Classic books that you HATED

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  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I'll probably be the only one, but I couldn't stand the first Harry Potter. Never read the rest. Had to read it for school (arguably, this was the french translated version so maybe it was worse than the original) and UGHHH.

    The only reason I even watched the movies was Emma Watson. 'Nuff said.

    (It's a classic by now, nayh? xD)

    But then again, most of the stuff I've had to read for class was first grade snooze-fest material. (Most of it is french, or french canadian, btw. Some are "classics" in their own way here)

    Les Fous de Bassan
    anything Michel Tremblay wrote
    La promeneuse d'oiseau
    Le souffle de l'harmattan

    these are the ones I will never forget how much time I wasted on... My poor, poor life xD
  • bleacheblonde
    bleacheblonde Posts: 333
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    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. EFFING HATE IT. This book bothered me so much that later on, in college, I found a tattered copy on the ground and I actually used the pages to start a fire (don't worry, it wasn't arson).
    The Old Man and the Sea.....most boring goddamned thing I think I've ever read.

    But overall I am a voracious reader. I'm reading War and Peace right now and I'm loving it.
  • reojames
    reojames Posts: 96
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    Pretty much anything we had to read in high school. I can't think of any offhand - The Great Gatsby, I think?
    THIS! I absolutely HATED The Great Gatsby! I love most other classic novels, though. Crime and Punishment was AMAZING, as was the Three Musketeers, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Don Quixote, and many, many more....
  • kayfrog
    kayfrog Posts: 109 Member
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    The Great Gatsby and anything by Tolkien.

    I think I was the only person in my class that liked The Scarlet Letter though.
  • Huskeryogi
    Huskeryogi Posts: 578 Member
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    I think there's some truth to not appreciating things you are forced to read, but most of the books I listed as hated had nothing to do with them being somber or depressing. Anna Karenina just dragged. If you cut out the pages and pages about mowing and other such topics and just focused on the plot driven story I probably would have liked it. And many people have said they don't like Jane Austen. I don't associate her with somber or depressing. I just find her writing style overbearing.

    I agree that writing style and overly descriptive language can turn people off an otherwise wonderful book. I have to admit, the first time I picked up Pride and Prejudice (8th grade), I barely got through the first chapter. A couple years later, I picked it up again, and Austen is now one of my favorite authors. I try to give any book a second chance before completely writing it off. Sometimes I'm just too distracted to immerse myself in a book that requires more attention than just cursory attention to plot development. I have a whole stack of books that I hope to revisit and finish--Anna Karenina is one of them. Maybe when I get to the pages about mowing I'll skip ahead. :laugh:

    I can understand giving books a second chance. But there are so many books out there to read that I have a hard time spending too much time on something I'm not enjoying. I try to throw in 3-5 books of the "Classic" variety every year, but if I'm not enjoying it on any level by the time I'm 25% into it I'm out. (That's true of any book not just classics).

    And yes next time you read Anna Karenina when you start reading about mowing be aware you can skip ahead and not miss anything plot related.
  • sinclare
    sinclare Posts: 369 Member
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    bump
  • willowdancer
    willowdancer Posts: 95
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    Tess of the durbervilles, hate it!

    Me too! What was worse was I had to read it for AP english 3 at one school and read it again in AP English 4 at the high school I transferred to for my senior year; it didn't get any better the second time around!
  • littlehedgy
    littlehedgy Posts: 192 Member
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    I just kinda skimmed the responses but I dislike many of the same ones. I have a vendetta against Animal Farm. I hate it, I bring it up now and then how much I hate it. I felt like it was anti-climactic, I don't like feeling like I only got half the story. I though Ethan Frome was just awful. It was so hard to slog through I read the whole thing and when I was done my first thought was "I can never get these hours of my life back!". Lord of the Flies disturbed me. I had nightmares. It disturbs me to this day.

    The one that I absolutely loved was Brave New World. I thought that book was wonderful. Also The Bean Trees. Loved those books!
  • seasonalvoodoo
    seasonalvoodoo Posts: 380 Member
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    The Sirens of Titan. Firstly, because the ending sucked donkey *kitten*. Secondly, because my English teacher wanted us to be impressed that she made a sci-fi book required reading. She underestimated our tastes. An awesome book would have impressed us even more.

    Oh man, that book got me to love Vonnegut. Such an awesome book!
  • seasonalvoodoo
    seasonalvoodoo Posts: 380 Member
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    I feel so awkward, am I the only one that cried at the end of Of Mice and Men? And when the old man from the Old Man and the Sea died?

    Oh God, Animal Farm! Add that to the list. As well written as it was, it was just so disturbing to read.

    I cried, too. My mom and I read that book to each other when I was young...8 or so and it definitely made me cry--loved it.
  • musicstardust67
    musicstardust67 Posts: 299 Member
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    The old man and the sea was so boring and I think we even had to write an essay on the book. Sigh. I think I would have rather written about hitler lol.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    Anything that zyntx loves and cherishes.

    :laugh:
    That's a long list. I mostly read sci-fi as something to relaxing. But recent classical books you can hate that I loved and that have not been mentioned might include:

    Auto da fe by Canetti (Nobel prize)
    Les bijoux indiscrets by Diderot
    Alcools by Apollinaire
    Collected poems of Pablo Neruda
    A clockwork orange.

    But to hate them, you have to try to read them. Get crackin'.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
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    The old man and the sea was so boring and I think we even had to write an essay on the book. Sigh.

    That is just such a terrible book. And I'm a Hemingway fan.

    --P
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
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    And the winner is: Beowulf!

    --P
  • herrhitman
    herrhitman Posts: 111
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    Lord of the Flies disturbed me. I had nightmares. It disturbs me to this day.
    Yes, that's my pick too. Terrible book.
  • tdavies1980
    tdavies1980 Posts: 22 Member
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    Tess of the durbervilles, hate it!


    Second that !!!
  • thistimevictory
    thistimevictory Posts: 22
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    Anything Tolkien...

    I know I'll probably be flamed for that...but I did an extensive Tolkien/Lewis class and Lewis won hands down...

    i just can't force myself to read or enjoy Tolkien...
    Oh God! Seriously! I thought I was the only one who hated his work.
  • nadiamarie1990
    nadiamarie1990 Posts: 5
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    Wuthering Heights.

    I had to read it for English in High School and I like the story but I HATED the book with a passion.
  • Gyoza11
    Gyoza11 Posts: 143 Member
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    The Catcher in the Rye
    The whole book is just "waaah I'm so smart and everyone else is so stupid! Better run around a be all edgy and rebellious."

    The book does a good job portraying this type of self absorbed teen though, the ones who think their angst and problems are such a unique and important thing.
    I get that you're not really supposed to like the main character but he just got on my nerves so bad that I couldn't get through it.

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