The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Read a One Star yet?

Promoted deserves to wallow in the misery that I endured by reading this novel. Think my teeth lost some enamel from all the gritting. So glad to have finished!

Tanja wrote: "

Promoted deserves to wallow in the misery that I endured by reading this novel. Think my teeth lost some enamel from all the gritting. So glad t..."

one book that won't end up on tbr list LOL

The Scarlet Letter hated it in 10th grade, still hate it Slingshots you can read my review on my fall challenge shelf.

Cross Country. It's tolerable in audio because it does have some humourous one-liners in it and, well, I'm a captive audience while commuting. However, I doubt if I would have gotten through reading the book. It's a very cheesy Detective story. Lot's of passages as deep as "he hit me and everything went black. Then I woke up. I had been unconscious". Rivetting, no????

Petra wrote: "Cross Country. It's tolerable in audio because it does have some humourous one-liners in it and, well, I'm a captive audience while commuting. However, I doubt if I would have gotten..."

this is a safe thread for me : )

I had 70 tbr when I started now at 90 and my total count was 484 now 503 I think my math is screwy : )

This is my 1*- for the random word generator challenge. This one was for the word 'packet'- my choice was attendance, customary and packet.It was set around a gardening magazine series on the celebrity and their garden shed! It just seemed to ramble on and on for me. But for the challenge it would have been one of the rare books that I gave up on.

Hmmm, I've just finished my first 1* of the challenge ....

Songs of the Humpback Whale A Novel in Five Voices I read this for the 'apple' challenge.

Jodi Picoult's books are a bit hit and miss for me. Some I love and some I hate ... this one is just horrible on many levels. Dubious relationships, I found the 'five voices' confusing, the timeline was confusing, just .... blahhhh!

I picked up Handle with Care from the library the other day ... I hope it's better than this one! Think I'll have a little break from her first though ...

oh no- I bought that book last week, Suzie! I am a bit like that with Jodi Picould books aswell, I was just hoping this was a good one!

I have read every single Jodi Picoult book out there and I also did not like Songs of the Humpback Whale. I did not care for Mercy either.

Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham ruined Christmas vacation for me my senior year of high school. And this year it pretty well took care of an otherwise enjoyable Labor Day weekend. Minus stars on this one--I am owed stars just for checking out of the library.

Currently listening to Plum Spooky. UGH! I don't know if I will make it through this one - so cheesy!

I gave Wonder Woman Love and Murder one star... I just didn't like it at all... but then again, I don't like graphic novels. However, I couldn't follow the plot at all. I just really didn't like it!

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Blah!

My Review:
I do not understand why this book was so popular. I found it incredibly sloppy in multiple ways. The style was sloppy and inconsistent, the characters were sloppy and inconsistent, and parts of blatantly contradicted other parts. This is of course mostly in details, but that really gets to me. For example, on page 75 the author talks about how one of the characters has been going off on her own a lot, and on page 79 the character says she has not been alone for over a year. This to me is indulgence on the authors part. On page 75 it was convenient to the mood she wanted to create to say the author was going off alone, and four pages later it was convenient to the mood she wanted to create to say the women never was alone. It is ridiculous.

And this sort of indulgence and really, cliche, happens over and over throughout the book. There is nothing that original in this book. None of the characters are likable or realistic. They all over react to EVERYTHING. I am not saying I could do a better job writing a book, but that is why I haven't written one.

I have no one stars yet and rarely do. I fear i might not be scrupulous enough about my ratings. Or maybe i just really love reading. It's the same with music though...I seem to like more things than I abhor!

SunstrokeNOT the new voice of crime fiction, this book needed a editor, on page 79 she tells the cop to meet her at the coffee shop, VERY next paragraph, she invites him in for coffee

I already have another one star - The Alchemist

I really wanted to like this book, I was prepared to love it. But I did not love it, I found it quite annoying.

I like the idea for both this thread and the 5 Star Ratings thread.


I am hard pressed to give either a 1 or 5 star but, having said that, the worst book I have read for the challenge so far is The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith. I just felt like the story had no point. It was quaint -set in Edinburgh, Scotland (which was nice) - but there was nothing redeeming about the meh characters and the meh story.

I came away from it thinking that McCall Smith's point was to deliver notice to "women of a certain age" that "Hey, life isn't over at 42!" 42 for cripes sake!! Perhaps, because I'm 42 and know that life is nowhere near over, that is the reason I wanted to flog McCall Smith with his own book. Plus the 42 year old character (Isabel Dalhousie) in the novel had a charmed life and no worries or stress so there was basically NO PLOT!

The only thing that allowed me to rate the novel 1.5 stars was the fact I liked the references to Edinburgh, and I could really picture it. That part he wrote well, but it was not enough for me to rate the book any higher.

If you see this book, put it down and step away from the novel. That way no one will get hurt! LOL!

I didn't finish it because it was too painful, but I'm still giving Pride and Prejudice and Zombies one star. It was the second time I tried to read it and failed because of it's overwhelming awfulness. It seemed so fun in theory, but in actuality was SO boring. The author basically took all the best parts out of Jane Austen's original and replaced them with poorly written action sequences. Reading a book on the evolution of dust would have been more interesting.

Kristina wrote: "I didn't finish it because it was too painful, but I'm still giving Pride and Prejudice and Zombies one star. It was the second time I tried to read it and failed because of it's ove..."

I had the same reaction, although I have never read the original. This book was no fun. Dull. Dull. Dull. I finished it....you missed nothing.

Nicole wrote: "I have no one stars yet and rarely do. I fear i might not be scrupulous enough about my ratings. Or maybe i just really love reading. It's the same with music though...I seem to like more things th..."

I'm the same way, Nicole. I feel like I'm probably overly generous in my ratings when I really don't like a book. One star ratings in my world are reserved for only those things I couldn't finish.

I'm going to have to throw another 1 star book into the mix.



I really liked Wicked. I don't know if my interest waned or if this sequel just completely fell short (probably a combo of the both) but I did not enjoy it.

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill was a pretty boring book about a guy from the Netherlands who plays cricket while he lives in New York. His English wife leaves after the anxiety of 9/11, his friends fall away, he drifts into apathy, etc. I wanted to like this book so I could go to the book signing later this month(check author pictures on back flap), but, sorry Joe, it ain't gonna happen.

Jennifer wrote: "I like the idea for both this thread and the 5 Star Ratings thread.


I am hard pressed to give either a 1 or 5 star but, having said that, the worst book I have read for the challenge so far is [b..."

I agree! I really enjoy McCall Smith's 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series, but I tried one of the books featuring Isabel Dalhousie and just found it boring and plodding.

Krista wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I like the idea for both this thread and the 5 Star Ratings thread.


I am hard pressed to give either a 1 or 5 star but, having said that, the worst book I have read for the ch..."


Isabel Dalhousie is one of the more annoying fictional characters in my universe, but I do dearly love her son, who appears in the fourth book of the series
The World According to Bertie

Donna Jo wrote: "Isabel Dalhousie is one of the more annoying fictional characters in my universe, but I do dearly love her son, who appears in the fourth book of the series

Krista wrote: "I agree! I really enjoy McCall Smith's 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series, but I tried one of the books featuring Isabel Dalhousie and just found it boring and plodding."

I am so glad I am not alone. I was worried about major backlash! LOL!! I know McCall Smith is beloved by many and I did enjoy The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency when I read it but that is the only other book of his I have read. I am glad that her son becomes an appealing character. I doubt I will read any further books from the series though. I am impressed you persevered through Donna Jo.

Kristina wrote: "I didn't finish it because it was too painful, but I'm still giving Pride and Prejudice and Zombies one star. It was the second time I tried to read it and failed because of it's ove..."

Thank goodness it's not just me! I'm in the process of reading it now and I can't get past page 100!! I'm not sure that I will be able to finish it.

Jennifer wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "Isabel Dalhousie is one of the more annoying fictional characters in my universe, but I do dearly love her son, who appears in the fourth book of the series

Krista wrote: "I agree..."

I probably wouldn't have read it, but I was traveling in Australia and ran out of reading material. My cousin, who lives there, recommended it to me on the basis of the charming Bertie. (Thanks, Kathy, you have great reading tastes.)

I know I'm supposed to love this book, but I REALLY didn't like Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. I have always struggled to get through it and this time I finally finished it - and was depressed that I wasted so much time on it.

Katie wrote: "Nicole wrote: "I have no one stars yet and rarely do. I fear i might not be scrupulous enough about my ratings. Or maybe i just really love reading. It's the same with music though...I seem to like..."

I was thinking about it some more and I think maybe it has more to do with the fact that I make good choices. I usually can guess what I am going to like or not like and I am right about 99% of the time. For this challenge I was able to pick a lot more books that I am sure I will like. So I think that is why I don't have a lot of one stars.

Donna Jo wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "Isabel Dalhousie is one of the more annoying fictional characters in my universe, but I do dearly love her son, who appears in the fourth book of the series

Kri..."

And now the 'Bertie' book is on my TBR shelf. :-)

I just ran into my first one star. In fact, I didn't even finish it, I have switched to a different book for that task. The book is Assault on Paradise A Novel by Tatiana Lobo. I just found the author's writing style boring. I usually like Historical Fiction quite a bit, but this one just didn't hook me.

Krista wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I like the idea for both this thread and the 5 Star Ratings thread.


I am hard pressed to give either a 1 or 5 star but, having said that, the worst book I have read for the ch..."

I didn't read this one but i'd read 'Friends, Lovers, Chocolate' last year. I found Isabel Dalhousie's CONSTANT philosophising over everything that pops into her head plus plot-less, frankly pointless, stories...well, it's very aggravating.

Wolf at the Door by Christine Warren. The jokes were awful, the characters were annoying...I have always given books a chance and this one took everything I had just to finish. AWFUL DON'T DO IT!

SuzieR wrote: "Hmmm, I've just finished my first 1* of the challenge ....

Songs of the Humpback Whale A Novel in Five Voices I read this for the 'apple' challenge.

Jodi Picoult's books are a bit ..."

I am a huge Picoult fan...but I have to admit that I don't care as much for her early books and some of the more recent ones. It seems to me her greatest works all fall right in the middle. That's when she wrote things like My Sister's Keeper, The Pact A Love Story, and Plain Truth.

Amanda wrote: "My first one star read- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It's supposed to be this great book about the evils of colonialism but what it's REALLY about is some unsympathetic main cha..."

I remember reading that book a couple years ago for my African Experience class in college... I remember being pretty bored as well.

I haven't read a one star book yet, although I haven't read a 5 star either.

Amy wrote: "Amanda wrote: "My first one star read- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It's supposed to be this great book about the evils of colonialism but what it's REALLY about is some unsympa..."

I found the first half of this book boring, too, with an unlikeable main character who had "daddy issues". However, I found the second haof intriguing because I could see how this book could bing out the worst of feelings toward the colonialization of Africa and the people who brought the changes. The second half is rather powerful, I thought. (I still didn't like the main character and I find his final action to be completely out of character and unbelievable)

The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

This is my first one star of the season. It kept putting me to sleep.

Dionisia wrote: "The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

This is my first one star of the season. It kept putting me to sleep."


I couldnt even finish that one!! I was supposed to use it in the summer challenge and flat out gave up.

Now, I love Amanda Grange's "Diary" series. I've read them all.

But, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre was too much for me. I knew it was over for me when she gives him a crucifix as a gift. Now, why on earth would she do that? They aren't Catholic. It was purely a plot device with no good reason.

Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea

Here is my first 1 star of the season. (Perhaps my first 1 star of the year!)

This was really just a waste of time. I think I only stuck it out to the end because it worked for one of the tasks of the Fall Seasonal Reading Challenge. There were only a couple of places where I laughed out loud. A few more places made me smile. Most of the time I was grimacing, or internally saying, 'Ewwww'. Which in fact may be the result that Chelsea Handler was looking for.

There is nothing to learn from this book, and it's not really funny either -- so what's the point?

My first one star is The Last Dickens A Novel by Matthew Pearl. I made it through Chapter 3 and had to quit. It wasn't badly written, I just couldn't get into this book. I really wanted to like it because I have The Dante Club A Novel sitting on my shelf to be read and now I don't have any desire to start it.

Amanda wrote: "My first one star read- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. It's supposed to be this great book about the evils of colonialism but what it's REALLY about is some unsympathetic main cha..."

I hated this book as well. It was awful. I lived in Africa when I read it and I still hated it.

I don't give a lot of 1-stars but Bangkok Tattoo is definitely one. It's basically a murder as an excuse to go on and on about tattoos and the sex trade in Thailand. And pretty boring to boot. I wouldn't have finished it except I needed the points.

A whole world of Isabel Dalhousie haters out here. I really enjoy The #1 Ladies Detective Agency series, and since Edinburgh is a favorite city of mine, I was ready to like the Dalhousie books... blech, I'm not sure who is whinier, Isabel or her niece Cat! Grow up!

I was not a fan of If On a Winter's Night a Traveler. The style of writing is unique for which I can see why it's on the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list. However, I just found Calvino to be very pompous and really could not get into either halves of the book (the chapters about the Author & Readers nor the various cliffhanger stories). I'm glad it's over.

I read If On a Winter's Night a Traveler in college, and our class was pretty evenly divided between people who loved it and those who hated it. (It's one of my favorite books). One of classmates was so annoyed by the structure of the book she wrote endings to all the cliffhangers for her final project.

That goes to show that reading can be very subjective! It seems like more people on GR like it than not as the average rating is high. I imagine I'd get more out of the novel if I read it in a class setting. I would have liked to have heard your classmate's endings. Oh well, still glad it's over and done with for me. ; )

Sign of the Cross

I don't often give out 1-stars, I usually reserve them for books I can't even finish. If it hadn't been for this challenge, I would not have finished this one. I even started a different book for the task about half-way through, but it was much slower going, so I forced myself through this one.

I went to a writer's workshop years ago, where the published author leading the workshop had some volunteers act out one of the student's scenes to show how unbelievable it was. I wish someone had done that for this guy's book. Once the key starts jiggling in the lock, is there really time for two guys to say "crap, what are we gonna do?" AND move the big iron bed so heavy it takes both of them to move it AND put the dresser in front of the door AND escape out the window before the cops burst in?

Why does the Italian woman who lived in England long enough to pick up an English accent keep calling her boss professore? and exclaiming Santa Maria! is that the only exclamation you can use in Italy? Some of the minor characters are so badly stereotyped it is offensive.

I wrote a pretty scathing review of it... scathing for me at least. I really considered how I would feel if I had written this book and read such a review... but I would hope if I had written this book either a) I would never have found a publisher THAT desperate to cash in on the Dan Brown religious conspiracy fad and b) an actual editor would have stopped me from plagiarizing dialog from The A-Team.

I cannot understand how this book got an average rating above 3 stars.

Joy Marie wrote: "My first one star is The Last Dickens A Novel by Matthew Pearl. I made it through Chapter 3 and had to quit. It wasn't badly written, I just couldn't get into this b..."

I am sorry to hear that. I couldn't get through The Dante Club as it was just too gross for me, but I did read his book about Poe. I was disappointed in it but had hopes that the Dickens book might redeem him.