R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 7:13am
Left behind I didn't read. Honestly, you're probably right guys, I would probably be embarassed if I'd read those too
- I've got the first three books on my shelf. Read the first, got aboout half way through the second, then I realized my writing was taking a turn for the worst. I quit reading them. Like the Twilight books, they were entertaining, poorly written though.
One franchise I refuse to read is Harry Potter. I'm not giving in. Someone gave me the first book, I read like the first five pages and thought, 'this is garbage.' I've never seen any of the movies and I don't plan to. I just can't bring myself to do it.
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersDecember 8, 2011 - 7:19am
I love Harry Potter! And I'm not ashamed in the least. But they are kids books, so you have to take that into account.
postpomo
from Canada is reading words words wordsDecember 8, 2011 - 7:20am
@Rian - word on Harry Potter resistance! All my friends went simultaneously stupid when that came out. One by one, they would tell me "it's really good. you should read it. it's a good story." yeah yeah. "i don't know why you don't read it. you'd really like it." um... "are you going to see the movies at least?" wtf?
it's kinda culty - and weird. they were all in their 30s at the time.
back on topic: I read far too much Piers Anthony when I was younger - this can't have been good...
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 7:24am
But they are kids books, so you have to take that into account.
- I get that, but then you get this:
they were all in their 30s at the time.
David Shepherd
from shepherdsville, KY is reading Idoru by William GibbsonDecember 8, 2011 - 7:28am
Harry potter is one of the first books I read along with Stephen king as a child so it's nostalgic for me. J.k. Rowling is a good writer i think and harry potter is an excellent addition to fantasy. It has much more merit than twilight, I think Harry potter actually deserves it's fame in some levels. The only trouble with the series is Harry, he just pisses me off for some reason. She wrote him coming across as such an arrogant and whiny person.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 7:34am
Stephen King... Another one I can't read is The Stand. I've tried like four times and I get 300 pages into it and I'm bored to death. Nothing has happened. Everyone I know who's read it says it's his best work, and that it gets better, but how much do I have to read? 300 pages is a lot of investment into a book. I have read others of his and loved them, Carrie being my favorite. Desperation and The Regulators were great. The Shining is classic and so is IT. Thinner was good, too.
Nick Wilczynski
from Greensboro, NC is reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. MartinDecember 8, 2011 - 7:44am
I was Captain of my school's Battle of the Books team in middle school for 7th and 8th grade, I read every book on the list and whle I needed support on author names a lot of the time I always had a really good knowledge of every single book on the list by the time it came to competition (4th place statewide 7th grade, 2nd place 8th grade) (the way Battle of the Books works, for the uninitiated, is that there is a list of 20-30 books, the teams of each school read them or allot them up so that they each have a working knowledge of them, and at competition scenes, characters or events are described and the first team to identify the book and author gets the points).
Anyways, so the first Harry Potter book came out sometime around my 7th and 8th grade years, it was on the list for the 8th grade competition, and the English Teacher who ran Battle of the Books at my school gave it to me as a present after our 4th place finish so I could get a start on it.
I enjoyed it, you know, they weren't bad books at all, I really liked the first four. They weren't too heavy, like has been said they are childrens books. They aren't designed to plumb the depths and potentials of literature, they are supposed to be fun little books to get kids into reading, I don't think that you can legitimately claim that they were poorly written.
Like you, however, I find the enthusiasm that grown ass individuals have for that series to be unsettling. After the fourth book I quit reading, not because it wasn't well written or interesting, but because I had outgrown it. If JK Rowling had kept up a steady pace, if she had been done before I was 20, well maybe I would have kept reading, but she took too long and I left her behind.
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersDecember 8, 2011 - 7:45am
Rian - you are in dangerous territory here. YOU NEVER READ THE STAND??
Go read it now. I'll wait.
It is amazing!! The characters are so amazing and so richly developed. When one of them died...I couldn't stop crying.
And on Potter, I was inmy twenties when I read it. No issue with that. It's fun. And sometimes I like fun, just ask my Sophie Kinsella books.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 7:54am
I have the stand. It's on my shelf and one day I will read it because I'm a writer and I want to see what it's all about. Will I read it soon? No. I'm just not interested at this point. And why is it that when I tell Stephen King fans I've never read The Stand they get all flabbergasted, like it's the worst thing I could've possibly done? I mean really, is it that good? 300 pages I invested. That's 50-100 pages over the average novel. I was bored, nothing exciting had happened. King can go on for two pages about a doorknob. Maybe that's why I was bored, too much exposition.
David Shepherd
from shepherdsville, KY is reading Idoru by William GibbsonDecember 8, 2011 - 7:55am
@r.moon
I have the same problem with it. I got five hundred pages in and realized the best thing I'd read was a fat kid getting his stomach cut and just couldn't stand to turn another page. Personally I think long walk, rage, and misery are his best works because he gets away from all the supernatural bullshit that generally ends up ruining his stories toward the end. Cujo is also another personal favorite and salmes lot is the best vampire story I've ever read.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 7:58am
Yea. Salems Lot was good. Probably the best vamipire novel I've read, as well. I'm just not into the epic novel. Too long, for one thing, and for another, those epics could probably easily be cut in half.
Fylh
from from from is reading is from is reading is reading is reading reading is readingDecember 8, 2011 - 8:02am
I'm not embarassed to have read any books. What's wrong with you people?
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 8:04am
Sure you are. You're too embarrassed to say it. It's okay...
Fylh
from from from is reading is from is reading is reading is reading reading is readingDecember 8, 2011 - 8:06am
I can understand embarrassment at having written a bad story, but at having read one? Seems insane to me.
postpomo
from Canada is reading words words wordsDecember 8, 2011 - 9:05am
@phil - would guilty pleasure be a better way to frame it?
Fylh
from from from is reading is from is reading is reading is reading reading is readingDecember 8, 2011 - 9:06am
Yes, I'd say so. "Embarrassment" just suggests, to me, that people are reading to impress people.
mutterhals
from Pittsburgh
December 8, 2011 - 9:43am
Snuff, because it was fuck-awful. I'm more ashamed that I finished it. I'm really picky about what I read, so I haven't read anything too bad. I wasn't overly fond of Glamorama, I don't think I even finished it. I ninja kicked The Fountainhead across the room about half way in.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 9:48am
You really didn't like Snuff? I thought it was good, definitely not his best, but I liked it. Glamorama was very hard to get through. Bret claims it's his favorite. I don't buy it.
What's up fellow Pittsburgher?
.
December 8, 2011 - 9:56am
This thread makes us sound like a snobby, cultish, literary group. Or maybe a resistence against shitty book/authors. Most of all it has the actual feel of an AA meeting which blows my mind.
I can't think of any books that I'm embarrassed about reading though on more than a few occasions I've been attempted to buy books connected to other media platforms: Diablo, Halo, Assassins Creed, Star wars, Starcraft, [Insert More Here]. Oh and the worst: a Glenn Beck book.
I was lucky enough to resist the temptation though.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 10:02am
This thread makes us sound like a snobby, cultish, literary group.
- Yeah, it is, but isn't this what we do? We're writers and readers and reviewers.
Most of all it has the actual feel of an AA meeting which blows my mind.
- Does this mean I have to turn my will and life over to a power greater than myself?
My friend is a huge WOW gamer and I almost bought him a Warcraft book for his birthday. I decided against it and bought him a bag of pot instead. He was more appreciative of that.
Glen Beck? Funny you say that... I went to B&N one night and there's all these people ther, cops outside watching the place and I'm thinking, 'Holy shit! Is B&N being robbed?' Then I walk in and I see Glen Beck there signing autographs. Looking back, I should've gotten an autograph. Could've added it to my collection of signed books.
.
December 8, 2011 - 10:06am
Touche good sir...
I don't agree with Beck's politics so much but I do think he is one of the only interesting people to watch on tv. His ranting and raving almost has me eating his bullshit on a silver platter.
mutterhals
from Pittsburgh
December 8, 2011 - 10:16am
@R.Moon
Hey man! I liked the idea of it, but the execution seemed rushed, or forced, maybe. It was too over the top and instead of being genuinely shocking it just came off as a parody of a Chuck Palahniuk book. Glamorama had its moments but there was too much going on. I hear they're making it into a movie and I have higher hopes for that, a truncated version of the book would probably be far superior.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 8, 2011 - 10:20am
Glamorama as a movie, huh? May work. The Rules of Attraction as a movie was great. I thought American Psycho sucked as a movie. And, Less Than Zero was good. I thought Rules stayed the truest to the book.
postpomo
from Canada is reading words words wordsDecember 8, 2011 - 3:36pm
I recall way back when I was around 10 or so picking up one of my sister's books - something about a bunch of girls at a private school doing things - that's about as much as I recall. I've always been an avid reader, and would read anything (age appropriate) that I could get my hands on.
I remember her friends trying to embarrass me by telling me it's a girls book, etc... I'm pretty sure I just shrugged my shoulders, or told her she had cooties or something.
I still read girls books (age appropriate)
PopeyeDoyle
December 8, 2011 - 3:43pm
I read, and enjoyed, The Bridges of Madison County...Haters gonna hate.
David Shepherd
from shepherdsville, KY is reading Idoru by William GibbsonDecember 8, 2011 - 5:08pm
I liked American psycho as a movie because christian bale was just th most perfect guy. Of course I'm a little biased on this knowing a real life Pat Bateman who proudly ate menstration. I couldn't get in to glamorama, I felt like the whole time I was reading about Patrick bateman as a male model. By the time anything happened I'd grown so bored with the book I didn't care.
TwistedPaper
from Poland is reading "The Book of the New Sun" by Gene Wolfe & "Seven Wonders" by Adam ChristopherDecember 9, 2011 - 4:51am
Xanth. I was young and so vulnerable...
Da Vinci Code - I take a half of it during some boring lecture and I read all of it some time later only because I hate to leave a book in the middle. Da Vinci Code isn't extremely bad, but maybe media hype make me so biased toward this book.
Brian Ingham
from Stillwater Oklahoma is reading There is No Year by. Blake ButlerDecember 9, 2011 - 5:58am
I would love to see Glamorama as a movie, I just know it would never live up to the book(as usual) because there's so much of that book that would never make it onto the screen(same goes with American Psycho though...as perfect as Bale was for that role, I'm interested to see what they're going to do with the new American Psycho they're making) Honestly, I'd rather see Lunar Park or Imperial Bedrooms as a movie, not much that would have to be left out due to graphic nature in those books.
@R.Moon-Honestly, you should give Harry Potter a 2nd chance. Sure, they are a little childish, the first 2 are a little slow and so are parts of the 3rd, but after that it gets really dark and disturbing at times and she is a very creative writer. I hate that JK Rowling is put in the same category as Stephanie Meyer, its shameful. Is Stephen Kings Thinner worth checking out? It's been years since I've read IT or The Shining, I'm going to have to check those out again.
aliensoul77
from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall.December 9, 2011 - 6:07am
Thinner is okay. It was one of the first King books I ever read. Just see the movie.
Mick Cory
from Kentucky is reading everything you have ever posted online and is frankly shocked you have survived this longDecember 9, 2011 - 6:16am
The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn. The copy that was delivered had a cover associated with the film, which I too attempt to avoid. I strangely feel that the story the film tells is far better than the version the book carries, a first for me. I found Glynn's protagonist weak and feel his story showcases how morality can rob an individual of extraordinary opportunities.
Brian Ingham
from Stillwater Oklahoma is reading There is No Year by. Blake ButlerDecember 9, 2011 - 6:58am
Limitless is a pretty entertaining movie though, and i love the concept. Haven't read the book yet.
Honestly, with the exception of Nicholas Sparks books being corny romantic novels, are they that bad? Are any of them worth giving a shot? My ex girlfriend loved them. I took a break from my usual writing styles a while back and thought about picking a book or 2 of his up at the library to see if they could inspire me to try something new, but before I got the chance to, I got the idea to write one of the novels I'm currently working on(which is violent/drug soaked and pornographic). So, anyways, are there any Sparks fans here? Anything he has worth giving a read or should I pass?
Bradley Sands
from Boston is reading Greil Marcus's The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten SongsDecember 9, 2011 - 7:20am
Angels and Demons, but only because I read it after reading The Da Vinci Code (which I'm not embarrassed about). I feel like I don't have any reason to be embarressed by anything I read unless I read an awful book and then read a second book written by the same author for some reason. I really have no idea why I read Angels and Demons.
Jay.SJ
from London is reading Warmed and BoundDecember 9, 2011 - 7:22am
And then you moved onto the Lost Symbol because you couldn't get enough.
R.Moon
from The City of Champions is reading The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion; Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schimdt PH.D; Creating Characters by the editors of Writer's DigestDecember 9, 2011 - 8:37am
@R.Moon-Honestly, you should give Harry Potter a 2nd chance. Sure, they are a little childish, the first 2 are a little slow and so are parts of the 3rd, but after that it gets really dark and disturbing at times and she is a very creative writer. I hate that JK Rowling is put in the same category as Stephanie Meyer, its shameful. Is Stephen Kings Thinner worth checking out? It's been years since I've read IT or The Shining, I'm going to have to check those out again.
- Do I think Rowling is better than Meyer, absolutely. I may, one day, try it again. Wouldn't be anytime soon. I read Thinner when I was in like middle school, and at the time I wasn't a big reader, but I so remember blowing through it. They're making a new American Psycho? Man, if they stuck to the book it'd be xxx on violence alone.
postpomo
from Canada is reading words words wordsDecember 9, 2011 - 8:39am
@Brian Ingham - not you too! it's a full-on cult of potter pushers - I hear from you lot more than Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Girl Guides all rolled up into one proselytizing mass. ;)
Brian Ingham
from Stillwater Oklahoma is reading There is No Year by. Blake ButlerDecember 9, 2011 - 1:33pm
haha thats the last time i will preach the gospel of potter i promise. To each his/her own, i know a lot of people who don't like them and thats fine, but the first 2 are the weakest of the series and i was just wanting to point that out.
NotMarilyn
from Twin Cities, MN is reading Mistress of Rome by Kate QuinnDecember 9, 2011 - 1:43pm
Da Vinci Code, and then Angels and Demons in the hope that maybe Code was just a sequel flop. Fail.
Oh, and I was obsessed with The Babysitters Club series as a kid.
As per the Harry Potter mini debate - I grew up with the books. Read the first when I was in elementary school and loved them all. The characters are unique, the stories entertaining and thought provoking, and the ending was a smash hit.
Twilight... meh. I read the first one because I wanted to see the movie and am a stickler for books first/movie after. While reading it, I wondered why it was so damn familiar and then I realized that I picked it up when the book first came out and immediately returned it to the shelf after reading the first few pages because of how shotty the writing was.
postpomo
from Canada is reading words words wordsDecember 9, 2011 - 1:56pm
I imagine I would quite like HP if I ever read them - but honestly, having it pushed on me for years has completely turned me off of it.
Dwayne
from Cincinnati, Ohio (suburbs) is reading books that rotate to often to keep this updatedDecember 14, 2011 - 5:56am
Yes Harry Potter has more literally value then Twilight. So does Penthouse Letters. If you want to defend the series you have to explain your view point better.
Lawrence
from Dallas, Texas is reading Mr. Mercedes - Stephen KingDecember 14, 2011 - 10:08am
After re-reading a lot of Lovecraft recently I decided I needed something a little easier to read. HP writes amazing stories but his use of adjectives at times makes you feel like your wading through molasses.
On that note I ended up picking up "The Hunger Games". To be honest the story was decent but the writing was so intentionally in a style meant for children that it was a little hard to get through at points.
Typewriter Demigod
from London is reading "White Noise" by DeLilo, "Moby-Dick" by Hermann Mellivile and "Uylsses" by JoyceDecember 14, 2011 - 10:46am
twilight, a few robert muchmores, give or take a dozen nora robertses
aliensoul77
from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall.December 14, 2011 - 10:54am
I agree about Lovecraft, Hunger Games was an audiobook listen for me so that helped. I do like the political underpinings of Hunger Games. Anything that educates youth about social injustice so they don't grow up to be self-entitled brats like most American children who lack empathy.
miked
from Los Angeles is reading White NoiseDecember 14, 2011 - 11:19am
I'll be the first here to mention that I've read three pro wrestler autobiographies (Bret "The Hitman" Hart and two from Mick Foley). I knew I was embarassed because I would never take the paperbacks out of the house. This also goes for "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."
Celebrity autobiographies and self-help books make me appreciate E-Readers.
As far as fiction is concerned, I was a sophmore in high school when I read "Memoirs of a Geisha." Being a teenage boy at the time, that embarassed me. I don't think it would now, being all growns-up.
-MikeD-
Brian Ingham
from Stillwater Oklahoma is reading There is No Year by. Blake ButlerDecember 14, 2011 - 5:19pm
@miked- I'm a sucker for biographies, and I've read quite a few written by pro wrestlers, and I got quite a few awkward looks while reading them in public. Oh well, the Bret Hart book is amazing in my opinion, I would recommend that to anyone, wrestling fan or not.
Nick
from Toronto is reading Adjustment DayDecember 14, 2011 - 7:34pm
It's embarassing to own a copy of The Game. It's a good read, and insightful. Still, it makes you look like a loser trying to learn how to pick up women, even though not much actual technique is covered.
Bradley Sands
from Boston is reading Greil Marcus's The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten SongsDecember 18, 2011 - 4:32pm
Lost Symbol
I haven't read it, but I may one day because I'm interested in analyzing the book to see how he writes books that you "can't put down" when they are so poorly written. I assume it has to do with every chapter possibly ending with a cliffhanger, although it's been a long time since I read Angels and Demons, so I'm not entirely sure.
Raelyn
from California is reading The Liars' ClubDecember 18, 2011 - 11:08pm
There are a few books that I've read (and enjoyed to an extent) that I'm too embarrassed to put in a 'embarrassed' thread. I'm afraid of the ensuing rock shower.
Dan
from Santa Monica, CA is reading Beautiful You by Chuck PalahniukDecember 20, 2011 - 12:33am
The Devil Wears Prada
(No, I am not kidding)
Arkadia
from Australia is reading Selected Poems by W.H. AudenDecember 20, 2011 - 5:07am
The only one I can think of that I'm truly embarassed I read (and finished) was that Tucker Max book. I pirated it just to see what all the fuss was about, so it's not SO bad. But seriously.
Seriously.
That book.. I have no words. I'm not even super-feminist or anything, if those girls are dumb enough to sleep with a guy like him then whatever, ya know. But... seriously. No words.
Jay.SJ
from London is reading Warmed and BoundDecember 20, 2011 - 5:48am
I don't understand the hate on Tucker Max. Sure, it's not great literature. It's fun in the same way Jersey Shore or something is. It made me laugh, sometimes it doesn't have to be about the prose.
Not that I planned on defending him. It's not a great book, but embarassment is a high one.
I love Harry Potter! And I'm not ashamed in the least. But they are kids books, so you have to take that into account.
@Rian - word on Harry Potter resistance! All my friends went simultaneously stupid when that came out. One by one, they would tell me "it's really good. you should read it. it's a good story." yeah yeah. "i don't know why you don't read it. you'd really like it." um... "are you going to see the movies at least?" wtf?
it's kinda culty - and weird. they were all in their 30s at the time.
back on topic: I read far too much Piers Anthony when I was younger - this can't have been good...
Harry potter is one of the first books I read along with Stephen king as a child so it's nostalgic for me. J.k. Rowling is a good writer i think and harry potter is an excellent addition to fantasy. It has much more merit than twilight, I think Harry potter actually deserves it's fame in some levels. The only trouble with the series is Harry, he just pisses me off for some reason. She wrote him coming across as such an arrogant and whiny person.
Stephen King... Another one I can't read is The Stand. I've tried like four times and I get 300 pages into it and I'm bored to death. Nothing has happened. Everyone I know who's read it says it's his best work, and that it gets better, but how much do I have to read? 300 pages is a lot of investment into a book. I have read others of his and loved them, Carrie being my favorite. Desperation and The Regulators were great. The Shining is classic and so is IT. Thinner was good, too.
I was Captain of my school's Battle of the Books team in middle school for 7th and 8th grade, I read every book on the list and whle I needed support on author names a lot of the time I always had a really good knowledge of every single book on the list by the time it came to competition (4th place statewide 7th grade, 2nd place 8th grade) (the way Battle of the Books works, for the uninitiated, is that there is a list of 20-30 books, the teams of each school read them or allot them up so that they each have a working knowledge of them, and at competition scenes, characters or events are described and the first team to identify the book and author gets the points).
Anyways, so the first Harry Potter book came out sometime around my 7th and 8th grade years, it was on the list for the 8th grade competition, and the English Teacher who ran Battle of the Books at my school gave it to me as a present after our 4th place finish so I could get a start on it.
I enjoyed it, you know, they weren't bad books at all, I really liked the first four. They weren't too heavy, like has been said they are childrens books. They aren't designed to plumb the depths and potentials of literature, they are supposed to be fun little books to get kids into reading, I don't think that you can legitimately claim that they were poorly written.
Like you, however, I find the enthusiasm that grown ass individuals have for that series to be unsettling. After the fourth book I quit reading, not because it wasn't well written or interesting, but because I had outgrown it. If JK Rowling had kept up a steady pace, if she had been done before I was 20, well maybe I would have kept reading, but she took too long and I left her behind.
Rian - you are in dangerous territory here. YOU NEVER READ THE STAND??
Go read it now. I'll wait.
It is amazing!! The characters are so amazing and so richly developed. When one of them died...I couldn't stop crying.
And on Potter, I was inmy twenties when I read it. No issue with that. It's fun. And sometimes I like fun, just ask my Sophie Kinsella books.
I have the stand. It's on my shelf and one day I will read it because I'm a writer and I want to see what it's all about. Will I read it soon? No. I'm just not interested at this point. And why is it that when I tell Stephen King fans I've never read The Stand they get all flabbergasted, like it's the worst thing I could've possibly done? I mean really, is it that good? 300 pages I invested. That's 50-100 pages over the average novel. I was bored, nothing exciting had happened. King can go on for two pages about a doorknob. Maybe that's why I was bored, too much exposition.
@r.moon
I have the same problem with it. I got five hundred pages in and realized the best thing I'd read was a fat kid getting his stomach cut and just couldn't stand to turn another page. Personally I think long walk, rage, and misery are his best works because he gets away from all the supernatural bullshit that generally ends up ruining his stories toward the end. Cujo is also another personal favorite and salmes lot is the best vampire story I've ever read.
Yea. Salems Lot was good. Probably the best vamipire novel I've read, as well. I'm just not into the epic novel. Too long, for one thing, and for another, those epics could probably easily be cut in half.
I'm not embarassed to have read any books. What's wrong with you people?
Sure you are. You're too embarrassed to say it. It's okay...
I can understand embarrassment at having written a bad story, but at having read one? Seems insane to me.
@phil - would guilty pleasure be a better way to frame it?
Yes, I'd say so. "Embarrassment" just suggests, to me, that people are reading to impress people.
Snuff, because it was fuck-awful. I'm more ashamed that I finished it. I'm really picky about what I read, so I haven't read anything too bad. I wasn't overly fond of Glamorama, I don't think I even finished it. I ninja kicked The Fountainhead across the room about half way in.
You really didn't like Snuff? I thought it was good, definitely not his best, but I liked it. Glamorama was very hard to get through. Bret claims it's his favorite. I don't buy it.
What's up fellow Pittsburgher?
This thread makes us sound like a snobby, cultish, literary group. Or maybe a resistence against shitty book/authors. Most of all it has the actual feel of an AA meeting which blows my mind.
I can't think of any books that I'm embarrassed about reading though on more than a few occasions I've been attempted to buy books connected to other media platforms: Diablo, Halo, Assassins Creed, Star wars, Starcraft, [Insert More Here]. Oh and the worst: a Glenn Beck book.
I was lucky enough to resist the temptation though.
My friend is a huge WOW gamer and I almost bought him a Warcraft book for his birthday. I decided against it and bought him a bag of pot instead. He was more appreciative of that.
Glen Beck? Funny you say that... I went to B&N one night and there's all these people ther, cops outside watching the place and I'm thinking, 'Holy shit! Is B&N being robbed?' Then I walk in and I see Glen Beck there signing autographs. Looking back, I should've gotten an autograph. Could've added it to my collection of signed books.
Touche good sir...
I don't agree with Beck's politics so much but I do think he is one of the only interesting people to watch on tv. His ranting and raving almost has me eating his bullshit on a silver platter.
@R.Moon
Hey man! I liked the idea of it, but the execution seemed rushed, or forced, maybe. It was too over the top and instead of being genuinely shocking it just came off as a parody of a Chuck Palahniuk book. Glamorama had its moments but there was too much going on. I hear they're making it into a movie and I have higher hopes for that, a truncated version of the book would probably be far superior.
Glamorama as a movie, huh? May work. The Rules of Attraction as a movie was great. I thought American Psycho sucked as a movie. And, Less Than Zero was good. I thought Rules stayed the truest to the book.
I recall way back when I was around 10 or so picking up one of my sister's books - something about a bunch of girls at a private school doing things - that's about as much as I recall. I've always been an avid reader, and would read anything (age appropriate) that I could get my hands on.
I remember her friends trying to embarrass me by telling me it's a girls book, etc... I'm pretty sure I just shrugged my shoulders, or told her she had cooties or something.
I still read girls books (age appropriate)
I read, and enjoyed, The Bridges of Madison County...Haters gonna hate.
I liked American psycho as a movie because christian bale was just th most perfect guy. Of course I'm a little biased on this knowing a real life Pat Bateman who proudly ate menstration. I couldn't get in to glamorama, I felt like the whole time I was reading about Patrick bateman as a male model. By the time anything happened I'd grown so bored with the book I didn't care.
Xanth. I was young and so vulnerable...
Da Vinci Code - I take a half of it during some boring lecture and I read all of it some time later only because I hate to leave a book in the middle. Da Vinci Code isn't extremely bad, but maybe media hype make me so biased toward this book.
I would love to see Glamorama as a movie, I just know it would never live up to the book(as usual) because there's so much of that book that would never make it onto the screen(same goes with American Psycho though...as perfect as Bale was for that role, I'm interested to see what they're going to do with the new American Psycho they're making) Honestly, I'd rather see Lunar Park or Imperial Bedrooms as a movie, not much that would have to be left out due to graphic nature in those books.
@R.Moon-Honestly, you should give Harry Potter a 2nd chance. Sure, they are a little childish, the first 2 are a little slow and so are parts of the 3rd, but after that it gets really dark and disturbing at times and she is a very creative writer. I hate that JK Rowling is put in the same category as Stephanie Meyer, its shameful. Is Stephen Kings Thinner worth checking out? It's been years since I've read IT or The Shining, I'm going to have to check those out again.
Thinner is okay. It was one of the first King books I ever read. Just see the movie.
The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn. The copy that was delivered had a cover associated with the film, which I too attempt to avoid. I strangely feel that the story the film tells is far better than the version the book carries, a first for me. I found Glynn's protagonist weak and feel his story showcases how morality can rob an individual of extraordinary opportunities.
Limitless is a pretty entertaining movie though, and i love the concept. Haven't read the book yet.
Honestly, with the exception of Nicholas Sparks books being corny romantic novels, are they that bad? Are any of them worth giving a shot? My ex girlfriend loved them. I took a break from my usual writing styles a while back and thought about picking a book or 2 of his up at the library to see if they could inspire me to try something new, but before I got the chance to, I got the idea to write one of the novels I'm currently working on(which is violent/drug soaked and pornographic). So, anyways, are there any Sparks fans here? Anything he has worth giving a read or should I pass?
Angels and Demons, but only because I read it after reading The Da Vinci Code (which I'm not embarrassed about). I feel like I don't have any reason to be embarressed by anything I read unless I read an awful book and then read a second book written by the same author for some reason. I really have no idea why I read Angels and Demons.
And then you moved onto the Lost Symbol because you couldn't get enough.
@Brian Ingham - not you too! it's a full-on cult of potter pushers - I hear from you lot more than Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Girl Guides all rolled up into one proselytizing mass. ;)
haha thats the last time i will preach the gospel of potter i promise. To each his/her own, i know a lot of people who don't like them and thats fine, but the first 2 are the weakest of the series and i was just wanting to point that out.
Da Vinci Code, and then Angels and Demons in the hope that maybe Code was just a sequel flop. Fail.
Oh, and I was obsessed with The Babysitters Club series as a kid.
As per the Harry Potter mini debate - I grew up with the books. Read the first when I was in elementary school and loved them all. The characters are unique, the stories entertaining and thought provoking, and the ending was a smash hit.
Twilight... meh. I read the first one because I wanted to see the movie and am a stickler for books first/movie after. While reading it, I wondered why it was so damn familiar and then I realized that I picked it up when the book first came out and immediately returned it to the shelf after reading the first few pages because of how shotty the writing was.
I imagine I would quite like HP if I ever read them - but honestly, having it pushed on me for years has completely turned me off of it.
Yes Harry Potter has more literally value then Twilight. So does Penthouse Letters. If you want to defend the series you have to explain your view point better.
After re-reading a lot of Lovecraft recently I decided I needed something a little easier to read. HP writes amazing stories but his use of adjectives at times makes you feel like your wading through molasses.
On that note I ended up picking up "The Hunger Games". To be honest the story was decent but the writing was so intentionally in a style meant for children that it was a little hard to get through at points.
twilight, a few robert muchmores, give or take a dozen nora robertses
I agree about Lovecraft, Hunger Games was an audiobook listen for me so that helped. I do like the political underpinings of Hunger Games. Anything that educates youth about social injustice so they don't grow up to be self-entitled brats like most American children who lack empathy.
I'll be the first here to mention that I've read three pro wrestler autobiographies (Bret "The Hitman" Hart and two from Mick Foley). I knew I was embarassed because I would never take the paperbacks out of the house. This also goes for "7 Habits of Highly Effective People."
Celebrity autobiographies and self-help books make me appreciate E-Readers.
As far as fiction is concerned, I was a sophmore in high school when I read "Memoirs of a Geisha." Being a teenage boy at the time, that embarassed me. I don't think it would now, being all growns-up.
-MikeD-
@miked- I'm a sucker for biographies, and I've read quite a few written by pro wrestlers, and I got quite a few awkward looks while reading them in public. Oh well, the Bret Hart book is amazing in my opinion, I would recommend that to anyone, wrestling fan or not.
It's embarassing to own a copy of The Game. It's a good read, and insightful. Still, it makes you look like a loser trying to learn how to pick up women, even though not much actual technique is covered.
I haven't read it, but I may one day because I'm interested in analyzing the book to see how he writes books that you "can't put down" when they are so poorly written. I assume it has to do with every chapter possibly ending with a cliffhanger, although it's been a long time since I read Angels and Demons, so I'm not entirely sure.
There are a few books that I've read (and enjoyed to an extent) that I'm too embarrassed to put in a 'embarrassed' thread. I'm afraid of the ensuing rock shower.
The Devil Wears Prada
(No, I am not kidding)
The only one I can think of that I'm truly embarassed I read (and finished) was that Tucker Max book. I pirated it just to see what all the fuss was about, so it's not SO bad. But seriously.
Seriously.
That book.. I have no words. I'm not even super-feminist or anything, if those girls are dumb enough to sleep with a guy like him then whatever, ya know. But... seriously. No words.
I don't understand the hate on Tucker Max. Sure, it's not great literature. It's fun in the same way Jersey Shore or something is. It made me laugh, sometimes it doesn't have to be about the prose.
Not that I planned on defending him. It's not a great book, but embarassment is a high one.