Books You've Thrown Away

[prickle]

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts. Damn you Oprah's Book Club! And that was one of her happier selections.

I hear you there. Seemed like an okay story and then you get to that horrible, horrible scene. I almost threw the book across the room. Ever since I became a mom, I simply cannot stomach anything that has to do with child abuse of any kind. And sexual abuse in particular makes me physically ill. So, I agree wholeheartedly that Where the Heart Is needed to be thrown away. WITH GREAT FORCE.

[Auroranorth]

A Darker Place, by Laurie King. So much description that I couldn't make it past chapter 3. It's called a Delete key, lady. Use it.

Yes. I actually read it all the way through, but it required uninterrupted reading time and I still got confused. Her later Sherlock Holmes ones are pretty bad as well, though I liked the first three. I really enjoy the Kate Martinelli books and the Folly series- she should do more there.

[Deleted]

Ok, I'm a dummy. I read Where the Heart Is a few years ago, but I honestly can't remember the child abuse. Can someone explain?

[outlier]

bonitagirl said:

I have to mention Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I had to struggle to finally finish the book and only to find out the ending of who is John Galt. The book was too long and repetitive that I had to skip pages to continue on. She also didn't need to pound viewers in the head with her philosophy. The book's premise was actually enticing but she could of trimmed some pages down to further my interest. I remember many of the characters' redundant converstations about her philosophy taking up to 10-20 pages especially the John Galt speech in the end.

I think there is some fine writing in Atlas Shrugged, but it's choked by the verbosity, uni-dimensional characters and soap-boxing. FWIW, I have never met anyone who read the whole of John Galt's speech. All, like myself, skimmed until it ended.

[Smilla]

Oh, god! I forgot all about The Horse Whisperer! I was liking it okay (nothing great, but I wasn't hating it) right up until the end

That is the end to The Horse Whisperer?! Oh, for fuck's sake--no pun intended. Jesus Christ. Things sort of like that have been known to happen, but to quote a great American: nothing disappears without a trace. How moronic. I don't think I was in any danger of reading that book anyway, yet it's good the crack team of shitty book investigators here at CPMCoG have made sure I won't go anywhere near it even while bored to tears in an airport.

[prickle]

Ok, I'm a dummy. I read Where the Heart Is a few years ago, but I honestly can't remember the child abuse. Can someone explain?

I'll try to explain, but I can't remember the character names to save my life. Also, I need to probably spoiler stuff and I'm not sure if I'm going to do it right. Here goes...

Remember the friend who names all her kids after snack foods?

SPOILER: Click to show

She has a boyfriend she thinks is wonderful, but one day when she's gone he decides to go after her kids. He tries to stick his dick in the little girl's mouth, but she pukes on him. And then the older brother tries to help her and the boyfriend ends up sodomizing the little boy. The mom walks in on this atrocity and understandably freaks out. Then the boyfriend beats the living crap out of her and puts her in the hospital.

Not very cheery.

[Deleted]

Oh, crap, now I remember. I forgot all about that girl who named her kids after snack foods. Man. I seriously think I blocked that shit out, cuz that is hella creepy. I'm not sure if I should thank you or not, Prickle.

[prickle]

Don't thank me. Let's, instead, block it from our minds.

Horrible story.

[nightcat]

This thread is all about Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha for me. This was the first book I've ever read that I wanted to literally throw into the fireplace. It was so bloody boring and the characters felt like cardboard. It might as well have said "Here's Siddhartha. This is the friend, this is the courtesan, this is the wise man, this is the river. Enlightenment now!" I also wanted to give Siddhartha a good smack upside the head the whole way through. I hated his character so much.

I really tried to like this book. Everyone keeps telling me that it's an amazing, life changing classic, but I just couldn't see it. My hate for this book knows no bounds.

[Deleted]

I buy books by the car-load, which means I have to throw out a bunch too. My latest: Snobs by someonewhoIcan'tbebotheredtoremember. Now I like books about class differences but the plot was as predictable as any 50-cent romance novel - what a bore.

I loved Bonfire of the Vanities and Right Stuff, but I threw out that latest piece of shit by Tom Wolfe. I also threw out Prep. Gah. Can't anyone write anything happy anymore??