Here is my embarrassing list.

=Noteworthy

1984 by George Orwell Catch-22 Joseph Heller Dune by Frank Herbert East of Eden by John Steinbeck Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

=Less Noteworthy

Black Sea Gods by Brian Braden Mythos by Stephen Fry Smallworld by Dominic Green The One by John Marrs The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

  • Bill Stickers@aussie.zone
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    1 year ago

    The colour of magic isn’t highly rated by anyone. Most discworld fans will tell you to skip the first two books and don’t really count them. I hope you didn’t skip discworld based on that. If your willing to give it another go, most fans suggest starting with Guards Guards! as the feel of discworld is well established by this point and the Watch sub series is a fan favourite.

    There are 5 main sub series; the Witches, Death, the Watch, Industrial Revolution and Rincewind. Rincewind is the least rated. You can read them in pretty much any order but each sub series is recommended to read in the reading order:

    https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Discworld_Reading_Order_Guide_3.0_(cropped).jpg#mw-jump-to-license

    • Alien Surfer@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      I found the humor in the first several chapters of the first book to be juvenile. The kind of humor you can see coming from a kilometer away so it’s just too obvious and not really funny.

      • Bill Stickers@aussie.zone
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        1 year ago

        Every discworld fan will agree. The first two are terrible. They are straight parodies of the fantasy genre in the 70–80s. The rest of the series are more adult satire of real world issues and institutions and the stories have actual characterisation and pathos.

  • DaleGribble88@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    I was also bested by Dune. I never finished “To Kill a Mockingbird” in high school, and have never had any desire to pick it back up. The most embarrassing/shameful is… “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.” I love the movies, and I love learning about the lore on YouTube, but I just cannot make it through that book. “The Hobbit” was such a fun and silly little story, and I loved it! Fellowship just reads like those chapters in Genesis that you tend to skip over.

  • OceanSoap@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Well, I don’t feel so bad now that I’ve never finished Dune. My mom raved about that book, and I tried… I really did.

  • Heyassbutt@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I searched the annals of the books subreddit way back when and could quite literally only find one other user besides me who couldn’t stand A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I tried two separate times to read that book and just couldn’t do it. I understand the premise of crusty old guy is soft and mushy on the inside, but ffs he is SUCH a massive prick in the beginning I just could never get past it. I also read Anxious People by him and couldn’t stand it, so I think maybe this author just isn’t for me.

    Super noteworthy wise I quit A Tale of Two Cities on like page 4 lol, but that was more because I didn’t understand that style of English than anything else.

    • Alien Surfer@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Interesting. I to almost abandoned Ove. The guy was too much of an asshole. Just over the top. But for some reason I stuck with it and finished the book.

      I mean I’m a grumpy, foul mood person most of the time, but I’m not an ass about it. I’m still nice and kind to people.

      Haven’t read any others by the same author.

  • cheeseisdisgusting@lemmy.sdf.org
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    1 year ago

    Red Rising. Felt like a ham-fisted, beat-you-in-with-the-class-warfare-moral imitation of Hunger Games, complete with a manic pixie dream girl. I still don’t understand how it’s so highly rated.

  • Alien Surfer@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Grrr… I guess I need to work on formatting. Let’s try this again

    1984 by George Orwell

    Catch-22 Joseph Heller

    Dune by Frank Herbert

    East of Eden by John Steinbeck

    Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

    Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

    The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

    The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull

    The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

    The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

    LESS NOTABLE:

    Black Sea Gods by Brian Braden

    Mythos by Stephen Fry

    Smallworld by Dominic Green

    The One by John Marrs

    The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

    • sloonark@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I couldn’t finish Dune either. I’m sure the story is great, but the writing IMO is terrible.

    • bev@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Grrr… I guess I need to work on formatting. Let’s try this again

      • 1984 by George Orwell
      • Catch-22 Joseph Heller
      • Dune by Frank Herbert
      • East of Eden by John Steinbeck
      • Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
      • Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
      • The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
      • The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull
      • The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
      • The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

      LESS NOTABLE:

      • Black Sea Gods by Brian Braden
      • Mythos by Stephen Fry
      • Smallworld by Dominic Green
      • The One by John Marrs
      • The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

      You can use the markdown list feature.

      - unordered list

      Or

      1. Ordered list

    • Alien Surfer@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      Awe. Sorry it wasn’t for you. I enjoyed it. Very touching for me. I just checked out the follow on book from my local library. I heard it’s pretty emotional too.

      What’s the most emotional book you’ve read?

  • EtnaAtsume@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I’m glad I’m not the only one who has never finished Good Omens. I’ve picked it up several times. What I’ve read of it, I enjoyed. But I never felt compelled to finish it. Put differently, I guess it’s just not engaging…?

  • Alien Surfer@lemmy.worldOP
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    1 year ago

    Interesting. I to almost abandoned Ove. The guy was too much of an asshole. Just over the top. But for some reason I stuck with it and finished the book.

    I mean I’m a grumpy, foul mood person most of the time, but I’m not an ass about it. I’m still nice and kind to people.

    Haven’t read any others by the same author.

  • InfiniteGlitch@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    Piranesi: I could not get into the book, got to around 80-90 pages in. Just was not for me probably, might retry another time though.

    Quiet the power of introverts: the beginning was informative and relatable but after that it become to much historical which wasn’t for me.

    • Heyassbutt@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Just out of curiosity what was it about Piranesi you didn’t like? I’ve heard it recommended on the books subreddit so many times so I’m curious.

      • InfiniteGlitch@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Uncertain to be honest, it’s been a while. But I remember, I just couldn’t get into the story.

        Perhaps I was not in the right mood or it just wasn’t the kind of book for me. Could be the genre as well. Honestly can’t remember.

        Might retry it a long while later.

        For example, I prefer to read quite the emotional books such as:

        • The Words We Keep
        • The Midnight Library
        • Before The Coffee Gets Cold (currently reading)
  • Candelestine@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m pretty stubborn when it comes to finishing books generally, unless they’re just generic trashy NYT bestseller stuff.

    One on my list bugging me though: Three Body Problem. I got it on audiobook, but its too dense for that format. I need a physical copy.

    • AmosBurton_ThatGuy@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      I just finished the three body problem on audiobook a few days ago, it definitely would’ve been better to read a hard copy of it but I still found it to be absolutely amazing. As a huge space nerd, certain parts of that book created amazing visuals in my head that fascinate me, I’ve gone back and reread certain scenes multiple times just because they amaze me to think about.

      Almost done the 2nd book and it’s a lot more boring than the first but the end picks up quite a bit at least and I hear the 3rd book is great.

      • Alien Surfer@lemmy.worldOP
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        1 year ago

        Books creating visuals and ideas that are fascinating and demand further exploration and thinking are my favorite thing about books.

    • passepartout@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      It’s not that complicated at all. It has a decent pacing and the description of the world is beautiful. The one thing that bugged me is the way they handled inner monologue, it was a little too much for me at times.