The books you hated!

[Audiflex]

Yes and I'm a stickler for these types of things. I was going to write a sci-fi roleplay on another forum with this guy and I told him that we needed to get all the tech down first so that it all made sense and so that we didn't get blind-sided whipping out some magic tech pill that ruins the plausibility of the plot. He agreed, but when I asked him his ideas for how things should work he said, "we should just come up with whatever is convenient for the scene," and I said, "that's the exact opposite of what you just agreed to."

Lazy, LAZY world building.

Do your fucking homework. If you're writing sci-fi tech or magic or mythical beasts, get your world straight before you lay out your plot. I have zero tolerance for this. I don't need to get invested into your world for 5k, 10k, 20k words and then get eyerollingly sucked right out of the story by implausible tech or magic that ruins the motives of the entire society.

Solid world-building is key, especially in sci-fi or fantasy. If the rules of your world are just “whatever’s convenient,” it kills the immersion and stakes. Do the homework, figure out the tech, magic, or creatures before diving into the plot. It’s worth the effort to keep the story believable and engaging. Lazy world-building? No thanks. Do it right or don’t bother.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Here's one book I never thought would belong in this thread. It's been a while since I read it, and after letting my impressions settle for a while, I think it deserves to be mentioned here.

Book Five of The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson - Wind and Truth.

I am so disappointed with this book, even if, unlike some of the vocal readers, I liked the way the first arc ended for Dalinar and Kaladin. But the ending is pretty much all I liked about the book. Everything else is a huuuge step down from, say, Book Two or Book One. I love the series and I believe Sanderson is one of the greats, but he seriously fucked up with this book, in my opinion. There are so many things that he messed up, and seeing some online reviewers, I am hardly alone in my opinion.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Sanderson himself mentioned two things he could have done better. He is refreshingly willing to acknowledge his imperfections.

• The switch to more modern conversational speech patterns was too rapid and jarring.

 

[Voboy]

Not sure how I missed this thread.

I was an outstanding reader in high school, and I absolutely despised much of the "canon" I had to read: Faulkner, Joyce, Steinbeck... I found them absolutely unreadable. As I Lay Dying might take the prize for "dumbest book ever written that has people thinking it's awesome."

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

My most hated book of all time: Bernard Malmud's 'The Natural.'

Now, to be fair, I read the book years after I saw the movie, and the movie has become one of my absolute favorites of all time. I decided I should probably try the book, which was a horrible decision.

Not only is the ending completely different - in the book, Hobbs takes the bribe and strikes out - but there are other things that make Roy a far less likeable character. He and Iris aren't childhood sweethearts, she's just a fan who likes him and they start dating. But when he finds out that Iris is a grandmother at 33, and that sours him on her. But not enough not to bang her, and he gets her pregnant.

Everything about the book pissed me off so much I threw it out after I read it, which is like murder in my household. You never throw away a book.

It's extremely rare when a movie is better than the source material, but whenever anybody asks me that question, this is my first answer.

Fuck that book. Still pisses me off when I think about it.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I need to read this book and get the fairy tale story destroyed. I love a good antihero with antisocial tendencies that make them HUMAN and not perfect! But that's just me; others are welcome to their own particular views.

EDIT: Did it at least have the lovely serial killer in it, even though she came to a bad end, she was the best part of the movie. Seduce and Kill, we could write a series of serial murders with her as the antiheroine.

My most hated book of all time: Bernard Malmud's 'The Natural.'

Now, to be fair, I read the book years after I saw the movie, and the movie has become one of my absolute favorites of all time. I decided I should probably try the book, which was a horrible decision.

Not only is the ending completely different - in the book, Hobbs takes the bribe and strikes out - but there are other things that make Roy a far less likeable character. He and Iris aren't childhood sweethearts, she's just a fan who likes him and they start dating. But when he finds out that Iris is a grandmother at 33, and that sours him on her. But not enough not to bang her, and he gets her pregnant.

Everything about the book pissed me off so much I threw it out after I read it, which is like murder in my household. You never throw away a book.

It's extremely rare when a movie is better than the source material, but whenever anybody asks me that question, this is my first answer.

Fuck that book. Still pisses me off when I think about it.

 

[yowser]

It's extremely rare when a movie is better than the source material...

Agreed. My top one is 'The Godfather.' Two observations: the movie itself was superb. It also dispensed with a pile of Puzo's fairly cringe-worthy backstory (lot of the Las Vegas stuff) which considerably tightened the narrative.

 

[SimonDoom]

My most hated book of all time: Bernard Malmud's 'The Natural.'

Now, to be fair, I read the book years after I saw the movie, and the movie has become one of my absolute favorites of all time. I decided I should probably try the book, which was a horrible decision.

Not only is the ending completely different - in the book, Hobbs takes the bribe and strikes out - but there are other things that make Roy a far less likeable character. He and Iris aren't childhood sweethearts, she's just a fan who likes him and they start dating. But when he finds out that Iris is a grandmother at 33, and that sours him on her. But not enough not to bang her, and he gets her pregnant.

Everything about the book pissed me off so much I threw it out after I read it, which is like murder in my household. You never throw away a book.

It's extremely rare when a movie is better than the source material, but whenever anybody asks me that question, this is my first answer.

Fuck that book. Still pisses me off when I think about it.

This is an interesting reaction. I also saw the movie first. But I think the book version is "truer" -- both to life and to the sport of baseball.

The story is more poignant because he fails. In the movie, the ending seems very neat and Hollywoodish. It's a thrill, and Randy Newman's musical score is great, but, to me, it doesn't seem at all real.

The book is more accurate and moving in its use of baseball as a metaphor for life.

Baseball is a poignant sport because it involves so much failure. Most of the time, people strike out or get caught out. Even the best hitters are out two-thirds of the time. In the famous poem, Casey at Bat, Casey strikes out in the end. It would be a lesser poem if he hit a home run.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Wasn't some of that backstory inspiration for Vegas stuff in the Godfather II? "You and your whole fucking family."

Agreed. My top one is 'The Godfather.' Two observations: the movie itself was superb. It also dispensed with a pile of Puzo's fairly cringe-worthy backstory (lot of the Las Vegas stuff) which considerably tightened the narrative.

 

[SimonDoom]

Wasn't some of that backstory inspiration for Vegas stuff in the Godfather II? "You and your whole fucking family."

It's different. There's a significant section of the book that contains activity in Vegas that has little to do with the rest of the story--the stuff about Lucy Mancini, the doctor Jules, Johnny Fontaine and his singing ability, etc. None of it is at all necessary for the story.

 

[MillieDynamite]

The highest batting averages aren't much over 400, so 40% is the best that the best can do. Except, that is, for those who always swing for the fence because it is feast for faminine for them. And the feast is always a sweet reward. Their batting average is always lower. But the reward is worth the caught outs and stuck outs.

This is an interesting reaction. I also saw the movie first. But I think the book version is "truer" -- both to life and to the sport of baseball.

The story is more poignant because he fails. In the movie, the ending seems very neat and Hollywoodish. It's a thrill, and Randy Newman's musical score is great, but, to me, it doesn't seem at all real.

The book is more accurate and moving in its use of baseball as a metaphor for life.

Baseball is a poignant sport because it involves so much failure. Most of the time, people strike out or get caught out. Even the best hitters are out two-thirds of the time. In the famous poem, Casey at Bat, Casey strikes out in the end. It would be a lesser poem if he hit a home run.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

EDIT: Did it at least have the lovely serial killer in it, even though she came to a bad end, she was the best part of the movie. Seduce and Kill, we could write a series of serial murders with her as the antiheroine.

Yep, serial killer is still in there. The book reads like a cheap version of the movie and every change the movie made, to me, works better than what's in the book.

I'm a fan of happy endings, since I get enough horrible endings with real life. Roy gets Iris pregnant (she's a grandmother already, remember?) and then takes the Judge's bribe because he knows he can't play anymore because of the wound from the serial killer.

I guess it's supposed to show he's finally grown up, but fuck that. I wanted that pennant for Pop.

 

[kellyt1994]

Ian McShane was born to play Wednesday,

Au contraire, Mr. McShane was born to play Al Swearengen.


And since this is a sex site someone has to mention the abomination known as Gor. There are some incredibly hot passages but if you actually try to read the books and follow the . . . plot, (I'm being generous here), it's like what the fuck? This guy is a professor with a PhD?

 

[kellyt1994]

And how about writers that we hate? I love the ASOIAF books. Dunk & Egg too, but I just loathe the little toad that wrote them.

 

[StillStunned]

This guy is a professor with a PhD?

I've known several PhDs who were totally clueless about anything and everything outside their very specific niche area of expertise.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

Agreed. My top one is 'The Godfather.' Two observations: the movie itself was superb. It also dispensed with a pile of Puzo's fairly cringe-worthy backstory (lot of the Las Vegas stuff) which considerably tightened the narrative.

I have to say, the subplot about Sonny having a giant penis and dating Lucy, who had a medical condition that made her so loose only he could satisfy her, was unintentionally hilarious.

I am slightly ripping the idea off in my latest series, actually, lol.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

The book is more accurate and moving in its use of baseball as a metaphor for life.

Baseball is a poignant sport because it involves so much failure. Most of the time, people strike out or get caught out. Even the best hitters are out two-thirds of the time. In the famous poem, Casey at Bat, Casey strikes out in the end. It would be a lesser poem if he hit a home run.

I agree about baseball. But if I wanted to watch a guy who has all kinds of talent get so close to his dreams and then lose, I'd be a Mets fan.

 

[ericalauren]

I was a literature major in college. There are quite a few books that I didn't enjoy. I loathe Ayn Rand's Anthem, for example.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Sanderson himself mentioned two things he could have done better. He is refreshingly willing to acknowledge his imperfections.

• The switch to more modern conversational speech patterns was too rapid and jarring.

I have a feeling that as the Stormlight Archive series progressed, Sanderson simply stopped investing the same amount of time and focus into it. There are multiple other series he is working on, and he is also quite desperate to be televised. So, his magnum opus series suffered for it.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

And how about writers that we hate? I love the ASOIAF books. Dunk & Egg too, but I just loathe the little toad that wrote them.

Patrick Roothfuss can't be far off, especially after his charity event blunder.

 

[lovecraft68]

The highest batting averages aren't much over 400, so 40% is the best that the best can do. Except, that is, for those who always swing for the fence because it is feast for faminine for them. And the feast is always a sweet reward. Their batting average is always lower. But the reward is worth the caught outs and stuck outs.

No one's hit .400 since Ted Williams, so try .300 as being the analogy you're looking for. Baseballs best hitters fail 7.7 out of 10 tires.

 

[lovecraft68]

And how about writers that we hate? I love the ASOIAF books. Dunk & Egg too, but I just loathe the little toad that wrote them.

Imagine the amount of bacon and cheeseburger grease is all over those manuscripts?

 

[MelissaBaby]

Some movies that are better than the book.

The Godfather (already mentioned)
Jaws
Jurassic Park
Fight Club
Since of the Lambs
Psycho (and a lot of Hitchcock's other films)
Breakfast at Tiffany's

 

[lovecraft68]

I have to say, the subplot about Sonny having a giant penis and dating Lucy, who had a medical condition that made her so loose only he could satisfy her, was unintentionally hilarious.

I am slightly ripping the idea off in my latest series, actually, lol.

I'd never read the book and I found a copy at a yard sale for a buck and picked it up figuring why not finally check it out. I never finished it and the Sonny thing was a fair part of why, like WTF is this in the middle of this type of novel, it matters why?

Maybe Puzo had a fetish?

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't know if I said it here, but Jaws sucks.

Now, maybe it was because I saw the movie several times before reading it, but all the more credit to Spielberg for getting a great movie out of this.

Brody was a schelp, his wife a cheating slut, Hooper a low life dog (who dies in the book as well as Quint) and the ending totally anti-climactic.

Again, the movie could have created expectations, but still blech.