Books I Didn’t Like
When I start reading a book and it becomes apparent that it is not worth continuing, I put it down. Life is too short to waste time on a bad book. In that same spirit, I don’t give books bad reviews because I never get far enough into them to have enough material to write a proper review.
In high school and college, I read several required books. Most were enjoyable, but I disliked a few. Shakespeare, for example, was terrible. I hated his writing style and I felt the plot was overrated. To me, it seemed to be an antiquated verbal puzzle. Granted, I am fully aware that it’s very challenging to write in prose and Shakespeare is considered to be the best author ever. Still, I have absolutely no interest in any of his works.
I found some books too complex to get into. For example, I was never able to finish any of Stephen Hawking’s works. They were difficult to comprehend and the writing style was arrogant. I was given a set of his books and they remain my bookshelf to this day. I have donated many other books to Goodwill since I got the set.
James Michener is an epic author. Tales of the South Pacific, Space, and Hawaii. These are fantastic books, but they simply did not grab my attention. To me, the plots were too bold, to epic and impossible to relate to. l like plots that are more down to earth and I can connect to the characters.
At present, I am reading the book Column of Fire by Ken Follett. Like all of his books, it has a complex plot with lots of characters. From the start, it was clear that this was not his best work. While the story has a great premise, the execution, setting, pace, and characters let it down. I think Ken put too much effort on the history and not enough into the flow. Overall, there is too much filler and not enough solid story. I am about half way through and while I have decided to finish it, the review is going to be poor.
Despite a lot of effort, I never got into Clive Cussler and Ian Fleming. I started several of their books, but I couldn’t finish a single one. I really wanted to read the James Bond and Sahara books. It was clear they were well written and had a strong plot. They just never held my interest. The characters were too arrogant and the heroes did not act like heroes. I wouldn’t even classify them as anti-heroes.
There are complete genres of book that I avoid. Mysteries, horror, romance, cowboy, comic, poetry and travel. I never walk through those aisles at the bookstore. Fortunately, there are many authors with many books. Next on my reading list is “So, Anyway...” by John Cleese. Will I make it through the first chapter? Stay tuned to find out.
You’re the best -Bill
November 21, 2018
In high school and college, I read several required books. Most were enjoyable, but I disliked a few. Shakespeare, for example, was terrible. I hated his writing style and I felt the plot was overrated. To me, it seemed to be an antiquated verbal puzzle. Granted, I am fully aware that it’s very challenging to write in prose and Shakespeare is considered to be the best author ever. Still, I have absolutely no interest in any of his works.
I found some books too complex to get into. For example, I was never able to finish any of Stephen Hawking’s works. They were difficult to comprehend and the writing style was arrogant. I was given a set of his books and they remain my bookshelf to this day. I have donated many other books to Goodwill since I got the set.
James Michener is an epic author. Tales of the South Pacific, Space, and Hawaii. These are fantastic books, but they simply did not grab my attention. To me, the plots were too bold, to epic and impossible to relate to. l like plots that are more down to earth and I can connect to the characters.
At present, I am reading the book Column of Fire by Ken Follett. Like all of his books, it has a complex plot with lots of characters. From the start, it was clear that this was not his best work. While the story has a great premise, the execution, setting, pace, and characters let it down. I think Ken put too much effort on the history and not enough into the flow. Overall, there is too much filler and not enough solid story. I am about half way through and while I have decided to finish it, the review is going to be poor.
Despite a lot of effort, I never got into Clive Cussler and Ian Fleming. I started several of their books, but I couldn’t finish a single one. I really wanted to read the James Bond and Sahara books. It was clear they were well written and had a strong plot. They just never held my interest. The characters were too arrogant and the heroes did not act like heroes. I wouldn’t even classify them as anti-heroes.
There are complete genres of book that I avoid. Mysteries, horror, romance, cowboy, comic, poetry and travel. I never walk through those aisles at the bookstore. Fortunately, there are many authors with many books. Next on my reading list is “So, Anyway...” by John Cleese. Will I make it through the first chapter? Stay tuned to find out.
You’re the best -Bill
November 21, 2018
