Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Things I Really, Really Hate...and it is not Tuesday Thinger.


Yes, I know I am very late...it is barely still Tuesday. But I had to work and I was out of the house at 5:15 a.m. and just got home...well, I did go out to dinner. But better late than never or all good things are worth waiting for..or some such thing.
So, without further ado...This week's question from Wendi's Book Corner...

Questions (yes - there are a bunch - answer one or two . . . or all of them!):What is your least-favorite book(s)? Is your least-favorite book listed in your LT library? If it is listed, do you have anything special in the tags or comments section? How have others rated your least-favorite book?

So, let's see...my least favorite books. Well, three come to mind. One, I read long ago. Yes, long ago when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was in high school. It is one you will all no doubt recognize, Ulysses, by James Joyce. Now one could argue that maybe I was too young, that I did not appreciate it. Maybe I am not clever enough to 'get it'. Maybe all true but still, Poppycock, say I. Which is what I think the book is, vain, contrived, poppycock. Hmmm...that sounds harsh. Well, Joyce is dead, so he will never know. But many of his loyal, loyal fans might stone me to death or something, fittingly on Bloomsday...so I only have until June 16 I think to live.
The average rating on Library Thing is very high, 4.14...I think half of them at least are faking it and never read the book.

Now a recent book I hated was Arsenic Soup For Lovers: When Chicken Soup Doesn't Work by Georgia Z. Post. It was a self published, which the now wiser Caite has found out is often a very big red flag. Big red flag waving in my face saying,don't bother reading me, beacuse most likely, I am a waste of your book reading time. It is a book of story stories which are suppose to be amusing, touching...And I found not funny and often quite creepy. I gave it 1.5 stars on LT...only because it is not so much badly written as just bad, but the average on LT is 3.05, so not great but not as bad as my opinion.

But the last one, the one that just shouted it's name to me when I read this question was Isle of Dogs by Patricia Cornwell. Awful. So poorly written, actually sentences that did not make sense, plot lines that just ended, terrible characters...and that was only from reading about 1/4 of the book. I could not in any way finish it.
I think the reason I hated it so much was not only because not only was it bad, but I know that Cornwell is capable of writing very good books. Her early Scarpetta books were very good. It is almost hard to believe the same person wrote this one and impossible to believe that an editor actually looked at it. I don't own a copy of it now but if I did I would give it half a star maybe...the average on LT is 2.47. There is one 3 star review that threw the one and half star ratings off, but it is in Italian si I have no idea how they justify 3 stars. Did they read it in Italian and maybe that improved it somehow...or maybe they don't speak English and just like the cover..or maybe they thought they were reviewing a different book? Yes...that is the best explanation!

When I take over the world (see Monday's post if you don't know about that plan of mine) that reviewer is NOT getting a nice, funny, pointy hat! Maybe a small dull looking cap.

Is it still Tuesday?...yes, if I wrap this up.

Ok, we still time for a wee Bandit picture! You are never too full for Jello and it is never too late for a picture of The World's Cutest Dog!



Yes, that is a beer he is holding, but I am assured by The Niece, that the bottle was empty. Yes, I see it is in the picture...but wait, who drank it? Because I will tell you, Bandit actually has a taste for alcohol and if you have a drink and leave it unprotected for a minute...well, you may have less than you thought when he gets through.


14 comments:

  1. I love reading your Tuesday Thingers. Your answers always make me laugh.

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  2. I agree with you, the later Scarpetta books, and all that other riff raff she has written, is pure bunk. I'm not sure what the problem is, but she has lost her mojo. Although, I did quite like her non-fiction book where she forensically tries to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper.

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  3. I commend you for reading Ulysses! I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

    Bandit is too cute! That should be his facebook picture. =)

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  4. I'm with you on The Isle of Dogs - I haven't read a Cornwell book since that one. Uh, it looks to me like Bandit has passed out with his bottle of beer.

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  5. yes, Bandit does look a little ...fuzzy...lol

    I think I tried the next Scarpetta...but that was it for me and Cornwell.
    Sandy, I don't know what happen to her writing. I can see not having good ideas..but how you you turn out something that bad and read it and not see how bad it is, allowing it to be published. Is it ALL about the money? that is what makes me mad about her...and a number of 'famous' authors.

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  6. haha, great kiki, now everyones going to send me emails about aa. and blame my mom...

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  7. Bandit, maybe you DO need an intervention. You look pretty out of it in that picture.

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  8. Love the dog picture! Your post made me laugh, and I agree - I think sometimes people fake it, or they give a book higher rating just because it's classic and they don't want the world looking down at them. It's book snobbery peer pressure.

    My least favorite was a Dickens book, and I said something similar to my husband "Dickens is dead, what does he care?" :)

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  9. I've never read Patricia Cornwell, but I've heard many good things about the Scarpetta series.

    Love the doggy pic!

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  10. Alyce, I like that "book snobbery peer pressure"..yes/

    Yvonne, the early Scarpetta were very good. Just don't expect to complete the series and be happy....because she lost her way along the line.

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  11. I just have to tell you how much I love reading your blog! This post is exactly why. I love your grumpiness and opinions and I hope you do take over the world.

    I agree with you 100% on Patricia Cornwell. I stopped with her on Hornet's Nest ... it was just as you described. Terrible terrible writing. I can't imagine what happened to her ... perhaps a small stroke? Why is she still being published?

    And I shall take your advice and avoid the self-published books.

    And I loved your opinion on the James Joyce book -- I do think it is a An Emperor's New Clothes type thing ... but what do I really know -- I never read it, don't want to either.

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  12. thank you...
    but am I grumpy...am I funny....?
    you are right, I am both. lol

    stroke. Well, I would consider that, except that I have heard her non-fiction Jack the Ripper book was pretty good, as someone here said as well.
    why are they published? because they still sell, and they sell big. another case of TSTSHE, my beloved The Series That Should Have Ended.

    now why people still buy them is the REAL mystery!

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  13. Talking about Ulysses, I sometimes wonder if we don't need to be a certain age, have certain experiences, etc to be able to appreciate some books.

    Bandit is so cute! I love that picture. My hubby has a similar picture of our son, who was . . . maybe one??? holding a glass bottle of root beer, but everyone else has real beer, so it looks like he is drinking along with everyone else - yikes! ;)

    Thanks for stopping by and participating in Thingers last week! I've got the post up for this week, have you seen the new customizable widgets on LT? ~ Wendi

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  14. I will not tell the story about my very early beer stealing event then....

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