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Author Topic: The Do-Not-Fly Book List  (Read 62476 times)

Offline Poprad

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The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« on: October 07, 2011, 03:07 PM »
OK, there are so many threads which are all about people's FAV things, but I want to dish some dirt and have a little rant fest.

So I thought, why not start a Do-Not-Fly list for books? Books that we, as readers, cannot tolerate to any degree at all. Ones we couldn't finish, couldn't help but finish because they were just that bad and ones which we feel the need to completely warn others off from.

What have you read that you feel needs to make this list?

You can rank them using this rating scheme if you want:
 
-1 star               :(                   I just didn't like it.
-2 stars             :o                   How did this go so wrong?
-3 stars             :'(                  (choked sob) It was horrible...
-4 stars             :-X                 Words cannot explain how bad this book was.
-5 stars             >:(                 I want to murder this book. It has pushed me to brink of insanity.

Which novels will make the list of STP's Most Hated? What book will be crowned STP's #1 Despised Book?
Stay tuned to find out...  :D
« Last Edit: October 07, 2011, 03:10 PM by Poprad »
 
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Offline hteadreh

Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #121 on: October 08, 2013, 11:08 AM »
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I'm normally the one who HAS to finish a book and/or series not matter how bad it gets, just because I have this never-ending hope that the story will be redeemed somehow.  HOWEVER there is one book and one series that I've just had to give up on recently....

Book: 50 Shades of Grey.  There is so much wrong with this book that I can't even begin to focus my thoughts to make a summary.  I quit halfway through.
-5 stars I want to murder this book. It has pushed me to brink of insanity.

Series: House of Night.  It's been mentioned before in this thread, several times, but it bears repeating.  I really enjoyed the first 2 or 3 books, but then it just got too... something.  Between the weird storylines with the 'red' vamps, the overwhelming transition of the characters into caricatures, the fact that Zoey is going to be a smurf at this rate if she sprouts a new 'tattoo' anytime she faces any sort of challenge... I've just had to throw in the towel a couple of books ago.
-2 stars  How did this go so wrong?

I have to agree with the House of Night Series.  I loved the first few books then it went off the deep end.  I just feel the story line is going around in circles.  Always seems to be the same issue and nothing new coming out of it. 
-2 stars   Its time to put an end to the series!!!
 
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Offline maggiewashington

Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #122 on: February 11, 2018, 08:03 AM »
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Another -4 was Julia Templeton's Sinjin... oh, my... I was asking myself why, why all those raving 5*??? It is badly written, the hero is a jerk (is this the correct spelling? sorry... english is not my mother tongue). Nothing interesting happens...
Yes, that's the correct spelling. :)  That's my problem with so many "romance" novels.  The guy is such a jerk to the heroine in the beginning of the story that I want to reach into the book/computer screen and throttle the guy (or choke him or knee him in the nuts).  You get the picture. :D  And he rarely is contrite, apologetic, etc.  I can't see the guy as a hero, but rather, the villain.
And what gets me ticked off even more than that is when the woman lets him get away with his abusive behavior!

One book that comes to mind is: Catch a Mate - Gena Showalter.  I love her novels but this particular book had me royally ticked off :D the guy was so obnoxious! - grrrrr. :laugh:

Writers, please empower the woman by having her stand up for herself and not reward a disrespectful jerk by having sex with him!!  Thank you.
Another thing that annoys me is when the woman has a nasty attitude in the beginning of the story (usually towards the hero before he has done anything wrong).  I say wait until he has earned your attitude - it usually comes up eventually in "romantic" fiction.

I like reading romance novels for the romance, the falling in love, etc.  Not the fighting.  If I want to read about people fighting, I'll read war novels.
The problem is; when we pick up a book, we don't know (usually) if this is how the story is written or not.  I've read so many books (to their completion - because "I've read it this far, I might as well read it to the end when they make up and fall in love") that I'm tired of going postal when reading should be fun.  So I start reading a romance novel and if the guy's a jerk, I stop reading it and just delete it from my computer. Life is too short to be repeatedly aggravated.  At least it makes more room on my computer for other books.  And there's my silver lining! ;D

Thank you for letting me vent.  Yes, it is therapeutic. :laugh:
 
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Offline maggiewashington

Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #123 on: February 12, 2018, 09:45 AM »
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...Bitten was just over-stuffed with sex. Elena hates Clay. Duh. She's mad with him: they have sex.
... She's pissed off all over again: they have sex...
Thank you so much for saying this.  I often feel this way about a "romance" novel.  Just like it says in the book: "Are Men the Weaker Sex?" by Josette Sona (from Smashwords), it's possible a lot of these novels are written by guys, but they just use a woman's name (have you noticed a lot of women authors' names have a man's first name as their last name ?? ;) ), and the guys are hoping they'll convince women (who usually read these kinds of novels) to act like this; no matter how obnoxious, rude, abusive, etc. a guy is, we've still supposed to have sex with him afterwards. !!  It's a conspiracy I tell you!! >:D :D :D
When I start reading a book and it reads like a guy's fantasy (and I can't relate) I just stop reading it.  And I definitely don't buy these kinds of novels.  They don't make any money off of me. :P
 :-*
 
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Offline maggiewashington

Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #124 on: February 12, 2018, 11:32 AM »
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The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger
(yes, that is the title)
The DUFF starts off with the portagonist, Bianca sitting in a club as Wesley Rush comes up and starts telling her how he's interested in her friends, and how she's going to help him make them be the next notches on his belt. And, he ever so rudely informs her that she is the DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend.

and, with her messed up family life she uses him as a distraction... The guy's a brazen asshole who's trying to use you to get into your friends pants—all while telling you that you're a statistically ugly fat chick!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me guess?  She ends up having sex with him?

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then, even though she hates him she falls into a friends with benifits thing because her home life is crap. Rather than talk with any one of her friends who she just pushes away, she sleeps with this guy who is a total man-whore, absolute douche and arrogant in an obnoxious way that just makes me want to slap him over and over.

Called it! :D  I could see that one comin' down main street! :D
But that's what I mean; too many writers write these novels with the same 'formula':
the guy's a jerk (to put it mildly)
and
the woman has sex with him.
The guy often doesn't apologize (at the end of the story) for his abusive behavior
and even if he does,
the woman usually won't even let him apologize.
I say the man ought to get on his hands and knees and beg the woman's forgiveness!!  And he should do it fairly early in the story so he can spend the rest of the book ;D trying to make restitution/reparation for his abusive/disrespectful behavior!!!

I know guys might be the weaker sex but these are novels!  The authors can write them where either the guy is respectful, loving, etc. from the beginning or if he does hurt the heroine, he should be and act sorry for what he's done and how he's treated her.  But most novels (that I've read) aren't written that way.
I can't tell you how many times I've read a book where the hero ("hero"?? - please, give me a break!!) has such a disrespectful way of speaking to the heroine.  I also want to reach into the book/laptop/reading device and throttle the guy!!  I got so sick and tired of "going postal" when I should have enjoyed a-relaxing-moment-by-reading-for-pleasure, that now (when I see a book written in the way I described above), I just delete the book.

Empower a woman by giving her a backbone/strong character and have her stand up to the guy and not take his crap.  She can do it in a way so that she doesn't "sell out"; she doesn't have to have a nasty attitude, she can be calm, polite, respectful (because it's a reflection on her if she isn't) and she can tell him off.  Not reward his obnoxious behavior by giving him free sex (like it says in the book "Are Men the Weaker Sex?").

Thank you for listening to me while I rant and rave. :-*

P.S.  Thank you, Poprad, for having this thread.  I have a feeling I'll be using it a lot (when I get a chance to read some of the books I have).  And having this thread helps to save the rest of us a lot of time (because we'll know which books not to read). ;D
 
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Offline maggiewashington

Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #125 on: February 13, 2018, 09:48 AM »
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This is a book about a snarky girl who fools around with a player. If you don't like the premise, then you won't like the book. What did you expect?
We expected a romance.  If the book description was worded the way you worded it, I would say: "Thank you but no thank you.  Sayonara! :)"

I feel too many "romance novels" are written where the woman is "snarky", has an attitude, etc. and she doesn't need to.  It makes women look bad and gives the "hero" in the story an excuse to have an attitude back to her.  (Because have you noticed, like it says in the book: "Are Men the Weaker Sex?" by Josette Sona (from Smashwords), when a guy does something wrong, the woman will often let him get away with it but if the woman does something wrong, the guy rarely (if ever) lets her get away with it.  That's why I suspect a lot of these novels are written by guys and they're trying to almost brainwash women (especially young women and teenage girls - who often are the readers of these types of novels), into believing that this is what women have to put up with.


 
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Offline maggiewashington

Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #126 on: February 14, 2018, 02:42 PM »
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That's how I ended up feeling about Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I'd probably give it:
-2 stars             :o                   How did this go so wrong?
It started out fun, but I quit reading around book..10? 11? And at that point, she STILL hadn't truly chosen between the two guys. I gave up and haven't read the next six or however many books. It's one thing for an author to create dramatic tension with a love triangle and another to drag it out to the point where you want to shoot one of the characters so she'll finally choose.
I didn't like the first one where Morelli handcuffed Stephanie to the shower curtain rod while she was naked (and I wasn't wild about him having sex with her - her first time - on the floor in a store she was working at.  The floor is hard and cold!  A girl's first time should be special!)  And I didn't like when Ranger was "oogling" that half naked woman in a future novel.  I kinda lost respect for him after that.)

I like Lula and Grandma Mazur.  At least they're funny. :)
 
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Offline maggiewashington

Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #127 on: February 15, 2018, 07:52 AM »
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Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1) by  J.D. Tyler -4
this one made me sick - hero finds a mate, he is fighting it so he tries to have a sex with another woman..well he would do it if he could .Couple hours later he is back where his mate is, she smells another woman on him , they have fight five minutes later they have sex. STUPID!
But that's why I mean!  There are so many "romance" novels with the same formula.  That's why I strongly suspect a lot of these novels are written by guys who want women to reward a guy's negative behavior by having sex with him!  That way, guys can act like jerks, be rude, arrogant, abusive, etc. and they get sex afterwards.  If that isn't a guy's fantasy, I don't know what is! :P ;)
Thank you! :-*
 
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Offline mayabelle

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Re: The Do-Not-Fly Book List
« Reply #128 on: February 20, 2018, 09:11 PM »
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The Substitue Bride - Margaret Pargeter -5 stars  >:(

This book has a plain jane and thats what enticed me to read it....It was horrible.As the name of the book suggests, the h is substituting for her cousin...

"'Well, no one,' he taunted, 'needs rose-coloured
spectacles in bed.'
His careless frankness was making her quiver and
bringing wild colour to her pale cheeks."
   This is just a sample of how the rest of the book will be.

In all the plain janes that i have read never have i come across such a jerk off. The stupidity of the h was also very frustrating. I wanted to slap both of them so hard and "bring wild color to their cheeks". And he didnt quit being a jerk till the last 10 pages when suddenly he realises that he loves his wife while the rest of the 230 pages he abused her both verbally and physically.

I dont know what made them love each other.Maybe it was when the H (finally) realised that his wife was a virgin and not the slut that everyone ( his own family ) making her to be. This book takes the whole mean hero thing a step too far. This is one sick book. Dont read it.
Thank you for sparing me the time I would have taken to read this book. :-*  I, too, don't like when the hero is so mean and abusive to the heroine.  It just makes me want to cry.  How can that be romantic!  If we want to read about a jerk abusing a woman, we can put the book (ereader) down and just look around us.

..."bring wild color to their cheeks" - hilarious!! :D
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