Fiction_L Archives Book I hated Dates: 12/8/99,3:31 PM  through  1/27/00,9:56 PM  (188 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2008-current     2006-2007     1996-2005    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to December 1999 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: "Connie Jo Ozinga" <cjo@SELCO.LIB.MN.US>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 3:31 PM

> Madeline Guzman <mguzman@capaccess.org>
>Subject: Re: Predictions and Prophecies (fwd)
>
>One book that I hated but many others have loved was:
>
> The Celestine Prophesy by James Redfield

Madeline, thank you for admitting it. I'll go next: One book that I hated
and can't for the live of me figure out the appeal of is: "Divine Secrets
of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." What a horrible unlikeable bunch. What is it
about these creepy women that has everyone raving about the book?

OK, who's next? The book you hated and everyone else loves. Come on, you
can do it, admit it.

Connie


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director cjo@selco.lib.mn.us
Rochester Public Library (507) 285-8011
101 Second St. SE (507) 292-7866 fax
Rochester, MN 55904
<A HREF="http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library">http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library</A>
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

FROM: "Tish Calhamer" <calhamer@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 3:55 PM

I absolutely could not stand Cormac MacCarthy's All the Pretty Horses.
Everybody raves about the lyrical writing style, but I couldn't
understand a single word of it! Too stream-of-consciousness for me. (I
couldn't even tell you if there were pretty horses in the book--I didn't
pick up on that...)

**************************************************************************
Tish Calhamer
Gail Borden Public Library
200 N. Grove
Elgin, IL 60120
PH#: 847-742-2411
e-mail: calhamer@nslsilus.org

FROM: "Jane Casto" <jcasto@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 3:56 PM

Yes, I hated the Celestine Prophecy as well. I also hated the Horse
Whisperer...what a dumb, awful ending...and you could tell that her unborn
baby was going to be the reincarnation of the Horse Whisperer a mile away.

__________________________________________________________________________
| Jane Casto |
| Librarian II |
| |
| Mail: Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center |
| Cliffdale Branch Library |
| 6882 Cliffdale Road |
| Fayetteville, North Carolina 28314-1975 |
| |
| E-Mail: jcasto@cumberland.lib.nc.us |
| <A HREF="http://www.cumberland.lib.nc.us">http://www.cumberland.lib.nc.us</A> |
| |
| Phone: (910) 864-2600 |
| Fax: (910) 487-9090 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 4:04 PM

----------
From: Mturney <mturney@braswelllib.org>
To: Connie Jo Ozinga <cjo@SELCO.LIB.MN.US>, Fiction_L
<fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
Subject: Re: One book that I hated
Date: Wed, Dec 8, 1999, 3:57 PM


-- [ From: Mturney * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --

I didn't like Memoirs of a Geisha. Everyone seemed to love it. Didn't like
the Celestine Prophecy either. Never finished either one of them.


-------- REPLY, Original message follows --------

Date: Wednesday, 08-Dec-99 03:35 PM

From: Connie Jo Ozinga \ Internet: (cjo@selco.lib.mn.us)
To: fiction_l \ Internet: (fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.
org)
cc: Madeline Guzman \ Internet: (mguzman@capaccess.org)

Subject: One book that I hated

> Madeline Guzman <mguzman@capaccess.org>
>Subject: Re: Predictions and Prophecies (fwd)
>
>One book that I hated but many others have loved was:
>
> The Celestine Prophesy by James Redfield

Madeline, thank you for admitting it. I'll go next: One book that I hated
and can't for the live of me figure out the appeal of is: "Divine Secrets
of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." What a horrible unlikeable bunch. What is it
about these creepy women that has everyone raving about the book?

OK, who's next? The book you hated and everyone else loves. Come on, you
can do it, admit it.

Connie


*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director cjo@selco.lib.mn.us
Rochester Public Library (507) 285-8011
101 Second St. SE (507) 292-7866 fax
Rochester, MN 55904
<A HREF="http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library">http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library</A>
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

-------- REPLY, End of original message --------


--
Martha Turney
Director
Braswell Memorial Library
344 Falls Road
Rocky Mount, NC 27804

Telephone: 919-442-1951
Fax: 919-442-7366

Opinions expressed herein may not represent the policy of this library.

FROM: "Maryann Bakken" <Mabakken@linc.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 4:06 PM

Cold Mountain. Cold molasses flows more swiftly.

Mary Ann Bakken
St. Charles (IL) Public Library

> ----------
> From: Connie Jo Ozinga[SMTP:cjo@SELCO.LIB.MN.US]
> Reply To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 4:05 PM
> To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
> Cc: mguzman@capaccess.org
> Subject: One book that I hated
>
>
>
> Madeline, thank you for admitting it. I'll go next: One book that I
> hated
> and can't for the live of me figure out the appeal of is: "Divine
> Secrets
> of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." What a horrible unlikeable bunch. What is
> it
> about these creepy women that has everyone raving about the book?
>
> OK, who's next? The book you hated and everyone else loves. Come on,
> you
> can do it, admit it.
>
>
>
> Connie
>
>
> *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
> Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director cjo@selco.lib.mn.us
> Rochester Public Library (507) 285-8011
> 101 Second St. SE (507) 292-7866 fax
> Rochester, MN 55904
> <A HREF="http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library">http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library</A>
> *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
>

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 4:37 PM

FROM: "Vicki Nesting" <vnestin@bellsouth.net>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 4:54 PM

Hannibal by Thomas Harris. I thought it was so poorly written I
couldn't force myself to read past page 10. Why it's on the bestseller
lists is beyond me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki Nesting, Circulation Librarian
West Bank Regional Library
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
vnestin@bellsouth.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM: "Jim Keith" <keithj@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 4:54 PM

FROM: "Amy Richard" <ajrichard@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 4:55 PM

I hated She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I thought it was very depressing.
I actually tried two Oprah books (this being one of them) and found both
depressing.

Amy Richard
Information Specialist
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Barbara Baxter" <bbacin@alam1.lib.co.alameda.ca.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 5:15 PM

Oh, I do like this thread...
My nominee is Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I tried and tried and just
couldn't like it.

Barbara Baxter

Reference Services
Alameda County Library
Fremont, CA
(510) 745-1413

FROM: "Vicki Novak - LIBRARYX" <vickinovak@MAIL.MARICOPA.GOV>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 5:19 PM

I'm on a fiction discussion list that really seemed to like Corelli's
Mandolin, but I just couldn't get into it.


Vicki Novak
North Central Regional Library
Maricopa County Library District
17811 N. 32nd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85032-1201

vickinovak@mail.maricopa.gov

FROM: "Sarah Flowers" <sflowers@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 6:07 PM

I agree with the person who said "Cold Mountain." I slogged all the way
through it, but felt that the plot, such as it was, was obvious, and the
style (which everyone raved about) shouted, "Look at me! I'm being
stylistic here!"

I also could never get into "The English Patient," which lots of people
loved.

Thank goodness for the Reader's Bill of Rights: The right not to finish a
book is one of my favorites.


Sarah Flowers, Community Librarian
Morgan Hill Public Library
17575 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill CA 95037-4128
sflowers@scinet.co.santa-clara.ca.us
*** All standard disclaimers apply ***

FROM: "Debbie Stefano" <dstefa@camden.lib.nj.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 6:07 PM

FROM: "Diana Tixier Herald" <dherald@wic.net>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 6:20 PM

This is a pretty interesting discussion. People read different things
for different reasons. So far all the books mentioned were ones I didn't
like (except for Hannibal). Two books that I really hated, but that
haven't been mentioned here yet are ones that I can acknowledge as being
well written but because of personal incidents in my life I found
reading them unpleasant. Both hit bestseller lists (I think) and one is
by one of my very favorite authors in the world, the other was made into
a movie with Harrison Ford. I can't imagine how anyone would want to
read about such odious characters but obviously somebody does.

--
Happy reading,
Di Herald
dherald@wic.net see the Genreflecting page at
<A HREF="http://www.mancon.com/genre/">http://www.mancon.com/genre/</A>
Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading
tastes."

FROM: "Sandie" <senders@ncats.net>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 6:53 PM

FROM: "Clark, Nancy E." <ClarkNE@ci.anchorage.ak.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 7:05 PM

Exactly my feeling. I prefer not to read quite so much angst, and I thought
that She's Come Undone wasn't particularly insightful, either.

Nancy Clark
Readers' Advisory Librarian
Anchorage Municipal Libraries

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Amy Richard [SMTP:ajrichard@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 1:59 PM
> To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
> Subject: Re: FW: One book that I hated
>
> I hated She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I thought it was very
> depressing.
> I actually tried two Oprah books (this being one of them) and found both
> depressing.
>
> Amy Richard
> Information Specialist
> Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Carolyn Reinhard" <creinhar@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 7:09 PM

On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Amy Richard wrote:

> I hated She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I thought it was very depressing.

I REALLY HATED this one too. I personally thought he came NO WHERE NEAR
capturing the character of a woman (maybe a MAN's view of what HE thinks
a woman with problems is like...) I ALMOST finished this book, but then
I realized I DIDN'T CARE WHAT HAPPENENED to ANY of this unlikeable bunch
of "poor me, I'm a victim" losers. (The only ending I'd be interested in
hearing is that they all fell over a cliff.) Though perhaps "less
literary", I MUCH preferred Alice Hoffman's LOCAL GIRLS.

(This opinion is my own, not representative of the Arlington Heights
Memorial Library.)

Carolyn O'Donnell
Advisory Services Department
Arlington Heights Memorial Library
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

FROM: "Karen Bilton" <karenb@wccls.lib.or.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 7:28 PM

I think Neuromancer by William Gibson is best described as
pretentious and poorly written. By the time I got half way through the book,
I had no idea what was going on and I really didn't care.

Karen Bilton
Cedar Mill Community Library
Portland, OR

FROM: "J Heuer" <cheuer@itol.com>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 7:36 PM

What were the two books?


Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library
Green Bay, WI

>From: Diana Tixier Herald <dherald@wic.net>
>To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
>Subject: Re: One book that I hated
>Date: Wed, Dec 8, 1999, 6:28 PM
>

>This is a pretty interesting discussion. People read different things
>for different reasons. So far all the books mentioned were ones I didn't
>like (except for Hannibal). Two books that I really hated, but that
>haven't been mentioned here yet are ones that I can acknowledge as being
>well written but because of personal incidents in my life I found
>reading them unpleasant. Both hit bestseller lists (I think) and one is
>by one of my very favorite authors in the world, the other was made into
>a movie with Harrison Ford. I can't imagine how anyone would want to
>read about such odious characters but obviously somebody does.
>
>--
>Happy reading,
>Di Herald
>dherald@wic.net see the Genreflecting page at
><A HREF="http://www.mancon.com/genre/">http://www.mancon.com/genre/</A>
>Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading
>tastes."
>
>

FROM: "Chris Kuechmann" <CKuechmann@ohio.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 8:25 PM

12/8
When I was a sophomore in high school in La Crosse, WI, all
of us had to read the first ten or so chapters from a book
entitled "Son of the Middle Border" by Hamlin Garland. It
is hard to think of a drier book than this one. It is
listed as one of the notable books by Wisconsin authors.
Amazon.com has it for sale but no one has reviewed it.
I am tempted to take up the offeer to be the first one.
However, to be fair, I probably should read it again.
Go figure!

Christopher Kuechmann
Ohio Township Public Library Director
ckuechmann@ohio.lib.in.us

Who also thinks the list of Indiana authors looks more
interesting than those from Wisconsin. Smile!

FROM: "Jean Brown" <jeanie@mindspring.com>
REC'D: 12/8/99, 8:49 PM

I know this isn't going to be a popular answer it was beloved by so many but
...dare I say it.... I didn't care for Angela's Ashes...

Jeanie/KY

FROM: <SUNNRYZ@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 6:29 AM

In a message dated Wed, 8 Dec 1999 8:15:47 PM Eastern Standard Time, Carolyn Reinhard <creinhar@nslsilus.ORG> writes:

>
>
> On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Amy Richard wrote:
>
> > I hated She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I thought it was very depressing.
>
> I REALLY HATED this one too. I personally thought he came NO WHERE NEAR
> capturing the character of a woman (maybe a MAN's view of what HE thinks
> a woman with problems is like...) I ALMOST finished this book, but then
> I realized I DIDN'T CARE WHAT HAPPENENED to ANY of this unlikeable bunch
> of "poor me, I'm a victim" losers. (The only ending I'd be interested in
> hearing is that they all fell over a cliff.) Though perhaps "less
> literary", I MUCH preferred Alice Hoffman's LOCAL GIRLS.
>
> (This opinion is my own, not representative of the Arlington Heights
> Memorial Library.)
>
> Carolyn O'Donnell
> Advisory Services Department
> Arlington Heights Memorial Library
> Arlington Heights, IL 60004

I find this discussion very interesting. I listened to "She's Come Undone" on tape and absolutely loved it. I wonder if that was because the audio voice gave the character so much life. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it if I had read it. Here's an interesting question - are there times when you will recommend a book on tape to a patron because the reader is so fantastic? I'm thinking of "Bridget Jones's Diary" for example. Just wondering.

FROM: "Nora M. Armstrong" <narmstro@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 7:39 AM

Diana--

No teasing! What are the titles?

I have to say that reading HANNIBAL was like driving past an auto
accident: as much as I knew the experience would be unpleasant, as much as
I knew I would be disgusted with myself for giving in to the curiosity, I
HAD to finish it. And I was really mad at myself when I reached the end.
Good thing I read the library's copy; forget the money I saved. I still
want those hours back.

Nora Armstrong
Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center
Fayetteville, NC
(910)483-7878, FAX (910)486-6661
narmstro@cumberland.lib.nc.us

On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Diana Tixier Herald wrote:

> This is a pretty interesting discussion. People read different things
> for different reasons. So far all the books mentioned were ones I didn't
> like (except for Hannibal). Two books that I really hated, but that
> haven't been mentioned here yet are ones that I can acknowledge as being
> well written but because of personal incidents in my life I found
> reading them unpleasant. Both hit bestseller lists (I think) and one is
> by one of my very favorite authors in the world, the other was made into
> a movie with Harrison Ford. I can't imagine how anyone would want to
> read about such odious characters but obviously somebody does.
>
> --
> Happy reading,
> Di Herald
> dherald@wic.net see the Genreflecting page at
> <A HREF="http://www.mancon.com/genre/">http://www.mancon.com/genre/</A>
> Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading
> tastes."
>
>
>

FROM: <dianek@ocln.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 8:56 AM

I felt the same way about Lonesome Dove until I got
to about page 120. Then the story grabbed me and I found it
enthralling. I continued to read it because I was on Notable Books
that year. We did end up naming it to the Notable Books list.

Diane Kadanoff

FROM: <Dskjm@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 8:36 AM

In a message dated 12/9/99 12:03:37 AM Eastern Standard Time,
jeanie@mindspring.com writes:

<<
I know this isn't going to be a popular answer it was beloved by so many but
...dare I say it.... I didn't care for Angela's Ashes...
>>
>From what I've read, most of the population of Ireland agrees with YOU ...

Sherri McCarthy

FROM: "Sherrie Heep" <sherrieh@cooklib.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 9:27 AM

Yes, it is great to hear you all admit to hating books from Oprah and the
bestseller list. I was so mad at the end of the Horse Whisperer--it really
ruined the whole book for me. Now I will probably get shot down for this,
but although I loved the descriptions and most of the characters in Gone
with the Wind, I really despised Scarlett--what a twit! It is difficult for
me to believe that someone could be so self-centered and oblivious through
some very soul-searing experiences. Her change of heart took way too long
for me! But the book itself was beautifully written--I can't believe
someone thought they could write a decent sequel--obviously they couldn't
and didn't!
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!!

Sherrie Manlove Heep
Readers' Services
Cook Memorial Public Library

FROM: "Helen Goodin" <goodinh@northernlights.lib.mn.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 9:48 AM

We mostly talk about the books we love - this is an interesting thread,
to talk about what we haven't loved! I TRIED to finish Bombay Ice by
Leslie Forbes, and couldn't manage it. It is easily six novels in one,
and written in an awkward, flippant style. Some reviewers felt the same
on Amazon.com. Helen Goodin

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 9:49 AM

>I know this isn't going to be a popular answer it was beloved by so many but
>...dare I say it.... I didn't care for Angela's Ashes...
>
>Jeanie/KY


I hated it, too. Thanks for sharing.

Mary K.


**********************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Associate Professor

Work: Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
254 Rosenthal Library
Queens College
65-30 Kissena Blvd.
Fllushing, NY 11367
Phone: 718/997-3667 direct/voice
718/997-3790 office
718/997-3797 fax

Home: 35 Mercury Ave.
East Patchogue, NY 11772
Phone: 516/286-4255 or 516/776-2166

nb Suffolk County's 516 prefix was supposed to have changed to
631 on 11/1/99 but when it actually goes into effect is still a
mystery.

*********************************************************************

FROM: "Dennis K. Lien" <Dennis.K.Lien-1@tc.umn.edu>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 9:50 AM

A book that I hated that "everyone" else loved? Well, "everyone" is
always an overstatement, but...

In the sf/f world, the one that springs to mind is LORD FOUL'S BANE, the
first of Stephen Donaldson's "Thomas Covenant" series, which quickly
turned me away from reading the rest of the series--or anything else
by Donaldson.

Honorable mentions to DUNE by Frank Herbert and LITTLE, BIG by John
Crowley; I didn't quite "hate" either, but it took me three tries over
a period of years to force myself all the way through DUNE (I finally
cheated and took it on an airplane trip to Australia without other
options) and after several failed attempts I never did make it more
than half way through the Crowley before deciding life was too short.

A recent non-sf/f title that also defeated me (bogged down less than
two hundred pages in after six months of struggling to get that far)
was the first of Patrick O'Brien's sea stories, MASTER AND COMMANDER.

Of course, since my reading is for pleasure and not a part of my job
or (usually) for purposes of scholarship, anything that I expect I'll
hate, or even feel indifferent to, usually does not get started in
the first place. (Which includes the large majority of contents of
all best-seller lists, genre or non-genre.)

Curmudgeonly Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries // d-lien@tc.umn.edu

FROM: "Paula Davino" <pdavino@kentnet.dtcc.edu>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 10:06 AM

Thanks for this thread...I can finally confess to hating Bridget Jones's
Diary. I don't know what the fuss was about. I hated the fact that she
was obsessed with being overweight when she wasn't. I also hated the fact
that she was obsessed with finding a husband. Haven't women progressed
beyond thinking that we need to weigh 118 pounds and have a husband? I
didn't even find it to be very funny.

I loved the Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, though. In my mind Jane
was a much more likeable person than Bridget. I wouldn't mind knowing
Jane, but I would never want to meet Bridget. Parts of it made me laugh
out loud, especially when she met her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Girls'
Guide is definitely on my Top Ten list for 1999.

Paula Davino
Assistant Director
Dover Public Library
Dover, Delaware
pdavino@kentnet.dtcc.edu

FROM: "Kelly Joyce" <kjoyce@japl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 10:17 AM

What a great discussion! There's certainly more than 1 I hated:

Catch-22
Catcher in the Rye
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
English Patient (it was on TV last night and I thought maybe I'd like the
movie better, but no)

I never could understand what everyone else saw in any of those books and
finally, Peloponnesian (sp?) Wars by Thucydides. It was required reading
in 4 different classes in my undergraduate career, and I hated it every
single time and don't think I ever finished it!

- Kelly

FROM: "Viccy Kemp" <VKemp@ci.carrollton.tx.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 11:01 AM

Oh, I have to respond to this one! I LOVED Wuthering Heights. Those poor
star-crossed lovers who suffered so mightily, the sweeping descriptions of
the Yorkshire moors.... Nobody writes drama like those Victorians! But on
the other hand, it may have to do with the fact I read it my senior year in
high school when my whole life was full of sturm und drang. Also, I wrote my
AP essay on it which placed me out of freshman English.
LOL
Viccy Kemp
The opinions are my own; the library wouldn't want 'em!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cathy Reid [SMTP:creid@ccpl.lib.oh.us]
> Sent: Thursday, December 09, 1999 8:56 AM
> To: 'fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org'
> Subject: Re:One book I hated
>
> One classic I hated was Wuthering Heights--I thought it was the dumbest
> thing I has ever read! In my opinion, Cathy and Heathcliff needed to get
> a
> life.
>
> Another that others had mentioned was The Horse Whisperer--YUCK!!
>
> Cathy Reid
> Clark County Public Library
> Springfield, OH

FROM: "J Heuer" <cheuer@itol.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 11:18 AM

It took me forever to get into "Clan of the Cave Bear". I actually quit
after a few chapters but then tried it again a few years later and finished
it. Then I read the second one but just couldn't force myself to even start
"The Mammoth Hunters". If Auel never writes another I won't care, contrary
to my patrons who constantly ask about her and check the internet for more
info.

My book group also read "Stones from the River" by Hegi. (oprah) I couldn't
finish that one either and even after the discussion where everyone just
loved it, I didn't read on, just returned it to the stacks.


Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library
Green Bay, WI
cheuer@itol.com

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, Art is knowing which ones
to keep." -anonymous

FROM: <pattern@lib.cnib.ca>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 11:53 AM

I actually just finfished reading The Catcher in the Rye, and I don't think I've ever read a more pointless book in my life. I
kept waiting for something to happen. Thank God it didn't take up too much of my time! What is all the fuss about?

Nicole Patterson
CNIB Library for the Blind
Toronto, ON

FROM: "Fran Garn" <fgarn@scls.lib.wi.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 11:59 AM

I thought A Prayer for Owen Meany would never, n-e-v-e-r end.

Some people in my book club are still saying it's the best book they've
ever read in their lives, but my opinion (after I stopped reading to scream
a few dozen times) was that there were great parts but at least 100 pages
of tedium could have been edited out. I probably wouldn't have finished
the book if I hadn't been reading it for book club, and I was definitely a
minority of one in my lack of total enthusiasm for it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fran Garn, Assistant Director
Rosemary Garfoot Public Library
2107 Julius Street Cross Plains, WI 53528
PHONE: (608)798-3881 FAX: (608)798-0196
EMAIL: fgarn@scls.lib.wi.us

FROM: "MaryJo Stilwell" <stilwema@oplin.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 12:00 PM

I have laughed with delight to read that others share my dislike of novels
that were received so well by the public.
Now let me add to the furor. I read Harry Potter before it received such
acclaim, and while it is charming I didn't think it warranted all the
hoopla.
No one throws stones on this list, right? :)
Thanks for the opportunity to toss off an opinion!
Mary Jo Stilwell
St. Marys Community Public Library

FROM: "Kate Kehoe" <kehoek@umich.edu>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 12:22 PM

I enjoyed this one once I stopped paying attention to the weight reports.
But it was tough going before that.

This is a great discussion, I don't think I have ever seen this many people
respond to an topic.

>Thanks for this thread...I can finally confess to hating Bridget Jones's
>Diary. I don't know what the fuss was about. I hated the fact that she
>was obsessed with being overweight when she wasn't. I also hated the fact
>that she was obsessed with finding a husband. Haven't women progressed
>beyond thinking that we need to weigh 118 pounds and have a husband? I
>didn't even find it to be very funny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
University of Michigan Law School
Admissions Office
371 Legal Research
625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM: "Jennifer Obee" <jobee@jefferson.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 12:32 PM

Oh yeah. I hated Beloved, by Toni Morrison. I stay away from Oprah's
picks. Too depressing.


Jennifer Obee jobee@jefferson.lib.co.us
Patron Services Librarian 8485 Kipling St.
Standley Lake Branch Arvada, CO 80005
Jefferson County Public Library (303)456-0806

-----Original Message-----
From: Amy Richard [<A HREF="mailto:ajrichard@hotmail.com">mailto:ajrichard@hotmail.com</A>]
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 3:59 PM
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
Subject: Re: FW: One book that I hated


I hated She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I thought it was very depressing.

I actually tried two Oprah books (this being one of them) and found both
depressing.

Amy Richard
Information Specialist
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Susan" <silverymoon@uia.net>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 12:36 PM

Bombay Ice had the distinction of being named the worst book I read in
1998. However, my all time favorite book to hate remains The Notebook by
Nicholas Sparks.

Suzz, non-librarian lurker

--------------------------------------

At 10:01 AM 12/9/99 -0800, you wrote:
>We mostly talk about the books we love - this is an interesting thread,
>to talk about what we haven't loved! I TRIED to finish Bombay Ice by
>Leslie Forbes, and couldn't manage it. It is easily six novels in one,
>and written in an awkward, flippant style. Some reviewers felt the same
>on Amazon.com. Helen Goodin
>
>
>

FROM: <Valerierj@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 12:49 PM

Ditto for The Celestine Prophecy. Ugh!

FROM: "Kelly Joyce" <kjoyce@japl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 12:55 PM

thought of one more: Those Ann Rice vampire books - yuck!!

- Kelly

FROM: "Claudia Livolsi" <clivolsi@biblio.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 12:59 PM

At 04:23 PM 12/8/99 -0700, you wrote:
>I'm on a fiction discussion list that really seemed to like Corelli's
>Mandolin, but I just couldn't get into it.

I also tried and failed with Corelli's Mandolin after all my book friends
raved about it. Others which were highly recommended but left me cold were
Snow Falling on Cedars and Possession by A. S. Byatt.


Claudia Livolsi
Children's Librarian
Monroe Public Library
Monroe, CT
clivolsi@biblio.org

FROM: "Mary Van Dyke" <maryv@CLSN3046.glenview.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:04 PM

Right on!

Our book discussion group all said that Angela'sAshes was too depressing--
luckily I had brought the tape to play the opening few paragraphs for
them--
They all agreed that hearing McCourt's ironic Irish storytelling voice
somehow helped mitigate the horribleness of his tale. I'm very glad I
listened to it and did not read it--i can hardly wait for the library to
process his reading of 'TIS.

Cold Mountain was absorbing on tape, but even listening to She's Come
Undone couldn't make it an enjoyable experience for me(I just didn't care
about any of the characters).

Now for a book I really disliked--Amy & Isabelle which was picked by PW as
one of the best books of 1999; it also received glowing reviews. I
disliked both Amy and Isabelle--in fact I wanted to shake them both and
tell them to get a life. My own book club read it on the strength of the
rave reviews and all five of us hated the book and disliked the
characters.
We also wondered what was the point of the book. Perhaps it was our age
(55 to 65), but we all have lived through at least one daughter's teenage
years and felt we knew something about mother/daughter relationships. To
us the book just didn't ring true. Did we miss something?

Mary Van Dyke
Readerws Advisory Librarian
Glenview(IL) Public Library

On Thu, 9 Dec 1999 SUNNRYZ@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated Wed, 8 Dec 1999 8:15:47 PM Eastern Standard Time, Carolyn Reinhard <creinhar@nslsilus.ORG> writes:
>
> >
> >
> > On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Amy Richard wrote:
> >
> > > I hated She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I thought it was very depressing.
> >
> > I REALLY HATED this one too. I personally thought he came NO WHERE NEAR
> > capturing the character of a woman (maybe a MAN's view of what HE thinks
> > a woman with problems is like...) I ALMOST finished this book, but then
> > I realized I DIDN'T CARE WHAT HAPPENENED to ANY of this unlikeable bunch
> > of "poor me, I'm a victim" losers. (The only ending I'd be interested in
> > hearing is that they all fell over a cliff.) Though perhaps "less
> > literary", I MUCH preferred Alice Hoffman's LOCAL GIRLS.
> >
> > (This opinion is my own, not representative of the Arlington Heights
> > Memorial Library.)
> >
> > Carolyn O'Donnell
> > Advisory Services Department
> > Arlington Heights Memorial Library
> > Arlington Heights, IL 60004
>
> I find this discussion very interesting. I listened to "She's Come Undone" on tape and absolutely loved it. I wonder if that was because the audio voice gave the character so much life. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it if I had read it. Here's an interesting question - are there times when you will recommend a book on tape to a patron because the reader is so fantastic? I'm thinking of "Bridget Jones's Diary" for example. Just wondering.
>
>
>

FROM: "Donna El Tabib" <ElTabibD@boulder.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:11 PM

Nicole,
Catcher in the Rye is also one of my least favorite books - it seemed pointless to me, too! (My 16 year old daughter recently had to read it for a class and she hated it, as well - maybe you need to be male to really appreciate it!) I could never get through Moby Dick (don't know how many times it was assigned) and every time someone asks for James Fenimore Cooper, I think: "why, and then, YUCK!

Donna
Donna El Tabib
Boulder Public Library
Boulder, CO
eltabibd@boulder.lib.co.us

FROM: "Claudia Livolsi" <clivolsi@biblio.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:14 PM

I tried to read Cold Mountain and failed. I then listened to it, read by
the author, and liked it. Some books may hold the reader's attention
better as a book on tape. I also find that I often remember books which I
have listened to better than books I have read.

Claudia Livolsi
Children's Librarian
Monroe Public Library
Monroe, CT
clivolsi@biblio.org

FROM: "Anne Baker Jones" <abjones@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:19 PM

Sorry Oprah (and others), but I absolutely hated THE READER by Bernhardt
Schlink. I hated the boy, the woman, the whole story!


Anne Baker Jones
Vernon Area Public Library
Lincolnshire, IL 60069

-----Original Message-----
From: Connie Jo Ozinga <cjo@SELCO.LIB.MN.US>
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
Cc: mguzman@capaccess.org <mguzman@capaccess.org>
Date: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 3:46 PM
Subject: One book that I hated


>> Madeline Guzman <mguzman@capaccess.org>
>>Subject: Re: Predictions and Prophecies (fwd)
>>
>>One book that I hated but many others have loved was:
>>
>> The Celestine Prophesy by James Redfield
>
>Madeline, thank you for admitting it. I'll go next: One book that I hated
>and can't for the live of me figure out the appeal of is: "Divine Secrets
>of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." What a horrible unlikeable bunch. What is it
>about these creepy women that has everyone raving about the book?
>
>OK, who's next? The book you hated and everyone else loves. Come on, you
>can do it, admit it.
>
>
>
>Connie
>
>
>*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
>Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director cjo@selco.lib.mn.us
>Rochester Public Library (507) 285-8011
>101 Second St. SE (507) 292-7866 fax
>Rochester, MN 55904
> <A HREF="http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library">http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library</A>
>*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

FROM: "Mary Van Dyke" <maryv@CLSN3046.glenview.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:34 PM

Please give the O'Brian series another chance, but this time listen to
the Recorded Books tapes with Patrick Tull narrating. I wouldn't
particularly like to read the series, but they are marvelous on tape. I
feel the same way about the Mitford series which is very good when read
by John McDonough.

Mary Van Dyke
Glenview(IL) Public Library

FROM: "Library" <groton.public.lib@snet.net>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:35 PM

I second the motion on Bridges of Madison County - too treacly for me.
There was a parody of Bridges that came out the same year that was much
better than the original. Sparks' The Notebook reminded me of Bridges -
hated the manipulative, sentimental writing style. Oh, I cried, but I
resented being made to cry by such a maudlin book.

Barbara Clark-Greene
Groton Public Library
Groton, CT 06340
groton.public.lib@snet.net

FROM: "Nancy Eggert" <neggert@chipublib.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:42 PM

One book I hated that was overwhelmingly popular was The Horse Whisperer.

Nancy Eggert
Northtown Branch
Chicago Public Library

FROM: "Waznis, Betty" <bwaznili@sdcl.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:57 PM

As someone else said on this list recently, this is better than work!!!

Dennis, I am so glad you "came out" on Patrick O'Brien. I have tried
countless times - the pages of his books are just dead for me. However, I am
going to keep on trying because he is so often compared to Mary Renault and
Dorothy Dunnett, both of whom I love. Maybe I'd "get it" if I tried one from
the middle of the series.

Wuthering Heights haters - I never liked it either, til I read Somerset
Maugham's essay on Emily Bronte. He describes Wuthering Heights as a vehicle
for her to express her cruelty, her sadism, and her hatred for humanity. I
thought "He's right - that's why I never liked it". He discusses her life
and thinking in very interesting detail . Now I see the book in a completely
different way: not as a gothic or romantic story, it is not that at all. It
is a stark, modern, highly symbolic work, so dark and angry that it is very
mysterious to think it came out of Haworth Parsonage. A disturbing book to
read.

Betty Waznis
San Diego County Library

<snip>
A recent non-sf/f title that also defeated me (bogged down less than
two hundred pages in after six months of struggling to get that far)
was the first of Patrick O'Brien's sea stories, MASTER AND
COMMANDER.

Curmudgeonly Dennis Lien / U of Minnesota Libraries //
d-lien@tc.umn.edu <<A HREF="mailto:d-lien@tc.umn.edu">mailto:d-lien@tc.umn.edu</A>>

FROM: "Thirza Krohn" <tkrohn@timberland.lib.wa.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:59 PM

On Thu, 9 Dec 1999, Jennifer Obee wrote:

> Oh yeah. I hated Beloved, by Toni Morrison. I stay away from Oprah's
> picks. Too depressing.

Yes! I'm reading it now for our book discussion group. I've been reading
a little bit at a time, and reading other less depressing books in between
the bits, so that I can make it to the end. Fortunately, it isn't a long
book.

I also agree with others mentioned except Lonesome Dove, which is one of
my all time favorites!

Oh, I think Dennis Lien is so right about best sellers too! I usually
only read them in order to do reader's advisory. One I couldn't finish
after a couple of attempts is A Time to Kill. How can anyone bear it?

Thanks to whoever started this whole thread.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thirza Krohn
Reference Librarian
Aberdeen Timberland Library
121 E. Market
Aberdeen, WA 98520
email: tkrohn@timberland.lib.wa.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM: "Nancy Eggert" <neggert@chipublib.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 1:59 PM

I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying this discussion. It's so
refreshing to find out that you all hated the same books I did! (She's
come undone, Bridges of Madison County, Horse Whisperer, Danielle Steel,
Deep end of the ocean, Oprah's picks in general, etc.). God bless whoever
had the courage to speak up first!

Nancy Eggert
Northtown Branch
Chicago Public Library

FROM: "Kiesha Crawmer" <kcrawmer@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 2:37 PM

Ok, the book I hated that everyone else on the planet loved was "Angela's
Ashes." When I stated my opinion of the book, I had people looking at me
like I had just kicked a puppy or stolen candy from a baby.

I HATED IT! How liberating. :-)

Kiesha Crawmer
Cliffdale Branch
Cumberland County Public Library

FROM: "Doriene" <doriene@bgpl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 2:44 PM

FROM: "Cathy MacArthur" <macarthur@AXP.WINNEFOX.ORG>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 2:46 PM

I hated Snow Falling on Cedars. Could not get past the first couple
chapters.
I loved Crime and Punishment, Deep End of the Ocean, Angelas Ashes and
most of the others mentioned. I hated Bridges of Madison County.

Cathy MacArthur
Oshkosh Public Library

FROM: "Chris Rettig" <crettig@lakeco.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 2:51 PM

>Now for a book I really disliked--Amy & Isabelle which was picked by PW as
>one of the best books of 1999; it also received glowing reviews. I
>disliked both Amy and Isabelle--in fact I wanted to shake them both and
>tell them to get a life.

Absolutely agree. I listened to the abridged version on tape and STILL
couldn't stand it.
They were both so pathetic and clueless. One shread of self-confidence in
either of them might have made the story more bearable.

I liked the story in Snow Falling on Cedars but would have been just as
happy had it been said in fewer words!

Chris Rettig
Lake County Public Library
Merrillville, Indiana

FROM: "Beth McGuire" <mcguireb@ccl.charleston.lib.sc.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:01 PM

Boy, this is better than therapy!

I'll second the hate for THE READER and THE NOTEBOOK.

My all-time favorite book to hate is THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING by T.H.
White. I had to read it in high school and still haven't forgiven my
teacher for ruining a perfectly good summer by trying to slog through 600+
pages of that junk.

Ahhh, I feel better! :)

Beth McGuire

*********************************
Beth McGuire
Readers' Advisory Services
Charleston County Public Library
68 Calhoun Street
Charleston, SC 29401
843-805-6879
mcguireb@ccpl.org
*********************************
"If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton
you might as well make it dance."
George Bernard Shaw

FROM: "Lisa Colcord" <LColcord@ci.glendale.az.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:15 PM

Well, I just can't keep quiet any longer!

I hated The Shipping News! I also hated Book of Ruth (an Oprah selection).
On the other hand, I quite enjoyed She's Come Undone, which several people have said that they hated. Go figure!

Lisa Colcord
Speaking on my own behalf....

FROM: "Susan I. Schwartz" <susani@execpc.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:16 PM

raved about it. Others which were highly recommended but left me cold
were
Snow Falling on Cedars and Possession by A. S. Byatt.
AND...... I can still remember someone (pityingly ) telling me that the
reason I didn't like Jonathan Livingston Seagull was probably because I
just couldn't' understand it....
susan schwartz (milwaukee public)

--

FROM: "Kathryn Shaw" <kshaw@brantford.library.on.ca>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:23 PM

I agree with the most hated choice of 'The Celestine Prophecy'. Most of the
other 'most hated' titles which have been mentioned, I have listened to on tape.
It is much easier to listen to these while commuting. I probably would have
disliked them more if I had actually used valuable 'real' reading time on them!

Kathryn Shaw
Brantford Public Library

FROM: "Susan I. Schwartz" <susani@execpc.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:25 PM

Birds?!? And finally, this is a movie, but Ferris Bueller's Day Off
makes me want to go kill someone (preferably Ferris Bueller!)
YES YES YES YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


susan schwartz ---Milwaukee Public (susani@execpc.com)

--

FROM: "Angelina Benedetti" <angelina@kcls.org>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:30 PM

My husband would heartily agree with the poster who hated
NEUROMANCER. We have many a heated debate over that one.
I could not get into MAN IN FULL to save my life last year,
despite its place at the top of everyone's list. Earlier despised titles
include many mentioned here: BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (my hate for this
book made the ending of the HORSE WHISPERER okay for me on a sick
level) and the CELESTINE PROPHECY.
While Esquivel's LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE moved me to hysterics,
her THE LAW OF LOVE was just too much of a gimmick for me. I couldn't get
into THE CHILDREN OF GOD despite my love for THE SPARROW. Codrescu's BLOOD
COUNTESS curdled my very-strong stomach, and Donna Tartt's SECRET HISTORY
angered me on so many levels that I stopped counting.
And now I'm currently struggling to get into Gibson's ALL
TOMORROW'S PARTIES. I can't stand to admit to my husband that he might
even be a little right about Gibson.

Angelina Benedetti The ice we skate is gettin' pretty thin,
angelina@kcls.org The water is warm so you might as well swim.
King County Library System My world's on fire, how 'bout yours?
That's the way I like and I never get bored.
-Smashmouth

FROM: "Beth Postema" <BEPostema@ci.fargo.nd.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:37 PM

I could not get through Grisham's The Firm (back when everyone was raving
about Grisham). Not too much earlier I had been a library clerk in a law
firm, and just could not willingly suspend disbelief.
Beth E. Postema
Public Services Coordinator
Fargo Public Library

FROM: "Nancy Huntley" <nancyh@alpha1.rpls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:40 PM

I hated the book so much I forgot the title. It was Shipping News by Annie Proulx, not Accordian Crimes.
N Huntley

FROM: <kmccook@chuma.cas.usf.edu>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 3:56 PM

Now I thought Shipping News was the best book in a long time. But you
know, I saw that it is one of Al Gore's favorites! I may be a yellowdog
democrat, but really, now.

Kathleen de la Pe–a McCook School of Library & Information Science
Professor and Librarian University of South Florida, CIS 1040
813-974-9182 Tampa, FL 33620
<A HREF="http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis">http://www.cas.usf.edu/lis</A> kmccook@chuma.cas.usf.edu

FROM: "Raap" <raapc@sls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 4:00 PM

I missed the original question so I hope there's no limit on the age of
the book. One I hated was Lake Wobegon Days by Keillor. I expected a
nostalgic look at a small town and found it extremely bitter.

******************************************************************************
Christine Raap * "The universe is crazy,
Evergreen Park Pub. Lib. * anything else would be
9400 S. Troy * redundant."
Evergreen Park, Il. 60805 * Londo, Baylon 5
raapc@sls.lib.il.us *
chraap@ibm.net *
******************************************************************************

FROM: "Brenda O'Brien" <obrienb@sls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 4:00 PM

Well, this is a fun thread. Most of the highly publicized books mentioned
I've avoided reading, but sort of felt I should, someday...

One book I hated was Mating, by Norman Rush. I thought the female protagonist
was so unconvincing I didn't finish the last third of the book. When it
won the National Book Award in the early 90's, I wondered briefly what
was wrong with my literary analysis.

I knew The Horse Whisperer novel had a stupid ending before I read it,
but found the rest of the book absorbing. I didn't want to see the movie,
though.

I don't remember disliking the books in high school, but recent viewings
of Wuthering Heights and Gone With the Wind movies were rather disappointing.

Brenda O'Brien
Woodridge Public Library
obrienb@sls.lib.il.us

FROM: "Leser, Debbie" <dleser@rolling-meadows.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 4:05 PM

I'm probably the only who didn't like the Widow's Adventures. After hearing
everybody tell me how hilarious it was, I think I was expecting more, and
was disappointed.

Debbie Leser
Rolling Meadows Library
Rolling Meadows, IL.

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 4:41 PM

I hated The Shipping News! I found the writing style annoying and all of
the
characters unappealing. I also found the tone very condescending towards
those who live in "quaint" little northern towns in places like
Newfoundland...

Sarah Herlache
Foothills Branch Library
Glendale, AZ


Tish Calhamer wrote:

> I absolutely could not stand Cormac MacCarthy's All the Pretty Horses.
> Everybody raves about the lyrical writing style, but I couldn't
> understand a single word of it! Too stream-of-consciousness for me. (I
> couldn't even tell you if there were pretty horses in the book--I didn't
> pick up on that...)
>
> **************************************************************************
> Tish Calhamer
> Gail Borden Public Library
> 200 N. Grove
> Elgin, IL 60120
> PH#: 847-742-2411
> e-mail: calhamer@nslsilus.org

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 4:44 PM

I would like to jump on the slapping bandwagon by starting with Nicholas
Evans. What was he thinking of with that ending in _The Horse Whisperer_?
I hated _The Shipping News_ by Annie Proulx. Everyone said to stick with
it,
it gets better. That was the first book I ever refused to finish.

I also hated _The God of Small Things_ by Arundhati Roy. The language was
so
lush at times I wanted to cry from sheer pleasure, but the book itself--ick.

I completely agree about _The Celestine Prophecy_. I chose it for my book
discussion group, (I work in a public library) purposely to talk about what
makes a bestseller AND how did such a poorly written book make it to
bestsellerdom. My usual group showed up. So did 25 other people who
thought
we were forming a special Celestine discussion group. Complete disaster.

Mar Leathers
Louisville Free Public Library

FROM: <KATIEL@sfpl.lib.ca.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 5:02 PM

Oh boy, I'm glad somebody else hated Donna Tartt's The Secret History
as much as I did! It got such good reviews and was so dreadful; both
stupid and abhorrent at the same time.

Katie Lynds
San Francisco Public Library
katiel@sfpl.lib.ca.us

FROM: "Karen Barron" <barron@CLSN3046.glenview.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 5:31 PM

Yes, Yes! I hated Lonesome Dove! I thought the cows and I would all die
of old age before they finally left town. I've wanted to say this for
years - this is so cathartic!

Karen Barron
Glenview Public Library
Glenview, IL

FROM: "Sarah Stein" <sstein@denver.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 5:45 PM

Yes! Yes! I had the same reaction. I'm glad to be in such good company,
Dennis! That was one I started, never finished, and ignored the rest by
that author.

>In the sf/f world, the one that springs to mind is LORD FOUL'S BANE, the
>first of Stephen Donaldson's "Thomas Covenant" series, which quickly
>turned me away from reading the rest of the series--or anything else
>by Donaldson.


That used to be rare for me-- to start and not manage to finish a book --
but lately
I find it happening a lot. Am I getting old, or are the books getting
worse??? --Never mind, don't answer that!

Sarah

Sarah Stein
Senior Catalog Librarian
Denver Public Library
Denver, Colo., USA
sstein@denver.lib.co.us

FROM: <Dskjm@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 5:59 PM

I hate pretty much what everybody else here has hated, except I liked
Shipping News (after about 150 pages). Even though this isn't a book, I'm
going to make my confession:

I hated Phantom of the Opera. I couldn't see what all the fuss is about.
There's no actual songs in it ... just slogging mood music.

I feel better. I'm sure I'll think of more things I hate later. This is fun!

Sherri McCarthy

FROM: "Susan Creed" <screed@spokpl.lib.wa.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 6:41 PM

What fun!
I have to reply now that someone else had the courage to admit to hating
"Poisonwood Bible"--I absolutely couldn't get into it and wondered about
the fuss.

I listened to "Horse Whisperer" read by Peter Coyote and finished it just
because of his voice.

Funny someone should mention "Mating." I thought I was the only person who
had ever read that! I loved the evocation of the African setting but had
trouble getting through all the relationship 'stuff.'

I agree with the concensus on the Oprah books. Why can't she choose an
Eleanor Lipman title, or something similar?

But..two books hated by others are on my list of very favorite reading
experiences--"Shipping News" and "Lonesome Dove."

My all time worst, I Hate this Book, however, must go to "The Oregon Trail"
by Parkman. I thought I would go mad if I had to read about one more
buffalo getting skinned.

Can't wait to hear more of this!!!

Susan Creed
Youth Services Librarian,
Shadle Library
Spokane Public Library
2111 W. Wellesley
Spokane, WA 99205
screed@spokpl.lib.wa.us

FROM: "Barbara Case" <casebarb@metronet.lib.mi.us>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 9:14 PM

I agree that John Irving could always use a little more editing. Although
I liked Owen Meany, I found A Widow for one Year incredibly boring. I
just couldn't get interested in the character's sexual peccadilloes.

BTW, I am enjoying this thread.

On Thu, 9 Dec 1999, Fran Garn wrote:

> I thought A Prayer for Owen Meany would never, n-e-v-e-r end.
>
> Some people in my book club are still saying it's the best book they've
> ever read in their lives, but my opinion (after I stopped reading to scream
> a few dozen times) was that there were great parts but at least 100 pages
> of tedium could have been edited out. I probably wouldn't have finished
> the book if I hadn't been reading it for book club, and I was definitely a
> minority of one in my lack of total enthusiasm for it.
> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
> Fran Garn, Assistant Director
> Rosemary Garfoot Public Library
> 2107 Julius Street Cross Plains, WI 53528
> PHONE: (608)798-3881 FAX: (608)798-0196
> EMAIL: fgarn@scls.lib.wi.us
>
>
>

FROM: "Mary Clemens" <maryc@3gcs.com>
REC'D: 12/9/99, 11:22 PM

There have been sooooo many times I have asked myself
what was wrong with me when I couldn't get into a book
everyone else was raving about - it had to be me right?

This discussion has been wonderfully validating - I don't have
to like everything, and that's o.k.

As for one book I hated - rather than post numerous titles from
the required reading for the YA Literature class I just finished,
I'll add my vote to Catcher in the Rye. Maybe reading it for
the first time as a 40-something graduate student has something
to do with it, but Ugh!

It all goes back to a book's appeal - and different things appeal or not as
the case may be, to different readers.
(I just finished my Reader's Advisory course too.) :-)

Great discussion!

Mary Clemens
An MLS Graduate as of 9:30 tonight! Hurray!
maryc@3gcs.com

FROM: "Jane Casto" <jcasto@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 8:21 AM

I just had to add another book that I didn't like...Midnight In the Garden
fo Good and Evil...I found many parts of it just borrrrring and liked the
movie much more...maybe because one could see the weird characters (the
best part of the book by far).

I also agree about Cornwell,.,,especially her later books. I HATE Lucy
and would gladly drown her in the Potomac. Cornwell cannot create good
characters and develop over time...she simply devolves them instead.
She mistakes whining and bleating (by Lucy) for a complex, sensitive
character (who would never make it in the FBI, I am sure). Kay Scarpetta
jsut gets more emotionally isolated with each book. Will never read
another one of hers.

This thread points out that many of these books and authors are more
products then books....(the Cornwells, Steeles, Evans, bestsellers in
general). People read with the intent of seeking a predictable
experience, rather then for the pleasure of language or structure.

__________________________________________________________________________
| Jane Casto |
| Librarian II |
| |
| Mail: Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center |
| Cliffdale Branch Library |
| 6882 Cliffdale Road |
| Fayetteville, North Carolina 28314-1975 |
| |
| E-Mail: jcasto@cumberland.lib.nc.us |
| <A HREF="http://www.cumberland.lib.nc.us">http://www.cumberland.lib.nc.us</A> |
| |
| Phone: (910) 864-2600 |
| Fax: (910) 487-9090 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM: <MARLA@orion.mtgr.mtlib.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:00 AM

So many books to hate, so little time! ;-)

This is very interesting. I agree with most of the loathed list, except
for a few. I really didn't want to read "Divine Secrets, etc." because
it definitely sounded like the kind of book I would hate. Finally broke
down after many "Oh but you'll just *love* it" (said with a simper and
batting of eyelashes). And I didn't "just *love* it" but thought it was
pretty good.

Disagree with "rating" of "Once & Future King" -- have reread that many
times. Love the Disney "Sword in the Stone" and musical "Camelot" taken
from that book, too.

Loathed "The Name of the Rose" by U. Eco, altho' I finished it. Tried the
movie, too, thinking it might explain somethings, but didn't like that
either (disappointed that S. Connery would do that).

Agree "rating" of "Thorn Birds -- what a bunch of cardboard cut-out
characters. But I have thoroughly enjoyed McCullough's Roman history
series (almost didn't try that because of my "Thorn Birds" experience).

Could probably think of lots more. Can only say that maybe by reading
those titles we don't like (for whatever reasons) only make us appreciate
those titles we do. BYE!

Marla/Great Falls Public Library/Acquisitions
301 2nd Ave N
Great Falls, MT 59401-2593
marla@orion.mtgr.mtlib.org

FROM: "Connie Jo Ozinga" <cjo@SELCO.LIB.MN.US>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:12 AM

Isn't this fun? I've already trashed Divine Secrets, but would like to
concur with all the Danielle Steel haters.

The interesting thing about this is how many of the titles you have
confessed to are actually among my favorites, among them A Prayer for Owen
Meany, Shipping News, and Lonesome Dove. Especially Lonesome Dove, which
in the days before the mini-series made it so familiar, was my number one
recommendation to reluctant reading men and boys, all of whom raved about it.

So the lesson to learn? Different strokes, right?

Connie

Currently spellbound by Voyage by Philip Caputo, but couldn't get past the
second chapter of Fortune's Rocks last week.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director cjo@selco.lib.mn.us
Rochester Public Library (507) 285-8011
101 Second St. SE (507) 292-7866 fax
Rochester, MN 55904
<A HREF="http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library">http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library</A>
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

FROM: "Jaffe" <kjaffe@suffolk.lib.ny.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:17 AM

I loved Snow Falling on Cedars but Smilla's Sense of Snow left me cold ;)

Karen Jaffe
Comsewogue Public Library

PS I didn't like She's Come Undone either.

On Thu, 9 Dec 1999, Claudia Livolsi wrote:

> At 04:23 PM 12/8/99 -0700, you wrote:
> >I'm on a fiction discussion list that really seemed to like Corelli's
> >Mandolin, but I just couldn't get into it.
>
> I also tried and failed with Corelli's Mandolin after all my book friends
> raved about it. Others which were highly recommended but left me cold were
> Snow Falling on Cedars and Possession by A. S. Byatt.
>
>
> Claudia Livolsi
> Children's Librarian
> Monroe Public Library
> Monroe, CT
> clivolsi@biblio.org
>

FROM: "Wendy Friedman" <wfriedman@ci.sat.tx.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:24 AM

FROM: <zadowm@mpl.on.ca>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:29 AM

YES! YES! YES! I also had to read this for a book group and thought it
the most pompous self conscious drivel that ever killed a tree. I've
tried a few other Irvings on friends' recommendations, but could not get
into them at all. The author is always peering over your shoulder, smugly
self-satisfied, poking you and prompting "aren't I funny! aren't I smart".
Robertson Davies is another whose stories are all but submerged in
authorial pretension. Boo, hiss, Life IS too short for bad books.


This is fun!!!

Mary


At 12:05 PM 12/9/99 -0600, you wrote:
>I thought A Prayer for Owen Meany would never, n-e-v-e-r end.
>
>Some people in my book club are still saying it's the best book they've
>ever read in their lives, but my opinion (after I stopped reading to scream
>a few dozen times) was that there were great parts but at least 100 pages
>of tedium could have been edited out. I probably wouldn't have finished
>the book if I hadn't been reading it for book club, and I was definitely a
>minority of one in my lack of total enthusiasm for it.
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>Fran Garn, Assistant Director
>Rosemary Garfoot Public Library
>2107 Julius Street Cross Plains, WI 53528
>PHONE: (608)798-3881 FAX: (608)798-0196
>EMAIL: fgarn@scls.lib.wi.us
>
>
>
Mary Zadow
Milton Public Library
45 Bruce St
Milton, Ontario
L9T 2L5

FROM: "Rebecca Thomas" <RTHOMAS@cml.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:49 AM

FROM: "Mallett, Margaret" <mmallett@itpld.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:49 AM

I hated the writing in Tortilla Curtain, by T. C. Boyle. (I loved God of
Small Things, Angela's Ashes and Mating.)
I just finished listening to Brief Lives by Anita Brookner, on tape.
Definitely "much ado about nothing". Felt this way about Iris Murdoch's
Jacksons's Dillemma, also.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jane Casto [<A HREF="mailto:jcasto@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us">mailto:jcasto@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us</A>]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 8:23 AM
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
Subject: Re: Books I hated


I just had to add another book that I didn't like...Midnight In the Garden
fo Good and Evil...I found many parts of it just borrrrring and liked the
movie much more...maybe because one could see the weird characters (the
best part of the book by far).

I also agree about Cornwell,.,,especially her later books. I HATE Lucy
and would gladly drown her in the Potomac. Cornwell cannot create good
characters and develop over time...she simply devolves them instead.
She mistakes whining and bleating (by Lucy) for a complex, sensitive
character (who would never make it in the FBI, I am sure). Kay Scarpetta
jsut gets more emotionally isolated with each book. Will never read
another one of hers.

This thread points out that many of these books and authors are more
products then books....(the Cornwells, Steeles, Evans, bestsellers in
general). People read with the intent of seeking a predictable
experience, rather then for the pleasure of language or structure.

__________________________________________________________________________
| Jane Casto |
| Librarian II |
| |
| Mail: Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center |
| Cliffdale Branch Library |
| 6882 Cliffdale Road |
| Fayetteville, North Carolina 28314-1975 |
| |
| E-Mail: jcasto@cumberland.lib.nc.us |
| <A HREF="http://www.cumberland.lib.nc.us">http://www.cumberland.lib.nc.us</A> |
| |
| Phone: (910) 864-2600 |
| Fax: (910) 487-9090 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM: "Rhonda Jessup" <rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 9:53 AM

I have laughed out loud at some of these postings. Three of the books
mentioned--Cold Mountain, Angela's Ashes, and Wuthering Heights--were
chosen by my book club. I did not finish any of them. I thought I
could remember enough of Wuthering Heights from high school to fake it.
Turns out that was not the case. I eventually came to conclusion that
life is too short to read stuff I didn't want to and quit my book club.
I never really was a club kind of gal, anyway. I only lasted 41/2
months as a Girl Guide. :-)

Now, how about hating a part of book? I love the Spenser books by
Robert B. Parker but for heaven's sakes, why does that woman, Spenser's
partner, Susan, not eat anything?!? I swear, if I read one more time
that she has a nibble of chicken, a sip of soup, or a taste of wine, I
am going to scream.

As for a whole book, I hated the _Debt to Pleasure_ by John Lanchester.
I was sneered at by a friend who thought it was brilliant. I found it
annoying, pretentious, and stylistic for the sake of being stylistic.

There, I, too, feel better now.

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, Ontario, Canada

FROM: "Doris" <dlively@pelican.state.lib.la.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 10:07 AM

I agree with Thorn Bird haters but one I hated even more was The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck. I had to read it in high school and twenty-four years
later still remember how much I hated it...I even promised by daughter if
she had to read it in high school I would buy the Cliff notes for her.

Doris Lively
Director
Grant Parish Library
300 Main Street
Colfax, LA 71417
318-627-9920
318-627-9900 fax
dlively@pelican.state.lib.la.us

FROM: "suzy herring" <suzyherring@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 10:11 AM

I was very disappointed in Evening by Susan Minot, who I usually like. I had
no empathy for the dying main character who was a terrible mother; but what
I really hated was the premise that a man that she hardly knew was her
soulmate, when it seemed obvious to me that for him it was just a one-night
stand.

(LOVED Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing though, especially the last
story's deconstruction of 'the Rules')

Suzy Herring
Albany Park Branch
Chicago Public Library

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 10:43 AM

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 11:06 AM

FROM: "Barb Gigot" <dazzle39@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 11:12 AM

I positively LOVED Nicholas Sparks, "The Notebook".

I guess thats why there are so many books...varied tastes..etc!!


>From: Susan <silverymoon@uia.net>
>Reply-To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
>To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
>Subject: Re: One Book I hated
>Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 09:34:50
>
>Bombay Ice had the distinction of being named the worst book I read in
>1998. However, my all time favorite book to hate remains The Notebook by
>Nicholas Sparks.
>
>Suzz, non-librarian lurker
>
>--------------------------------------
>
>At 10:01 AM 12/9/99 -0800, you wrote:
> >We mostly talk about the books we love - this is an interesting thread,
> >to talk about what we haven't loved! I TRIED to finish Bombay Ice by
> >Leslie Forbes, and couldn't manage it. It is easily six novels in one,
> >and written in an awkward, flippant style. Some reviewers felt the same
> >on Amazon.com. Helen Goodin
> >
> >
> >

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: <PogR@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 11:34 AM

I couldn't get through "The Notebook". It was truly awful.

FROM: "Patty Ayala" <payala@timberland.lib.wa.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 11:41 AM

This has been rather a painful discussion for me. MANY of my favorite
books have been trashed, and retrashed. Though, I agree about the Ya-Ya's
(yeah, yeah sister would have been more descriptive), Danielle Steel (if
not for the sappy stories, then for the butchering job on grammar--run-on
sentences should be banned from the publishing world), Angela's Ashes
(ending read: volume two coming soon to a book store near you, and now the
MOVIE too????), and She's Come Undone--what drivel--one woman endures ALL
"female" traumas in one lifetime.

But, what about this one--Jane Smiley's Thousand Acres. What a terrible
book! Do we have to give awards to someone who feeds the stereotype of
farmers doing terrible things to their daughters out in the back woods? I
was horrified. Anyone else? And, how about any Leon Uris book...scary to
think people might believe that they are reading history.

(Loved Shipping News, Beloved is my FAVORITE American novel, Owen Meany
was terrific--quiet and beautiful, though Widow sucked and Garp was
better, Cold Mountain, SO slow, peaceful and moving, and who couldn't love
Wuthering Heights--try reading Wide Sargasso Sea after it--you can love it
even more--I guess not all books have to have a fast pace, or a bang for
me. Sometimes quiet and moving is just the thing.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patty Ayala
Reference Librarian II

Centralia Timberland Library Voice: 360-736-0183
110 S. Silver FAX: 360-736-2714
Centralia, WA 98531-4296 e-mail: payala@timberland.lib.wa.us
------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM: "Nora Liederbach" <NLiederbach@imcpl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 11:46 AM

Just to chime in on this thread. As a children's librarian, I generally
have free reign in the adult fiction department. Authors I like, etc. I am
enjoying this venting about hated books--I have decided not to read 99%of
the books mentioned. So reading about them in the hate category, is good
for my soul. I have tried to read some of the Oprah books, but can't get
into them. I have sometimes been home to see the discussion of the book,
and find it interesting. A children's book I hate and patrons love: Love
you forever by Robert Munsch. If my mother tied a ladder in her car, drove
to my house in the middle of the night to see how I was sleeping,
well,.....you know.

Happy Holidays....

Nora Liederbach
nliederbach@imcpl.lib.in.us

-----Original Message-----
From: Fiction_L [<A HREF="mailto:fictionl@nslsilus.ORG">mailto:fictionl@nslsilus.ORG</A>]
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 1999 9:53 AM
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
Subject: One book that I hated (fwd)


>I know this isn't going to be a popular answer it was beloved by so many
but
>...dare I say it.... I didn't care for Angela's Ashes...
>
>Jeanie/KY


I hated it, too. Thanks for sharing.

Mary K.


**********************************************************************
Mary K. Chelton, Associate Professor

Work: Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
254 Rosenthal Library
Queens College
65-30 Kissena Blvd.
Fllushing, NY 11367
Phone: 718/997-3667 direct/voice
718/997-3790 office
718/997-3797 fax

Home: 35 Mercury Ave.
East Patchogue, NY 11772
Phone: 516/286-4255 or 516/776-2166

nb Suffolk County's 516 prefix was supposed to have changed to
631 on 11/1/99 but when it actually goes into effect is still a
mystery.

*********************************************************************

FROM: "Angelina Benedetti" <angelina@kcls.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 12:08 PM

I just have to say that I probably would not have enjoyed THE NAME
OF THE ROSE as much as I did if I had not been reading it for a
hermeneutics colloquium. How that book ever cracked the bestseller list is
a miracle of modern publishing. The movie is pretty awful in my eyes.

Angelina Benedetti The ice we skate is gettin' pretty thin,
angelina@kcls.org The water is warm so you might as well swim.
King County Library System My world's on fire, how 'bout yours?
That's the way I like and I never get bored.
-Smashmouth

FROM: "Anne Marquis" <AMarquis@publib.edmonton.ab.ca>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 12:47 PM

I heartily agree with Dennis K. Lien about Donaldson--I doubt I made it past
chapter 2. However, I devoured Dune and loved it. I also disliked The
Sound and the Fury by Faulkner (the bane of my first year English reading
list!) and staggered through one Danielle Steel under a sense of obligation.

Suggestions that the audio versions are much better begs a number of
questions: Is it because one's reading/learning style/preference is
auditory? Or does the author's writing lend itself to a different medium for
telling the story? Or does the author simply need a good editor--and an
abridged audio version "cuts to the chase" (presuming one was listening to
an abridged version, of course)? Or is it that a good reader can carry a bad
text?

(Just mulling over a current preoccupation...)

Anne Marquis
Fiction Librarian
Information Services
Edmonton Public Library
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta T5R 1B2
Canada

amarquis@publib.edmonton.ab.ca

FROM: "Tisha Doyle" <tedoyle@hit.net>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 1:26 PM

"The Notebook" is also one of my absolute favorites! It's nice to see
someone elso say so.


----- Original Message -----
From: Barb Gigot <dazzle39@hotmail.com>
To: <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 11:16 AM
Subject: Re: One Book I hated


> I positively LOVED Nicholas Sparks, "The Notebook".
>
> I guess thats why there are so many books...varied tastes..etc!!
>
>
> >From: Susan <silverymoon@uia.net>
> >Reply-To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
> >To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
> >Subject: Re: One Book I hated
> >Date: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 09:34:50
> >
> >Bombay Ice had the distinction of being named the worst book I read in
> >1998. However, my all time favorite book to hate remains The Notebook by
> >Nicholas Sparks.
> >
> >Suzz, non-librarian lurker
> >
> >--------------------------------------
> >
> >At 10:01 AM 12/9/99 -0800, you wrote:
> > >We mostly talk about the books we love - this is an interesting thread,
> > >to talk about what we haven't loved! I TRIED to finish Bombay Ice by
> > >Leslie Forbes, and couldn't manage it. It is easily six novels in one,
> > >and written in an awkward, flippant style. Some reviewers felt the
same
> > >on Amazon.com. Helen Goodin
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>
>

FROM: "Lisa Price" <lprice@MtLaurel.Lib.NJ.US>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 1:44 PM

If I'm not mistaken, Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre, not
Wuthering Heights.
Lisa Price
Mount Laurel (NJ) Library
All opinions are my own.

Patty Ayala wrote:

> This has been rather a painful discussion for me. MANY of my favorite
> books have been trashed, and retrashed. Though, I agree about the Ya-Ya's
> (yeah, yeah sister would have been more descriptive), Danielle Steel (if
> not for the sappy stories, then for the butchering job on grammar--run-on
> sentences should be banned from the publishing world), Angela's Ashes
> (ending read: volume two coming soon to a book store near you, and now the
> MOVIE too????), and She's Come Undone--what drivel--one woman endures ALL
> "female" traumas in one lifetime.
>
> But, what about this one--Jane Smiley's Thousand Acres. What a terrible
> book! Do we have to give awards to someone who feeds the stereotype of
> farmers doing terrible things to their daughters out in the back woods? I
> was horrified. Anyone else? And, how about any Leon Uris book...scary to
> think people might believe that they are reading history.
>
> (Loved Shipping News, Beloved is my FAVORITE American novel, Owen Meany
> was terrific--quiet and beautiful, though Widow sucked and Garp was
> better, Cold Mountain, SO slow, peaceful and moving, and who couldn't love
> Wuthering Heights--try reading Wide Sargasso Sea after it--you can love it
> even more--I guess not all books have to have a fast pace, or a bang for
> me. Sometimes quiet and moving is just the thing.)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Patty Ayala
> Reference Librarian II
>
> Centralia Timberland Library Voice: 360-736-0183
> 110 S. Silver FAX: 360-736-2714
> Centralia, WA 98531-4296 e-mail: payala@timberland.lib.wa.us
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM: "Jennifer Obee" <jobee@jefferson.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 2:20 PM

The woman who never eats reminds me of a book I once read where the people
either had warm beer or cold coffee, and every time they get out of the car
they had parked illegally. I have no idea what book it was or what it was
about, but I'll never forget how aggregating that whole parking and drinking
thing was!

jennifer


-----Original Message-----
From: Rhonda Jessup [<A HREF="mailto:rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca">mailto:rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca</A>]
Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 8:58 AM
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
Subject: Hated books

Now, how about hating a part of book? I love the Spenser books by
Robert B. Parker but for heaven's sakes, why does that woman, Spenser's
partner, Susan, not eat anything?!? I swear, if I read one more time
that she has a nibble of chicken, a sip of soup, or a taste of wine, I
am going to scream.


Jennifer Obee jobee@jefferson.lib.co.us
Patron Services Librarian 8485 Kipling St.
Standley Lake Branch Arvada, CO 80005
Jefferson County Public Library (303)456-0806

FROM: "Jennifer Owens" <owenjenn@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 2:43 PM

We must give Oprah credit for bringing the value of reading to light,
however, I feel sorry for those who have judiciously stuck with her reading
selections. If that was all I had to read, I'd have hung myself a long time
ago.

Other tedious titles:
Charming Billy...wasn't. Who cares about a dead drunk?

A Man in Full....and then he finds Jesus? Oh, please. Enough already.

...just about anything by Phil Roth - too pretentious and just plain awful
to read.

Jennifer Owens
Grayslake Public Library
Grayslake IL


>From: "Anne Baker Jones" <abjones@nslsilus.ORG>
>Reply-To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
>To: <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
>Subject: Re: One book that I hated
>Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 13:22:34 -0600
>
>Sorry Oprah (and others), but I absolutely hated THE READER by Bernhardt
>Schlink. I hated the boy, the woman, the whole story!
>
>
>Anne Baker Jones
>Vernon Area Public Library
>Lincolnshire, IL 60069
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Connie Jo Ozinga <cjo@SELCO.LIB.MN.US>
>To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
>Cc: mguzman@capaccess.org <mguzman@capaccess.org>
>Date: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 3:46 PM
>Subject: One book that I hated
>
>
> >> Madeline Guzman <mguzman@capaccess.org>
> >>Subject: Re: Predictions and Prophecies (fwd)
> >>
> >>One book that I hated but many others have loved was:
> >>
> >> The Celestine Prophesy by James Redfield
> >
> >Madeline, thank you for admitting it. I'll go next: One book that I
>hated
> >and can't for the live of me figure out the appeal of is: "Divine
>Secrets
> >of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." What a horrible unlikeable bunch. What is it
> >about these creepy women that has everyone raving about the book?
> >
> >OK, who's next? The book you hated and everyone else loves. Come on,
>you
> >can do it, admit it.
> >
> >
> >
> >Connie
> >
> >
> >*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
> >Connie Jo Ozinga, Library Director cjo@selco.lib.mn.us
> >Rochester Public Library (507) 285-8011
> >101 Second St. SE (507) 292-7866 fax
> >Rochester, MN 55904
> > <A HREF="http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library">http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/library</A>
> >*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
>

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Lisa Price" <lprice@MtLaurel.Lib.NJ.US>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 2:51 PM

Just have to defend this one. I enjoyed it enough that I read it a second
time a couple of years later. Maybe it's just that I'm interested in most
things medieval, since I'm not usually much of a mystery reader.
Lisa Price


Angelina Benedetti wrote:

> I just have to say that I probably would not have enjoyed THE NAME
> OF THE ROSE as much as I did if I had not been reading it for a
> hermeneutics colloquium. How that book ever cracked the bestseller list is
> a miracle of modern publishing. The movie is pretty awful in my eyes.
>
> Angelina Benedetti The ice we skate is gettin' pretty thin,
> angelina@kcls.org The water is warm so you might as well swim.
> King County Library System My world's on fire, how 'bout yours?
> That's the way I like and I never get bored.
> -Smashmouth

FROM: "Madeline Guzman" <mguzman@capaccess.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 3:02 PM

Margaret...

I had no idea how much uproar my original comment about The Celestine
Prophesy would cause on this list!

I, too, hated The Tortilla Curtain. I thought the writing was terrible
and the characters merely stereotypes. When I got to the ending, I had
to throw down the book in disbelief! I won't touch another of Boyle's
books. That did it for me.

There is relief in knowing a that a book, publicly loved but privately
hated, is not the be-all and end-all to everyone. I guess that's what
helps various authors make a living. There is truly something for everybody.

Thanks to everyone for sharing.

Madeline

> I hated the writing in Tortilla Curtain, by T. C. Boyle. (I loved God of
> Small Things, Angela's Ashes and Mating.)

Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
<A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com

FROM: "Patty Ayala" <payala@timberland.lib.wa.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 3:22 PM

Yep, you're right. I ALWAYS get those two novels mixed up. Boy is my
face red....

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patty Ayala
Reference Librarian II

Centralia Timberland Library Voice: 360-736-0183
110 S. Silver FAX: 360-736-2714
Centralia, WA 98531-4296 e-mail: payala@timberland.lib.wa.us
------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Fri, 10 Dec 1999, Lisa Price wrote:

> If I'm not mistaken, Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre, not
> Wuthering Heights.
> Lisa Price
> Mount Laurel (NJ) Library
> All opinions are my own.
>
> Patty Ayala wrote:
>
> > This has been rather a painful discussion for me. MANY of my favorite
> > books have been trashed, and retrashed. Though, I agree about the Ya-Ya's
> > (yeah, yeah sister would have been more descriptive), Danielle Steel (if
> > not for the sappy stories, then for the butchering job on grammar--run-on
> > sentences should be banned from the publishing world), Angela's Ashes
> > (ending read: volume two coming soon to a book store near you, and now the
> > MOVIE too????), and She's Come Undone--what drivel--one woman endures ALL
> > "female" traumas in one lifetime.
> >
> > But, what about this one--Jane Smiley's Thousand Acres. What a terrible
> > book! Do we have to give awards to someone who feeds the stereotype of
> > farmers doing terrible things to their daughters out in the back woods? I
> > was horrified. Anyone else? And, how about any Leon Uris book...scary to
> > think people might believe that they are reading history.
> >
> > (Loved Shipping News, Beloved is my FAVORITE American novel, Owen Meany
> > was terrific--quiet and beautiful, though Widow sucked and Garp was
> > better, Cold Mountain, SO slow, peaceful and moving, and who couldn't love
> > Wuthering Heights--try reading Wide Sargasso Sea after it--you can love it
> > even more--I guess not all books have to have a fast pace, or a bang for
> > me. Sometimes quiet and moving is just the thing.)
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Patty Ayala
> > Reference Librarian II
> >
> > Centralia Timberland Library Voice: 360-736-0183
> > 110 S. Silver FAX: 360-736-2714
> > Centralia, WA 98531-4296 e-mail: payala@timberland.lib.wa.us
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>

FROM: "Pam Koehler" <pkoehler@wcic.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 4:05 PM

I really do try to read a variety of books so I can talk intelligently to
patrons, but there are some that do me in. Angela's Ashes was one. I
listened to it on tape, but found it so depressing and hated the way it
ended. I listened to the tape of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It
was so well done I could picture all the characters.
Pam
pkoehler@wcic.org
West Lafayette, IN

FROM: "Carrie FARROW" <cfarrow@rochester.lib.mn.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 4:47 PM

I also will never read another Irving Stone book - In my opinion the worst ever is Cider House Rules.

FROM: "Roberta S. Johnson" <rjohnson@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 4:56 PM

I had thought that I had successfully blocked out memories of books I've disliked, but
Jeanne's comment about A Confederacy of Dunces brought back in a rush how I hated
that book. I remember thinking he only got the prize (Pulitzer?) because he died after
he wrote it. Depressing, annoying characters and a truly loathsome protagonist. And
isn't that the book/character that Olivia Goldsmith's The Bestseller is based on?

And -- I confess -- I just don't think The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy is funny.
Maybe its because I didn't read it when I was 18? I can certainly sympathize with the
person (congrats on your MLS!) who couldn't stand Catcher in the Rye at 40. That
was me, scratching my head in my YA class as to why kids loved this book.

Best,

Roberta


Roberta S. Johnson
Adult Services Librarian
Des Plaines Public Library
rjohnson@nslsilus.org
Opinions my own.

FROM: "Waznis, Betty" <bwaznili@sdcl.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 5:13 PM

YES, YES, YES!!! Everyone else dies in his books, why is she still
hanging on? Or couldn't they at least break up? But, n-o-o-o-o-o-o-o, he
continues to torture us with every detail of her make-up and her
broccoli-noodle thing.

I'm grateful he's got a new detective going.

Betty Waznis
San Diego County Library

From: Rhonda Jessup <rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca>

<snip> Now, how about hating a part of book? I love the Spenser
books by
Robert B. Parker but for heaven's sakes, why does that woman,
Spenser's
partner, Susan, not eat anything?!? I swear, if I read one more
time
that she has a nibble of chicken, a sip of soup, or a taste of wine,
I
am going to scream.

FROM: "Therese Odlevak" <todlevak@vax.linc.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 5:18 PM

JOHN IRVING????

At 04:50 PM 12/10/99 -0600, you wrote:
>I also will never read another Irving Stone book - In my opinion the worst
ever is Cider House Rules.
>
>

FROM: "Jo Berkman" <joberkma@i-2000.com>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 5:24 PM

I hated Wuthering Heights also. A couple of more recent books I detested were
The Bridges of Madison County and the Celestine Prophecy. This last was the worst!
Jo Berkman

FROM: "Vicki Nesting" <vnestin@bellsouth.net>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 6:51 PM

You all are reminding me of so many other books I've hated over the
years. Neither my husband nor I could slog all the way through
Confederacy of Dunces -- and we live in New Orleans! I hated Bridges of
Madison County so much; it was the only time I've ever thought about
burning a book. I was very angry at myself for spending good money on
such a bad book. (Instead I donated it to the library because I knew
there was a long waiting list for it.)

I enjoyed the early Patricia Cornwell books but, like so many of you,
recently got fed up. I won't be reading Black Notice (or whatever the
latest one is called).

Is someone compiling this? If so, what would we call the compiled list
-- "books we love to hate"? If no one else is willing, I might have
time to pull it together over Christmas.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki Nesting, Circulation Librarian
West Bank Regional Library
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
vnestin@bellsouth.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM: "Madeline Guzman" <mguzman@capaccess.org>
REC'D: 12/10/99, 7:00 PM

In the same vein as The Celestine Prophesy was Mutant Message Down Under
by Marlo Morgan.
What I thought would be an exciting story of the Aboriginal culture and
environment of
the Australian outback turned into nothing more than New Age drivel.
This book came highly recommended to me by a very dear friend who is an
avid reader of all genres. She couldn't believe I hated it.

It does take a bit of bravery to own up to the fact that one hates a book
that others love. However, it's a relief to know that at least
one other person shares those feelings! :-)

Madeline

Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
<A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com

FROM: "Lynda Whitton-Henley" <lyndafwh@intcomm.net>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 12:39 AM

It's so good to see that my reaction to Cold Mountain, Angela's Ashes, and (I
think I've seen it mentioned) Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil. I listen to
Cold Mountain...the author should have let someone else narrate it, he was too
monotone.

Lynda Whitton-Henley, Br. Mgr.
Northwest Br. Lib.
lyndafwh@intcomm.net

Dskjm@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 12/9/99 12:03:37 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> jeanie@mindspring.com writes:
>
> <<
> I know this isn't going to be a popular answer it was beloved by so many but
> ...dare I say it.... I didn't care for Angela's Ashes...
> >>
> >From what I've read, most of the population of Ireland agrees with YOU ...
>
> Sherri McCarthy

FROM: "Lynda Whitton-Henley" <lyndafwh@intcomm.net>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 12:42 AM

I haven't had one patron that thought it was a good book, they were
disappointed in, esp. in comparision to his previous book.

Lynda Whitton-Henley
lyndafwh@intcomm.net

"Nora M. Armstrong" wrote:

> Diana--
>
> No teasing! What are the titles?
>
> I have to say that reading HANNIBAL was like driving past an auto
> accident: as much as I knew the experience would be unpleasant, as much as
> I knew I would be disgusted with myself for giving in to the curiosity, I
> HAD to finish it. And I was really mad at myself when I reached the end.
> Good thing I read the library's copy; forget the money I saved. I still
> want those hours back.
>
> Nora Armstrong
> Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center
> Fayetteville, NC
> (910)483-7878, FAX (910)486-6661
> narmstro@cumberland.lib.nc.us
>
> On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Diana Tixier Herald wrote:
>
> > This is a pretty interesting discussion. People read different things
> > for different reasons. So far all the books mentioned were ones I didn't
> > like (except for Hannibal). Two books that I really hated, but that
> > haven't been mentioned here yet are ones that I can acknowledge as being
> > well written but because of personal incidents in my life I found
> > reading them unpleasant. Both hit bestseller lists (I think) and one is
> > by one of my very favorite authors in the world, the other was made into
> > a movie with Harrison Ford. I can't imagine how anyone would want to
> > read about such odious characters but obviously somebody does.
> >
> > --
> > Happy reading,
> > Di Herald
> > dherald@wic.net see the Genreflecting page at
> > <A HREF="http://www.mancon.com/genre/">http://www.mancon.com/genre/</A>
> > Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading
> > tastes."
> >
> >
> >

FROM: "Deb Warner" <dwarner@co.durham.nc.us>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 11:32 AM

FROM: "Doriene" <doriene@bgpl.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 12:42 PM

FROM: "Kathy Loucks" <KLOUCKS@cml.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 2:25 PM

>>> Lisa Price <lprice@MtLaurel.Lib.NJ.US> 12/10 2:39 PM >>>
If I'm not mistaken, Wide Sargasso Sea is a prequel to Jane Eyre, not
Wuthering Heights.


That's correct, and as one of the WUTHERING HEIGHTS haters, let me say that I loved JANE EYRE.----------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM: "Katherine Hoylo" <hoylok@i29.net>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 4:18 PM

I hated _A Stranger is Watching_ by Mary Higgins Clark. A man stalks and
kidnaps a woman and child. They were so drippy, I just wanted him to kill
them so the book would be done.

FROM: "ROBIN BEERBOWER" <RBEERBOWER@OPENGOVT.OPEN.ORG>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 6:30 PM

OK, I must enter this discussion as as everyone seems to find it very
cathartic!

First of all I have to say that I can't really say with conviction that I
have *hated* any particular book because if I don't like it from the start,
I don't finish it and that means I haven't given it a fair chance. I do
have to say that I never understood the appeal of DEEP END OF THE OCEAN
and read about half of it before I skimmed the rest to find out what
happened at the end.

I know they are popular and many patrons (and Fiction_L members) love them,
but I have never cared for the Stephanie Plum mysteries by Janet Evanovich
(and I have finished two of them). I find her peripheral characters very
irritating and annoying.

Boy, I feel much better!

Robin Beerbower
Salem (OR) Public Library
rbeerbower@open.org

FROM: <Mkmmax@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/11/99, 10:19 PM

Ah, at last, a discussion I can participate in. :)

So glad to know that I am not alone in my dislike of Cold Mountain. I could
not read it, I even kept skipping chapters in the hopes of finding something,
someone, I could care about. The final straw was when I read some portions
of the ending chapters and I just could not buy what seemed to be an overly
romanticized "male" view of a woman's life, but I will admit, I was only
reading scattered pages, at that point. I was going to try to listen to it,
out of guilt, but don't think I will now. I no longer feel bad about my
disdain, thanks to this thread. I feel free. Thank you!

Won't even go into Bridges of Madison County. Just makes me want to scream!

I also could not read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

On a more classical bent, could not read the Scarlet Letter, but did very
well on the exam just using the entry from MasterPlots. :)

While I ADORE! Anne Tyler, and have reread most of her books at least once, I
can not read Breathing Lessons. I have tried and I have tried and I have
tried.

Found the conclusion of the Deep End of the Ocean disappointing and clouded
my view of the rest of the work, which I had enjoyed. Just seemed that she
suddenly realized she had better stop writing.

On a more personal note, since it is not in the league of books "everyone
else loved", Laurie Colwin's last novel A Big Storm Knocked It Over was a
mere shadow of her previous works. Seemed as if her husband just picked it
up off her desk after her death and gave it to her editor. It just seemd
like a draft, not a finished work.
Wish I had never read it, don't like remembering her that way.

And ... what was the big deal about Summer Sisters! Did we all miss Judy
Blume that much that we would get all excited over a plot strongly resembling
a made for tv movie!!

Finally, I almost forgot, Jan Karon. Have not read any of the books but read
a couple of shortstories based on the characters -- stereotypical, trite, are
two of the more pleasant descriptive terms that come to mind.

Thanks for listening, I, too, feel much better. :)

Mary Mannix

FROM: "Jeff and Cheryl McBride" <mcbrides@injersey.com>
REC'D: 12/12/99, 10:27 AM

We did a display on this a while back. We polled our patrons on their
most hated book, published a bookist and adorned the display with
turkeys. It was right around Thanksgiving as I recall, and it caused
quite a bit of discussion.

Cheryl McBride
East Brunswick Library
East Brunswick, NJ
mcbrides@injersey.com

FROM: "Jeff and Cheryl McBride" <mcbrides@injersey.com>
REC'D: 12/12/99, 11:04 AM

We did a display on this a while back. We polled our patrons for their
most hated book, produced a booklist with the results and made a display
of them adorned with lots of turkeys. It was around Thanksgiving as I
recall, and really caused a lot of discussion.

Cheryl McBride
East Brunswick Library
East Brunwick, NJ
mcbrides@injersey.com

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/12/99, 3:45 PM

Please do put this list together Vicki- I've been telling my coworkers and
volunteers and are curious what books have been mentioned. Jeanne Linn

FROM: "Juliana Austen" <jausten@auckland-library.govt.nz>
REC'D: 12/12/99, 7:48 PM

And the nominees are:
"Independence Day" by Ford - After finishing this one I threw it across the
room screaming "get a life!"
"Birdsong" by Sebastian Foulkes - he can't write women to save himself and
the ending of WW1 was just tad unrealistic!
(Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy was So much better!)
AND the WINNER is:
"The bridges of Madison County" - I got as far as this sentence which I
think should win a life-time achiever award -
"He liked words and images. "Blue" was one of his favorite words. He liked
the feeling it made on his lips and tongue when he said it." Icky!
On to more positive things: Best for 1999 fiction are:
"An equal music" by Vikram Seth - a story of music and a lost love -
beautiful, but will probably appear on most hated lists - a lot of people
found the music TOO much.
"The Vintner's luck" by Elizabeth Knox - a small plug for a Kiwi author.
Best 1999 Non-fiction is:
"The surgeon of Crowthorne" also known as "The professor and the madman" by
Simon Winchester - about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.
This has been a fun thread and VERY interesting that great books can move
people to love or loathing.
Cheers Juliana.

FROM: "Chris Rettig" <crettig@lakeco.lib.in.us>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 9:16 AM

The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a thousand times more enjoyable when
you listen to the author, Douglas Adams, reading it (unabridged, by the
way). I was listening to it while walking through my neighborhood and
couldn't help laughing out loud.

The neighbors are still trying to figure out what's wrong with me.

Chris Rettig
Lake County Public Library
Merrillville Indiana
crettig@lakeco.lib.in.us

-----Original Message-----
From: Roberta S. Johnson <rjohnson@nslsilus.ORG>
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
Date: Friday, December 10, 1999 5:49 PM
Subject: Re: Books I hated.

And -- I confess -- I just don't think The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy
is funny.

FROM: <Dskjm@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 10:13 AM

I know this is going to really offend some people, but I hated TALK BEFORE WE
SLEEP by Elizabeth Berg. My book club read it and not a single person liked
the book. We found the characters shallow at best, annoying at worst. We
felt resentful that these characters were supposed to represent "how women
feel" when none of us could identify with any of them. We were unable to
find anything to talk about in terms of style, plot, characterization,
"theme" etc. All we could talk about is how much we disliked the book.

BTW, I really like CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES -- which is something one hesitates
to admit because people who don't like it, REALLY DON'T LIKE it, and look at
you like you're some kind of depraved psychopath if you do like it.

Sherri McCarthy

FROM: "Mary Van Dyke" <maryv@CLSN3046.glenview.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 11:26 AM

this opens up a new topic for comments--I find that most of my Books on
Tape patrons prefer the unabridged as do I. We have been worried that our
fiction circulation has been slowly eroding: I was really worried until I
saw
that our unabridged fiction audiobooks were flying out of the
library. Then I realized how hooked on them I was(my family gives me gift
cetificates to Recorded Books for birthdays, Mothers Day,etc) even though
our local libraries have great audiobook collections.

Most definately I think the reader is key to loving an audiobook--I
enjoy the Patrick Tull readings of Patrick O'Brian's Napoleanic era
sea sagas, but cannot stand another vendors version. Shelby Foote reading
anything is superb, and the Mitford series from Recorded Books always
has reserves. We have McCourts "TIS on order and already have 5 reserves
even though we have at least 10 copies of the book.

Do others agree with me that fiction audiobooks should count for
circulating fiction statistics? What is more popular at your library
abridged or unabridged books audiobooks?

Mary Van Dyke
Glenview (IL) Public Library

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 12:22 PM

Sherri,

Funny- as much as I disliked Confederacy of Dunces, I loved Talk Before
Sleep and recommend it along with her other books like it!! :) Jeanne Linn

FROM: "Ricki Nordmeyer" <nordr@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 12:31 PM

John Irving wrote this.

At 04:50 PM 12/10/1999 -0600, you wrote:
>I also will never read another Irving Stone book - In my opinion the worst
ever is Cider House Rules.
>
>
Ricki Nordmeyer Reader's Advisory Specialist
Skokie Public Library
(847) 673-7774 x 2177
nordr@skokie.lib.il.us
<A HREF="http://www.skokie.lib.il.us">http://www.skokie.lib.il.us</A>

Opinions expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Board of the Skokie Public Library.

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 2:58 PM

Hello:
I hate to chime in with a "me, too" but I agreed with Dennis Lien about
"Lord Foul's Bane." I guess it's time for me to confess. I hated . . .
"Little Women." I really felt that Jo marrying the professor was a huge
mistake, that Amy getting to go to Europe and marrying Laurie was the most
unfair thing. Boy, just the thought gets me in a snit!:)
I was never too partial to "Jane Eyre" either and it got worse after I
went to grad school and started finding out about Charlotte's backstabbing
of her sisters' work posthumously.
Anybody interested in starting a reverse thread? Books I loved that others
hated?
Alicia C. Graybill
acg@inetnebr.com
Volunteer Web Site Coordinator
Capital Humane Society of Lincoln, Nebraska
<A HREF="http://chs.inetnebr.com">http://chs.inetnebr.com</A>
CapHumSoc@juno.com
Ringmaster, Humane Society and Animal Welfare Ring
<A HREF="http://hsawring.htmlplanet.com">http://hsawring.htmlplanet.com</A>
Proud Dog-Mom of U-AGI U-CD Eatinrock's Timberline CGC
All-American Pet Therapy Dog
Founder of IN-Style, Musical Freestyle in Iowa, Nebraska and Beyond
<A HREF="http://www.angelfire.com/ne/INStyle/">http://www.angelfire.com/ne/INStyle/</A>

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 3:00 PM

From: "Ron Asher" <rasher@imail.slcl.lib.mo.us>

Hi all,
I've enjoyed this discussion too. I agree with most of the choices
mentioned. At the risk of being branded a "non intellectual librarian",
I will take the discussion oe step further.
I have a difficult time with the books on the 100 Best List
that came out last year. If a book is critically acclaimed award book of any
kind, it puts me to sleep. So the question I would like to pose is this:
What makes a "Classic" a "Classic"?
To name one book in recent years I hated, I would choose "The Sparrow" by
Russell. A friend told me it was "Don Quixote" in space. I didn't care for
"Don Quixote" on earth. Are there any other iterary heretics out there?

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 3:02 PM

I don't think anyone should be offended or hurt if
some of the books mentioned are ones they really
loved. I think its great everyone is being so honest.
The comments about the different formats are really
interesting. I really liked the Horse Whisperer, but I
listened to an abridged tape (4k) read by Peter Coyote
who has a fabulous voice. Maybe if I had read it I
would have felt differently. I think readers also
vary from title to title. I constantly read about
Frank Muller and how he's the best reader ever. Well
the first tapes I listened to read by him were the
Left Behind series by LaHaye. I hated the way he read.
Took a breath (it seemed) at the end of every sentence
so the whole thing had this whoosyness about it. Then
I heard that his best reading was The Green Mile. I'm
listening to that now. It is great! The breathyness is
not there and the variation in voices from character
to character are marvelous. One guy is a french-cajun,
there are three women (one old, one young, one sick),
and numerous male characters who are from the south
and all the voices vary and are really believable. So
the reading can really make a difference.

Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: <A HREF="http://shopping.yahoo.com">http://shopping.yahoo.com</A>

FROM: "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 3:10 PM

> this opens up a new topic for comments--I find that most of my Books on
> Tape patrons prefer the unabridged as do I. We have been worried that our
> fiction circulation has been slowly eroding: I was really worried until I
> saw
> that our unabridged fiction audiobooks were flying out of the
> library. Then I realized how hooked on them I was(my family gives me gift
> cetificates to Recorded Books for birthdays, Mothers Day,etc) even though
> our local libraries have great audiobook collections.
>
> Most definately I think the reader is key to loving an audiobook--I
> enjoy the Patrick Tull readings of Patrick O'Brian's Napoleanic era
> sea sagas, but cannot stand another vendors version. Shelby Foote reading
> anything is superb, and the Mitford series from Recorded Books always
> has reserves. We have McCourts "TIS on order and already have 5 reserves
> even though we have at least 10 copies of the book.
>
> Do others agree with me that fiction audiobooks should count for
> circulating fiction statistics? What is more popular at your library
> abridged or unabridged books audiobooks?
>
> Mary Van Dyke
> Glenview (IL) Public Library
>

FROM: "Bill Crowley" <crowbill@email.dom.edu>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 4:01 PM

Greetings:

The class book discussion in last summer's LIS 763 Readers
Advisory Services featured A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES.
Since I selected both the book and the discussion leader, my own
views should be obvious. It's simply a work of genius.The class
reaction, with exceptions, was very much along gender lines.
Males loved it; females condemned to perdition both the author and
the protagonist!

Granted, one class is a small sample and this list is reporting
cross-gender support. However, it would still be an interesting
research project to determine if CONFEDERACY somehow
represented another sub-genre which has the same imbalance for
males as romance does for females.

Take care,

Bill

From: "Roberta S. Johnson" <rjohnson@nslsilus.ORG>
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
Date sent: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 17:11:57 +0000
Subject: Re: Books I hated.
Send reply to: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org

> I had thought that I had successfully blocked out memories of books I've disliked, but
> Jeanne's comment about A Confederacy of Dunces brought back in a rush how I hated
> that book. I remember thinking he only got the prize (Pulitzer?) because he died after
> he wrote it. Depressing, annoying characters and a truly loathsome protagonist. And
> isn't that the book/character that Olivia Goldsmith's The Bestseller is based on?
>
> And -- I confess -- I just don't think The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy is funny.
> Maybe its because I didn't read it when I was 18? I can certainly sympathize with the
> person (congrats on your MLS!) who couldn't stand Catcher in the Rye at 40. That
> was me, scratching my head in my YA class as to why kids loved this book.
>
> Best,
>
> Roberta
>
>
> Roberta S. Johnson
> Adult Services Librarian
> Des Plaines Public Library
> rjohnson@nslsilus.org
> Opinions my own.


Bill Crowley, Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Dominican University
7900 West Division Street
River Forest, Illinois 60305
crowbill@email.dom.edu
708.524.6513
FAX: 708.524.6657

FROM: "Cathy Reid" <creid@ccpl.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 4:29 PM

I've already posted to this thread, but I just read a post that reminded me
of a series that I just HATED that it seems everyone LOVES--the Left Behind
series by Tim LaHaye. Goodness, what an atrocious bunch of drivel!! I did
make it all the way through the first book. I thought the premise was
interesting even though the writing was some of the worst I'd ever read. So
just out of curiosity, I picked up the second in the series. I think I read
about 20 pages before I said ENOUGH--I just couldn't take that horrible
writing any longer. I can't imagine why people are so drawn to these books
with such cardboard cut-out characters--I didn't care if they all got left
behind!

Just MHO

Cathy Reid
Clark County Public Library
Springfield, OH

FROM: "Pamela M Weinberg" <weinberg@chipublib.org>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 4:48 PM

Ah, yes - Wuthering Heights - what an endless waste of time! Had never
read it before and read it for our Book Discussion group this year.
Snore, snore. Also, I was close to hating "Memoirs of a Geisha" - talk
about much ado about nothing!!! All the publicity that book got, and
there was not a single insight into any of the characters. I knew next to
nothing about geishas both before and after reading that book. I really
hate it when a book is pushed down our throats by the publishers, and it
is nothing spectacular. (I think author Golden must have some "pull" in
the industry). With time being so precious, and so many *good* books to
go, wasting time reading mediocre books is a shame.

xx
x~x
`

On Thu, 9 Dec 1999, Cathy Reid wrote:

> One classic I hated was Wuthering Heights--I thought it was the dumbest
> thing I has ever read! In my opinion, Cathy and Heathcliff needed to get a
> life.
>
> Another that others had mentioned was The Horse Whisperer--YUCK!!
>
> Cathy Reid
> Clark County Public Library
> Springfield, OH
>

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 4:48 PM

Ron, a volunteer was just here taking care of our donated books and he
asked me if I had read Tolstoy. No. He said he is good. And I admitted I
have not read very many classics. We have been trying to figure out for
some time the definition of classic for our policies etc.

And from a post on here not too long ago; " 'Classic. A book which people
praise and don't read." Mark Twain. I'm with you! Jeanne

FROM: "Raap" <raapc@sls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/13/99, 6:09 PM

Oh, I'm sure a lot of us agree with you, Ron--at least secretly. I have
enjoyed many classics but the many of the "critically acclaimed" books of
the last 100 years are very depressing and boring. But I have always
loved earlier classics such as Shakespeare, Dante, the Romantic poets, etc.

******************************************************************************
Christine Raap * "The universe is crazy,
Evergreen Park Pub. Lib. * anything else would be
9400 S. Troy * redundant."
Evergreen Park, Il. 60805 * Londo, Baylon 5
raapc@sls.lib.il.us *
chraap@ibm.net *
******************************************************************************

On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Fiction_L wrote:

> From: "Ron Asher" <rasher@imail.slcl.lib.mo.us>
>
> Hi all,
> I've enjoyed this discussion too. I agree with most of the choices
> mentioned. At the risk of being branded a "non intellectual librarian",
> I will take the discussion oe step further.
> I have a difficult time with the books on the 100 Best List
> that came out last year. If a book is critically acclaimed award book of any
> kind, it puts me to sleep. So the question I would like to pose is this:
> What makes a "Classic" a "Classic"?
> To name one book in recent years I hated, I would choose "The Sparrow" by
> Russell. A friend told me it was "Don Quixote" in space. I didn't care for
> "Don Quixote" on earth. Are there any other iterary heretics out there?
>
>
>
>
>

FROM: "Kate Kehoe" <kehoek@umich.edu>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 9:05 AM

I think that James Joyces' "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" has to
be the greatest form of torture ever created. I can remember having to read
it the summer before my senior in high school. I think I threw it across
the room about a dozen times before I gave up. It was the first book I ever
stopped reading 3/4 of the way through.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
University of Michigan Law School
Admissions Office
371 Legal Research
625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FROM: "Barb Gigot" <dazzle39@hotmail.com>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 9:57 AM

Has anyone mentioned Maeve Binchy's books?
I especially couldn't stand "The Lilac Bus"...
all those boring people on one bus, didnt' seem to
be a likable one on it..and I got so tired of the whole
concept.


>From: "Katherine Hoylo" <hoylok@i29.net>
>Reply-To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
>To: "fiction_l" <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
>Subject: books I hated
>Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 17:23:02 -0600
>
>I hated _A Stranger is Watching_ by Mary Higgins Clark. A man stalks and
>kidnaps a woman and child. They were so drippy, I just wanted him to kill
>them so the book would be done.
>
>

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at <A HREF="http://www.hotmail.com">http://www.hotmail.com</A>

FROM: "Pamela M Weinberg" <weinberg@chipublib.org>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 12:05 PM

I thought of another very popular author at my agency whose books I will
never open up again - James Patterson. I feel he writes for the barely
literate (very short chapters) with short attention spans, and the
gratuitous sex/voyeuristic/sadistic scenes make me sick at having read
them. I think he is awful - especially "Kiss the Girls". Disgusting!

How much fun this is to speak our minds without having to soften it for a
patron who likes the author. I have a feeling this thread will be going
for weeks - but I love it!

Pam Weinberg
Oriole Park Br./CPL

xx
x~x
`

FROM: "Valerie Maine" <vmaine@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 12:07 PM

I guess it does take all kinds of readers and reading matter. I'm half way
through Cider House Rules and love it. I loved Horse Whisperer and Memoirs
of a Geisha. The two books I hated with a passion were Tristram Shandy by
Laurence Sterne which I had to read for college lit and American Psycho by
Bret Easton Ellis which I read after I bought it for the library just to see
what the fuss was all about. I'm not easily shocked (my favorite subgenre
is serial killer books) but A P was reeeaallly disgusting, plus very boring
because all the characters talked about was where they'd have lunch and what
kind of designer shoes they were wearing. It was like hanging out with Joan
and Melissa Rivers!

Valerie Maine
Vernon Area Public Library
Lincolnshire, IL 60069

FROM: "Madeline Guzman" <mguzman@capaccess.org>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 12:16 PM

Thank you for bringing up Maeve Binchy.

I thought something was wrong
with me when I read one of her books (The Glass Lake) and vowed I would
never try another. I understand that Maeve Binchy is a popular,
best-selling author in England. I'm not sure why!

Madeline

> Has anyone mentioned Maeve Binchy's books?
> I especially couldn't stand "The Lilac Bus"...
> all those boring people on one bus, didnt' seem to
> be a likable one on it..and I got so tired of the whole
> concept.
>
Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
<A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com

FROM: "Pamela M Weinberg" <weinberg@chipublib.org>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 12:20 PM

An absolute "amen" to the robert munsch sap - Love you forever (children's
book). It must be on a lot of lists for parents, but watch out for
diabetes if you read it. I gag when I see it go through.

Pam Weinberg
Oriole Park Br./CPL

xx
x~x
`

FROM: "Karen Migaldi" <kmigaldi@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 12:46 PM

Not only did they need to get a life, they needed to see a therapist. However,
I will say that Wuthering Heights works well for book discussions, and yes, I
did appreciate it more after I heard other people's insights.

Karen Migaldi
Crystal Lake P.L.

Cathy Reid wrote:

> One classic I hated was Wuthering Heights--I thought it was the dumbest
> thing I has ever read! In my opinion, Cathy and Heathcliff needed to get a
> life.
>
> Another that others had mentioned was The Horse Whisperer--YUCK!!
>
> Cathy Reid
> Clark County Public Library
> Springfield, OH

FROM: "MILLS Kirby D" <Kirby.D.MILLS@ci.eugene.or.us>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 4:57 PM

Often I'll just give up something that's too awful. But many things I've
finished due
to a draconian teacher or just the expectation of something better.

Anything since THE SECRETS OF HARRY BRIGHT -- Joseph Wambaugh. His
ferocious and hilarious earlier books have given way to tapioca-like writing
with
weepy, whiny main characters and sophomoric humor

FALCONER -- John Cheever. Must be some transcendant quality about this limp
prison tale that I failed to recognize

TEXASVILLE -- Larry McMurtry. Much-delayed sequels are rarely a good idea.
Here McMurtry trashed the wonderful Last Picture Show in a blitz of stupid,
banal
jokes and antics

A SEPARATE PEACE -- John Knowles. Teachers assign this so THE CATCHER
IN THE RYE is interesting in comparison. With so many sterling growing-up
stories around, why are these two losers still hanging around?

THE BREAKS -- Richard Price. Three tremendous books before it, two after,
so I
forgive Price for one dog. This did introduce me to the art of blurb
translation--
"A classic search-for-identity tale" means "Do not read."

DOG SOLDIERS -- Robert Stone. I missed the Profound Statement this early
Stone
work was reputed to contain. All I found was a lukewarm and unaffecting
thriller
with the word Counterculture littered throughout in case we forgot it

BREATH EYES MEMORY -- Edwige Danticat. Potentially gripping subject matter
put to sleep under colorless, unevocative prose

One of the CAT WHO.... books -- Lilian Jackson Braun. I forgot which.
Cardboard,
charmless, perfunctory, autopilot

THE LAST DON -- Mario Puzo. I expected at least a good piece of pulp
fiction.
Instead I got a tired, tired trip to Jackie Collins Land (character names
like Athena
Aquitaine?!?), dismally written. Scene-setting included phrases like "A
large,
high-ceilinged room" (You can almost see it!) and this didn't even deliver
violence.
Sad

THE MEXICAN TREE DUCK -- James Crumley. Crumley has a great reputation
so I just kept hoping, to no avail. Maddeningly stupid characters and
action,
comic book stuff

EXQUISITE CORPSE -- Poppy Z. Brite. Her usual subject matter, pedophiles
and entrails. The charnelhouse violence was described so constantly and
mono-
tonously it had no impact. There's some sort of parallel with Poppy's body,
also overexposed. Also, can we wait a *couple* of years before using the
title
Exquisite Corpse again?

CRIMSON JOY -- Robert B. Parker. My one sample of Spenser; perhaps the
earlier ones are better. I second all the previous comments about Susan.
Add to
those, Susan and Spenser's unending smug conversations about his "code",
and the impression I got from this book that about six people live in Boston

LITHIUM FOR MEDEA -- Kate Braverman. She's a writer who creates some
lovely imagery but it's put to poor use in the travails of a self-absorbed
coke
addict who finally frees herself by strangling a cat. The author apparently
felt this
would not compromise "Character sympathy"

GONE -- Kit Craig. Sort of Mary Higgins Clark-like thriller with the
highest
annoyance level I can remember. I wanted to strangle the mother, the kids,
the
killer, the killer's girlfriend, everyone

IN THE LAKE OF THE MOON -- David L. Lindsey. My one try at the Stuart
Haydon series, with almost any sentence a model of awkward, overwordy
writing.
Like a pamphlet dropped in a bathtub, bloated

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW -- Allan Folsom. All right, I was only expecting
a big, pageturning imitation of Robert Ludlum. This is the fictional
equivalent of
what Matthew Lesko does--a non-book. Put together a bunch of people running
around international locations and hey presto! It's an international
thriller! Scene
after scene demonstrates the "author's" inability to write even
gradeschool-level
prose. His contempt for readers is matched only by my self-contempt for
actually reading to the end

Oh yes. HANNIBAL too.

ANGELA'S ASHES, I thought, was simply...pretty good. I think certain books
like this take off with people who normally do not read books--they're
unaware
that thousands and thousands of books are out there which can entertain
them,
sadden then, uplift them, move them

FROM: "Carolyn Reinhard" <creinhar@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 5:17 PM

No matter how hard I tried, I could NOT read/enjoy/get into those Hobbit
books. I LOVE fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland, Oz books, etc. and I
really wanted to like these (they were all the rage when I was in
college) - but I thought those hobbits were nasty creatures.

Carolyn O'Donnell
Advisory Services
Arlington Heights Memorial Library
Arlington Heights, IL 60004

FROM: <Dskjm@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 5:45 PM

In a message dated 12/14/99 6:04:31 PM Eastern Standard Time,
Kirby.D.MILLS@ci.eugene.or.us writes:

<< ANGELA'S ASHES, I thought, was simply...pretty good. I think certain books
like this take off with people who normally do not read books--they're
unaware
that thousands and thousands of books are out there which can entertain
them,
sadden then, uplift them, move them

>>
I think this is a profound insight. It really rings true.
Sherri McCarthy

FROM: "ROBIN BEERBOWER" <rbeerbower@OPENGOVT.OPEN.ORG>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 5:54 PM

Yes, Ron, I have to admit I am also a "non-intellectual" librarian and find
a lot of the listed best books and award winners a snore although I always
get a couple of books from the Fiction_L list that I love and might not
have read otherwise.
When I do the "best" list for our library I have a list of Crictics Choices
and a Patron and Staff Choices so patrons can choose either award winning
type of books or books for the more causual tastes! :-)

And please don't tell anyone but my secret reading consists of tell-all
celebrity autobios and bios, especially rock stars. These are best read
by a pool!

Robin Beerbower
Salem (OR) Public Library
rbeerbower@open.org

>>> "Fiction_L" <fictionl@nslsilus.ORG> 12/13/99 01:03pm >>>
From: "Ron Asher" <rasher@imail.slcl.lib.mo.us>

Hi all,
I've enjoyed this discussion too. I agree with most of the choices
mentioned. At the risk of being branded a "non intellectual librarian",
I will take the discussion oe step further.
I have a difficult time with the books on the 100 Best List
that came out last year. If a book is critically acclaimed award book of
any
kind, it puts me to sleep. So the question I would like to pose is this:
What makes a "Classic" a "Classic"?
To name one book in recent years I hated, I would choose "The Sparrow" by
Russell. A friend told me it was "Don Quixote" in space. I didn't care for
"Don Quixote" on earth. Are there any other iterary heretics out there?

FROM: "Lisa Colcord" <LColcord@ci.glendale.az.us>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 6:02 PM

Actually, John Irving wrote Cider House Rules. Personally, I liked it, as well as many of his book. (Except that I am one of the Owen Meany dissenters!) There's no accounting for taste, as they say...

Lisa Colcord
speaking on my own behalf...

<<< "Carrie FARROW" <cfarrow@rochester.lib.mn.us> 12/10 3:50p >>>
I also will never read another Irving Stone book - In my opinion the worst ever is Cider House Rules.

FROM: "Lynda Whitton-Henley" <lyndafwh@intcomm.net>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 11:07 PM

I had begun to think it was me not appreciating "good literature". I had a
patron keep insisting that I read Binchy's "Circle of Friends" I forced
myself to complete, I think I even read another another book or two before
I completed it. The people who seem to like it, like lots of discription,
no violence and minimal sex. I swore off her books. Another I started and
could never finish...I finally decided there was too mu;ch to read that I
could enjoy then to drag through a book...Bridget's Diary was case in
point.

Lynda Whitton-Henley
lyndafwh@intcomm.net

Madeline Guzman wrote:

> Thank you for bringing up Maeve Binchy.
>
> I thought something was wrong
> with me when I read one of her books (The Glass Lake) and vowed I would
> never try another. I understand that Maeve Binchy is a popular,
> best-selling author in England. I'm not sure why!
>
> Madeline
>
> > Has anyone mentioned Maeve Binchy's books?
> > I especially couldn't stand "The Lilac Bus"...
> > all those boring people on one bus, didnt' seem to
> > be a likable one on it..and I got so tired of the whole
> > concept.
> >
> Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
> Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
> <A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com

FROM: "Lynda Whitton-Henley" <lyndafwh@intcomm.net>
REC'D: 12/14/99, 11:36 PM

Our libraries' audiobooks are the top circulating collection. Among the main
lib. and the 4 branches we don't purchase many multiples of a tape, and opt for
a wider variety due to cost. I have have been hooked to tapes for a good 5
years and will hook others on them at the first opportunity. Most patrons,
like myself, love the unabridged. I don't buy them because we get plenty of
donations, which I cultivate. I have about 4 people who regularly donate their
tapes. I have a trucking couple who are always buying both types. We give
them a donation verification letter and they take it as a business express.
While my son was a trucker, he said all the truck stops have tapes that are
sold and bought back.

For people feeling guilty about the time spent reading, they can do their
cooking, needlecrafts, even weed in the yard and exercise while enjoying a good
book. For me, I have "read" 2-3 times as many books as I would, if I had to
sit down to read.

As to stats, there is no difference between abridged & unabridged.

Are any of you seeing a demand for books on CD's. I've had 2-3 in recent
weeks?

Lynda Whitton-Henley
Br. Mgr.
lyndafwh@intcomm.net

Fiction_L wrote:

> > this opens up a new topic for comments--I find that most of my Books on
> > Tape patrons prefer the unabridged as do I. We have been worried that our
> > fiction circulation has been slowly eroding: I was really worried until I
> > saw
> > that our unabridged fiction audiobooks were flying out of the
> > library. Then I realized how hooked on them I was(my family gives me gift
> > cetificates to Recorded Books for birthdays, Mothers Day,etc) even though
> > our local libraries have great audiobook collections.
> >
> > Most definately I think the reader is key to loving an audiobook--I
> > enjoy the Patrick Tull readings of Patrick O'Brian's Napoleanic era
> > sea sagas, but cannot stand another vendors version. Shelby Foote reading
> > anything is superb, and the Mitford series from Recorded Books always
> > has reserves. We have McCourts "TIS on order and already have 5 reserves
> > even though we have at least 10 copies of the book.
> >
> > Do others agree with me that fiction audiobooks should count for
> > circulating fiction statistics? What is more popular at your library
> > abridged or unabridged books audiobooks?
> >
> > Mary Van Dyke
> > Glenview (IL) Public Library
> >

FROM: "Cindy Lunghofer" <book_n@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 12/15/99, 8:58 AM

I was furious with myself that I wasted sooo much time
reading Tom Wolf's _A Man in Full_. It truly was
painful to read, and I only did so because of all the
hype surrounding it. It only ties _Cold Mountain_ in
my mind for awful characters that I would never care
to meet! Thanks for allowing me to vent - it's great
to be able to admit I HATED THESE BOOKS!

=====
Cindy Lunghofer
Adult Services Librarian
East Providence Public Library
East Providence, RI

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
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FROM: "Claudia Livolsi" <clivolsi@biblio.org>
REC'D: 12/15/99, 9:43 AM

I too have loved this thread. I tried to read the Hobbit series several
times and failed to be captivated with each and every attempt. I am a
children's librarian and love folk and fairy tales but I am not a huge
fantasy fan. I do like the Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, Harry
Potter and others. This thread encouraged me to give up on 'Tis by Frank
McCourt after several chapters. I made my way through Angela's Ashes and
enjoyed bits of it but the first chapters of 'Tis just seemed too much like
the tales of woe in AA and so I returned it and let the next person on the
reserve list have it.

For all of you who liked parts of the Horse Whisperer but not the ending,
I'm going to be so bold as to recommend Jo Ann Mapson's Hank & Chloe
which, in my opinion, is the book that should have been made into a movie
and should have received the acclaim which Horse Whisperer did. Mapson
created better characters and knows about horses and the attachments which
people can form with animals.


Claudia Livolsi
Children's Librarian
Monroe Public Library
Monroe, CT
clivolsi@biblio.org

FROM: "Waznis, Betty" <bwaznili@sdcl.org>
REC'D: 12/15/99, 10:17 AM

I think it was our late great colleague Marvin Scilken who said that the
closer to the front page a book was reviewed in the NYT, the fewer copies he
bought, because experience had taught him that "critical darlings" just
weren't the preferred reading of most library users.

Betty Waznis
San Diego County Library


Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 11:27:52 -0800
From: ROBIN BEERBOWER <rbeerbower@OPENGOVT.OPEN.ORG
<<A HREF="mailto:rbeerbower@OPENGOVT.OPEN.ORG">mailto:rbeerbower@OPENGOVT.OPEN.ORG</A>> >
Subject:

Yes, Ron, I have to admit I am also a "non-intellectual" librarian
and find
a lot of the listed best books and award winners a snore although I
always
get a couple of books from the Fiction_L list that I love and might
not
have read otherwise.

FROM: "Karen R White" <p002449b@pb.seflin.org>
REC'D: 12/15/99, 12:38 PM

I hope this doesn't break the "thread",but I read A MAN IN FULL with an
eye toward our next book review. While I didn't particularly care for the
book, the discussion was absolutely terrific. So, while A MAN IN FULL
isn't on the top of my "best books" list, it was on the top of my "best
discussion books" list. Is this clear, or have I had too much eggnog?


Karen R. White
p002449b@pb.seflin.org

FROM: "Jeanne Etling" <jetling@ccs.nsls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/15/99, 12:42 PM

Betty,

For that reason, I don't even read the NYT Book Reviews. One of my
co-workers reads it thoroughly and if there's anything in there she thinks
would "fly" with our patrons she lets me know. Heck, time is scarce
enough to read the other review journals I use.

And, to another colleague: yes, we are getting requests for Books on CD.
Recorded Books is now making cd books that are easy to use, have tracking
"chapters" every 3 minutes so we can find our places more easily. They
are just a tad more expensive than books on tape. Our first batch of 6
is in processing right now and we ordered a few more.

Jeanne Etling
Dundee (IL) Township Public Library District


On Wed, 15 Dec 1999, Waznis, Betty wrote:

> I think it was our late great colleague Marvin Scilken who said that the
> closer to the front page a book was reviewed in the NYT, the fewer copies he
> bought, because experience had taught him that "critical darlings" just
> weren't the preferred reading of most library users.

FROM: "Lee Harris" <letharris@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 12/15/99, 6:07 PM

I also have found this train of thought very
interesting. Many of the books disliked by others I
have enjoyed in audio format. Indeed, I believe good
readers help -- and I am listening to unabridged
audios (our library's new policy). I found _The
Reader_ excellent on a trip across the mountains --
totally absorbing and thoroughly capturing my
imagination.

Only since I have come to work for the library have I
really spent time using audiobooks related to work. (I
am a big fan of old time radio and relax at night to
The Shadow or Suspense.) Since I commute 50 miles a
day, I have found audiobooks the best way to continue
to keep up with the patrons on reading bestsellers.

As a writer, I know I always make a practice of
reading my work aloud to hear how it sounds and paces.

Lee Harris

Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 11:47:41 -0700
From: Anne Marquis <AMarquis@publib.edmonton.ab.ca>
Subject: Re: Books I hated

I heartily agree with Dennis K. Lien about
Donaldson--I doubt I made it
past
chapter 2. However, I devoured Dune and loved it. I
also disliked The
Sound and the Fury by Faulkner (the bane of my first
year English
reading
list!) and staggered through one Danielle Steel under
a sense of
obligation.

Suggestions that the audio versions are much better
begs a number of
questions: Is it because one's reading/learning
style/preference is
auditory? Or does the author's writing lend itself to
a different
medium for
telling the story? Or does the author simply need a
good editor--and
an
abridged audio version "cuts to the chase" (presuming
one was listening
to
an abridged version, of course)? Or is it that a good
reader can carry
a bad
text?

(Just mulling over a current preoccupation...)

Anne Marquis
Fiction Librarian
Information Services
Edmonton Public Library
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta T5R 1B2
Canada

amarquis@publib.edmonton.ab.ca

------------------------------

=====
Lydia "Lee" Harris
"Justice is a hope, not a certainty."
Lawrence Sanders
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: <A HREF="http://shopping.yahoo.com">http://shopping.yahoo.com</A>

FROM: "Lynda Whitton-Henley" <lyndafwh@intcomm.net>
REC'D: 12/15/99, 10:56 PM

Hope ya'll made sense of my response, I meant to say that we usually don't purchase
abridged tapes, and that the couple wrote theirs off as a business "expense".
There seems to be a short circuit between the brain and fingers around midnight.

Lynda

Lynda Whitton-Henley wrote:

> Our libraries' audiobooks are the top circulating collection. Among the main
> lib. and the 4 branches we don't purchase many multiples of a tape, and opt for
> a wider variety due to cost. I have have been hooked to tapes for a good 5
> years and will hook others on them at the first opportunity. Most patrons,
> like myself, love the unabridged. I don't buy them because we get plenty of
> donations, which I cultivate. I have about 4 people who regularly donate their
> tapes. I have a trucking couple who are always buying both types. We give
> them a donation verification letter and they take it as a business express.
> While my son was a trucker, he said all the truck stops have tapes that are
> sold and bought back.
>
> For people feeling guilty about the time spent reading, they can do their
> cooking, needlecrafts, even weed in the yard and exercise while enjoying a good
> book. For me, I have "read" 2-3 times as many books as I would, if I had to
> sit down to read.
>
> As to stats, there is no difference between abridged & unabridged.
>
> Are any of you seeing a demand for books on CD's. I've had 2-3 in recent
> weeks?
>
> Lynda Whitton-Henley
> Br. Mgr.
> lyndafwh@intcomm.net
>
> Fiction_L wrote:
>
> > > this opens up a new topic for comments--I find that most of my Books on
> > > Tape patrons prefer the unabridged as do I. We have been worried that our
> > > fiction circulation has been slowly eroding: I was really worried until I
> > > saw
> > > that our unabridged fiction audiobooks were flying out of the
> > > library. Then I realized how hooked on them I was(my family gives me gift
> > > cetificates to Recorded Books for birthdays, Mothers Day,etc) even though
> > > our local libraries have great audiobook collections.
> > >
> > > Most definately I think the reader is key to loving an audiobook--I
> > > enjoy the Patrick Tull readings of Patrick O'Brian's Napoleanic era
> > > sea sagas, but cannot stand another vendors version. Shelby Foote reading
> > > anything is superb, and the Mitford series from Recorded Books always
> > > has reserves. We have McCourts "TIS on order and already have 5 reserves
> > > even though we have at least 10 copies of the book.
> > >
> > > Do others agree with me that fiction audiobooks should count for
> > > circulating fiction statistics? What is more popular at your library
> > > abridged or unabridged books audiobooks?
> > >
> > > Mary Van Dyke
> > > Glenview (IL) Public Library
> > >

FROM: "J Heuer" <cheuer@itol.com>
REC'D: 12/16/99, 8:50 AM

I'll be interested to hear how you like their new cases as opposed to the
plastic jewel cases. We are ordering a core collection of CD's from them for
our new branch due to open in April.


--
Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library
Green Bay, WI
cheuer@itol.com

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, Art is knowing which ones
to keep." -anonymous

----------
>From: Jeanne Etling <jetling@ccs.nsls.lib.il.us>
>To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org
>Subject: RE: Books I Hated
>Date: Wed, Dec 15, 1999, 12:41 PM
>


>
> And, to another colleague: yes, we are getting requests for Books on CD.
> Recorded Books is now making cd books that are easy to use, have tracking
> "chapters" every 3 minutes so we can find our places more easily. They
> are just a tad more expensive than books on tape. Our first batch of 6
> is in processing right now and we ordered a few more.
>

FROM: "Joanne Abel" <jabel@ncsl.dcr.state.nc.us>
REC'D: 12/16/99, 10:36 AM

Amy, Good to see you on Fiction L, and I agree.
How are things going?
Joanne

FROM: "Lisa Colcord" <LColcord@ci.glendale.az.us>
REC'D: 12/16/99, 2:47 PM

I have to chi,e in on this one... I read Glass Lake, too, and I really disliked it...I didn't like the characters, thought they were stupid, and the ending seemed like a way to avoid what should have been the real climax. BUT, I loved Circle of Friends. I think HER books probably need to be judged on an individual basis. That is, if you can force yourself to read a second once you have slogged through a dog.

Lisa Colcord
speaking for myself...

<<< Madeline Guzman <mguzman@capaccess.org> 12/14 11:25a >>>
Thank you for bringing up Maeve Binchy.

I thought something was wrong
with me when I read one of her books (The Glass Lake) and vowed I would
never try another. I understand that Maeve Binchy is a popular,
best-selling author in England. I'm not sure why!

Madeline

> Has anyone mentioned Maeve Binchy's books?
> I especially couldn't stand "The Lilac Bus"...
> all those boring people on one bus, didnt' seem to
> be a likable one on it..and I got so tired of the whole
> concept.
>
Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
<A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com

FROM: "Wilton Library, Sandra Clockedile" <wla@mail2.nai.net>
REC'D: 12/16/99, 4:23 PM

Books I hated:
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
every Grisham except The Firm, A Time to Kill and The Partner
Congo by Michael Crichton
everything (I've tried) by John Steinbeck
ditto Ernest Hemingway
ditto non-Gatsby Fitzgerald
A book that I hated while I was reading but I was glad I got through:
American Pastoral by Philip Roth.

Guilty Pleasures:
science fiction, fantasy and horror (of all varieties from cheesy to
hard core; books, tv and movies)
People and Cosmo

And on the audio vs. print thing (and I only listen to unabridged): I think
with a good narrator the story takes center stage and prose that would seem
dull on the page comes alive. I also believe the same to be true in the
occassional instances when an okay or dull book is made into an entertaining
movie. Some authors are just better at creating a story than they are at
writing it.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Sandra Clockedile
Systems/Reference
Wilton Library Association
wla@ct2.nai.net
<A HREF="http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/">http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/</A>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

FROM: <Valerierj@aol.com>
REC'D: 12/19/99, 3:46 PM

I read half of The Glass Lake. I think that was the title. The characters
were wooden and unlikable. Her writing is terrible. Go figure.

Val

FROM: "Rhonda Jessup" <rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 9:11 AM

This worst book discussion has been a lot of fun and I would like to
encourage
our patrons to participate by having a worst book contest here at the
library. I am thinking of having them fill out ballots and then
selecting three winners by random draw. We would then publish a list of
the titles. Has anyone done anything similar? "Best" lists are all
over the place but this might garner some more interest and discussion.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Regards,

Rhonda Jessup
Whitby Public Library
Whitby, Ontario, Canada

FROM: "Doxtator, Jan" <jdoxtato@uwsp.edu>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 9:48 AM

Dear All,
I've held my tongue throughout the "books I hated" thread. In my opinion,
it wasn't useful or productive, and, I'm sorry to say, not even fun.
I can't imagine how having a worst book contest at your library would be
good PR. Granted we aren't all going to enjoy the same books, but do we
want to advertise that we have books in our collection that our users will
hate?
Sorry if I'm getting stuffy in my old age--"I was never too liberal in my
youth lest I become too conservative in my old age"--or, however that
quotation goes.
Happy Holidays to all! Fiction_L is one of the best ongoing gifts that I
ever receive.
Jan
Jan Doxtator
Assistant Director/Reference Librarian
Portage County Public Library
1001 Main St.
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-345-5360

FROM: "Janice Borg" <jborg@cooklib.org>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 10:16 AM

Thanks to Jan Doxtator for expressing her opinion on the "hated books"
thread not being productive or useful. We also have been holding our
tongues but we too feel the same way. As Readers' Advisors we strive to be
sensitive to all reading tastes. Many times we put a book down because it's
just not for us at this time but it's exactly what someone else would like.

Thanks and Happy Holidays.

Connie Regan
Janice Borg
Readers Advisors
Cook Memorial Library
Libertyville, Il.

FROM: "Nancy Eggert" <neggert@chipublib.org>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 10:46 AM

Hi, I've noticed several people mention Maeve Binchy's "The Glass Lake" as
a book they hated. It was definitely not her best book (neither was "The
LIlac Bus," also mentioned as a hated book). If you have the time and the
courage, try another one of Maeve's books, such as "Light a Penny Candle"
or "Firefly Summer" or "Evening Class." I found these three to be far
more readable.

Nancy Eggert
Northtown Branch
Chicago Public Library


On Sun, 19 Dec 1999 Valerierj@aol.com wrote:

> I read half of The Glass Lake. I think that was the title. The characters
> were wooden and unlikable. Her writing is terrible. Go figure.
>
> Val
>

FROM: "Rhonda Jessup" <rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 1:13 PM

I have to admit, I did think of the negative PR angle and I appreciate
your comments. I guess I was thinking of it in terms of a jumping off
point for discussion. When I worked up some preliminary information, I
wanted to include the fact that someone's worst book is going to be on
someone's "best" list. I haven't proposed this yet and am still in the
fact-gathering stage. Opinions are still very much welcome. I think
someone on the list mentioned doing a display with books their patrons
didn't like (I think they used turkeys in the display). Did you have a
negative reaction from your patrons?

Rhonda Jessup

Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 09:52:13 -0600
From: "Doxtator, Jan" <jdoxtato@uwsp.edu>
Subject: Re:Worst Book Contest

Dear All,
I've held my tongue throughout the "books I hated" thread. In my
opinion,
it wasn't useful or productive, and, I'm sorry to say, not even fun.
I can't imagine how having a worst book contest at your library would be

good PR. Granted we aren't all going to enjoy the same books, but do we

want to advertise that we have books in our collection that our users
will
hate?
Sorry if I'm getting stuffy in my old age--"I was never too liberal in
my
youth lest I become too conservative in my old age"--or, however that
quotation goes.
Happy Holidays to all! Fiction_L is one of the best ongoing gifts that
I
ever receive.
Jan
Jan Doxtator
Assistant Director/Reference Librarian
Portage County Public Library
1001 Main St.
Stevens Point, WI 54481
715-345-5360

FROM: "Jim Keith" <keithj@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 1:39 PM

> Hello:

I would like to say that the "hated books" has been enjoyable. I don't think
anyone's dislikes were meant to be a put-down of anyone else's tastes. In some
instances I felt relieved that I was not the only one who disliked a certain
book. Whether these "ramblings" were useful or productive is certainly a matter
of opinion. No one who takes reader's advisory seriously is going to defiantly
express personal dislikes to patrons. Among ourselves, IMHO, these discussions
have been diverting and enjoyable.

Pax,
Jim Keith
Waukegan Public Library

>

>
> >

FROM: "Tom Dillie" <tom.dillie@wadsworth.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 2:20 PM

Rhonda,
What you could do is let your patrons vote for both their favorite and
most disliked books, compile the lists and print both in the same flier.
Call the flier something like "Best (or worst) books ever? The readers
vote" or reverse it as "Worst (or best) books ever? The readers vote." Or
print half with one list first and half with the other and reflect the
switch in the fliers name. Do the display with titles from both lists.
That allows people to cut loose about their favorite and most disliked books
while making your point about "one man's meat . . ."

Tom Dillie, Adult Services Librarian
Wadsworth Public Library
Wadsworth OH 44281
www.wadsworth.lib.oh.us

Rhonda Jessup wrote:

> I have to admit, I did think of the negative PR angle and I appreciate
> your comments. I guess I was thinking of it in terms of a jumping off
> point for discussion. When I worked up some preliminary information, I
> wanted to include the fact that someone's worst book is going to be on
> someone's "best" list. I haven't proposed this yet and am still in the
> fact-gathering stage. Opinions are still very much welcome. I think
> someone on the list mentioned doing a display with books their patrons
> didn't like (I think they used turkeys in the display). Did you have a
> negative reaction from your patrons?
>
> Rhonda Jessup
>
> Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 09:52:13 -0600
> From: "Doxtator, Jan" <jdoxtato@uwsp.edu>
> Subject: Re:Worst Book Contest
>
> Dear All,
> I've held my tongue throughout the "books I hated" thread. In my
> opinion,
> it wasn't useful or productive, and, I'm sorry to say, not even fun.
> I can't imagine how having a worst book contest at your library would be
>
> good PR. Granted we aren't all going to enjoy the same books, but do we
>
> want to advertise that we have books in our collection that our users
> will
> hate?
> Sorry if I'm getting stuffy in my old age--"I was never too liberal in
> my
> youth lest I become too conservative in my old age"--or, however that
> quotation goes.
> Happy Holidays to all! Fiction_L is one of the best ongoing gifts that
> I
> ever receive.
> Jan
> Jan Doxtator
> Assistant Director/Reference Librarian
> Portage County Public Library
> 1001 Main St.
> Stevens Point, WI 54481
> 715-345-5360

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 3:17 PM

I think Tom had a great idea in that it's the same thing we've been doing
here- the best AND the worst. People Magazine etc. does the worst- and some
of their books are books that I have heard people like. I feel bad for the
authors- wonder if any are on our list here but they should know if people
like and dislike their stuff and why. Jeanne

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhonda Jessup <rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca>
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
Date: Monday, December 20, 1999 1:14 PM
Subject: Worst books contest


>I have to admit, I did think of the negative PR angle and I appreciate
>your comments. I guess I was thinking of it in terms of a jumping off
>point for discussion. When I worked up some preliminary information, I
>wanted to include the fact that someone's worst book is going to be on
>someone's "best" list. I haven't proposed this yet and am still in the
>fact-gathering stage. Opinions are still very much welcome. I think
>someone on the list mentioned doing a display with books their patrons
>didn't like (I think they used turkeys in the display). Did you have a
>negative reaction from your patrons?
>
>Rhonda Jessup
>
>Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 09:52:13 -0600
>From: "Doxtator, Jan" <jdoxtato@uwsp.edu>
>Subject: Re:Worst Book Contest
>
>Dear All,
>I've held my tongue throughout the "books I hated" thread. In my
>opinion,
>it wasn't useful or productive, and, I'm sorry to say, not even fun.
>I can't imagine how having a worst book contest at your library would be
>
>good PR. Granted we aren't all going to enjoy the same books, but do we
>
>want to advertise that we have books in our collection that our users
>will
>hate?
>Sorry if I'm getting stuffy in my old age--"I was never too liberal in
>my
>youth lest I become too conservative in my old age"--or, however that
>quotation goes.
>Happy Holidays to all! Fiction_L is one of the best ongoing gifts that
>I
>ever receive.
>Jan
>Jan Doxtator
>Assistant Director/Reference Librarian
>Portage County Public Library
>1001 Main St.
>Stevens Point, WI 54481
>715-345-5360
>
>
>

FROM: "Diana Tixier Herald" <dherald@wic.net>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 5:41 PM

In reply to what Jeanne wrote, I didn't think the original thread had been
about "bad" books just books we "hated." Most of the books mentioned obviously
were very popular so somebody (usually many, many somebodies) liked them. I
thought the discussion was very entertaining and just reflected the diversity
of readers. Many of my favorite titles turned up on other's hated lists but
that's o.k. Many of the books I "hate" are well written but the story and the
characters don't speak to my soul or I find them repugnant while others don't
care about the plot and the characters and are enchanted with the exact same
book because of the prose or style. Hopefully all readers advisors on this list
are savvy enough to conduct RA interviews and not just bash books on personal
preference to a patron/user/customer/client.

Perhaps instead of calling the books best and worst a better idea would be to
go with loved and hated.

Jeanne Linn wrote:

> I think Tom had a great idea in that it's the same thing we've been doing
> here- the best AND the worst. People Magazine etc. does the worst- and some
> of their books are books that I have heard people like. I feel bad for the
> authors- wonder if any are on our list here but they should know if people
> like and dislike their stuff and why. Jeanne
>

--
Happy reading,
Di Herald
dherald@wic.net see the Genreflecting page at <A HREF="http://www.mancon.com/genre/">http://www.mancon.com/genre/</A>
Rosenberg's First Law of Reading "Never apologize for your reading tastes."

FROM: "J Heuer" <cheuer@itol.com>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 6:19 PM

I also enjoyed this topic and it didn't seem that a lot of RA questions were
coming in anyway. Things are a bit slow here in Green Bay, could everyone be
shopping? Anyway I printed some of your responses and took them to my book
group. They really enjoyed them and even got some good laughs . It got a
discussion going about books we've discussed and liked or disliked. We had
one member really hate Tuesdays with Morrie and she felt vindicated that she
disliked a very popular book. It was an interesting discussion.


--
Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library
Green Bay, WI
cheuer@itol.com

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, Art is knowing which ones
to keep." -anonymous

FROM: "Sherrie Heep" <sherrieh@cooklib.org>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 6:45 PM

I have to disagree on part of this. Although I do not ever want to have a
book display or contest about the worst book, why is it any different to
talk about books that we dislike than to discuss ones that we loved? We are
all professionals here but we are also human and if this isn't the place
where we can honestly express our opinions, then where is? I don't think
any of us would approach our patrons and tell them about books we hated, but
I would hope we could share these opinions with each other, realizing that
everyone has different tastes and feelings about what they read. That's
what makes us all wonderfully different and human. I am sorry that some
people were offended with the openness that others expressed here, but I
personally took it for granted that professionals could be open with each
other and I enjoyed most of it. Thanks for being a place where we can share
as well as ask for help. God bless and have a wonderful holiday season.

Sherrie Manlove Heep
Readers' Services
Cook Memorial Public Library
Libertyville, IL

FROM: "Jeff and Cheryl McBride" <mcbrides@injersey.com>
REC'D: 12/20/99, 10:48 PM

I'm the culprit who did the turkey book display. It was my director's idea
actually. She was tired of the same old these are great books read them
displays and thought this might be different and thought provoking. Just a
little background on her...she's won the John Cotton Dana award for public
relations three times, so she does seem to know what she's doing.
It's been quite a while since we did it but as I recall, it wasn't a
contest, just a poll, and then a display with the titles available for
borrowing (I don't do any glass case displays). We posted the various comments
on the display along with plenty of paper turkeys. And it did provide a source
of discussion! A few negative comments along the lines of why don't we display
what everyone liked but most people enjoyed the novelty of it and loved
commenting about how much they hated that book too, especially things they
were forced to read for school.
Maybe people in my town just like to kvetch, but my colleague who runs our
book discussion group says the best discussion they ever had was on Amis's (?)
The Information because everyone hated it so much.

Another one of her terrific ideas was to decorate our christmas tree with
library cards from around the country. We've gathered about 200 so far but
we're still looking for more. So if anyone who feels so inclined would throw
an invalid borrowers card in an envelope and send it to me I'd apppreciate it.
We're still trying to get a picture of the tree into American Libraries. Maybe
this year.
Thanks.

Cheryl McBride
East Brunswick Library
2 Jean Walling Civic Center
East Brunswick, NJ 08816
mcbrides@injersey.com

FROM: <pattern@lib.cnib.ca>
REC'D: 12/21/99, 8:30 AM

I agree that this discussion has been cathartic and enjoyable. Like you say, I don't think any of us would EVER express these
opinions in this manner to our patrons, but I think it DOES help us do our job, as we can advise people of what others have
thought about a certain book. From my own experience, the opinions of others, particularly on books I myself have not read, can
be very valuable

Nicole Patterson
Supervisor, Reader Services
CNIB Library for the Blind
Toronto, ON

>>> "keithj@nslsilus.ORG" 20/12/1999 3:33:22 pm >>>
> Hello:

I would like to say that the "hated books" has been enjoyable. I don't think
anyone's dislikes were meant to be a put-down of anyone else's tastes. In
some
instances I felt relieved that I was not the only one who disliked a certain
book. Whether these "ramblings" were useful or productive is certainly a
matter
of opinion. No one who takes reader's advisory seriously is going to
defiantly
express personal dislikes to patrons. Among ourselves, IMHO, these
discussions
have been diverting and enjoyable.

Pax,
Jim Keith
Waukegan Public Library

>

>
> >

FROM: "Paula Davino" <pdavino@kentnet.dtcc.edu>
REC'D: 12/21/99, 9:04 AM

I have a question...Many of you have written that you would not tell a
patron that you hated a book. What do you tell them when they ask you
point blank if you have read a certain book and did you like it. I've
been a librarian for 17 years, and while I have never formally done
Readers Advisory work, I have worked in small libraries where people want
your opinion. If I've read the book and haven't liked it, I usually say,
"I didn't really like it, but Mary liked it, and you might like it, too."
or, "I didn't really care for it, but it got some great reviews. You
might like it, too." or in the case of John Grisham's, Testament, "I
didn't like it as well as some of his other books, but you might like it."
I don't feel that I have been unprofessional because I have expressed an
opinion when asked. Of course, I would never just go up to someone and
tell them I hated the book that they are about to check out. People
always come back to me for recommendations because they say that they
appreciate my honesty.

What do you say?


Paula Davino
Assistant Director
Dover Public Library
Dover, Delaware
pdavino@kentnet.dtcc.edu


On Tue, 21 Dec 1999 pattern@lib.cnib.ca wrote:

> I agree that this discussion has been cathartic and enjoyable. Like you say, I don't think any of us would EVER express these
> opinions in this manner to our patrons, but I think it DOES help us do our job, as we can advise people of what others have
> thought about a certain book. From my own experience, the opinions of others, particularly on books I myself have not read, can
> be very valuable
>
> Nicole Patterson
> Supervisor, Reader Services
> CNIB Library for the Blind
> Toronto, ON
>
> >>> "keithj@nslsilus.ORG" 20/12/1999 3:33:22 pm >>>
> > Hello:
>
> I would like to say that the "hated books" has been enjoyable. I don't think
> anyone's dislikes were meant to be a put-down of anyone else's tastes. In
> some
> instances I felt relieved that I was not the only one who disliked a certain
> book. Whether these "ramblings" were useful or productive is certainly a
> matter
> of opinion. No one who takes reader's advisory seriously is going to
> defiantly
> express personal dislikes to patrons. Among ourselves, IMHO, these
> discussions
> have been diverting and enjoyable.
>
> Pax,
> Jim Keith
> Waukegan Public Library
>
> >
>
> >
> > >
>
>
>
>
>

FROM: "Lisa Price" <lprice@MtLaurel.Lib.NJ.US>
REC'D: 12/21/99, 9:43 AM

Just a passing thought ... but isn't this exactly what we rely on review journals for? If it gets terrible reviews, we're probably
not going to buy or recommend it. And each reviewer is just one person expressing his/her opinion. So if we look at each other as
reviewers, where's the problem?
Lisa Price
Mount Laurel (NJ) Library
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

pattern@lib.cnib.ca wrote:

> I agree that this discussion has been cathartic and enjoyable. Like you say, I don't think any of us would EVER express these
> opinions in this manner to our patrons, but I think it DOES help us do our job, as we can advise people of what others have
> thought about a certain book. From my own experience, the opinions of others, particularly on books I myself have not read, can
> be very valuable
>
> Nicole Patterson
> Supervisor, Reader Services
> CNIB Library for the Blind
> Toronto, ON
>
> >>> "keithj@nslsilus.ORG" 20/12/1999 3:33:22 pm >>>
> > Hello:
>
> I would like to say that the "hated books" has been enjoyable. I don't think
> anyone's dislikes were meant to be a put-down of anyone else's tastes. In
> some
> instances I felt relieved that I was not the only one who disliked a certain
> book. Whether these "ramblings" were useful or productive is certainly a
> matter
> of opinion. No one who takes reader's advisory seriously is going to
> defiantly
> express personal dislikes to patrons. Among ourselves, IMHO, these
> discussions
> have been diverting and enjoyable.
>
> Pax,
> Jim Keith
> Waukegan Public Library
>
> >
>
> >
> > >
>

FROM: "Deborah T. Walsh" <dwalsh@dupagels.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 12/21/99, 10:22 AM

It sounds to me like you handle this type of
interaction quite well. I don't see anything wrong
with telling a patron in a face-to-face that you didn't
like a particular book, when asked. When that happens
to me, I try to explain why I didn't like it, and try
to put my reading taste in context (I don't usually
enjoy gruesome books... or - It was written in the
first person, which I usually don't find satisfying...)
Since I believe that the best part of my job as a
readers' advisor is to talk to people about books, I
invite the patron to track me down when the book is
returned to tell me what s/he thought. Most people
like to talk to other people who have read a book they
have read. I think it's crucial to give people
permission to disagree with you on matters of taste
where books are concerned. I certainly don't want to
be set up as an "authority" on which books are good,
and which are not. That role is doomed to failure.
Many books I don't admire are beloved by many other
readers, and conversely, I love some books that other
people have assured me they just couldn't stomach.
It's important (and usually satisfying) to allow for
differences of opinion and taste - acknowledging them
up front with our patrons is honest, and more likely to
win you another chance to have more conversation. The
trick is not to take it personally, and not to take
umbrage over their opinion (unless, of course, they
call your favorite historical romance a
bodice-ripper! - in that case, their patron record can
mysteriously be expunged from the database - that'll
teach 'em to toy with you)

Debbie Walsh
Geneva Public Library District
Geneva, IL
dwalsh@dupagels.lib.il.us


Paula Davino wrote:

Tuesday, December 21, 1999 9:21 AM
Subject: Re: books I hated


>
> I have a question...Many of you have written that you
would not tell a
> patron that you hated a book. What do you tell them
when they ask you
> point blank if you have read a certain book and did
you like it. I've
> been a librarian for 17 years, and while I have never
formally done
> Readers Advisory work, I have worked in small
libraries where people want
> your opinion. If I've read the book and haven't
liked it, I usually say,
> "I didn't really like it, but Mary liked it, and you
might like it, too."
> or, "I didn't really care for it, but it got some
great reviews. You
> might like it, too." or in the case of John
Grisham's, Testament, "I
> didn't like it as well as some of his other books,
but you might like it."
> I don't feel that I have been unprofessional because
I have expressed an
> opinion when asked. Of course, I would never just go
up to someone and
> tell them I hated the book that they are about to
check out. People
> always come back to me for recommendations because
they say that they
> appreciate my honesty.
>
> What do you say?
>

FROM: "Jeanne Linn" <jlinn@libby.org>
REC'D: 12/21/99, 10:33 AM

I say just what you said. I don't offer negative criticisms unless asked
and then just as you said, I tell them if someone else liked it and maybe
why I didn't, (gave me nightmares because it was too violent, or I don't
like books that have children being kidnapped, molested etc. etc.). And
they may come back and say they did like it. I have had that happen (as in
the case of "If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him"). Jeanne

-----Original Message-----
From: Paula Davino <pdavino@kentnet.dtcc.edu>
To: fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org <fiction_l@maillist.nslsilus.org>
Date: Tuesday, December 21, 1999 8:43 AM
Subject: Re: books I hated


>
>I have a question...Many of you have written that you would not tell a
>patron that you hated a book. What do you tell them when they ask you
>point blank if you have read a certain book and did you like it. I've
>been a librarian for 17 years, and while I have never formally done
>Readers Advisory work, I have worked in small libraries where people want
>your opinion. If I've read the book and haven't liked it, I usually say,
>"I didn't really like it, but Mary liked it, and you might like it, too."
>or, "I didn't really care for it, but it got some great reviews. You
>might like it, too." or in the case of John Grisham's, Testament, "I
>didn't like it as well as some of his other books, but you might like it."
>I don't feel that I have been unprofessional because I have expressed an
>opinion when asked. Of course, I would never just go up to someone and
>tell them I hated the book that they are about to check out. People
>always come back to me for recommendations because they say that they
>appreciate my honesty.
>
>What do you say?
>
>
>Paula Davino
>Assistant Director
>Dover Public Library
>Dover, Delaware
>pdavino@kentnet.dtcc.edu
>
>
>

FROM: "MaryKay Bird-Guilliams" <marykbg@wichita.lib.ks.us>
REC'D: 12/21/99, 4:02 PM

The difference, as I see it, is that the most hated book was entirely
subjective and individual, no one pretended otherwise. Plain and simple,
people's tastes differs. But when you move into Worst Book discussion,
you are attempting to measure a book's worth against a standard - again,
pretty subjective (witness the 100 greatest books which few agreed with)
but still purporting to have some kind of authority. I'd stay away
from it. It's one thing to think other folks can't groove what you
groove. Entirely another to have them put down your favorite and say its
trash.

Mary K. Bird-Guilliams marykbg@wichita.lib.ks.us
Reference Librarian
Wichita Public Library

FROM: "Judy Moorhead" <judynoskii1@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 12/21/99, 5:29 PM

Sherrie-- Great response


--- Sherrie Heep <sherrieh@cooklib.org> wrote:
> I have to disagree on part of this. Although I do
> not ever want to have a
> book display or contest about the worst book, why is
> it any different to
> talk about books that we dislike than to discuss
> ones that we loved? We are
> all professionals here but we are also human and if
> this isn't the place
> where we can honestly express our opinions, then
> where is? I don't think
> any of us would approach our patrons and tell them
> about books we hated, but
> I would hope we could share these opinions with each
> other, realizing that
> everyone has different tastes and feelings about
> what they read. That's
> what makes us all wonderfully different and human.
> I am sorry that some
> people were offended with the openness that others
> expressed here, but I
> personally took it for granted that professionals
> could be open with each
> other and I enjoyed most of it. Thanks for being a
> place where we can share
> as well as ask for help. God bless and have a
> wonderful holiday season.
>
> Sherrie Manlove Heep
> Readers' Services
> Cook Memorial Public Library
> Libertyville, IL
>
>
>

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: <A HREF="http://shopping.yahoo.com">http://shopping.yahoo.com</A>

FROM: "Rhonda Jessup" <rjessup@whitbylibrary.on.ca>
REC'D: 12/22/99, 1:20 PM

Ugh. I did not explain myself very well when I said I wanted to hold a
worst book contest. I wasn't planning on garnering votes for the
*worst* book ever. It was more along the lines of "which novel did you
dislike the most?" Was it one that everyone raved about and you
couldn't see the appeal? One you were forced to read for an
assignment? One everyone else said was brilliant and you thought it was
boring? You get the idea. It was never meant to slam anyone's reading
taste, it was an acknowledgment that we all have different ones. Worst
book was a terrible title and I apologize for using it. I liked the
suggestions from the people (sorry, I deleted my e-mail and lost your
names) who suggested doing a best/worst list and using the term hated,
in place of worst.

As far as the discussion on this listserv, I stand by my original
feeling that it was fun and interesting. A number of my favourites were
on someone else's "hated" list. I think it goes without saying that
none of us would ever state to a patron that we *hated* a book, whether
an opinion was solicited or not. As someone else on the list stated, if
I am asked directly if I enjoyed a book, I will respond that it wasn't
particularly my taste, if that's the case. On the flip side, when I am
recommending a book, if I state that I enjoyed it, I also say, "But
everyone's taste is different. Let me know what you think of it." And
they do.

As a side note, our summer reading club for children asks participants'
opinions about the books they have read and "blah" is one of the options
in the reading club booklet. It is quite interesting, as an adult, to
find out what kids don't like about a particular book.

Again, I appreciate all of your responses to the mis-named "worst book"
contest.

Rhonda Jessup

FROM: "Madeline Guzman" <mguzman@capaccess.org>
REC'D: 12/22/99, 9:04 PM

Amazon.com used to call the books that were loved by some and hated by
others their "most controversial" books. How about that for tact?! :-)

Madeline
_________________
>
> Again, I appreciate all of your responses to the mis-named "worst book"
> contest.

Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
<A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com

FROM: <ahendon@dorsai.org>
REC'D: 12/22/99, 9:50 PM

It's interesting because the types of books being mentioned were
the books that were best-sellers and/or very popular with many. I
have a lot of those that I didn't like personally but of course that
doesn't mean I would put people off them. I think the two most
recent ones for me were "Charming BIlly" and "The Reader" - I had
to read both for a book discussion group and I really didn't care for
them. But they both engendered lots of discussion which was
good!

Alison

> Amazon.com used to call the books that were loved by some and hated by
> others their "most controversial" books. How about that for tact?! :-)
>
> Madeline
> _________________
> >
> > Again, I appreciate all of your responses to the mis-named "worst book"
> > contest.
>
> Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
> Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
> <A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com
>


Alison Hendon
ahendon@amanda.dorsai.org

"Though my soul may set in darkness,
It will rise in perfect light,
I have loved the stars too fondly
To be fearful of the night...."
- Sarah Williams, "The Old Astronomer to His Pupil"

FROM: "Madeline Guzman" <mguzman@capaccess.org>
REC'D: 12/23/99, 1:43 AM

Hated books or worst books aren't necessarily books to be put off.
Hasn't anyone ever read a book that was disliked to see *why* it was
disliked? Especially if it's a best-seller, an Oprah book selection, or
a book award winner. A book can be very well written but not to
someone's personal taste. For me, Charming Billy was such a book.

Alison is right on the target when she says that books that are loved by
some and hated by others engender great discussions. Isn't that what
you'd like to with your library patrons? Talk about the books? The good
and the bad? Remember, bad is relative.

When I originally stated "a book I hated, but
other people loved...", the book to which I was referring was as a book that
other people *truly* loved. It was recommended to me by a very good
friend. I find it good to agree to disagree.

Madeline

----------------------

But they both engendered lots of discussion which was
> good!

Madeline T. Guzman SqueakyChu@hotmail.com
Rockville, Maryland mguzman@capaccess.org
<A HREF="http://www.strictlyconcrete.com">http://www.strictlyconcrete.com</A> strictly@erols.com

FROM: "Vicki Nesting" <vnestin@bellsouth.net>
REC'D: 12/29/99, 8:13 PM

Okay, here it is -- the compiled list of contributions to the discussion
"The one book I hated that everyone else loved..." I've sorted the
books by the number of votes each one received, but beyond that they're
in no particular order. Please forgive my typos and any titles I
missed.

Happy New Year everyone!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vicki Nesting, Circulation Librarian
West Bank Regional Library
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
vnestin@bellsouth.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"THE ONE BOOK I HATED THAT EVERYONE ELSE LOVED·"
(celebrating the diversity of reading tastes)

12 votes
The Celestine Prophesy James Redfield

11 votes
Bridges of Madison County Robert James Waller

8 votes
Cold Mountain Charles Frazier
Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt
(anything, esp. recent books, by··) Patricia Cornwell

7 votes
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte

6 votes
The Horse Whisperer Nicholas Evans
She's Come Undone Wally Lamb
(anything by·...) Danielle Steel
The Shipping News E. Annie Proulx

5 votes
Hannibal Thomas Harris

4 votes
The Notebook Nicholas Sparks
Lord Foul's Bane Stephen R. Donaldson
Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
The Deep End of the Ocean Jacquelyn Mitchard
A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole

3 votes
Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells
Bridget Jones' Diary Helen Fielding
A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving
Beloved Toni Morrison
Thorn Birds Colleen McCullough
A Man in Full Thomas Wolfe
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil John Berendt
The Glass Lake Maeve Binchy
(almost anything by ··) John Grisham

2 votes
Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry
Corelli's Mandolin Louis De Bernieres
The English Patient Michael Ondaatje
Bombay Ice Leslie Forbes
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Pirsig
Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson
Moby Dick Herman Melville
The Reader Bernhard Schlink
Secret History Donna Tartt
Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky
Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
A Widow for One Year John Irving
The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco
Tortilla Curtain T. C. Boyle
Love You Forever (children's book) Robert Munsch
The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner
Mutant Message Down Under Marlo Morgan
Hobbit books J. R. R. Tolkein
Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad

1 vote each
All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy
Ulysses James Joyce
Neuromancer William Gibson
Dune Frank Herbert
Clan of the Cave Bear Jean Auel
Stones from the River Ursula Hegi
Catch-22 Joseph Heller
Harry Potter books J. K. Rowling
Little, Big John Crowley
Master and Commander Patrick O'Brien
Daniel Martin John Fowles
Son of the Middle Border Hamlin Garland
Peloponnesian Wars (sp?) Thucydides
(vampire books by··) Anne Rice
Possession A. S. Byatt
(anything by··) James Fenimore Cooper
A Time to Kill John Grisham
(anything by··) Patrick O'Brien
The Once and Future King T. H. White
The Book of Ruth Jane Hamilton
Jonathan Livingston Seagull Richard Bach
The Law of Love Laura Esquival
The Children of God Mary Doria Russell
Blood Countess Andrei Codrescu
All Tomorrow's Parties William Gibson
Floating Dragon Peter Straub
The Firm John Grisham
Lake Wobegon Days Garrison Keillor
Mating Norman Rush
The Widow's Adventures ???
Accordian Crimes E. Annie Proulx
The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy
Mosquito Coast Paul Theroux
The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman
Amy and Isabelle Elizabeth Strout
Smilla's Sense of Snow Peter Hoag
(anything by ··) Robertson Davies
Jackson's Dilemma Iris Murdoch
Debt to Pleasure John Lanchester
The Good Earth Pearl Buck
At Home in Mitford Jan Karon
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
A Thousand Acres Jane Smiley
Maximum Bob Elmore Leonard
Charming Billy Alice McDermott
(anything by ··) Philip Roth
Evening Susan Minot
Cider House Rules John Irving
Silas Marner George Eliot
(anything by ··) Lynn Andrews
Chicken Soup books ------
A Stranger is Watching Mary Higgins Clark
Stephanie Plum mysteries Janet Evanovich
Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne
Breathing Lessons Anne Tyler
A Big Storm Knocked It Over Laurie Colwin
Summer Sisters Judy Blume
(anything by ··) Jan Karon
Independence Day Richard Ford
Birdsong Sebastian Foulkes
Talk Before Sleep Elizabeth Berg
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
The Sparrow Mary Doria Russell
Left Behind series Tim LeHaye
Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing Melissa Bank
Shell Game Carol O'Connell
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce
The Lilac Bus Maeve Binchy
(anything, esp. Kiss the Girls, by ··) James Patterson
American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis
Tristam Shandy Laurence Sterne
(anything since Secrets of Harry Bright by ··) Joseph Wambaugh
Falconer John Cheever
Texasville Larry McMurtry
A Separate Peace John Knowles
The Breaks Richard Price
Dog Soldiers Robert Stone
Breath, Eyes, Memory Edwige Danticat
The Cat Who·· books Lilian Jackson Braun
The Last Don Mario Puzo
The Mexican Tree Duck James Crumley
Exquisite Corpse Poppy Z. Brite
Crimson Joy Robert B. Parker
Lithium for Medea Kate Braverman
Gone Kit Craig
In the Lake of the Moon David Lindsey
The Day After Tomorrow Allan Folsom
Circle of Friends Maeve Binchy
Lord Valentine's Castle Robert Silverberg
A Lesson Before Dying Ernest Gaines
Congo Michael Crichton
(anything by ··) John Steinbeck
(anything by ··) Ernest Hemingway
(anything, except The Great Gatsby, by ··) F. Scott Fitzgerald

FROM: "J Heuer" <cheuer@itol.com>
REC'D: 1/27/00, 9:56 PM

Of interest to all who read and participated in our "hated books" phase last
month is the last page of the current Booklist (date: 1/1/00 -1/15/00) , an
article called "Classics we hate".


--
Jeanne Heuer
Brown County Library
Green Bay, WI
cheuer@itol.com

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, Art is knowing which ones
to keep." -anonymous

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