The Journeyman Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Like the title says, are there any books that you feel you should like but just couldn't get into them? From my experience I've tried three times to read "Interview With The Vampire" and quit before reaching page 100 every time. I mean, vampires rule. Now they're the symbol of angst-ridden goth kids who get their collective asses kicked by high school girls with lame karate moves. In the fantasy realm I read the first three "Wheel of Time" books but had no desire to go on. Maybe it's because GRRM spoiled me or maybe it's because I don't like the whole "Forces of Good vs Dark Lord w/ Evil Minions" story. But as a fantasy fan I feel I should like his series but I just don't. In the more mainstream genre I tried reading "The Da Vinci Code" back in 2006 but gave up. I also recently gave up Kostova's "The Historian" last month. Now if you'll excuse me I'm reading "Neuromancer" for the first time and I'll be getting back to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Errant Bard Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 There are books I like, and others I don't. If I ever find myself thinking that I should like or have liked a book, or inversely that I should have hated another, I remind myself that my likes and dislikes are not dictated by peer pressure or expectations but by content, and that forcing myself to like whatever others like would only make me one of those ignorant wannabe elitists, who are hated by everyone, including themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabloblanco18 Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote name='The Journeyman' post='1305909' date='Apr 8 2008, 07.30']Now if you'll excuse me I'm reading "Neuromancer" for the first time and I'll be getting back to that.[/quote] I couldn't get into this one, but I wasn't entirely sure why I disliked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoth Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 A vast majority of what is considered "classical literature". Just doesn't do it for me. :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcf Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Well, add me to the list of not impresed by [i]Neuromancer[/i]. I was also pretty 'meh' feeling about [i]Dune [/i]when I first read it (and even moreso with the sequel). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcant Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Glen Cook's [b]The Black Company[/b]. Finished about 1/4 of it and couldn't figure out why it was so widely loved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I wasn't impressed with Dune, but apparently I can't be a true fantasy fan without loving it. I hate Jane Austen, and that may have been one of the underlying factors for me dropping out of the honors program in college. If you didn't love Jane Austen, you weren't part of the in-group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote name='Eponine R' post='1306045' date='Apr 8 2008, 17.54']I wasn't impressed with Dune, but apparently I can't be a true fantasy fan without loving it. I hate Jane Austen, and that may have been one of the underlying factors for me dropping out of the honors program in college. If you didn't love Jane Austen, you weren't part of the in-group.[/quote] 1. The Earthsea by Ursula Le Guine 2. American Gods by Neil Gaiman 3. The Lions of Al-Rassan by G. G. Kay 4. Thomas Covenant Series by Stephen Donaldson 5. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe Any Russian Classics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Hate Thomas Covenant Hate Lord of the Rings Dislike most of the "Classics" Didn't see anything special in Earthsea Found Dune to be interesting, but horribly written Most of the old school Sci-Fi is bad imo too. I enjoyed the first few foundation books, but it got boring after awhile. Same with 2001-series (should have ended at 2010) Can't stand Heinlein. And so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VarysTheSpider Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote]Any Russian Classics.[/quote] Heathen! Not too many spring to mind, I'm rather in the literati's pocket. Think the only I can remember are Of Mice and Men, Chronicles of Narnia, and Moby Dick. Also, Shryke - you were never supposed to like 2061 or 3001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote name='VarysTheSpider' post='1306161' date='Apr 8 2008, 12.43']Also, Shryke - you were never supposed to like 2061 or 3001.[/quote] Thank god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchess of malfi Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 James Joyse and Virginia Wolfe...well pretty much the whole stream of conciousness movement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldNanwasmywetnurse Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I think it was "Last of the Mohicans" that I quit with only about 15 pages to go. The whole book was just a couple dude walking around the woods. Also never finished Fellowship of the rings, quit much earlier, for the same reason, walking and walking and walking and no action! I do like most of the classics though, read a novel by Turgenev (I think) that the first 100 pages the guy didn't even get off his couch, it was interesting though. Guess I'd rather have inaction than pointless meandering :) Whenever a book doesn't grab me in the first 100 pages I'll put it away and sometimes will try again at a later time. Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis I hated at first and quit right away, read it years later and it's now one of my favorites! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arbor Gold Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [i]Little Women [/i] [i]Dune[/i] [i]A Feast for Crows[/i]. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronn Stone Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote name='Arbor Gold' post='1306257' date='Apr 8 2008, 11.29'][i]A Feast for Crows[/i]. :([/quote] [i] Winterbirth Les Miserables Arbor Gold[/i] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote name='The Journeyman' post='1305909' date='Apr 8 2008, 09.30']Like the title says, are there any books that you feel you should like but just couldn't get into them? From my experience I've tried three times to read "Interview With The Vampire" and quit before reaching page 100 every time. I mean, vampires rule. Now they're the symbol of angst-ridden goth kids who get their collective asses kicked by high school girls with lame karate moves. In the fantasy realm I read the first three "Wheel of Time" books but had no desire to go on. Maybe it's because GRRM spoiled me or maybe it's because I don't like the whole "Forces of Good vs Dark Lord w/ Evil Minions" story. But as a fantasy fan I feel I should like his series but I just don't. In the more mainstream genre I tried reading "The Da Vinci Code" back in 2006 but gave up. I also recently gave up Kostova's "The Historian" last month.[/quote] Where does the idea come from that you "should" like these books, or any particular book? I've never read [i]Interview with the Vampire[/i] , [i]The DaVinci Code[/i], or [i]The Historian[/i] myself, but I also certainly don't think these things are supposed to be "great literature" by any means. I read Dan Brown's [i]Angels & Demons[/i] and thought it was hilariously bad myself. I certainly don't think there is any reason why anyone must feel that they "Should" like any of his books. And as "fantasy fan" you think you [i]should [/i] like [i]Wheel of Time[/i]? Just because something is a bestselling fantasy series and you have enjoyed reading other fantasies doesn't give you any obligation to like Jordan's books, or any other particular series. And the reasons you give for not liking WOT seem perfectly normal. I've had books that I feel like I should read as part of my general education in world culture. The one I've started more than once and never finished is [i]Moby Dick[/i]. I may have felt like I "should" read [i]Moby Dick[/i] in order to understand it and its place in the canon of "great literature", but I never have felt like that meant I "should" [b]like[/b] it, necessarily. What one likes or dislikes doesn't seem to be a matter of "shoulds" to me, personally. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldNanwasmywetnurse Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Sadly, I've read both The Davinci Code and the Historian. Both Christmas gifts (from my sister who is an English teacher (sigh)) and both reading like movie scripts. I did enjoy Interview with a Vampire though, even though it was a bit more homo erotic than I might have wished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord of Oop North Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 The Dragonbone Chair. Can't think of much else. I guess I'm easy to please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronn Stone Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote name='Ormond' post='1306390' date='Apr 8 2008, 13.07']I've had books that I feel like I should read as part of my general education in world culture. The one I've started more than once and never finished is [i]Moby Dick[/i]. I may have felt like I "should" read [i]Moby Dick[/i] in order to understand it and its place in the canon of "great literature", but I never have felt like that meant I "should" [b]like[/b] it, necessarily. What one likes or dislikes doesn't seem to be a matter of "shoulds" to me, personally. :)[/quote] My feelings with [i]Les Miserables[/i] are that while I admire the structure of it (especially in the abridged editions that excise some of Hugo's ramblings) and there is no question that it is well-written, I simply derive no pleasure whatsoever from reading it. I feel like I should enjoy what I readily concede is a well-crafted work of art, but I just don't enjoy the process of reading it. At all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 [quote name='Shryke' post='1306129' date='Apr 8 2008, 18.30']Hate Thomas Covenant Hate Lord of the Rings Dislike most of the "Classics" Didn't see anything special in Earthsea Found Dune to be interesting, but horribly written Most of the old school Sci-Fi is bad imo too. I enjoyed the first few foundation books, but it got boring after awhile. Same with 2001-series (should have ended at 2010) Can't stand Heinlein. And so on.[/quote] [besides The Lord of the Rings] looks like I am not alone....makes me feel a little bit better :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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