xkcd

by **william** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:52 pm UTC

I'll start.

The Aeneid is the worst book ever. It makes the eye of Argon look good. I've read it in the Latin and although some authors are hard to translate the only stuff that was actually painful was Virgil's. It's basically the ancient Roman version of a Marty Stu fanfic, except most examples of the latter have prose that can be translated into something that makes sense.

It'll be hard to top that one.

by **__Kit** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:26 am UTC

Harry Potter and The Bible, are both highly overrated.

by **taggedunion** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:49 am UTC

Atlas Shrugged? The Fountainhead?

(sorry, been reading the Ayn Rand thread)

by **podbaydoor** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:32 am UTC

Agreed. I've only read Anthem, but it was quite enough for me. The characters were annoying and the philosophy got beaten into the readers' heads constantly.

by **Phi** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:50 am UTC

podbaydoor wrote:Agreed. I've only read Anthem, but it was quite enough for me. The characters were annoying and the philosophy got beaten into the readers' heads constantly.

You're lucky you didn't read Atlas Shrugged, then.

Also, Harry Potter is overrated for what it is. It's a damn good book, but it doesn't warrant people freaking out over a spoiler.

by **Twasbrillig** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:14 am UTC

Phi wrote:Also, Harry Potter is overrated for what it is. It's a book, but it doesn't warrant people freaking out over a spoiler.

You really can't call it much more than that. It's like a sentence that's grammatically correct but doesn't tell you anything insightful.

by **taggedunion** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:30 am UTC

I really liked the Harry Potter series. However, I participated in no fandom, fan fiction, rampant speculation, or otherwise allowed it to rule my life at any point in time. I mean, I love books, but I don't let them rule me.

Aside from my horrible habit of being unable to put many down before finishing them. Ah, sleepless nights... it's somewhat mitigated by being a blazingly fast reader, but not that much.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that HP was overrated, but I don't terribly mind and I still insist that it is a great series.

by **Bakemaster** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:06 pm UTC

__Kit wrote:Harry Potter and The Bible, are both highly overrated.

Saying the Bible is overrated is overrated.

by **crazyjimbo** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:11 pm UTC

__Kit wrote:Harry Potter and The Bible

Is that the eighth book?

by **Clumpy** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:28 pm UTC

I think it was a book published by an independent Christian think tank. Just speculation.

Great. I have to read the Aeneid this semester. If somebody throws any spoilers my way then I will have to kill them.

I can see someone wanting to avoid Harry Potter spoilers until they've read the books. That's reasonable and part of your enjoyment of the series. Fan fiction or amateur adult films are out of the question, though. And I'm sure that both already exist.

by **Belial** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:44 pm UTC

amateur adult films are out of the question, though.

Oh ho. Oh ho ho ho. Oh no no no.

Those are very much IN the question. Because I just spent twenty minutes laughing at the possibilities there. I had never even considered this.

This could be comedy gold.

by **SecondTalon** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:30 pm UTC

What, you haven't seen Harry Boffer and the Twins of Torment? You'd ... well, not be suprised at all at the shape of his scar.

by **evilbeanfiend** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:48 pm UTC

sun tzu's art of war

maybe it was a bad translation but it really didn't give me much help in playing shogun total war :wink:

by **jack** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:19 pm UTC

I'm often disappointed with books that win awards.

Life of Pi for example, I picked it up because it became ubiquitous in book stores and had a shiny booker prize sticker on it.

Another one was Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture. I love travel books usually, and I love Portugal, and I love good writing, so this should have been something that I, well, loved.

Yet the nobel prize winning author just couldn't keep me interested.

I don't pick books for that reason any more ;-)

Although it works well for movies in general.

by **Clumpy** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:28 pm UTC

Belial wrote:Oh ho. Oh ho ho ho. Oh no no no.

Those are very much IN the question. Because I just spent twenty minutes laughing at the possibilities there. I had never even considered this.

This could be comedy gold.

. . . or at least some version of the joke from The Aristocrats involving spells and strange creatures. It's almost too terrible to imagine.

Actually, I think the problem with book awards is the same as the problem for movie awards. They see so many books that they feel obliged to single out something "significant", which means a few things:

1) It's a downer.
2) It involves domestic abuse and/or spiraling depression.
3) It is written in a "non-traditional" style (that thing that authors do with their books when they are feeling pretentious and don't care enough about their message to make it clear).

Though I guess Dave Barry won the Pulitzer in the 80s so there's the occasional exception.

by **podbaydoor** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:03 pm UTC

Belial wrote:
amateur adult films are out of the question, though.

Oh ho. Oh ho ho ho. Oh no no no.

Those are very much IN the question. Because I just spent twenty minutes laughing at the possibilities there. I had never even considered this.

This could be comedy gold.

Harry Potter and the Unnecessary Knob
(Not actual porn, it's a comedy sketch, but probably not safe for work either)

by **Belial** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:10 pm UTC

Forums, you are my favorite.

by **Narsil** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:28 pm UTC

The Scarlet Letter.

Fuck, this book is the worst piece of trash I have ever read. It's no different than any dime store romance novel, except it's written much more flowery and complicated. It also takes 10x as long to get to the point.

Seriously, when a 200-page novel looks long, that's a very bad thing.

by **SecondTalon** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:33 pm UTC

Moby Dick.

This would probably be a lot better in a more relevant time. A time when man went out to sea in wooden sailing vessels to hunt whales.

Nowadays.... not so much.

by **william** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:35 pm UTC

Narsil wrote:The Scarlet Letter.

Fuck, this book is the worst piece of trash I have ever read. It's no different than any dime store romance novel, except it's written much more flowery and complicated. It also takes 10x as long to get to the point.

Seriously, when a 200-page novel looks long, that's a very bad thing.

Oh, yes. It has the exact same problems as the Aeneid, except in English and it doesn't go on for twenty books. And it talks about infidelity which is always supportive of the woman.

by **the Cow** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:17 pm UTC

SexyTalon wrote:Moby Dick.

This would probably be a lot better in a more relevant time. A time when man went out to sea in wooden sailing vessels to hunt whales.

Nowadays.... not so much.

I love Moby Dick. May be my favorite book.

Pretend I have presented a cogent and illustrative argument condemning your opinion and supporting mine, that is, by its clear and precise logic and well presented literary criticism, completely convincing.

by **Belial** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:19 pm UTC

Damn, Cow, you've proven your point, now please, leave the guy some dignity......

by **Rodan** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:33 pm UTC

heh heh, he said "dick"

Anyhoo, I agree with Harry Potter being vastly over-rated. I mean, they're pretty good books and all, but not THAT good. Not good enough to warrant huge crowds gathered around a bookstore at midnight dressed in wizard costumes and dorky glasses.

I find that the Man in the High Castle to be over-rated, but then, I haven't read it in a long time.... I probably didn't read it very carefully, and it seems best to read Dick's heh heh books fairly carefully, or you start missing things.

by **SecondTalon** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:04 pm UTC

Ouch, my pride!

*dies*

by **the Cow** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:09 pm UTC

Belial wrote:Damn, Cow, you've proven your point, now please, leave the guy some dignity......

I have so little to spare...

by **dagron** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:15 pm UTC

Pretty much every piece of classic literature I've read.

by **Narsil** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:23 pm UTC

Except for Count of Monte Cristo.
In all seriousness, I would call it the best novel ever written.

by **Clumpy** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:01 pm UTC

I think The Stand was overrated. It wasn't terrible but hardly deserved the "classic" status so many people have put on it.

by **Amnesiasoft** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:01 am UTC

<insert generic Harry Potter is overrated comment here>
1984. That book was just ridiculous. And anyone who was scared of a future like that obviously didn't take note of the fact that the people were only opressing themselves. The proles basically got to do whatever they wanted, and they made up 85% of the population (If I remember the book correctly)

by **Amicitia** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:02 am UTC

I think Jhumpa Lahiri isn't a noteworthy author.

by **iridesce** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:53 am UTC

Jane Eyre. Biggest waste of my time. Talk about weak, bizarre and annoying characters.

by **Bakemaster** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 4:53 am UTC

Amnesiasoft wrote:1984. That book was just ridiculous. And anyone who was scared of a future like that obviously didn't take note of the fact that the people were only opressing themselves. The proles basically got to do whatever they wanted, and they made up 85% of the population (If I remember the book correctly)

You do realize you gon' get stabbed for that opinion, right? There's no way to say this that is not condescending, but maybe you should read it again when you're no longer a teenager.

by **Mighty Jalapeno** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:04 am UTC

Lord of the Flies.

Sucks to your assmar! Sucks to ALL your assmar!

...

Also, Unnecessary Knob means something entirely different to me... it's actually a location that we, as Boy Scouts, hiked over many times, and now that memory has been fugging destroyed.

by **Amicitia** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 6:58 am UTC

It's just a ripoff of Heart of Darkness anyways.

by **Phi** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:07 am UTC

Pride and Prejudice. Ugh, just ugh. I'm not a fan of a romance novel, especially one that was written exactly like a soap opera.

I could form a more valid argument if 'twere not late and if I were not so tired.

by **Dark Ragnarok** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:29 am UTC

I'm probably goign to get flamed for this... but...

To Kill A Mockingbird.

Say what you like, I understood the point, but just... No.

I mean fuck, that bird never fucking died. (please humor me)

by **zombie_monkey** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:05 am UTC

The Player of Games by Banks. Apparently this is a highly individual opinion as people with whom I usually agree on such matters like it. I've always been under the impression I would like Banks, but this is his only book that I've read, I suppose I should try something else.

by **b.i.o** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:39 pm UTC

Narsil wrote:Except for Count of Monte Cristo.
In all seriousness, I would call it the best novel ever written.

I wouldn't call it the best novel ever written, but even at 1000+ pages, it made me want to keep reading. I have not seen one other classic novel that's even made me want to read on for a page more.

And I definitely agree about The Scarlet Letter. I tried to read it, I really did. But in the end, I had to turn to SparkNotes. It was painful.

by **Amnesiasoft** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:42 pm UTC

Bakemaster wrote:You do realize you gon' get stabbed for that opinion, right?

Whn I said that, I knew full well that was going to happen.

Bakemaster wrote:There's no way to say this that is not condescending, but maybe you should read it again when you're no longer a teenager.

I'm more making fun of the people who feared that was the future in the year 1984 (brings up another point, they didn't even know what year it really was in that book, for all we know it could've been 2071!). The book was also just too short and 'light' of a read to really get to the intended message very well.

by **Jesse** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:51 pm UTC

Like many of Orwell's books, the message and idea behind it is throught-provoking and terrifying, but I'm not a huge fan of his writing style.

xkcd

Worst/Overrated books.

Worst/Overrated books.

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