Books I Didn’t Enjoy
After reading a few pages in a book, and it becomes apparent that it is not worth continuing, I put it down. Life is too short to waste time on an awful book. However, I do not write nasty book reviews because I never read far enough to provide a proper evaluation. I feel this is unethical.
What about “required reading?” I had a bunch of assigned reading in high school and college. I felt every Shakespeare work was dreadful. I was not too fond of the writing style and overrated plot. The whole thing seemed an unnecessary, antiquated verbal puzzle. I know how difficult it is to write in prose, and we consider Shakespeare the best author.
Some books are too complex, like Stephen Hawking’s works. They were difficult to comprehend, and his arrogant writing style did not pull me in.
James Michener is an epic author. Tales of the South Pacific, Space, and Hawaii. These are fantastic books, but none grabbed my attention. The plots were too bold, epic, and impossible to relate to. l like characters I can connect to and down-to-earth plots.
I have tried many times to read Clive Cussler and Ian Fleming’s books. I wanted to read the James Bond and Sahara books. It was clear they were well-written and had a strong plot, but the words never held my attention. The characters were too self-important, and the heroes did not act like heroes. They were not good enough to be classified as anti-heroes.
Harry Potter? Another book I could not get into. I thought the characters were stiff, and the descriptions lacked the correct details. While I never made it over two chapters, I liked the movies.
I just read Column of Fire by Ken Follett. Like all of his books, it has a complex plot with many characters, but this one was not his best. The story has a great premise, but the execution, setting, pace, and characters disappoint. I think Ken put too much effort into the history and not enough into the flow. Overall, there was too much filler and not enough solid story. Because I read the whole thing, I left my first two-star review.
There are complete bookstore aisles I avoid. Mysteries, horror, romance, cowboy, comic, poetry and travel. Fortunately, there are many talented authors to choose from, and next on my reading list is “So, Anyway...” by John Cleese. Will I make it through the first chapter? Only time will tell.
You’re the best -Bill
November 21, 2018 Updated October 28, 2023
What about “required reading?” I had a bunch of assigned reading in high school and college. I felt every Shakespeare work was dreadful. I was not too fond of the writing style and overrated plot. The whole thing seemed an unnecessary, antiquated verbal puzzle. I know how difficult it is to write in prose, and we consider Shakespeare the best author.
Some books are too complex, like Stephen Hawking’s works. They were difficult to comprehend, and his arrogant writing style did not pull me in.
James Michener is an epic author. Tales of the South Pacific, Space, and Hawaii. These are fantastic books, but none grabbed my attention. The plots were too bold, epic, and impossible to relate to. l like characters I can connect to and down-to-earth plots.
I have tried many times to read Clive Cussler and Ian Fleming’s books. I wanted to read the James Bond and Sahara books. It was clear they were well-written and had a strong plot, but the words never held my attention. The characters were too self-important, and the heroes did not act like heroes. They were not good enough to be classified as anti-heroes.
Harry Potter? Another book I could not get into. I thought the characters were stiff, and the descriptions lacked the correct details. While I never made it over two chapters, I liked the movies.
I just read Column of Fire by Ken Follett. Like all of his books, it has a complex plot with many characters, but this one was not his best. The story has a great premise, but the execution, setting, pace, and characters disappoint. I think Ken put too much effort into the history and not enough into the flow. Overall, there was too much filler and not enough solid story. Because I read the whole thing, I left my first two-star review.
There are complete bookstore aisles I avoid. Mysteries, horror, romance, cowboy, comic, poetry and travel. Fortunately, there are many talented authors to choose from, and next on my reading list is “So, Anyway...” by John Cleese. Will I make it through the first chapter? Only time will tell.
You’re the best -Bill
November 21, 2018 Updated October 28, 2023
