The I-Put-It-Down-And-Wanted-To-Burn-It Thread

[Watcher]

Spoiler Warning! Others may respond with specific details! You have been warned.

I searched in hopes to resurrect a long dead thread to fulfill my needs but i could not find one. So I have decided to create my own!

Have you ever had to put down a book for any numbers of reasons? The story didn't appeal to you or maybe the author's style of writing just wasn't your cup of tea? I personally find it very difficult to stop reading something once I am in full swing. So it was very hard when I got to page 234 of A Cavern of Black Ice by J.V. Jones to simply walk away.

The story was just getting to a point where I could care less. I found that every time I got to a section on Ash, I would cringe inwardly. It became more of a chore then enjoyment in the end. My recent reads include The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombieand The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss so I found myself spoiled with rich characterization and flowing storylines. The whole tone of the novel began to repulse me rather then intrigue.

Has this ever happened to you? Was there a book that you could not take anymore of?

[DailyAlice]

Oh, sure. That can't-stop-reading phenomenon becomes rarer as you get older.

Mm. Guess I'll start with THE DA VINCI CODE.

[Takoren]

The Warrior-Prophet. I finished it, but then I got rid of all three volumes of the series, never to read them again. And I never read the last one. Too much oppressive negativity, not a character in the book that was worth my time (except Kellhus), etc. The first book kept me going based solely on that character and the intriguing philosophical aspects.

Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind. Actually, this was a put-the-series-down move, ultimately. I got halfway through it and couldn't take it anymore. I fully intended to get back to it, but realized only after reading some other stuff that I hated the Sword of Truth series. I sold all my copies of those, too.

[shadow9d9]

I actually literally have burned a book back in college... I read this book for class(I never read books generally for class) and come test time, the test didn't even reference the book! The book was terrible and it didn't even mean anything for the class! I tried to light it on fire, but the pages were too glossy! So I had to find something else to catch fire and then use that to light the book.. then my friends and I went behind the Quad and enjoyed throwing it around and watching it spark.

I still have the burnt book and keep it on my shelf as a reminder and memento. It was "daughter of the river".. not a terrible book I guess... but it wasted my time!

My most hated book is Stranger in a Strange Land that I merely threw out instead of the burning it deserved. It went fine for the first half of the book.. but then took a nose dive and the author hijacked the characters to make long monologues about the author's personal views.. completely foregoing the story and destroying all resemblances to the first half!

[shadow9d9]

The Warrior-Prophet. I finished it, but then I got rid of all three volumes of the series, never to read them again. And I never read the last one. Too much oppressive negativity, not a character in the book that was worth my time (except Kellhus), etc. The first book kept me going based solely on that character and the intriguing philosophical aspects.

Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind. Actually, this was a put-the-series-down move, ultimately. I got halfway through it and couldn't take it anymore. I fully intended to get back to it, but realized only after reading some other stuff that I hated the Sword of Truth series. I sold all my copies of those, too.

Funny, Warrior Prophet is indeed my favorite book, period. I love gritty realism where nothing works out perfect and the characters are real and fallible.

[Sfinx]

[...] Too much oppressive negativity.

Sums up exactly the first thought that popped into my head when reading this thread's title But fully realising that sharing a painful experience can have a cathartic and healing effect I will not fight it - but contribute: Rocannon's World (Ursula LeGuin) I found to be a terrible disappointment (high expectations - i really loved Earthsea - will do that for you). And yea, Da Vinci code...Cryptonomicon...Foundation series...WoT...I'll stop now before the oppressive negativity evoked by these titles gets to me

[suciul]

Iron Council by C. Mieville and Romanitas by S. McDougall. The first one since I had big expectations and was one of the biggest disappointments ever in books, the second one since it was a big time junk that sounded so well...

[Corkiexx]

Soul of the Fire[/I] by Terry Goodkind. Actually, this was a put-the-series-down move, ultimately. I got halfway through it and couldn't take it anymore. I fully intended to get back to it, but realized only after reading some other stuff that I hated the Sword of Truth series. I sold all my copies of those, too.

LOL same here!


Also Rhapsody/Prophecy(the first two books), really now, who wants to READ about sex?

[Murrin]

I've yet to have this reaction to a book. Could be because I've not read a genuinely bad book in years (a couple not as good as expected, but nothing to make me give up). The last bad book I read I managed to get through because it was short--the bad books I read earlier than that one I wasn't yet well-read enough to realise were so bad (I couldn't even try to read them these days).
Besides that, while I've gotten past my former compulsion to finish off the book series' that I start, I still have to finish every book I start reading. Even Le Morte D'Arthur, which I put down for three months because it was slow and dense and I wanted to get on with some other reading, but I still went back to it eventually (because, despite the prose, it was still interesting).

[Brahm_K]

Aww, Iron Council and The Warrior Prophet are two of my favorite books. Anyway, some books I've given up on:

Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein: The first half sucked. It was poorly written, had paper thin characters, and had some horrible dialogue- but I kept reading because it was an interesting idea that I had heard a lot of good things about. Then, as Shadow said, the book becomes a series of monologues of Jubal Harshaw, the hippie version of Richard Rahl (ie, a character I hate whose only purpose is to spout out the author's crazy views). Yes Heinlein; the key to a peaceful and prosperous society is people having sex all the time.

Goodkind- I stopped somewhere in the middle of Stone of Tears. I'm surprised I made it that far, but I had heard such good things. I think it might have been at the scene where Kahlan rides naked and painted into battle in order to utilize the important element of surprise/stupidity that I just couldn't take it anymore- though the fire speech 30 pages into book 1 came close as well.

R.A. Salvatore's Iceland Dale trilogy- I read the Dark Elf trilogy first, thought it was pretty average, and then was given this one by a friend who raved about it. Its not horrible- just average too, and the same old and I really couldn't handle any more of Drizzt's moralizing.

Those are the only three I can think of- I nearly always finish a book, no matter its quality, and while thats not something I might do for a series, I've been very lucky in the series I've chosen to read.

[courtney]

i stopped goodkind's sword of truth books at around te 6th or 7th; can't remember which, cos i've done a pretty good job at blurring the memories. trauma has that effect sometimes.

just gave up on kate elliots the burning stone; tried to get into this series becaause i'd eard (read) good stuff about it, but finally gave in to the urge; i think its progress.

[Self]

Gene Wolfe New Sun as stated in another thread...Terry Goodkind, didn't make it through book 1, anything "new" by David Eddings (as he hasn't written anything new in a long time, merely rehashed his last work), they are my last 3 failed attempts anyway.

Older ones that spring to mind are Donaldsons Thomas Covenant, the most unlikable lead in history IMO, & Terry Brooks Shannara aka LOTR rip off.

[Miriamele]

Although it wasn't all that bad and I read it through to the end, I wanted to burn Micheal Stackpole's The Dark Glory War because he kept spending so much time describing everyone's outfits. Down to the colour of the trim on the edge of the cape and everything.

Then, at the end of his Dragoncrown War Series, which was actually pretty good, I wanted to burn The Grand Crusade because after reading through the four books in this series, I was met with an ending that was impossibly stupid and disappointing as the end of such an epic storyline. I mean, it was really, really stupid.

[Rob B]

Then, at the end of his Dragoncrown War Series, which was actually pretty good, I wanted to burn The Grand Crusade because after reading through the four books in this series, I was met with an ending that was impossibly stupid and disappointing as the end of such an epic storyline. I mean, it was really, really stupid.

I had a similar feeling to Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. I felt the ending was a complete betrayal of everything that preceded it.

[Alchemist]

Vellum by Hal Duncan. I appreciated the language and ideas, couldn't get into the story and general "White Wolf RPG" vibe.

Also, the Elder Staves by Steven Oliverez. Let's just say that I question the authenticity of the 43 out of 49 reviews on Amazon that were 4 or 5 stars. Come on, now (I still own the book as a reminder of how important it is to get a real editor to prevent such atrocities from seeing print).