you had been more detailed about why you wish you could keep everyone from reading it! =)
I'm going to guess, if I'm remembering right, that it's Jane Eyre. I Really dislike Mr Rochester and the fact that he lied about his wife to someone he "supposedly" loved and respected. None of us are perfect, however, and I can ALMOST forgive him. What really drives me crazy is Jane herself. She was so presumptuous as a child and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. Yeah, so they sort of beat that out of her but that doesn't mean she has to let every man thereafter boss her around. I just can't stand woman that are THAT docile. Her only redeeming quality is that she leaves after Rochester lies to her. I hated how the author had her go back to Rochester, though. It's like even Bronte couldn't think of anything but divine intervention to get someone to end up with someone as awful as Mr Rochester.
DeleteHeh, thanks for making me laugh outloud! :) I haven't read most of the books on your list, but I love-love-love Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. I liked Divergent too, though not enough to rush out an buy the sequel.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good laugh. I always try to be mean in a funny way, though I'm afraid I don't always succeed.
DeleteDear Jenny's Readers: Don't listen to her about Sanderson!!! All the rest, fine, but not him! :) P.S. She KNEW I would say that, and would be sorely disappointed if I didn't!!! And now you see how our book club discussions can get interesting!
ReplyDeleteYou just couldn't resist, could you? ;) I'll still throw my body between anyone and one of his books. ;)
DeleteForget the books. I LOVE the kitty picture!!!
ReplyDeleteI know! Aren't they cute?!
DeleteWow! You really need some warm, gooey caramel Popcorn.
ReplyDeleteOr something. ;)
DeleteTotally agree with your take on The Passage! I can't believe they're making a movie out of it. It'll end up being, like, a six hour movie *uugh*
ReplyDeleteI know, I saw they were making that into a movie. *rolls eyes* Like the book wasn't torture enough!
DeleteOMG, you're the ONLY other person I've come across that doesn't like Divergent. I really didn't like it and I was pretty sure I was the only one in the whole world who felt this way! Yay, I'm not a freak!!! :)
ReplyDeleteChrissie! I didn't know you didn't like Divergent! This is awesome! I'm not alone!
DeleteYou're most definitely not alone :)
DeleteThere are so many things I want to say right now. Firstly, you are my new hero Jenny! This is the best post ever. Not that I enjoy negative posts. I just love that you're so honest and not afraid to say what you really think about books. I have no respects for writers who have their friends troll their reviews so they can leave nasty comments. Seriously, you put your work out there so deal with it. Feel free to be upset but that kinda thing is unforgivable. Your assessment of Divergent still makes me smile. Now I'm off to rewrite the bits in my book where my heroine ducks a bullet!!
ReplyDeleteYou know me, blunt to a fault. ;) A bullet can miss a human but a human can not duck a bullet.
DeleteGreat list! It's fun to talk about books you don't like sometimes. I started to read The Passage a long time ago but couldn't get into and now I'm glad I stopped.
ReplyDeleteI liked both Wither and Divergent. In Wither's case I completely see where you are coming from it was a hodgepodge of ideas but I liked it anyway. I'm sad that you didn't like Divergent, but I'm reasonable enough to know that not everyone is going to like all the same books. It's funny that you mention ducking bullets because sometimes I will get super pissed that something is so unrealistic and it will affect how much I liked the book but in other cases I'm not bothered by at all, even if it defies the laws of physics.
Yeah, we all have those things that we'll over look in a book. I do all the time. Just not in Divergent. ;) We all have different opinions. I'm OK with that. I just don't always get it. ;)
DeleteHa ha ha! I love that you have Elantris on there even though Suey and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But, I guess it shows how diverse each reader is. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, we're all so different. With Sanderson I feel like SOMEONE should take an opposing side! And since I genuinely don't like him I guess it should be me.
DeleteUm this post had me cracking up! So funny. I just want to read some of them because of how bad they sound :) I had to laugh at Wither especially -- I just don't understand the hype! I've tried twice to read it to no avail.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did like Divergent when I read it a year ago. I'm rereading it for a readathon this week so let's see if it stands the test of time.
I always do that. When someone hates a book THAT bad I'm even more desirous to read it than I am a book they loved. I'm curious if you'll still like Divergent a second time through.
DeleteOh, funny. I actually really enjoyed 4 out of the 10 - Wither, Divergent, The Passage and Jane Eyre. So . . . you might want to avoid Pure. I don't think you'd like it if you didn't like those 4. It seems to me that a lot of these lean toward the dark and dreary. They are all really hard on their characters. I have to be in the right mood to handle at least the ones I mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI've already been scared off from Pure. The funny thing is, I might actually end up liking it. You just never know. I hadn't thought about the dark and dreary thing...I'm not sure that's what bothered me, though.
DeleteLOL! Great posting once again! I actually liked both Wither and Divergent...but that just goes to show how people have different tastes! Although I didn't think Wither was AMAZING like so many other people did. I thought it was entertaining but had a lot of holes in it. Loved this post idea though! I may have to make a list of my own in the future!
ReplyDeleteI almost didn't but Wither and Divergent on the list cause I knew I'd catch a lot of flack. We're all different, though, so it's all good.
DeleteI just feel bad that the author of the first book on your list had friends ganging up on you because you didn't like it. That is very lame and immature, to say the least. Who cares if you don't like it? None of their freakin' business.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm surprised Twilight is not on here because it usually is on the top of lists like these. It's on mine, lol. I do love Jane Eyre and Divergent, though. It's okay when some things are not realistic because then it'd be boring, right? I think we get too caught up in how "real" fiction needs to be, but if it makes sense, then it's okay. I did think that Wither did not make total sense. It was like the world-building just wasn't thought through very well, sloppy, if you will. But, I liked it anyway.
I can forgive ducking bullets because I didn't know bullets could not be ducked. Why can't they be? But, fishing for fish you can't even eat (ala Wither) is just plain stupid, lol.
I'm ok with books being unrealistic especially if they're supernatural or fantasy etc. But if everything is supposedly "normal" ie there are no super powers etc. shouldn't the law of physics be obeyed? You can't duck a bullet. It's too fast! By the time you hear the shot you've been hit. Oh well, Veronica Roth is rich and I'm not so what do I know? ;)
DeleteDude... you are the bravest person every to come out swinging about Divergent when everyone has Insurgent fever. And I'm suddenly glad that I only got about 20 pages into The Passage before returning it to the library. I no longer feel guilty about it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, no need to feel guilty about The Passage.
DeleteFunny how Divergent now seems to be either a hate or love book, rather like Wither but I thought that had trend written all over it. Cannot disagree more with Jane Eyre but I think that I had a teacher who loved it soooo I had an unfair advantage.
ReplyDeleteCan I suggest Wuthering Heights be banned?
and Jamrach's Menagerie? THAT BOOK SHOULD BE BURNED
and consider yourself warned about Sophie Worboyes, any of her book tie at my worst book ever.
The funny thing is I prefer Wuthering Heights over Jane Eyre. Not that it's good but it's better than JE. I haven't heard of the other books you mentioned. I'll avoid them now, though.
DeleteAh, wish I'd seen this earlier :) I love that you have a list of books you'd like to save mankind from reading, at reckless cost to yourself! And, while some of these I wholeheartedly agree with, others I'm crying about - Jane Eyre? Ok, yeah people don't like that one. But I loves it. And Divergent. I still don't remember the bullet dodging, so I'm going to have to go back and find that again. And the ones on here I haven't read? Skipping them. Thanks for saving me.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know, Jane Eyre is a classic and every body's favorite. I just can't handle it, though. You're welcome for my selfless sacrifice on the other books, though. ;)
DeleteOoh, you get credit for bravery! The first book I think I would save humanity from is Hush, Hush. Patch is abusive! Edward's stalkeriness is nothing compared to Patch! I'm sad that you don't like Jane Eyre, but I see where you're coming from. You might like The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde though. I think Fforde is generally hilarious, and he explains that divine intervention thing in a way you might like... Hats off to your courage!
ReplyDeleteI never read Hush, Hush because of that. Can't stand stalker abusive guys.
DeleteI LOVE what you had to say about these books! Sanderson is actually one of my favorite authors (I'll read anything that man writes), but I agree that his world building is ultra-detailed.
ReplyDeleteI have no desire to read most of the other books, but thank you for saving me from SLEEPLESS, RIPPLE, and INTERTWINED.
You're most welcome. ;)
DeleteYour list inspired me to make my own! I've been wanting to get my disdain for these books off my chest for a while. :) See it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thereadingfever.com/2012/05/14-worst-books-i-have-read.html
Wow, I inspired someone? Never thought that would happen. ;)
DeleteI totally agree with you on Jane Eyre, good gordy do I hate that book!!! I can't say much about the rest of them (other than I rather did enjoy Divergent, though you make a good point) since I haven't read them, mostly do to some horrible reviews by you and other bloggers.
ReplyDeleteI have to say the YA series I am reading now (Frost by Kailin Gow) I am having to force myself to read, I really just want the main character to die and it would fix everything!
Thank the stars! I seriously thought I was the only person in the whole world who hated Jane Eyre. Thank goodness I'm not alone.
DeleteLOL! Wanting the MC to die usually makes me put a book down. Not good, not good at all.
I agree with you about Wither - I do like dystopians, but that one was a total let-down. On the other hand, personally I LOVED Divergent! I have to say, I also quite like Jane Eyre, as a matter of fact, but ya know, everyone has different opinions! Thanks for sharing this list :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, we all have different opinions. I'm glad we agree on Wither.
DeleteOh, Jenny, it's a good thing I like you so much because our book tastes don't mesh very well, do they? I do totally agree with you on WITHER, but DIVERGENT and JANE EYRE? Ack! I see some similarities between Sanderson's books and THE PASSAGE -- lots of detail, which I don't mind, as long as the writing keeps me interested.
ReplyDeleteFun post! Made me laugh.
Yes, thank goodness we're friends! ;) There was a huge similarity between Sanderson's books and The Passage.
DeleteI love this insight into your psyche. I, of course, don't agree with all of these selections, but I think that that is what's great about books and readers! It would be very boring if we all liked the same things.
ReplyDeleteA very boring world indeed! I'm just glad you still like me.
Delete