1. Shadows in Flight (Card): Hands-down the worst book I finished in 2012. (Review contains fairly major spoilers.) WOW, this was bad. And I LIKE Card, a lot: the only reason I finished the book. Increasingly irrelevant (and what's worse, boring) fanfic about minor characters from a spinoff of his most popular work. It's frankly quite surprising to me that the same man who wrote the brilliantly disturbing Ender's Game and the incredibly moving, thoughtful, and subtle Folk of the Fringe, not to mention the layered Memory of Earth series, is putting out this kind of shallow garbage.
2. Thirteen Reasons Why (Asher): I thought I'd really like this book about suicide. I usually do like Issue-Laden YA. But I think I was supposed to be sympathetic towards the protagonist (who committed suicide --not a spoiler), and mostly I wanted her to stop whining!3. Bathsheba (Smith): This was technically fine, I guess. But it was just boring, and given how intensely interesting the original Biblical story is, there just seems to be no need for that.
4. Incarnate (Meadows): It wasn't so much that this was a bad book -- lots of people I know, including my sister, quite liked it -- as that it hit me squarely in my large-age-difference-romance squick, and this made it impossible for me to really take it seriously as it wanted me to.
5. In Spite of Everything (Thomas). I was told this was a book about a Gen X woman who had divorced parents, swore she would never get divorced, especially after they had kids, and then got divorced. Well, that was exactly what I got. It was well-written, but... a goodreads review called it "mind-bogglingly solipsistic," and I think that's an excellent description.What are your least favorite reads of the year?
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Worst had to be Alice in Zombieland. Just not good at all.
ReplyDeleteI'm also adding Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Do not lynch me for this but I could not stand the change that happens two thirds of the way through it. For me I felt unconnected and adrift with the last part of the book. I could no longer relate to Karou and it tore me up, left me felling like I was reading about someone else entirely. I could not get past that to read the next one in the series.
I loved that book up until the last 100 pages. The ending totally ruined what was a truly wonderful and original story :( So sad!
DeleteInteresting to see 13 Reasons Why on the list. Granted I read it when it first came out and I don't remember much about it other than the fact I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I read the Pregnancy Project last year and granted it was nonfiction, I felt it was lacking what the title suggested it was, a pregnancy project. It had too much filler about the past leading up to the decision to do the project and not enough info on the actual project itself and how it change Gabi's life. That's just my opinion though.
ReplyDeleteThe only one of those books that I have read was 13 reasons why and I loved it! I'm sorry you didn't like it so much!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I loved it... I can understand where she's coming from, but... I dunno. Ithought differently.
DeleteMy worst of 2012 was "Alice in Zombieland" I couldn't even finish that book, it was so bad. Still don't know how it got so many good reviews!
ReplyDeleteMy worst of 2012 would have to be The Chronicles of Vampire Tod series. I just could not get into these and the worst part.... I bought the whole series on one trip. I am one of those stick it through to till the end kind of readers. Once I start I have to finish no matter how bad. I am kind of really sad to hear about Alice in Zombieland and Daughter of Smoke and Bone! I really wanted to read these.
ReplyDeleteIn Spite of Everything - just lame!
ReplyDeleteOHHHH, I hated Incarnate as well! I didn't even finish it! That book was just... ick. And so many people liked it! o.O My least favorite read was Everneath by Brodi Ashton Don't even get me started on that book. UGH. *shakes head*
ReplyDeleteOh really, 13 Reasons?? LOVE that book! Such a beautiful story I thought!
ReplyDeletedon't think #2 is a subject I'd like to read
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about "Thirteen Reasons Why". I didn't like it, and it has too much hype, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI'm SO sad after reading all of the Alice in Zombieland hate mail! I adored this book and love Gena Showalter; isn't it crazy how opinions can be so polar opposite..? Oh well, there's enough room for all of us in this crazy reading world. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a pity I was hoping Incarnate was a good book as I love the cover!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of these, but 13 Reasons Why and Incarnate were on my list, so maybe I will be rethinking those...I hate it when I don't like a book that everyone loves. For me, the worst book I have read recently was The Perks of Being A Wallflower (please don't hate me, I know everyone else under the sun loved it.) It actually made me feel violently angry toward the book. Oh well...
ReplyDelete13 reasons why... I agree. She was whiney, and moany, and I felt no sympathy.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say Awakened (#8 in the House of Night series) by P. C. Cast. I love the first couple of books in the series and couldn't read them fast enough but I was a bit disappointed with Awakened. It took me forever to read because I just wasn't that engaged in the story. I'm still going to read more of the series because I'm hoping the next books will be great and more like the first books!
ReplyDeleteI've read 13 Reasons Why and thought it was interesting. I still don't know how I feel about it, really. I found the girl's attitude a little disturbing and I also wanted her to just stop whining sometimes. I also started to read Incarnate but stopped reading it. I didn't really start reading it in the first place, though. I had only just started it and got bored, but not because I hated it.
ReplyDeleteBathsheba was the worst book I have ever read in my entire life. I read the whole thing, hoping it would get better, but it just got worse. I think that Bathsheba should be the #1 spot of the worst. Great rant.
ReplyDeleteAh you didn't like 13RW? I cried like a baby reading it. I am such a sap :)
ReplyDeleteOh no! I'm surprised to see Incarnate. The covers of that series are so breathtaking I have basically convinced myself that I need to read that series just so I can have them for my shelf. That's too bad that you were disappointed in it. :(
ReplyDeleteI heard that 13 Reasons Why was a great book. I struggle reading whiny or bratty characters though.
ReplyDelete