The Next Best Book Club discussion

Ed wrote: "Salma wrote: "You've got me curious now- I want to pick up Koontz just to see what he's like. "

If you are a member of Bookmooch you can mooch a Koontz novel from me. "

The only one I actually enjoyed was Odd Thomas. A lot of it required stretching the believability bounds but it was entertaining and actually pretty funny.

I am amused. It's funny to think about hating a book all the way through and then loving it at the end. I can't come up with any like that right now, but if I think on it long enough I may be able to have a second list.

Anything by Dean Koontz: even if the premise sounds great I am terribly let down because all of his books seem to have the same formula (I've read 4 of them). All the ones I picked up had really interesting potential, but then...Story jumps between random people leading separate lives, lives converge, secrets emerge and things happen, story has lackluster ending.

Colorado Kid, Stephen King: pulp-style never solved mystery. Sounds wonderful! Imagine every irksome writing habit King has that you dislike, despite loving his novels anyway and cram them into about 90 pages suck. I almost cried. I love Stephen King when he has 1,000 pages to drown out the things I don't like about his writing. So much potential wasted on a strange reminiscence that turned out to be not at all interesting.

Lord of the Rings: I, unlike most people I have talked to, loved the drawn out plot and songs and poetry. But when I got to then end I was so mad. I can't believe 3,000 odd pages of beautiful prose comes to such a pathetic climax.

A positive ending list may be forthcoming...

Abigail, have you read the Odd Thomas series... sooooo much better and different than any of his other books! I swear, nothing like his standard run of the mill thriller.....

I haven't read the whole series but I really liked the first one. I was so surprised by it. It actually had a good ending. Well, not good exactly but a well written endng that didn't just end in the middle of nowhere like most of them. I really want to read the rest. I thought Odd was really funny.

Well I had completely given up on him. But...since you promise they are so different I may give them a try. And hey, my library actually has at least the first one.

1. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling. I was so mad at the end of that books that I almost didn't want to read the next one. However I am glad I did because then I was no longer mad.

2. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Loved the book over all but I really hate how it ended. It just feels so incomplete. I know there is a sequal but it just didn't do it for me.

3. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon. I have been completely engrossed in this series. Then I started to read the Fiery Cross and I just couldn't get into it, which is really frustrating because I love Jamie and Claire's story. I did give up reading it but from the reviews I've read on this site I'm going to give it another go and just plow through it so I can read the next one in the series.

So...I read Odd Thomas and it was, not bad. The concept was funny but my problem with it was that all the characters were really extreme. I'm not sure how else to put this...But they seemed flat because thier past and motives were so radical they weren't interesting because they all followed the usual social conclusion. Does that make sense? I may have to work that out better, but I would welcome a discussion on the topic if anyone is interested.

Also I have figured out my good frustrating novels. Here goes:

1. Moby Dick: I was very interested in reading this but I tried several times and never made it far for many different reasons (I was too busy, it does start very slowly, etc...). So I picked up the audio and now I am glad to say I loved the book (And now I know waaayy more about whale milk than I ever wanted to!). It just took me awhile.

2. The Dark Tower series: I discovered it shortly after the fourth book was published. So I had to wait for the last three and it was excruciating! I can not even imagine having had to wait since the first or second book...eesh. I was very pleased with the end though.

3. Kage Baker's Company series: Mostly for the same reason as TDT series. I had to wait several years for the end. And it was a little worrisome because halfway through it looked a little...not good. But the last book was just as good and interesting as the first few and wrapped the story up nicely. So over-all I enjoyed them and the related short story collections were a nice diversion.

I know there's more than just this one, but this is the only author that I can think of right now - Tolkien. I read The Hobbit, and loved it, but the problems came with LOTR. I managed to get through the Fellowship of the Ring, and about halfway through the Two Towers, but I never got through that. Partly I think because I was too young to really be able to read the books when the movie came out so I just saw the movie instead, and now I know what happens so I'm not desperately reading to find out how it ends up, and also Tolkien is very...long winded. Don't get me wrong, fantasy is my favorite genre and I'm sure that LOTR are good books, but...I don't know, maybe I'll try again sometime to finish them.

See my comments on both Water for Elephants and The Shadow of the Wind. Two main reasons why I will never join a face-to-face book club. And why I've given up on this book club's selections. Though I might read Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. It may be devoid of anything worth talking about (like the books mentioned above), but I probably won't be compelled to burn it.

The Fourth Hand by John Irving. It did not live up to it's potential. Too much sex and random penis holding. And Irving is one of my favourite authors! A disappointment for sure.

"Random penis holding" may now be one of my favorite phrases ever. I'm already trying to think how I can fit that into everyday conversation. :)

LMAO!!

Salma wrote: "I actually thought Tenth Circle was pretty good- maybe the actor on the tape just had poor skills?

I was addicted to John Saul in middle school- but you're right- all that crap about childrens'..."

I gave up on John Saul as well. After reasing about so many child tragedies in them it seemed like he was doing it more for shock value than anything else.

El wrote: ""Random penis holding" may now be one of my favorite phrases ever. I'm already trying to think how I can fit that into everyday conversation. :)"

I was just thinking the same thing! Great expression, Brenda!

El wrote: ""Random penis holding" may now be one of my favorite phrases ever. I'm already trying to think how I can fit that into everyday conversation. :)"

Great minds thing alike :0)

Alex (re: message 65). I think you must be secretly living my life, b/c that was my experience nearly to the letter.

For me, Peter Jackson really brought out the hidden potential in this work. After the movie came out, I did slog through the entire trilogy. Overall, it wasn't really that bad, and I may even read through it again, someday, and try to enjoy it. I think I will like it more if I am not making myself finish it. For more see my review here.

Other novels that had potential...hmmm.

1) The Gunslinger - I started this because my husband and friends (all King fans) said I would love it. "You don't like Stephen King??? Well, you have to read the Gunslinger/The Dark Tower Series. You'll love it!". Nope. Couldn't make myself finish it. I got halfway through the book, and absolutely nothing happened! I will probably go back and give it another try, just to get them off my case about it...but at this point I may end up hating just because of all the pushing. I initially thought the idea of a Western/Fanstasy/Science Fiction book was intriguing but now..:S

2) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - I liked the first six HP books, and was eagerly awaiting the climatic conclusion. Instead it just seemed to drag on and on and on. Also, I didn't like the epilogue.

I guess LOTR is my third. ;)

Anything/everything by Gabriel García Márquez. But I'll make it through one of them one of these days.

1. The Mists of Avalon ~ This book is so ridiculously long, but there are parts of the book that I just could not put it down. There were other parts that were physically painful to get through. I get frustrated with it b/c I hate having really slow parts in great novels. I just feel like that shouldn't happen.

2. The Cider House Rules ~ AMAZING book. I loved the whole thing. But there was something about the last few chapters and the way the book ended that really, really irked me. (I don't want to spoil anything so I won't go into specifics) I was so frustrated b/c this could have been one of my favorite novels, there was just something off.

3. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle ~ Good lord. What didn't frustrate me about this book? I actually did like this book, mostly b/c I LOVED all of the dogs and the descriptions of the kennels, and I enjoyed Edgar's character. Mostly what frustrated me was that it was an almost literal parallel of Hamlet. I knew exactly what was going to happen at the middle and the end by the second chapter, just b/c I'm an English major and I know my Shakespeare backwards and forewards. I mean the character names even! Trudy = Gertrude, Claude = Claudius, Fort = Fortinbras, not very subtle if you ask me.

Aw, that's too bad. I LOVE Mists of Avalon, but I could see where you're coming from with that.

For me, anything by Melville drives me insane! Moby Dick feels like a textbook in some chapters - if I wanted to know more about every type of whale, I would have looked it up somewhere else! I hate not being able to finish books I've started, so this frustrates me that I can't get through anything Melville.

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Meredith. I have to agree with you on Angle of Repose. I really didnt like that one at all, but kept reading it out of .... I dont know.... some sense of ... I dont know what! Like a vauge hope it would get better. That it couldnt actually suck that badly!

But, but, Angle of Repose is one of my favorites EVER! --sniffle--

What do you have against Murder on the Orient Express, Meredith?

I'm sorry to say anything by Margaret Atwood

Marci wrote: "I'm sorry to say anything by Margaret Atwood"

Marci, what is it about Margaret Atwood that you find frustrating?




Lori wrote: "Meredith. I have to agree with you on Angle of Repose. I really didnt like that one at all, but kept reading it out of .... I dont know.... some sense of ... I dont know what! Like a vauge hope it would get better. That it couldnt actually suck that badly!"

Lori, I swear, the more I see you put down Angle the more I want to read it, just to see if I agree with you! :) I will say that I'm finding Stegner's The Spectator Bird to be a pretty okay read.

Haha... El, I would love to hear what you think when you do get around to reading it!

I hated Angle of Repose too. I wanted to stop about every other page, but a very good friend had bought me a copy because she LOVED it. I struggled through, but hated each and every word.

wicked, the talented mr ripley and dune. okay, dune was decent, but wow really not my thing.

wicked just infuriated me. i loved the story but it was so boring and poorly written. and the talented mr ripley was probably the most boring book i've ever read.

I have to agree that Peter Jackson did bring out a lot of the best things from LOTR. He totally scraped the terrible ending when they go back to the Shire (thank goodness!) but I thought the movie of Two Towers was not a good adaption. That book was long and boring in some places but I felt the movie flew by the most interesting parts.

My top most frustrating novel was Breaking Dawn. What an awful book and a terrible ending to the series.

Also, any book by Scott Westerfeld. His ideas are really good but his execution and endings are not good.

I also have been reading the Outback series (finished the first 3 last month) but i just can't bring myself to read the 4th one. I just keep thinking how there are still 2 more books after that and really how much bad stuff can happen to this couple. I like Claire and Jamie but it's getting to be a little much.

I have two annoying books at the moment:
The Road - I don't even remember it, it annoyed me so much!
The Catcher in the Rye - a very slow moving book. It seemed like the author was trying to make his characters 'cool' and landed up making them dorky.
Do books that annoy you before you read them count? If they do, I'll add the Twilight series. I have made a personal vow to myself to never read it. The main reason is that I think the idea for the plot is stupid, and I don't think Meyer's style is very praise-worthy either.
Ok I am done trashing books :)

I'll second The Catcher in the Rye. The archetypical phony whining about not liking phonies.

I'll add Death in Venice. I have never seen so many adjectives in so few pages.

Ooohhh. my heart... my heart... Catcher AND Road? No, no, no,no,nononononononooooooo

I really liked them both.
The Road was amazing. Read it in one sitting. I felt like I was right there alongside the father and son.... wow.

As an English major who has to read so-called classics, I had a really hard time reading:

1. Moby Dick
2. Last of the Mohicans
3. Scarlett Letter

I took to utilizing Cliff's Notes and Sparks Notes, which I never use, because they bored me silly!

Same for me with Moby Dick (and Billy Budd). I also had a hard time with Heart of Darkness and Ethan Frome. Ethan Frome drove me insane- couldn't the man just make a decision and stick with it?

Jessica wrote: "Same for me with Moby Dick (and Billy Budd). I also had a hard time with Heart of Darkness and Ethan Frome. Ethan Frome drove me insane- couldn't the man just make a decision and stick with it?"

Now just how many men do you know that just make a decision and stick with it? ;)

Wuthering Heights, I could not get past page 20, dunno why.

Rob Roy, interesting story but it is such a hard read.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac (the original scroll), I just couldn't read it. The sentences are too long, punctuation is non existent and by page 100 nothing had happened. I know he was friends with all those beat poets, but a whole book written in that style is really hard to read.

I read a frustrating book recently--The Arsonists' Guide to Writer's Homes in New English by Brock Clarke. The book started out wonderfully--it's so funny, the narration is amazing, and the whole idea behind the novel is unique (guy accidentally burns down the Emily Dickinson house, goes to jail, gets lots of letter both love and hate about writer's houses like Mark Twain etc). Then a little less than 1/2 through it just got so boring, nothing happened, the language became hyperbolic instead of funny, and the guy, in his foibles, was even worse than watching 10 straight hours of Larry David in "Curb Your Enthusiasm." One of those characters. I wanted to throw the book.

Ed wrote: "I am listing frustrating books that I actually finished. There are some, I never could get to the end of.

"To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf: I've never been able to "get with" stream of cons..."
Hello again, Ed! :)
Blood Meridian is on my to-read list, I hope to get to it within the year. It makes me nervous to read it because so many people feel just as you do--you love and hate the book at the same time. I have to prepare myself for something dark and bloody and unredemptive. Horrah!

Darla wrote: "Of Mice and Men for reasons previously stated in the "Top Ten Books to Avoid" thread

Son of Rosemary by Ira Levin. Rosemary's baby was so good and so creepy. Then I pick up the sequel and it's n..."

I loved Rosemary's baby, too. I've avoided this book because I couldn't imagine the sequel being any good. Sometimes sequels just don't work. Rosemary's Baby worked because it was kind of a mystery, it was suspenseful, then it ends on this weird note. It should have been left at that! To add a sequel is like extending a Shirley Jackson story. The Lottery II! We Have Always Lived in the Castle II! Nope.

Monique,
Wuthering Hieghts... God how I hated that book. But I stuck with it. I swear, it never got any better.... the begining was misleading... everything after it blew big sick chunks :)

Odd Thomas. No offense to anyone. I was just really annoyed by most of the characters, and especially by Odd's abundant and convenient random powers (psychic magnetism? Being able to psychically judge his cards in poker? Prophetic dreams?)

Ouch. I loved Odd. What a great character.
Guess he's not for everyone.
Thats ok.. More for me :)

I wasn't a huge fan of Odd Thomas either.

Anything Faulkner is immensely frustrating for me. After reading summaries of the books and referencing Sparknotes as I read, I had this feeling that I really should enjoy the book because the stories alone were enjoyable. But the writing just frustrated me. I'm not a big fan of stream-of-consciousness, so needless to say, some of those page and a half sentences drove me crazy!

The Mistress of Spices A Novel The back of the book read very well and as the novel progresses there are so many interesting themes and opportunities to follow up upon but the author never does! It was very disappointing and really could have been a great book.

The Poisonwood Bible My expectations had been elevated so high but it did not deliver to that level.

And several vie for third spot.

Great discussion line. Thanks for posting.

James Joyce's Ulysses and the Poisonwood Bible.

BTW, did anyone ever come up with the appropriate place to use "random penis holding" in their conversation?

Shannon wrote: "...The Poisonwood Bible My expectations had been elevated so high but it did not deliver to that level. ..."

I found he first half of the book interesting and reasonably well written though hardly original.
But once they left the village it was like chewing through an encyclopaedia.
She seemed to have certain facts she wanted to put down and opinions she felt she must express so she threw descriptions and character building out of the window.
She jumped from point to point on a very sketchy plot with a few good sketches but very little to hold it together and stop it feeling rushed.

1. Watership Down

2. The Browser's Ecstasy A Meditation on Reading

3. Midwives

The Satanic Verses A Novel After all the hype I bought it but never got into it and abandoned it before I read 20 pages. I kept it on my dresser for nearly a year but nothing ever grabbed me about it.

I just finished Catering to Nobody and it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. It had great potential (plus a great recipe for honey-ginger cookie recipe, trust me, they're yummy!) but it just kind of petered out.