The Next Best Book Club discussion

I was kidding when I suggested this, but...now I'm not kidding anymore. This is a place where we can all compare books and then totally slam people we don't even know for disliking a book we love. (Or the opposite.) Fun, right? Misanthropy!

I suppose there should be some kind of structure, like maybe you bash the person above you, but I don't really care enough to think that through.

I should probably say this, although I'm sure everyone knows: light-hearted bashing only! If it gets ugly I'm going to feel really bad.

I'll start by giving y'all some freebies: I didn't really love Ghostwritten or The Road. And I just realized that I gave Drew Barrymore's autobiography a better rating than Dante's Inferno. If you don't hate me for at least one of those things, there's no hope for this thread.

I didn't really love The Road and I didn't read any of the other books you are talking about but I tlike this idea of a thread. I can get this going ready.....

I really REALLY hated The Lovely Bones and can't believe it's a friggin' movie!!!

Wow! So far I have nothing to get pissy about. Wasn't a fan of The Road (so happy that I'm not the only one) and The Lovely Bones was my least favorite read until Ulysses recently usurped that title away.

Gawd, Alex! You don't have anything embarrassing on your shelves. What gives?

I didn't care for Lovely Bones either.

OMG you gave three stars to Brave New World. That book rules my face.

I am solely judging it on what I thought about it when I was 16!

I hated, loathed and despised Beloved. I want that part of my life back.

Proceed bashing. :)

Charity, that's because I'm right about everything all the time and I have perfect taste. Ask my wife! But I can judge you for giving Catch-22 three stars. That book was awesome! And The Ruins, too!

I might be the only person who considers The Ruins great literature.

ps Charity has a shelf called "suckass." That's so awesome.

Thank God!!!

I HATED Ulysses... I can't get through it...and I'm SO guilty that I cannot start any other books until it's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HELP!!!!!

Really, you people read Ulysses? Who does that?

That's one of those books, like, everyone thinks someone else likes it, right? But have you ever met any of those people? I think people who like Ulysses might be a myth.

I thought that was one of those books like A Brief History of Time or the Bible that no one actually reads.

Suzanne wrote: "Thank God!!!

I HATED Ulysses... I can't get through it...and I'm SO guilty that I cannot start any other books until it's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HELP!!!!!"

Do what I did - SKIM. I skimmed at least 1/2 of Beloved. I only finished it because I had put it on my Classic Goal last year, and I regret that immensely! *shudder*

"Classic"! Beloved? Pfft. Like throwing puzzle pieces in the air, and calling the random landing a finished puzzle. =\

Charity, that's because I'm right about everything all the time and I have perfect taste.

LOL! I see.

But I can judge you for giving Catch-22 three stars.

All good. I stand behind that one. It wasn't the end-all, be-all that I was promised.

I might be the only person who considers The Ruins great literature.

Yes, you just might. I have to say that part of my 'meh' reaction to that book was due to the fact that I had the stomach flu when I was reading it and a story about flesh-eating plants wasn't really doing it for me. Movie was total shit. Just sayin'.

ps Charity has a shelf called "suckass." That's so awesome.

Yeah, I like to put it all out there to curb confusion.

I want a "suckass" shelf too! Will you feel plaguerized, Charity? LOL

I HATED Ulysses... I can't get through it...and I'm SO guilty that I cannot start any other books until it's done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please do yourself a huge favor and run, don't walk, away from that life-sucker! I promised that you will not feel more intelligent upon finishing it...but, you will gain some bragging rights....and sympathy looks.

Who reads Ulysses? Why don't you just stab yourself in the face with a fork? Same pain, over more quickly.

In hindsight, I would have definitely gotten much more pleasure from the fork. I will have to recommend that option to friends. Thanks, Alex!

I want a "suckass" shelf too! Will you feel plaguerized, Charity? LOL

No. I think everyone should have a suckass shelf. Sometimes there is no other place to put a book.

YAY!!! Thank You so much!!!!! SO MUCH!!!!! (I feel like Taylor Swift! ha ha)

I am removing it from the corner of my bedroom where it landed last and starting my 'Shutter Island' re-read!!!
You are all Goddessess♥♥♥

OH yeah And I really hated The Twilight Series and that whole Sookie thing! Well I only read the first one and wanted to die!

Okay, this might rub some people the wrong way...I can't say that I enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse series. A lot of my friends on GR love the books and recommend them with flourish and I am a huge fan of the show True Blood, but the books suck...pun kind of intended. I just don't get it. Sookie (of the books) is a moron. The writing is beyond cheese. And this will sound crazy, since I said I love the show and all, but I just don't understand the fixation with vampires. I'm not a vampire fan. Oddly enough though, I did find the werewolves to be pretty cool.

Whatever. I'm kinda pissed that I bought the 7-book boxed set and I still have 3 books left.

OH yeah And I really hated The Twilight Series and that whole Sookie thing! Well I only read the first one and wanted to die!

Freaky. I was busy typing up my loathe-fest post for the Sookie books and, lo and behold, you were doing the same. :)

YAY!!! Thank You so much!!!!! SO MUCH!!!!! (I feel like Taylor Swift! ha ha)

I am removing it from the corner of my bedroom where it landed last and starting my 'Shutter Island' re-read!!!
You are all Goddessess♥♥♥

Glad to help. Nobody puts Ulysses in the corner...? :) Everyone knows you put Ulysses in the trash.

We should go find someone who gave Ulysses five stars and demand that they explain themselves.

We should go find someone who gave Ulysses five stars and demand that they explain themselves.

Hahaha. I'm with ya, Mugsy! :)

Charity wrote: "OH yeah And I really hated The Twilight Series and that whole Sookie thing! Well I only read the first one and wanted to die!

Freaky. I was busy typing up my loathe-fest post for the Sookie books ..."

LOL I read the first one and I wanted to die! I hated the whole Vampire blood heals thing!

And you said it! The writing it "beyond cheese"

BTW we really aren't \bashing are we?? LOL I am sure we will get there!

I keep not disagreeing with people. It's tough. Kandice gave Origin of Species two stars, which is sick and wrong, but I kinda get her point, actually; Darwin uses way too many commas.

Becky, I notice that you have Shakespeare's Henry VIII on your to-read list; I'd take that off if I were you. I just read it recently and it kinda sucks. And I'm a pretty big Shakespeare fan.

Donna, you've read Popol Vuh! Cool! It's on my shelf, but I'm saving it until I go to Mexico so I can read it there.

I did a lot of research on The Maya and Guatemala

BTW Charity, I saw that you have a shelf "wants so bad" I have The Inheritance of Loss on my Swap thingy and I am reading Shutter Island now so...???

Me too! There's a thread over on the Travel Literature group from a woman asking for Mayan history recommendations:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

Maybe you'll have some good advice for her. My Mayan reading list is also there.

Alex wrote: "Becky, I notice that you have Shakespeare's Henry VIII on your to-read list; I'd take that off if I were you. I just read it recently and it kinda sucks. And I'm a pretty big Shakespeare fan."

It's pretty far down the list... I have the Signet Complete Shakespeare monstrosity, so I'll get to it eventually, but I'm in no rush. :)

BTW Charity, I saw that you have a shelf "wants so bad" I have The Inheritance of Loss on my Swap thingy and I am reading Shutter Island now so...???

Wow! I guess I'm way behind on the Swap thing. I have absolutely no idea how it works. If you wouldn't mind, please message me with the info...or a link to the info. Looks pretty cool.

Er...I just found the found the swap link. I'll look into it and get back to you. Thanks!

Alex wrote: "Really, you people read Ulysses? Who does that?

That's one of those books, like, everyone thinks someone else likes it, right? But have you ever met any of those people? I think people who li..."

SO FUNNY :D Can't believe you actually started this thread. Probably lots of stuff to bash on my shelves. I'm trying to make myself read better books lately, but I think I might end up giving into bad taste every now and then.

*goes off to snoop through peoples shelves and see what's worth bashing*

Holy crap!!! I get back from lunch and this thread is already up and rolling. I think it's awesome.

Here's some of my confessions:

-I gave Pride & Prejudice 3 stars.
-I hated Pillars of the Earth.
-Don't feel bad Suzanne, I dropped Ulysses and never looked back. (as of yet)

*goes to find something to judge Alex*

*Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot about Atonement. Meh.

Yeah there are, Erika. You gave Life of Pi and Fahrenheit 451 three stars. Fahrenheit 451!! One of the greatest books ever written! You gave it one less star than you gave the first Sookie Stackhouse book! Madness.

And you gave Charlotte's Web two stars, which I'm pretty sure means you have no soul.

Good to see you, Jessica! Jessica was one of the inspirations for this thread, after I realized she gave Love in the Time of Cholera three stars for "too many enemas."

Ooo, I like this thread. I haven't really seen anything bash-worthy yet, but I will be sure to snark if I see any!

Please, snoop through my shelves. If it's genre fantasy, I probably read it in high school and am basing my ratings off of my fuzzy memories of how much I enjoyed them at the time.

Oh, one thing probably shameful about my shelf - I've read three Vonnegut books, and I'm still ambivalent about his writing. I feel like I SHOULD like it because he is so awesome, but it's not working for me.

Oh my God, Kari, your dog is cute.

LOL! What a fun thread.
Okay, I gave Ulysses 3*, I admit. I had trouble getting through the book but, with help from others and on-line sites, I began to see the story behind all of those words and word plays. It's sad that Joyce buried that story in so many, many words.

I couldn't stand Angela's Ashes. Thought I may have missed the point...so I went to see the movie....still thought I'd missed the point and I read 'Tis....decided, point or no point, I couldn't read one more word.

Alex wrote: "Yeah there are, Erika. You gave Life of Pi and Fahrenheit 451 three stars. Fahrenheit 451!! One of the greatest books ever written! You gave it one less star than you gave the first Sookie Stac..."

LOL. I didn't even notice that. I think my rating system has been steadily changing since joining GoodReads. Also, I can't remember much about Farenheit 451 so its hard to go back and change it now. But that's funny...I clearly remember having a soul :D Maybe I'll have to read Charlotte's Web again and see if I can't be sucked out of the pitts of damnation!

Uh, Romeo and Juliet is not a well-structured play. Its plot depends on people being stupid for no reason. On the other hand, it has gorgeous language, so I gave it three stars.

I think The Secret History is overrated.

Susanna, 2 stars for The Giving Tree?!?!?!?
*feels faint*

OH. MY. GOD. ;o)

And yes, am I the only one who thought the enemas in Love in the Time of Cholera were a tad unnecessary?

Yeah, I was gonna pick on you for Romeo & Juliet, but then I realized that I kindof agree.

Petra, three stars for Diving Bell and the Butterfly?! That book is beautiful!

To be honest, I have no idea if Charlotte's Web is actually a good book or if I just liked it because it had a pig in it. I've gone back and read books I loved when I was a kid; sometimes they're still great (The Westing Game!) and sometimes they're...not. I had to stop doing it because I was destroying precious childhood memories.

I'm the same way, Alex. That happens to me a lot with movies too. I re-watch a movie I absolutely adored as a kid, then realize it's just awful.

Fiona, you gave 2 stars to The Book Thief and Lolita!! How did I not see this before?!?

Heh, this is fun. I love checking out everyone's shelves.

Oh man, you know what's not a very good movie? ET.

OK....I'm just gonna say it. The following books need a "what's the big deal" shelf:

The Historian
The Secret Life of Bees
Water for Elephants
The Time Traveler's Wife
A Mercy
The Help


When I see these, and some other books that I can't think of at the moment, appearing over and over again in the "what should we read next month" polls, I feel quite exasperated.

Yay, we agree on E.T., Alex! I was all gung-ho for it a few years ago when they released the super-duper deluxe collector's edition. Then I watched it again. It hasn't been out of its case since. Even my kids had looks on their faces like, "What the heck is this?"

Ha...yeah, that's the list for me. Basically if I see my mom reading it, I know I won't like it.

On the other hand, Mary, you gave the Aeneid two stars.

Wow, I thought I was gonna get creamed for that one. Nice to see I'm not alone. It was such a bummer for me...I mean, I loved ET when I was a kid.

Jessica, I refused to even read Love in the Time of Cholera because I do not feel love and deathly diarrhea should go together in fiction. Maybe in life it's sometimes unavoidable, but I don't want to red about it for Pete's sake!!!!