Hated Books
Every so often a meme goes around the blogosphere that asks about favorite books. Not only does this often yield non-illuminating answers (people who name only classics, or don’t say why they chose a title), but the lengthy entries are a reminder that the word meme is made up of me and me. While they can be fun to write, they are usually less fun to read.
Some recent disappointing books have gotten me thinking about books I haven’t loved, and perhaps have even hated. And hated books, I thought, are possibly more interesting than favorite ones.
This is not a meme, but a question: what is one book you hated, and why?
I hated Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. I disliked the main character, who did not grow or develop over the course of the narrative. I disliked how long it was, and how much time I felt I’d wasted by the time it was over. I disliked it even more when I found it had gotten numerous positive reviews, and was selected by the New York Times as a best book of 2005.