I literally introduce The Great Gatsby to my students with "you will hate every single character in this book, they are all terrible" and then at the end I let them discuss and rank all 7 of the main characters based on who is the worst. It is a hot debate and typically takes the entire 70 minute class. This year it was Nick taking #1. I agree that Gatsby is only about rich white people and the American dream, but more specifically it questions what has become of the "american dream" when it is all about social class and money, resulting in empty people, action, emotion, etc.
You sound like an English teacher that I would’ve really liked. I strongly disliked all of the English teachers that I had and it took me a long time to regain my relationship with reading. Please build up your students and be as real as possible with them. Keep being awesome.
when we read TGG, my english teacher had a big game of "red flags" and if you pointed out a red flag in a character you got a point, and then at the end the winner got a piece of candy ha ha
it’s funny that people have to read the alchemist for school because here in brazil pretty much every literature teacher hates paulo coelho and is ashamed that he represents of brazilian lit internationally
I read The Alchemist, didn't like it. I read 11 Minutes for 11 minutes and that was it, never picked up his books again. I do think he gives good interviews, shame it doesn't translate to his writing.
@@adeleaslan8182 Yeah! The most common complaints are the very stereotypical characters, poor writing and dialogue and lack of research (he is also extremely egocentric and rude). It's a shame because we have so many incredible writers who don't get nearly as much credit as he does :(
@@anabeatrizgarcia106 oh I did not know about that. I always felt like the tribes in the desert were kind of... well stereotyped, along with his love interest. Thanks for telling me.
I am honestly surprised that the Night Circus is so popular, and I'm saying this as someone who loves that book. It is an acquired taste for a very particular audience, and it seems that audience is bigger than I thought it would be.
I agree! My best friend doesn’t like to read, but loves The Night Circus! It was a complete surprise because I never would have recommended it to her based on how she doesn’t like reading and it’s hard for her to focus.
@@andthatsondana which is so weird because I feel like the descriptive writing of The Night Circus makes it so dense and more difficult to read, especially for a non-reader!
@@redroses7832 That was nothing. Let me tell ya, there was actually a line in the book, after their baby was born, 'We both laughed at our son's big balls'. That's actually a line in the book.
I knew Addie LaRue would be on this list. Personally, it is my favourite book of all time, but I can see why it is so hated and loved at the same time. I tell everyone to read it, but say that it is not for everyone. I felt it was a little slow, but I could relate so much to Henry's character and I just adore V.E. Schwabs writing style. It taught me a lot, but now I get exactly why it clicks for some and not for others. It depends so much on the person and is not a perfect book for all (at first I was very defensive over this book). I will always suggest people to give it a try and not give up too soon though, because if it works then it could be a wonderful time.
@@maishamahjabinmahi8073 That is a smart idea! I read it right when it came out, so my expectations were high, because V.E. Schwab, but not too high. And I can totally see how it can be too different from what is hyped up. I should start saying what you say too :)
I want to read it, but I already have a very high bar for her stuff because Vicious and Vengeful are two of my favorite books EVER, and I don't know how she'll measure up to those two with anything else she writes/has written.
Honestly, I see Colleen Hoover becoming like the Danielle Steel or JD Robb of our generation. You either love it or hate it. I agree with Addie Larue though. I didn’t love it. I feel like it was the kind of book that could have been written in 200 pages rather than 400. The plot line is there but it’s just SO slow
I’ve never thought of her as a modern version of those authors but it makes sense. I love both Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts so maybe I should give Coleen Hoover a chance haha.
I totally agree with you on the Addie LaRue book. I think it's good, but it feels like I'm never getting through it! It's super long and things that happen in the story are sort of just her doing the same thing over and over. Just surviving, stealing, being chased away, and being depressed about her situation. And I am only halfway through. Haha, I will have to gather some extra patience with this one.
Looking for Alaska is the only book where I completely detested all the characters. John Green tried so hard to portray "deep" teenagers while also wanting them to be "relatable" and the result was just having obnoxious kids drinking/smoking/f*cking and analyzing just about everything for 250 pages. I just couldn't stand it. I loved the Fault in our Stars and Turtles all the way down but this was a miss.
Dang, I knew Lord of the Flies wasn’t well liked, but I didn’t know it was going to be THAT DISLIKED- I literally loved this book so much, but then again, I didn’t have to read and analyze it for school or anything.
Lord of the Flies is definitely one of my most hated books because we had to analyze why it represented the human condition when it just doesn't. Realistically if you dropped a bunch of kids onto an island they'd end up with digestive illnesses and die of dehydration due to diarrhea. I also didn't like Addie Larue but mostly because she thinks not being remembered is the worst thing when she literally saw slavery, both world wars, and who knows how many random deaths. i get it, she wants to be deep, but to me it felt like she was so self absorbed that she deserved to be forgotten. I do get trying to run away from a forced marriage though, that much I like about her it was the rest of the book that made me want to scrub her name from my brain. I'd also add that The Wise Man's Fear is probably my choice for the worst book ever because the main character just talks about his school life where he could do whatever he wanted and never face any consequences. I'm pretty sure that if the third book ever comes out you could just read the first book then go straight into the third without missing anything. I can't stand lyrical writing in general because I feel that it's often used to help cover the fact that the narrative is boring, but no amount of pretty prose will make me want to read Patrick Rothfuss may (or may not) come out with.
I would say lord of the flies does examine the dark side of human condition. It might not be believable but the examination of the human condition in the book is not based on how realistic the scenario is but about how greed, hunger, desperation, etc can warp and corrupt people. The use of "youth" (in this case kids) is in my opinion also used strategically as symbolism to the wider issues/topics portrayed.
Honestly to me the Great Gatsby really portrayed the "American Dream" well. It showed me the flaws in that ideology and why the idea in itself is corrupted in many ways. As my project for the book in High School I wrote a short story/poem called "American Dream, American Scheme". The teacher wanted us to do a retelling which used the symbolism in the novel (ex: the green light or whatever that was called) and it fit super well with me debunking the whole "American Dream" thing.
Plus the "American Dream" most people believed in for more than the first half of our history was strictly a Caucasian dream. Most of those people either didn't care or actively worked against anyone else achieving it.
That would give something new for Bookmas. And also have some itneresting titles, since the people who list those books will have to have read them THIS year. I already know the latest Emily Henry will be on the Best one. Of course my answer for that every year would be whatever Kasie West book came out that year, except that in 2021 I didnt' get to Sunkissed, was saving it for a different time so I could pair it with another book I was waiting to come out in paperback. But Places We've Never Been is pretty much guaranteed to be that for me this year. It's the "Worst Books of 2022" list that should be the most interesting. Since that really should have different answers.
When your favorite booktuber mentions your comment in a video it's genuinely a very special feeling 💕💕 I was the one who said I don't generally DNF books but I couldn't for the life of me get into Looking for Alaska by John Green 😅
I couldn’t stand The Alchemist when I had to read it for school. The only way I was able to finish it was to pretend the characters were characters from other stories/movies while I visualized it. Ughhh.
I think its so interesting that so many people don't like a book "because they had to read it for school." I mean, I get the main populace thinking this, but readers? I was THRILLED to get to read books in school. I would have rather done that than just about anything else, so even if it was something I wouldn't normally pick, I was just happy to get to read! My World Lit class was interesting: we had to read 5 required books throughout the semester, than we got to pick 5 more books off of a huge list of books. We spent most of our class time reading, and I'm a speed reader, so I got through the books so fast, my teacher just let me keep reading books. I read almost all of the books on the list (and it was over 100 I think). Some I definitely enjoyed more than others, but I don't think I would ever give a reason for not liking a book "because I had to read it for school."
I also liked reading the books for school but making me write papers on the depth of the story, explaining the symbolism, and why I think the author wrote what they wrote wasn't fun. Not to mention projects can make a person hate the book. I like the reading, not the explaining part. I think that's why a lot of people don't like reading because school forces this.
I love to read and read a lot when I was a kid. And I hated most of the books I had to read for school. Now I'm glad I read them, but then I was annoyed I had to spend time reading for school that I would otherwise spend reading for pleasure, reading something I chose. By reading for school I mean elementary and high school. In high school especially we had a lot of required reading (last two years was about 50 books per school year).
I like reading, but hate reading for school because of the homework and long essays. I am ok with analyzing books and writing about it, but the prompts are so useless. I have also never had class time to read and rarely get to discuss with my classmates
I like reading, but being forced to read something makes the experience less enjoyable. I couldn’t read at my own pace, and I wasn’t able to DNF it if it wasn’t for me. If the books had been closer to something I would have chosen myself, I might have liked them more.
My least favorite is heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad. It was the only book I was supposed to read in school that I got halfway through, literally couldn't stand to read anymore and googled notes for studying for a test on it. The writing style was boring and the storyline wasn't interesting.
My issue with Heart of Darkness is that is a 15 minute story stretched out to 200 pages. Like Conrad, we don’t need to know about the shade of every leaf. I know it’s for atmosphere, but it definitely makes the story drag at times. I think the accusations of racism in the book are somewhat misplaced. Sure Conrad uses slurs in the book which obviously isn’t great, but the story’s primary purpose is to show the brutality and evils of colonialism. Brussels is portrayed as a whitewashed tomb taking imagery from the Pharisees of the Bible who appear to be righteous on the outside but are rotten on the inside. Belgium appears to be a civilized and calm nation from the outside until you realize the cruelty and evil they committed in the Congo. An estimated 10 million people were killed by the Belgians in the Congo a massacre that too few talk about today. Remember when Conrad wrote this book few Europeans really cared about the plight of the people’s being colonized. Conrad actually took a pretty bold stand criticizing his fellow Europeans for their brutality and hypocrisy which I think should be commended.
I actually loved the alchemist and I HATE overly positive books. I kinda took away that the story was more about "it's not about the destination, it's the journey." But more in a way of not getting too far ahead of yourself and being able to find the happiness where you are. I had just lost my dad when I read this the first time, and all I wanted was to stop hurting, to get to a place I was okay. This book reminded me it's okay to feel this hurt, in this moment. Trying to make big moves to feel like my dad WOULD'VE been proud of me was blinding me to the fact that he was ALWAYS proud of me. I didn't need to take the path for anyone but myself, because his love was constant and there all along, waiting for the moment I saw it. This was a few years ago, and I haven't read it since, but it was instrumental to my grieving process.
Unpopular opinion, Heart of Darkness portrays racism, but in my opinion it sheds a negative light on it and criticises it (albeit not explicitly) - though arguably that might just be the way my uni lecturer portrayed it to us. That being said, I still hated Heart of Darkness; hated the writing and just the plot in general was so boring to me
I have a copy of Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover and I read it and thought about giving it away because I don't want it on my shelf. But I don't want to do that either because I want literally no one else to ever read it.
I AGREE!!! I did like It End With Us A LOT (but hate how it's marketed as a romance). But I absolutely HATE ugly love and I don't want to read it again or have anyone else read it as well
• It ends with us by Colleen Hoover • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury • 50 shades of grey by E.L James • Looking for Alaska by John Green • The silent patient by Alex Michaelides • The alchemist by Paulo Coelho • The betrothed by Kiera Cass •The invisible life of Addie Larue by V.E Schwab • The Spanish love deception by Elena Armas • The night circus by
I think it really depends on when you read a book, and if you are drawn to it or forced to read it. I agree with you about Catcher in Rye, I read it when I was angsty it was great! I also think it might be the first time I read swear words in a book.
So far in my experience of reading books, my most hated book of all time is “The Scarlet Letter”. Yes I had to read it for school and it was a complete fever dream to me. From what I remember, it didn’t have a cohesive plot line or if it did, I couldn’t understand what was going on. The characters were awful and everyone basically hatred everyone in this small town and the ending sucked. Every sentence was absolute torture to get through. I’m sorry if you absolutely adore this story about super old views on adultery but it’s not for me. I don’t think I’ll ever touch that book again.
I agree with you on that one. The Scarlet Letter was awful and nobody in my class liked it. To me it went nowhere really slowly and it just didn’t make any bleeping sense!
I read it for fun when I was in my early twenties, because I didn't know there would be no fun to be had. From what I remember, the book constantly mentions there is something unusual about the child, almost supernatural, so I kept thinking that that was going to mean something, but then the book just... ended. I'd argue there is basically no plot to speak of. Massive letdown. You just find out who the father is and then it's oh ok, and that's it.
I met a girl whose favorite book was the Scarlet Letter… I was so surprised because I’d never heard anyone but english teachers say good things about it
I never knew why i hated Looking For Alaska so much until now. You aptly described it, it was pretentious as f and trying to be so poetic but it was not. Also 100% agree that Normal People should be on this list, i do not understand the hype.
I personally love John Green, but yeah, It's an adult giving his adult voice to teenagers, there will be a huge discrepancy :) and Sally Rooney's writing is a dud.
@@andromeda156 fair point on that, Looking For Alaska is really not for me. I plan to read his other book, Turtle All The Way Down, to give his writing another chance. 🤞
I mostly just feel indifferent towards books if I don’t fall in love with them, but there’s one I utterly despise and that is Tess of the d’Urbervilles. I had to read it (and memorise the entire thing) for an exam and hated every single second and every single character. I felt next to nothing for any of them, even Tess despite the no doubt horrible stuff she goes through; she honest just annoyed me. I feel bad because I can appreciate it being important or objectively great, but sadly it just bored me, I had to analyse it within an inch of its life and I had zero connection to it.
My least favorite books are Normal People by Sally Rooney, the Host by Stephenie Meyer, and the Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. Also, it hurt seeing Silent Patient, We Were Liars and Great Gatsby on this list they are some of my favorite books 💔
Oh my god I’m so glad Catcher in the Rye is on here because it is literally the only book that I absolutely can not stand. I had to read it in school and I enjoyed it at the time (for I too was once an angsty teen) then I recently re read it and rage quit exactly 16 pages in. God it’s Holden Caulfield is just so🤢
I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue before all the hype, so I really loved it. I knew nothing about the book so I was pleasantly surprised, but.. A perfect example of having high expectations and then being disappointed in my case is The Song of Achilles... Which I HATED SOOOO MUCH!!! Maybe if I hadn't known anything about the book, I would have liked it more.
Yeah the amount of people who hate classics because of school is so sad because a lot of them are a good read, just when you're forced to read something it makes you not want to do that thing and resent it. And I know this because I was that kid who hated reading classics for English class (I still find Hatchet boring though. That book genuinely sucked.)
Um I love classics but I dislike the titles listed here. At least the oens the comments are mentioning. I haven't watched the actual video. I even like F. Scott Fitzgerald a lot, but The Great Gatsby is his WORST book. And Lord of the Flies was bad enough in of itself, but knowing some of the symbolism, I hate it so much. But you know what I DO like? Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Wuthering Heights, Silas Marner, Jane Austen, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, and a number of others. Oh I also like Fahrenheit 451, which IS in the video yikes. And I am appalled--APPALLED I say--that The Picture of Dorian Gray is so hated on Booktube, like what the heck peeps?
The people who hate classics for reasons like well it's not progressive or up to today's standard are a weird bird of why people hate classics that is too common. You can have kids read fun stories they pick they still might hate reading because they had to do work.
I think part of the problem is that we’ve seen so many retellings of these stories that they just aren’t surprising. I would probably like A Christmas Carol if I hadn’t seen the Barbie, Muppets, and random sitcom versions already, but reading it now is boring because I know exactly where it’s going.
1) Recently bought Fahrenheit 451. I'll read it eventually. 2) I loved Looking for Alaska. One of my favorite John Green books. 3) Addie LaRue absolutely sucked me into the story. I definitely enjoyed. 4) We Were Liars- I enjoyed this book. 8 years ago when it came out.
i read fahrenheit 451 in my sophomore year in high school. it's the book that made me appreciate reading more. i also liked the catcher in the rye and the great gatsby, though both weren't read for school. frankly, i actually liked all the books i had to read in middle and high school. however, i would've liked the curriculum to be more diverse; to stray away from the repeated classics and to explore other literature, whether that be contemporary or international. that way, it'll be more exciting and refreshing for the students. it's not that i don't like classics (believe me, i do) but they aren't the only books that have literary devices.
This was fascinating! I can forgive an author for many things, but writing completely unlikable characters is a major crime for me. If a plot is slow, but the characters are wonderful, I’m all in. But unlikable characters in a relatively good plot will make me DNF a book right away. I had to read Lord of the Flies way back in the late 1960’s in school. But thanks to our English teacher, Mr. Burns, and our Biology teacher, Mr. Ivan, the entire class devoured the book with glee and laughter. You see, Biology was dissecting little piglets at the same time the English class was reading Lord of the Flies. When you are about to fall asleep with boredom, and the Biology teacher comes parading through your class with a piglet stuck on the end of a yardstick, you wake up. Something about that gross demonstration made us think about being with these kids in this story. It was impactful and the entire class passed their next English test! 🤷🏼♀️
Def agree on the Alchemist, I read it with my friends for our book club and it felt soooo pointless. So many words saying absolutely nothing.. I also hated It ends with us, the ending made me so angry! SPOILERS The fact that she allows this man who repeatedly abused her take care of her child???? Huh??? Was kind of meh about the book throughout, but that ending made me wanna throw it out the window
My least favorite book is ACOMAF. It took me over two months to finish because it was torture. I hated the characters and romance. Rhys has become my least favorite character of all time
I tried to give a chance the new HP book but plot made no sense whatsoever. And the main chara was full of daddy issues and time travel was ridiculous beyond belief. The only redeeming quality is Dracon being a good dad.
I honestly really loved the After Series. I have read them all and really enjoyed Hardin and Tessa's story. I can totally see why it is problematic in a lot of ways and toxic as well but i did love it. It was actually the series that got me back into reading after years and years of not reading because it is so fast paced. But again, totally respect those that didn't like it and definitely won't fight anyone on the fact that its toxic lol.
Same here! I can see why people dislike it, I’ll even tell people I love the series but can see many people dislike it. I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to see what happened to Tessa and Hardin in the end.
I’m not gonna judge y’all but I truly don’t understand how you can like a book, well not even just one book but like FIVE, where seriously nothing happens except fighting and then makeup-sex. Like that’s literally everything that they do and it’s tiring. Hardin is everything except attractive with his childish and toxic behavior and Tessa is boring as hell lol. It’s not even written well like the way she writes is so.. mediocre. IMO that is. I read the first two books and half of the third and I’m so disappointed in myself and upset that I wasted so much time of life on that piece of crap :(. No hate btw and even though I don’t agree with you it’s great that it got you back into reading and I do find it interesting how we all can have completely different opinions of the same books.
@@Alleballe I totally get it. I think as someone who never read anything that wasn't school mandated like my whole life the fast paced writing of it appealed to me. That being said, I wouldn't say it is my favorite book(s) of all time it just really captured my attention and I read all 5 books in like one month. I'm super grateful that it got me into reading things I actually enjoy and I'll be honest - i probably only love hardin as much as i do because i was such a Chuck Bass Girl (if you know you know) but Chuck Bass did it way better haha. Also i love your name ;) haha! And i do agree, it's awesome how people can have such different thoughts and opinions on the same book.
If you read Paper Towns, and then Looking for Alaska (or the other way around) it's incredibly similar. I liked John Green back in high school (9sih years ago). I think whatever one you read first will be your favourite. I also find that John Green's books aren't super re-readable... at least for me. I had higher expectation for TILOALR, because of Vicious (loved that one). I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. Just an average book. I don't remember much about Lord of the Flies, so.... what does that say about it? haha I found We Were Liars SOOO boring! I was confused the whole time and it was filled to the brim with metaphors that made it even more confusing! I read it before the hype of Booktok, but holy crap I really wish I didn't read that book. Books you read in high school are hard to enjoy. School takes the fun out of reading imo. Would you like to be tested on a book you absolutely HAVE to read? "why do you think the curtains are blue? what's the symbolism?" I don't know! Maybe the author just liked blue curtains!
I HATED Paper Towns, its was so boring a pretentious the whole way through, everything was so loosely connected and then the ending was just nothing. Looking for Alaska was only slightly better, but not by much. Felt sad because I adore The Fault in Our Stars, and I quite liked Will Grayson, Will Grayson; but I think John Green's RUclipsr/influencer status made him very overhyped. Which is the sad consequence of a lot of the "Influencer turned author".
I love how I’m reading the first two.. one for English class and the other for my personal reading. And I really am enjoying it ends with us to be honest
I HATED After. I read it after the movie and if I had read the book first there's no chance I would've watched the movie. Tessa in the books is the most annoying character I've ever read in a book ever. I DNF'ed it at about 30% and that book is huge so I gave it a fair shot. I think I'd rather read any other book on this list multiple times than ever read After again.
I love Waiting for Godot. It’s absurdist, so nothing happening is the entire point of the story. But it’s certainly not for everyone. It seems like people either love it or hate it.
i read fahrenheit 451 for my English 2 honors class in high school and enjoyed the first half, but then I think the fact that I was being forced to read it as a summer reading book made me not enjoy it whatsoever.
My issue with Heart of Darkness is that is a 15 minute story stretched out to 200 pages. Like Conrad, we don’t need to know about the shade of every leaf. I know it’s for atmosphere, but it definitely makes the story drag at times. I think the accusations of racism in the book are somewhat misplaced. Sure Conrad uses slurs in the book which obviously isn’t great, but the story’s primary purpose is to show the brutality and evils of colonialism. Brussels is portrayed as a whitewashed tomb taking imagery from the Pharisees of the Bible who appear to be righteous on the outside but are rotten on the inside. Belgium appears to be a civilized and calm nation from the outside until you realize the cruelty and evil they committed in the Congo. An estimated 10 million people were killed by the Belgians in the Congo a massacre that too few talk about today. Remember when Conrad wrote this book few Europeans really cared about the plight of the people’s being colonized. Conrad actually took a pretty bold stand criticizing his fellow Europeans for their brutality and hypocrisy which I think should be commended.
The worst book in the world in my eyes will always and forever be The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. As an autistic individual, I find it the most insulting that an ableist middle-aged man thought that he was the spokesperson for every autistic reader in the world despite the fact that he barely researched the condition or even put effort to learn how the minds and lives of autistic people even are, especially for the main character who is supposed to be a teenager whose passion in life was mathematics.
I am currently reading "The invisible life of Addie LaRue" and I can understand why people hate it, but also why people love it. I am about halfway through, and so far the only problem that I have with it, is that it is so freaking long! It is about 100 more pages than what I usually read per book, and that's not very much, but for some reason I am reading this one so slowly and I get frustrated because I just want to finish it now! If I ignore the length of the book and my slow reading speed, I think it is fine. I have to read more to decide what I think, but so far I don't think that I would recommend it!
I read CitR as an angsty teen and I still hated Holden. It would be the worst book I had to read in HS, but I had read A Portrait of the as a Young Man, by James Joyce.
I despise Hatchet. Not just because I had to read it for English class but also just because it was a really stupid book in general and some of the character decisions made no sense - to the point where they're just plain unlikeable. Most boring plot ever too and the main guy had the personality of a piece of paper. It tried to make a commentary on parents splitting up and the affects it has on a kid but as someone who's parents are split up I couldn't relate in the slightest. I'm very sad that The Great Gatsby is on here but I get why people don't like it it's not for everyone. No Longer Human is by far my favourite classic book (or just book in general) buuut that's in a whole other league of classics and I don't know of any schools outside of Japan that make students read it for class (I, uh, don't really think it'd be allowed anyways-).
I’ve hardly heard of anyone else that had to read Hatchet for English! I actually enjoyed it but probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I didn’t have to read it for a class haha
The Shiver series and House of Night series, I didn’t like the books at all when I was a teenager. Back then I believed true love existed and I hated the books because all the main characters, I thought, only wanted sex. Know that I’m an adult, I’m sure my POV has changed. But since I’ve had those thoughts about the books, I don’t know if I’ll try asked read them.
It’s occurs to me that my English teacher had some pretty immaculate taste in books because the ones I read in school were all great (for me at least). I Am David, The Hobbit, The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Night were all fantastic.
"Twilight" is the only book I DNFed in my entire life. I'm 31 years old now, and the series was one of the most popular series out there when I was a teenager. I tried as hard as I could to read it but hated the style and setup so much that I couldn't force myself to finish it.
I 10000% agree with the catcher in the rye. Also didn’t enjoy Lord of the Flies. The Great Gatsby didn’t bother me honestly, that was probably my favorite out of the 3 we had to read in my senior year lit class lol
My personal worst book ever... Old Man and the Sea...I can't. So boring. I've had to read it 3 times in my life and it's only like 90 pages. But 90 pages of PURE BORING. I hate this book with all my being lol. So sad the After series made this list! I LOVED LOVED those books. I read the first three beastly books in a weekend. I couldn't put them down.
I just read the Alchemist and it’s, without a doubt, my least favorite book of all time. I hate the New Age nonsense espoused in this book, nonsense that goes against everything I’ve experienced in my life so far. The worldview sold in this book is at best out of touch and at worst incredibly dangerous. Most of the time in this life the things you want most will remain out of reach. Poor people are apparently poor because they don’t want wealth enough so the universe doesn’t fulfill their wishes. Single people who want to be married are apparently single because they don’t want it enough for the universe to give them the spouse of their dreams. Ugly people are apparently ugly because they don’t want beauty enough for the universe to grant it to them. The examples go on and on but you get the idea. It’s far more constructive to be empowered to change the things one can change and accept the things one can’t change. I’m sorry but the “universe” doesn’t owe you anything and if you disagree, you’ll likely live your life in perennial disappointment unable to bring positive and lasting change to your own circumstances.
I totally agree with Cursed Child. It was utterly trash. People keep trying to tell me that I ‘need to see it’ as a stage play. No. No, I do not. Seeing it acted out will NOT change the plot of the damn thing or the dialogue.
James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is my least favorite book. Other books can’t even compare. I’ve tried to read it not less than a dozen times and just can’t get through it. I hear something brilliant happens in the second half but I can’t never get there. If I Disappear is my most recent disappointing read. I finished it, but I was skimming to get to the end.
So many of those books I loved! I happen to love After, actually. But I guess I judge my book preferences by whether or not I enjoyed reading them, rather than the quality. My least favorite book of all time was Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbotsky.
I do the same! I love a book if I was entertained by it and not by the quality lol. Harry potter is one of my favorite of all time and also Pride and Prejudice… it’s about enjoyment for me
I feel like the invisible life of Addie LaRue is less of a novel and more like a stream of consciousness. Like, I thought it had an intriguing plot, but the story was told more through the character’s thoughts and whims rather than actions. This makes sense for the story because it revolves around the inability to interact with the world in a real sense, but I understand why some people might not enjoy the book because of how slow it can feel. You definitely have to be invested in the themes and poetic writing style to enjoy the book.
The Invisible life Addie LaRue I enjoyed it. I read it closer to it's release date, so it didn't have as divided opinions at that point. I enjoyed that it was slow, it made sense with the story and the writing was so great that I just enjoyed reading it for her craft. That doesn't happen to me often. Lol.
I cannot believe Silent Patient is on here, and I question the reading habits of anyone who would put that as a worst book. (Now, if they were talking about the author's second book, The Maidens, I'd get it. That one definitely missed the mark.)
@@blending_in Same! Like, I'm not surprised at much, just because I've so many horror/psychological/"twist ending" books, but that one?? Heck, no. That surprised the hell out of me!
Two books I had to read for school that I absolutely hate now is 1984 and "The Cellist of Sarajevo". 1984 is considered a classic and a lot of people enjoy it but it made me so uncomfortable, especially with the rapey undertones coming from Winston that I just couldn't enjoy the story and only finished it because I had to. "The Cellist of Sarajevo" is based on the Bosnian war that happened in 1992-95 but the pacing of the book was terrible and the characters were incredibly one-dimensional that it was hard to connect to them and their stories and to get invested in the book. I actually dnf the Cellist and had to look up the sparknotes for it because I hated it so much.
I completely agree with The Alchemist being one of my least favorites. I feel like I gained nothing from reading that book. It is one of the very few books I’ve ever read that I regretted spending the time on. Maybe it is an acquired taste and maybe I didn’t take the time to really dive into the story, but I did not like it.
We were forced to read Faulkner in high school because he was a Mississippi/Southern writer. I would poke my eyes out now before reading Faulkner again.
My least favourite book of all time is American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. God, I hate that book. We had to read it when I was in college and it was absolutely terrible. I get what the author was doing and the point it was trying to make but I just hated it. Not surprised to see Twilight on this list. I don’t like any of the Twilight books anymore but New Moon or Eclipse are worse than Twilight imo.
Hated modern: Zodiac Academy- which is somehow on a LOT of people's Favorites, and I just don't know how. I thought Fifty Shades was the shining star of toxic relationships, but oh BOY, it doesn't compare. Not to mention, I'm unsure how they passed through the market without an editor. From Blood and Ash is a close, close second for many of the same reasons. I just need to know why people are jiving with bully relationships right now when they were all ready to spit on Twilight for being stalkerish- it's the same feeling! One is just more in your face than the other!
I hated Fahrenheit 451 with a burning passion so I'm glad it's here and I wasn't the only one who said it. I read it for a book club though, not school. And I didn't like The Great Gatsby or The Cursed Child either.
So yeah it's cool to learn that not everyone is going to be giddy about The Great Gatsby, the videos I've seen here on Booktube made it seem otherwise. I've seen a lot of hate for The PIcture of Dorian Gray, which is baffling, but everywhere there's so much laterhing praise on F. Scott Fitzgerald's worst book. But I had the fortune to read a much better, absolutely amazing book by him first, This Side of Paradise. So yeah I'm glad that there's people who aren't going to sing the praises of a book that is literally copying Hemingway's awful style, BUT still there is one thing that is very concering, and it is this. People who don't like The Great Gatsby probably won't give Fitzgerald another chance. And people who DO like The Great Gatsby will read his other stuff and it won't be for them. It's a catch-22, pun ENTIRELY intended. No more of this "No pun intended" crap. I did that literally on purpose.
@@poisonedyoyo I don't read a ton of classics in general, but never say never. I might give Fitzgerald another chance in the future. Also, I haven't read The Picture of Dorian Grey but I've heard great things.
The worst book I read a few years ago was Circe by Madeleine Miller and I absolutely hated it. I had no clue what it was about and I finally DNFed it because I couldn't take it anymore 😶😶😶
@@peachyCat. it’s a lot of people’s favorite book! However I do recommend checking the trigger warnings list since there’s a really graphic scene if I remember correctly. I think you have to like greek mythology to like the book
My least favourite has been The Giver since middle school (maybe like 2003/4 ish) and while I have disliked other books none have come close to dethroning the giver. I don’t remember really why but it’s a huge nope for me. I think it may also be why I am meh about the whole dystopian genre.
I really did not care for We Were Liars either. The writing style was not for me. The twist did surprise me, but I wasn’t affected emotionally at all. A lot of people say they bawled at the end, and I didn’t shed even one tear. And I am a baby. Lol.
Least favourite recently: Caraval. I just can't with it. It's so cliche and draws on and on. Least favourite of all time: Lord of the Flies. Piggy dies. It was sad.
I rarely ever “dislike” books, even if I rate them low it’s not cause I dislike them, it just wasn’t for me. A few that come to mind are; All Quiet on the Western Front, Hatchet, Lost on a Mountain in Maine. All read for school. The only book I can say I actively dislike is After. I only read the first one, there was so much wrong with it.
Inheritance the last of the Eragon series because everyone was miserable and it left too many things half answered. Eragon and Eldest had such potential then the last 2 books ruined it. Heart of Darkness. Longest 90 pages of my life. Breaking Dawn. I let my morbid curiosity and friends talk me into reading the series.
I have never hated another book as much as Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. No protagonist could ever reach the level of a s s h o l e of Florentino Ariza. If you want to have a truly bad time, read this book.
Ooh I missed out on the poll but my least favourite book so far is From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata. A close second is Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (though I don't really like any of her books).
Normal people is my favourite book of all time, but I completely understand why you would hate it! I love it so much because I relate to the characters and it feels like I’m in their heads/they are in my head. First time I feel represented,and others do to. Which is why I think it got the hype and it’s a love hate book. You have to relate to the character to enjoy it!
I literally introduce The Great Gatsby to my students with "you will hate every single character in this book, they are all terrible" and then at the end I let them discuss and rank all 7 of the main characters based on who is the worst. It is a hot debate and typically takes the entire 70 minute class. This year it was Nick taking #1. I agree that Gatsby is only about rich white people and the American dream, but more specifically it questions what has become of the "american dream" when it is all about social class and money, resulting in empty people, action, emotion, etc.
That's such a good idea!
You sound like an English teacher that I would’ve really liked. I strongly disliked all of the English teachers that I had and it took me a long time to regain my relationship with reading. Please build up your students and be as real as possible with them. Keep being awesome.
Try telling them all the characters are as vapid as the Kardashians and a social media influencers it makes a lot of things click to the the kids.
when we read TGG, my english teacher had a big game of "red flags" and if you pointed out a red flag in a character you got a point, and then at the end the winner got a piece of candy ha ha
I remember hating Daisy the first time reading it. She’s just so disappointing and dull. I don’t get Gasby’s obsession.
it’s funny that people have to read the alchemist for school because here in brazil pretty much every literature teacher hates paulo coelho and is ashamed that he represents of brazilian lit internationally
I read The Alchemist, didn't like it. I read 11 Minutes for 11 minutes and that was it, never picked up his books again. I do think he gives good interviews, shame it doesn't translate to his writing.
lmao fr? Why?
@@adeleaslan8182 Yeah! The most common complaints are the very stereotypical characters, poor writing and dialogue and lack of research (he is also extremely egocentric and rude). It's a shame because we have so many incredible writers who don't get nearly as much credit as he does :(
@@anabeatrizgarcia106 oh I did not know about that. I always felt like the tribes in the desert were kind of... well stereotyped, along with his love interest. Thanks for telling me.
I am honestly surprised that the Night Circus is so popular, and I'm saying this as someone who loves that book. It is an acquired taste for a very particular audience, and it seems that audience is bigger than I thought it would be.
I didn't like night circus. well it was okay but I didn't think it was as spectualar as the hype made out so I was quite disappointed with it 😑
I agree! My best friend doesn’t like to read, but loves The Night Circus! It was a complete surprise because I never would have recommended it to her based on how she doesn’t like reading and it’s hard for her to focus.
@@andthatsondana which is so weird because I feel like the descriptive writing of The Night Circus makes it so dense and more difficult to read, especially for a non-reader!
I didn’t get it.
I wrote Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. It's the most toxic relationship I'd ever read at the time.
Agreed the worst book I've ever read
Yessss!! It is so terrible. And they ended up together in the end 🤢!
@@elainamcclendon5593 That was the worst part. And can we talk about her romanticizing trauma?
The line “I want her to have all my babies” scarred me till the end of time, so I did not finish, already seemed god awful before I even got going.
@@redroses7832 That was nothing. Let me tell ya, there was actually a line in the book, after their baby was born, 'We both laughed at our son's big balls'. That's actually a line in the book.
I knew Addie LaRue would be on this list. Personally, it is my favourite book of all time, but I can see why it is so hated and loved at the same time. I tell everyone to read it, but say that it is not for everyone. I felt it was a little slow, but I could relate so much to Henry's character and I just adore V.E. Schwabs writing style. It taught me a lot, but now I get exactly why it clicks for some and not for others. It depends so much on the person and is not a perfect book for all (at first I was very defensive over this book). I will always suggest people to give it a try and not give up too soon though, because if it works then it could be a wonderful time.
I recommend this book and tell them to keep their expectations low and to read it when they feel void, I really loved the book
@@maishamahjabinmahi8073 That is a smart idea! I read it right when it came out, so my expectations were high, because V.E. Schwab, but not too high. And I can totally see how it can be too different from what is hyped up. I should start saying what you say too :)
I loved this masterpiece. was not slow to me. I finished it too quickly. Loved everything about it.
Addie Larue is my favorite book too. ❤️
I want to read it, but I already have a very high bar for her stuff because Vicious and Vengeful are two of my favorite books EVER, and I don't know how she'll measure up to those two with anything else she writes/has written.
Honestly, I see Colleen Hoover becoming like the Danielle Steel or JD Robb of our generation. You either love it or hate it.
I agree with Addie Larue though. I didn’t love it. I feel like it was the kind of book that could have been written in 200 pages rather than 400. The plot line is there but it’s just SO slow
I’ve never thought of her as a modern version of those authors but it makes sense. I love both Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts so maybe I should give Coleen Hoover a chance haha.
JD Robb is a pen name for Nora Roberts for their thrillers before the publisher felt she was a big enough to publish in multiple genres
I totally agree with you on the Addie LaRue book. I think it's good, but it feels like I'm never getting through it! It's super long and things that happen in the story are sort of just her doing the same thing over and over. Just surviving, stealing, being chased away, and being depressed about her situation. And I am only halfway through. Haha, I will have to gather some extra patience with this one.
Looking for Alaska is the only book where I completely detested all the characters. John Green tried so hard to portray "deep" teenagers while also wanting them to be "relatable" and the result was just having obnoxious kids drinking/smoking/f*cking and analyzing just about everything for 250 pages. I just couldn't stand it. I loved the Fault in our Stars and Turtles all the way down but this was a miss.
Dang, I knew Lord of the Flies wasn’t well liked, but I didn’t know it was going to be THAT DISLIKED- I literally loved this book so much, but then again, I didn’t have to read and analyze it for school or anything.
Same the book is SO GOOD
Lord of the Flies is definitely one of my most hated books because we had to analyze why it represented the human condition when it just doesn't. Realistically if you dropped a bunch of kids onto an island they'd end up with digestive illnesses and die of dehydration due to diarrhea. I also didn't like Addie Larue but mostly because she thinks not being remembered is the worst thing when she literally saw slavery, both world wars, and who knows how many random deaths. i get it, she wants to be deep, but to me it felt like she was so self absorbed that she deserved to be forgotten. I do get trying to run away from a forced marriage though, that much I like about her it was the rest of the book that made me want to scrub her name from my brain. I'd also add that The Wise Man's Fear is probably my choice for the worst book ever because the main character just talks about his school life where he could do whatever he wanted and never face any consequences. I'm pretty sure that if the third book ever comes out you could just read the first book then go straight into the third without missing anything. I can't stand lyrical writing in general because I feel that it's often used to help cover the fact that the narrative is boring, but no amount of pretty prose will make me want to read Patrick Rothfuss may (or may not) come out with.
I would say lord of the flies does examine the dark side of human condition. It might not be believable but the examination of the human condition in the book is not based on how realistic the scenario is but about how greed, hunger, desperation, etc can warp and corrupt people. The use of "youth" (in this case kids) is in my opinion also used strategically as symbolism to the wider issues/topics portrayed.
Honestly to me the Great Gatsby really portrayed the "American Dream" well. It showed me the flaws in that ideology and why the idea in itself is corrupted in many ways. As my project for the book in High School I wrote a short story/poem called "American Dream, American Scheme". The teacher wanted us to do a retelling which used the symbolism in the novel (ex: the green light or whatever that was called) and it fit super well with me debunking the whole "American Dream" thing.
Yes!!! It wasn't supposed be a picture of the perfect "American Dream." It demonstrates the superficial nature of life as a social elite.
^^^ love this
Plus the "American Dream" most people believed in for more than the first half of our history was strictly a Caucasian dream. Most of those people either didn't care or actively worked against anyone else achieving it.
PLEASE do a “favourite/least favourite of 2022” version of this video! It’s such a fun idea and I love watching these videos 🥰
That would give something new for Bookmas. And also have some itneresting titles, since the people who list those books will have to have read them THIS year. I already know the latest Emily Henry will be on the Best one. Of course my answer for that every year would be whatever Kasie West book came out that year, except that in 2021 I didnt' get to Sunkissed, was saving it for a different time so I could pair it with another book I was waiting to come out in paperback. But Places We've Never Been is pretty much guaranteed to be that for me this year.
It's the "Worst Books of 2022" list that should be the most interesting. Since that really should have different answers.
When your favorite booktuber mentions your comment in a video it's genuinely a very special feeling 💕💕 I was the one who said I don't generally DNF books but I couldn't for the life of me get into Looking for Alaska by John Green 😅
I couldn’t stand The Alchemist when I had to read it for school. The only way I was able to finish it was to pretend the characters were characters from other stories/movies while I visualized it. Ughhh.
I think its so interesting that so many people don't like a book "because they had to read it for school." I mean, I get the main populace thinking this, but readers? I was THRILLED to get to read books in school. I would have rather done that than just about anything else, so even if it was something I wouldn't normally pick, I was just happy to get to read! My World Lit class was interesting: we had to read 5 required books throughout the semester, than we got to pick 5 more books off of a huge list of books. We spent most of our class time reading, and I'm a speed reader, so I got through the books so fast, my teacher just let me keep reading books. I read almost all of the books on the list (and it was over 100 I think). Some I definitely enjoyed more than others, but I don't think I would ever give a reason for not liking a book "because I had to read it for school."
I also liked reading the books for school but making me write papers on the depth of the story, explaining the symbolism, and why I think the author wrote what they wrote wasn't fun. Not to mention projects can make a person hate the book. I like the reading, not the explaining part. I think that's why a lot of people don't like reading because school forces this.
I love to read and read a lot when I was a kid. And I hated most of the books I had to read for school. Now I'm glad I read them, but then I was annoyed I had to spend time reading for school that I would otherwise spend reading for pleasure, reading something I chose. By reading for school I mean elementary and high school. In high school especially we had a lot of required reading (last two years was about 50 books per school year).
I like reading, but hate reading for school because of the homework and long essays. I am ok with analyzing books and writing about it, but the prompts are so useless. I have also never had class time to read and rarely get to discuss with my classmates
I like reading, but being forced to read something makes the experience less enjoyable. I couldn’t read at my own pace, and I wasn’t able to DNF it if it wasn’t for me. If the books had been closer to something I would have chosen myself, I might have liked them more.
My least favorite is heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad. It was the only book I was supposed to read in school that I got halfway through, literally couldn't stand to read anymore and googled notes for studying for a test on it. The writing style was boring and the storyline wasn't interesting.
This is exactly what I did 😂 glad I’m not the only one
90 pages of drudgery. I had to read it 5 times throughout my high school and college career. Never liked it.
My issue with Heart of Darkness is that is a 15 minute story stretched out to 200 pages. Like Conrad, we don’t need to know about the shade of every leaf. I know it’s for atmosphere, but it definitely makes the story drag at times.
I think the accusations of racism in the book are somewhat misplaced. Sure Conrad uses slurs in the book which obviously isn’t great, but the story’s primary purpose is to show the brutality and evils of colonialism. Brussels is portrayed as a whitewashed tomb taking imagery from the Pharisees of the Bible who appear to be righteous on the outside but are rotten on the inside. Belgium appears to be a civilized and calm nation from the outside until you realize the cruelty and evil they committed in the Congo. An estimated 10 million people were killed by the Belgians in the Congo a massacre that too few talk about today.
Remember when Conrad wrote this book few Europeans really cared about the plight of the people’s being colonized. Conrad actually took a pretty bold stand criticizing his fellow Europeans for their brutality and hypocrisy which I think should be commended.
I actually loved the alchemist and I HATE overly positive books. I kinda took away that the story was more about "it's not about the destination, it's the journey." But more in a way of not getting too far ahead of yourself and being able to find the happiness where you are.
I had just lost my dad when I read this the first time, and all I wanted was to stop hurting, to get to a place I was okay. This book reminded me it's okay to feel this hurt, in this moment. Trying to make big moves to feel like my dad WOULD'VE been proud of me was blinding me to the fact that he was ALWAYS proud of me. I didn't need to take the path for anyone but myself, because his love was constant and there all along, waiting for the moment I saw it.
This was a few years ago, and I haven't read it since, but it was instrumental to my grieving process.
Unpopular opinion, Heart of Darkness portrays racism, but in my opinion it sheds a negative light on it and criticises it (albeit not explicitly) - though arguably that might just be the way my uni lecturer portrayed it to us. That being said, I still hated Heart of Darkness; hated the writing and just the plot in general was so boring to me
Life of Pi. Had to read it for school in the 9th grade…ten years later I’m still furious about it
I have a copy of Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover and I read it and thought about giving it away because I don't want it on my shelf. But I don't want to do that either because I want literally no one else to ever read it.
I AGREE!!! I did like It End With Us A LOT (but hate how it's marketed as a romance). But I absolutely HATE ugly love and I don't want to read it again or have anyone else read it as well
• It ends with us by Colleen Hoover
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• 50 shades of grey by E.L James
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• The silent patient by Alex Michaelides
• The alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• The betrothed by Kiera Cass
•The invisible life of Addie Larue by V.E Schwab
• The Spanish love deception by Elena Armas
• The night circus by
I think it really depends on when you read a book, and if you are drawn to it or forced to read it. I agree with you about Catcher in Rye, I read it when I was angsty it was great! I also think it might be the first time I read swear words in a book.
I agree with the Hating Game, thought it was overhyped but could see why some people enjoyed it!
So far in my experience of reading books, my most hated book of all time is “The Scarlet Letter”. Yes I had to read it for school and it was a complete fever dream to me. From what I remember, it didn’t have a cohesive plot line or if it did, I couldn’t understand what was going on. The characters were awful and everyone basically hatred everyone in this small town and the ending sucked. Every sentence was absolute torture to get through. I’m sorry if you absolutely adore this story about super old views on adultery but it’s not for me. I don’t think I’ll ever touch that book again.
I agree with you on that one. The Scarlet Letter was awful and nobody in my class liked it. To me it went nowhere really slowly and it just didn’t make any bleeping sense!
I read it for fun when I was in my early twenties, because I didn't know there would be no fun to be had. From what I remember, the book constantly mentions there is something unusual about the child, almost supernatural, so I kept thinking that that was going to mean something, but then the book just... ended. I'd argue there is basically no plot to speak of. Massive letdown. You just find out who the father is and then it's oh ok, and that's it.
I met a girl whose favorite book was the Scarlet Letter… I was so surprised because I’d never heard anyone but english teachers say good things about it
I never knew why i hated Looking For Alaska so much until now. You aptly described it, it was pretentious as f and trying to be so poetic but it was not. Also 100% agree that Normal People should be on this list, i do not understand the hype.
I personally love John Green, but yeah, It's an adult giving his adult voice to teenagers, there will be a huge discrepancy :) and Sally Rooney's writing is a dud.
@@andromeda156 fair point on that, Looking For Alaska is really not for me. I plan to read his other book, Turtle All The Way Down, to give his writing another chance. 🤞
I mostly just feel indifferent towards books if I don’t fall in love with them, but there’s one I utterly despise and that is Tess of the d’Urbervilles. I had to read it (and memorise the entire thing) for an exam and hated every single second and every single character. I felt next to nothing for any of them, even Tess despite the no doubt horrible stuff she goes through; she honest just annoyed me. I feel bad because I can appreciate it being important or objectively great, but sadly it just bored me, I had to analyse it within an inch of its life and I had zero connection to it.
My least favorite books are Normal People by Sally Rooney, the Host by Stephenie Meyer, and the Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. Also, it hurt seeing Silent Patient, We Were Liars and Great Gatsby on this list they are some of my favorite books 💔
OMG FINALLY SOMEONE WHO DISLIKES NORMAL PEOPLE TOO... HIII
@@uhohspaghettios4116 hii 👋
Oh my god I’m so glad Catcher in the Rye is on here because it is literally the only book that I absolutely can not stand. I had to read it in school and I enjoyed it at the time (for I too was once an angsty teen) then I recently re read it and rage quit exactly 16 pages in. God it’s Holden Caulfield is just so🤢
Agree. Awful book.
finally, people share my hatred for the hating game. genuinely the most cringy book i have read
Couldn't agree more
smh people classic literature is the only thing I can stand to read anymore
there’s a reason why it’s stood the test of time
I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue before all the hype, so I really loved it. I knew nothing about the book so I was pleasantly surprised, but.. A perfect example of having high expectations and then being disappointed in my case is The Song of Achilles... Which I HATED SOOOO MUCH!!! Maybe if I hadn't known anything about the book, I would have liked it more.
You're not alone in loving classics, but I also get how people hate them because of school or just because they can come across as boring.
Yeah the amount of people who hate classics because of school is so sad because a lot of them are a good read, just when you're forced to read something it makes you not want to do that thing and resent it. And I know this because I was that kid who hated reading classics for English class (I still find Hatchet boring though. That book genuinely sucked.)
Um I love classics but I dislike the titles listed here. At least the oens the comments are mentioning. I haven't watched the actual video. I even like F. Scott Fitzgerald a lot, but The Great Gatsby is his WORST book. And Lord of the Flies was bad enough in of itself, but knowing some of the symbolism, I hate it so much. But you know what I DO like? Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Wuthering Heights, Silas Marner, Jane Austen, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, and a number of others. Oh I also like Fahrenheit 451, which IS in the video yikes. And I am appalled--APPALLED I say--that The Picture of Dorian Gray is so hated on Booktube, like what the heck peeps?
The people who hate classics for reasons like well it's not progressive or up to today's standard are a weird bird of why people hate classics that is too common. You can have kids read fun stories they pick they still might hate reading because they had to do work.
I think part of the problem is that we’ve seen so many retellings of these stories that they just aren’t surprising. I would probably like A Christmas Carol if I hadn’t seen the Barbie, Muppets, and random sitcom versions already, but reading it now is boring because I know exactly where it’s going.
Me: hmm I’m not sure I have a least favorite book
Also me during the video: OMG YES CURSED CHILD wow blacked that out from my mind
1) Recently bought Fahrenheit 451. I'll read it eventually.
2) I loved Looking for Alaska. One of my favorite John Green books.
3) Addie LaRue absolutely sucked me into the story. I definitely enjoyed.
4) We Were Liars- I enjoyed this book. 8 years ago when it came out.
i read fahrenheit 451 in my sophomore year in high school. it's the book that made me appreciate reading more. i also liked the catcher in the rye and the great gatsby, though both weren't read for school.
frankly, i actually liked all the books i had to read in middle and high school. however, i would've liked the curriculum to be more diverse; to stray away from the repeated classics and to explore other literature, whether that be contemporary or international. that way, it'll be more exciting and refreshing for the students. it's not that i don't like classics (believe me, i do) but they aren't the only books that have literary devices.
This was fascinating! I can forgive an author for many things, but writing completely unlikable characters is a major crime for me. If a plot is slow, but the characters are wonderful, I’m all in. But unlikable characters in a relatively good plot will make me DNF a book right away.
I had to read Lord of the Flies way back in the late 1960’s in school. But thanks to our English teacher, Mr. Burns, and our Biology teacher, Mr. Ivan, the entire class devoured the book with glee and laughter. You see, Biology was dissecting little piglets at the same time the English class was reading Lord of the Flies. When you are about to fall asleep with boredom, and the Biology teacher comes parading through your class with a piglet stuck on the end of a yardstick, you wake up. Something about that gross demonstration made us think about being with these kids in this story. It was impactful and the entire class passed their next English test! 🤷🏼♀️
Def agree on the Alchemist, I read it with my friends for our book club and it felt soooo pointless. So many words saying absolutely nothing..
I also hated It ends with us, the ending made me so angry!
SPOILERS
The fact that she allows this man who repeatedly abused her take care of her child???? Huh??? Was kind of meh about the book throughout, but that ending made me wanna throw it out the window
My least favorite book is ACOMAF. It took me over two months to finish because it was torture. I hated the characters and romance. Rhys has become my least favorite character of all time
You're not alone and i haven't even read it..just watching cindy read it made me understand that book
That was my favorite book in the series😭.
Lord of the flies is my favourite book of all time 😂😂😂 I've only ever met people who love it or hate it
I tried to give a chance the new HP book but plot made no sense whatsoever. And the main chara was full of daddy issues and time travel was ridiculous beyond belief. The only redeeming quality is Dracon being a good dad.
I honestly really loved the After Series. I have read them all and really enjoyed Hardin and Tessa's story. I can totally see why it is problematic in a lot of ways and toxic as well but i did love it. It was actually the series that got me back into reading after years and years of not reading because it is so fast paced. But again, totally respect those that didn't like it and definitely won't fight anyone on the fact that its toxic lol.
Same here! I can see why people dislike it, I’ll even tell people I love the series but can see many people dislike it. I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to see what happened to Tessa and Hardin in the end.
I’m not gonna judge y’all but I truly don’t understand how you can like a book, well not even just one book but like FIVE, where seriously nothing happens except fighting and then makeup-sex. Like that’s literally everything that they do and it’s tiring. Hardin is everything except attractive with his childish and toxic behavior and Tessa is boring as hell lol. It’s not even written well like the way she writes is so.. mediocre. IMO that is. I read the first two books and half of the third and I’m so disappointed in myself and upset that I wasted so much time of life on that piece of crap :(. No hate btw and even though I don’t agree with you it’s great that it got you back into reading and I do find it interesting how we all can have completely different opinions of the same books.
@@Alleballe I totally get it. I think as someone who never read anything that wasn't school mandated like my whole life the fast paced writing of it appealed to me. That being said, I wouldn't say it is my favorite book(s) of all time it just really captured my attention and I read all 5 books in like one month. I'm super grateful that it got me into reading things I actually enjoy and I'll be honest - i probably only love hardin as much as i do because i was such a Chuck Bass Girl (if you know you know) but Chuck Bass did it way better haha. Also i love your name ;) haha! And i do agree, it's awesome how people can have such different thoughts and opinions on the same book.
If you read Paper Towns, and then Looking for Alaska (or the other way around) it's incredibly similar. I liked John Green back in high school (9sih years ago). I think whatever one you read first will be your favourite. I also find that John Green's books aren't super re-readable... at least for me.
I had higher expectation for TILOALR, because of Vicious (loved that one). I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. Just an average book.
I don't remember much about Lord of the Flies, so.... what does that say about it? haha
I found We Were Liars SOOO boring! I was confused the whole time and it was filled to the brim with metaphors that made it even more confusing! I read it before the hype of Booktok, but holy crap I really wish I didn't read that book.
Books you read in high school are hard to enjoy. School takes the fun out of reading imo. Would you like to be tested on a book you absolutely HAVE to read? "why do you think the curtains are blue? what's the symbolism?" I don't know! Maybe the author just liked blue curtains!
I HATED Paper Towns, its was so boring a pretentious the whole way through, everything was so loosely connected and then the ending was just nothing. Looking for Alaska was only slightly better, but not by much.
Felt sad because I adore The Fault in Our Stars, and I quite liked Will Grayson, Will Grayson; but I think John Green's RUclipsr/influencer status made him very overhyped. Which is the sad consequence of a lot of the "Influencer turned author".
VICIOUS SLAPS
I love how I’m reading the first two.. one for English class and the other for my personal reading. And I really am enjoying it ends with us to be honest
I HATED After. I read it after the movie and if I had read the book first there's no chance I would've watched the movie. Tessa in the books is the most annoying character I've ever read in a book ever. I DNF'ed it at about 30% and that book is huge so I gave it a fair shot. I think I'd rather read any other book on this list multiple times than ever read After again.
I’ve got to annotate lord of the flies next year. I read it this year and loved it, so hopefully that helps with next year.
People who said the Cruel prince, are u well?
My least favorite book i ever read was Waiting for Godot. Absolutely nothing happens the entire time.
I love Waiting for Godot. It’s absurdist, so nothing happening is the entire point of the story. But it’s certainly not for everyone. It seems like people either love it or hate it.
@@waltonvelvet yea thats cruel prince too its super divisive
i read fahrenheit 451 for my English 2 honors class in high school and enjoyed the first half, but then I think the fact that I was being forced to read it as a summer reading book made me not enjoy it whatsoever.
My issue with Heart of Darkness is that is a 15 minute story stretched out to 200 pages. Like Conrad, we don’t need to know about the shade of every leaf. I know it’s for atmosphere, but it definitely makes the story drag at times.
I think the accusations of racism in the book are somewhat misplaced. Sure Conrad uses slurs in the book which obviously isn’t great, but the story’s primary purpose is to show the brutality and evils of colonialism. Brussels is portrayed as a whitewashed tomb taking imagery from the Pharisees of the Bible who appear to be righteous on the outside but are rotten on the inside. Belgium appears to be a civilized and calm nation from the outside until you realize the cruelty and evil they committed in the Congo. An estimated 10 million people were killed by the Belgians in the Congo a massacre that too few talk about today.
Remember when Conrad wrote this book few Europeans really cared about the plight of the people’s being colonized. Conrad actually took a pretty bold stand criticizing his fellow Europeans for their brutality and hypocrisy which I think should be commended.
The worst book in the world in my eyes will always and forever be The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. As an autistic individual, I find it the most insulting that an ableist middle-aged man thought that he was the spokesperson for every autistic reader in the world despite the fact that he barely researched the condition or even put effort to learn how the minds and lives of autistic people even are, especially for the main character who is supposed to be a teenager whose passion in life was mathematics.
I really liked the book, now I have second thoughts about it. Thank you for your input :)
I am currently reading "The invisible life of Addie LaRue" and I can understand why people hate it, but also why people love it. I am about halfway through, and so far the only problem that I have with it, is that it is so freaking long! It is about 100 more pages than what I usually read per book, and that's not very much, but for some reason I am reading this one so slowly and I get frustrated because I just want to finish it now!
If I ignore the length of the book and my slow reading speed, I think it is fine. I have to read more to decide what I think, but so far I don't think that I would recommend it!
I read CitR as an angsty teen and I still hated Holden.
It would be the worst book I had to read in HS, but I had read A Portrait of the as a Young Man, by James Joyce.
I just finished Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan TODAY and I don’t even remember anything about it. The times were not that exciting.
I also absolutely HATED We were liars. It literally gave a headache
It was so slow and boring. Everyone was so shocked by the ending but I wasn’t at all? Completely overrated.
I despise Hatchet. Not just because I had to read it for English class but also just because it was a really stupid book in general and some of the character decisions made no sense - to the point where they're just plain unlikeable. Most boring plot ever too and the main guy had the personality of a piece of paper. It tried to make a commentary on parents splitting up and the affects it has on a kid but as someone who's parents are split up I couldn't relate in the slightest.
I'm very sad that The Great Gatsby is on here but I get why people don't like it it's not for everyone.
No Longer Human is by far my favourite classic book (or just book in general) buuut that's in a whole other league of classics and I don't know of any schools outside of Japan that make students read it for class (I, uh, don't really think it'd be allowed anyways-).
I’ve hardly heard of anyone else that had to read Hatchet for English! I actually enjoyed it but probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I didn’t have to read it for a class haha
I hated it when I had to read in high school but it still not my worst book :)
Oh the Hating Game was my least favourite, wanted to smack Josh in the face
I loooooooooooooooved the cruel prince series!!!
The Shiver series and House of Night series, I didn’t like the books at all when I was a teenager. Back then I believed true love existed and I hated the books because all the main characters, I thought, only wanted sex. Know that I’m an adult, I’m sure my POV has changed. But since I’ve had those thoughts about the books, I don’t know if I’ll try asked read them.
It’s occurs to me that my English teacher had some pretty immaculate taste in books because the ones I read in school were all great (for me at least). I Am David, The Hobbit, The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Night were all fantastic.
"Twilight" is the only book I DNFed in my entire life. I'm 31 years old now, and the series was one of the most popular series out there when I was a teenager. I tried as hard as I could to read it but hated the style and setup so much that I couldn't force myself to finish it.
I 10000% agree with the catcher in the rye. Also didn’t enjoy Lord of the Flies. The Great Gatsby didn’t bother me honestly, that was probably my favorite out of the 3 we had to read in my senior year lit class lol
My personal worst book ever... Old Man and the Sea...I can't. So boring. I've had to read it 3 times in my life and it's only like 90 pages. But 90 pages of PURE BORING. I hate this book with all my being lol. So sad the After series made this list! I LOVED LOVED those books. I read the first three beastly books in a weekend. I couldn't put them down.
I just read the Alchemist and it’s, without a doubt, my least favorite book of all time. I hate the New Age nonsense espoused in this book, nonsense that goes against everything I’ve experienced in my life so far. The worldview sold in this book is at best out of touch and at worst incredibly dangerous.
Most of the time in this life the things you want most will remain out of reach. Poor people are apparently poor because they don’t want wealth enough so the universe doesn’t fulfill their wishes. Single people who want to be married are apparently single because they don’t want it enough for the universe to give them the spouse of their dreams. Ugly people are apparently ugly because they don’t want beauty enough for the universe to grant it to them. The examples go on and on but you get the idea. It’s far more constructive to be empowered to change the things one can change and accept the things one can’t change.
I’m sorry but the “universe” doesn’t owe you anything and if you disagree, you’ll likely live your life in perennial disappointment unable to bring positive and lasting change to your own circumstances.
I totally agree with Cursed Child. It was utterly trash. People keep trying to tell me that I ‘need to see it’ as a stage play. No. No, I do not. Seeing it acted out will NOT change the plot of the damn thing or the dialogue.
Fahrenheit 451 was the book that got me into dystopians & is now my favorite genre so it has a special place in the library in my heart.
James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is my least favorite book. Other books can’t even compare. I’ve tried to read it not less than a dozen times and just can’t get through it. I hear something brilliant happens in the second half but I can’t never get there.
If I Disappear is my most recent disappointing read. I finished it, but I was skimming to get to the end.
So many of those books I loved! I happen to love After, actually. But I guess I judge my book preferences by whether or not
I enjoyed reading them, rather than the quality. My least favorite book of all time was Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbotsky.
I do the same! I love a book if I was entertained by it and not by the quality lol.
Harry potter is one of my favorite of all time and also Pride and Prejudice… it’s about enjoyment for me
the way i did a double take at the repeated promo in the middle of the video LMAOOO, omg. threw me off!!
I feel like the invisible life of Addie LaRue is less of a novel and more like a stream of consciousness. Like, I thought it had an intriguing plot, but the story was told more through the character’s thoughts and whims rather than actions. This makes sense for the story because it revolves around the inability to interact with the world in a real sense, but I understand why some people might not enjoy the book because of how slow it can feel. You definitely have to be invested in the themes and poetic writing style to enjoy the book.
Not me staring at your bookshelf. 🤩
The Invisible life Addie LaRue I enjoyed it. I read it closer to it's release date, so it didn't have as divided opinions at that point. I enjoyed that it was slow, it made sense with the story and the writing was so great that I just enjoyed reading it for her craft. That doesn't happen to me often. Lol.
John Green is one of my favorite authors, but I hated Looking for Alaska😂
I cannot believe Silent Patient is on here, and I question the reading habits of anyone who would put that as a worst book. (Now, if they were talking about the author's second book, The Maidens, I'd get it. That one definitely missed the mark.)
I can't believe people said they saw the ending coming..
@@blending_in Same! Like, I'm not surprised at much, just because I've so many horror/psychological/"twist ending" books, but that one?? Heck, no. That surprised the hell out of me!
my problem with Looking for Alaska is that it got so boring after what happens halfway through
Two books I had to read for school that I absolutely hate now is 1984 and "The Cellist of Sarajevo". 1984 is considered a classic and a lot of people enjoy it but it made me so uncomfortable, especially with the rapey undertones coming from Winston that I just couldn't enjoy the story and only finished it because I had to. "The Cellist of Sarajevo" is based on the Bosnian war that happened in 1992-95 but the pacing of the book was terrible and the characters were incredibly one-dimensional that it was hard to connect to them and their stories and to get invested in the book. I actually dnf the Cellist and had to look up the sparknotes for it because I hated it so much.
I completely agree with The Alchemist being one of my least favorites. I feel like I gained nothing from reading that book. It is one of the very few books I’ve ever read that I regretted spending the time on. Maybe it is an acquired taste and maybe I didn’t take the time to really dive into the story, but I did not like it.
To be honest I’ve actually never ( willingly ) read a book i disliked
We were forced to read Faulkner in high school because he was a Mississippi/Southern writer. I would poke my eyes out now before reading Faulkner again.
As someone who grew up in an "unstable" household. I loved It Ends With Us. My least favourite book is Gatsby. It was I mercy that's it's so short.
Really enjoyed The Hating Game but hated 99 Percent Mine so much I DNF'd it AND wrote a negative review, something I usually don't do.
love ur videos ..Hailey🥰
one of us is lying is the worst book i’ve ever read istg
Omg it's so bad and had like the most predictable plot twist ever 😭
My least favourite book of all time is American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. God, I hate that book. We had to read it when I was in college and it was absolutely terrible. I get what the author was doing and the point it was trying to make but I just hated it.
Not surprised to see Twilight on this list. I don’t like any of the Twilight books anymore but New Moon or Eclipse are worse than Twilight imo.
The Alchemist was bad. Really boring
i once read fahrenheit 451 in school and it made no sense to me lmaoo. then we had to write a bunch of essays on it so that was.. fun
Hated modern: Zodiac Academy- which is somehow on a LOT of people's Favorites, and I just don't know how. I thought Fifty Shades was the shining star of toxic relationships, but oh BOY, it doesn't compare. Not to mention, I'm unsure how they passed through the market without an editor.
From Blood and Ash is a close, close second for many of the same reasons. I just need to know why people are jiving with bully relationships right now when they were all ready to spit on Twilight for being stalkerish- it's the same feeling! One is just more in your face than the other!
I hated Fahrenheit 451 with a burning passion so I'm glad it's here and I wasn't the only one who said it. I read it for a book club though, not school. And I didn't like The Great Gatsby or The Cursed Child either.
So yeah it's cool to learn that not everyone is going to be giddy about The Great Gatsby, the videos I've seen here on Booktube made it seem otherwise. I've seen a lot of hate for The PIcture of Dorian Gray, which is baffling, but everywhere there's so much laterhing praise on F. Scott Fitzgerald's worst book. But I had the fortune to read a much better, absolutely amazing book by him first, This Side of Paradise. So yeah I'm glad that there's people who aren't going to sing the praises of a book that is literally copying Hemingway's awful style, BUT still there is one thing that is very concering, and it is this. People who don't like The Great Gatsby probably won't give Fitzgerald another chance. And people who DO like The Great Gatsby will read his other stuff and it won't be for them. It's a catch-22, pun ENTIRELY intended. No more of this "No pun intended" crap. I did that literally on purpose.
@@poisonedyoyo I don't read a ton of classics in general, but never say never. I might give Fitzgerald another chance in the future. Also, I haven't read The Picture of Dorian Grey but I've heard great things.
“Twice Shy”… I was furious for days after spending money on it. 🤣 Literally nothing happens.
The worst book I read a few years ago was Circe by Madeleine Miller and I absolutely hated it. I had no clue what it was about and I finally DNFed it because I couldn't take it anymore 😶😶😶
is Circe really bad? i was planning to buy it
@@peachyCat. it’s a lot of people’s favorite book! However I do recommend checking the trigger warnings list since there’s a really graphic scene if I remember correctly. I think you have to like greek mythology to like the book
@@peachyCat. it was just not for me sadly but I did give it a go x
@@alicewithane3230 i really luv to read about greek mythologies ..
@@peachyCat. No it's a really good book! Go for it.
Look I'm just saying that I will never forget the absolute atrocity that was Feed by M. T. Anderson.
My least favourite has been The Giver since middle school (maybe like 2003/4 ish) and while I have disliked other books none have come close to dethroning the giver. I don’t remember really why but it’s a huge nope for me. I think it may also be why I am meh about the whole dystopian genre.
Damnnn I kind liked the giver tbh, but I see why people wouldn't like it cuz really it's slow paced and everything goes down in the last like 30 pages
I really did not care for We Were Liars either. The writing style was not for me. The twist did surprise me, but I wasn’t affected emotionally at all. A lot of people say they bawled at the end, and I didn’t shed even one tear. And I am a baby. Lol.
Normal people is really a bad book. people who think it is relatable and like the main Characters, needs help.
Can confirm. It is one of my favorite books and I do, in fact, need help.
cruel prince?? i’m am shocked
I felt very "meh" about Addie LaRue. Neither hated or loved it. 🤷♀️
Least favourite recently: Caraval. I just can't with it. It's so cliche and draws on and on.
Least favourite of all time: Lord of the Flies. Piggy dies. It was sad.
I could not stand caraval!!!!!
I rarely ever “dislike” books, even if I rate them low it’s not cause I dislike them, it just wasn’t for me. A few that come to mind are; All Quiet on the Western Front, Hatchet, Lost on a Mountain in Maine. All read for school.
The only book I can say I actively dislike is After. I only read the first one, there was so much wrong with it.
Inheritance the last of the Eragon series because everyone was miserable and it left too many things half answered. Eragon and Eldest had such potential then the last 2 books ruined it.
Heart of Darkness. Longest 90 pages of my life.
Breaking Dawn. I let my morbid curiosity and friends talk me into reading the series.
I have never hated another book as much as Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. No protagonist could ever reach the level of a s s h o l e of Florentino Ariza. If you want to have a truly bad time, read this book.
Ooh I missed out on the poll but my least favourite book so far is From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata. A close second is Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover (though I don't really like any of her books).
17:11 Help I was the one who said that comment about the great gatsby 😭 I can elaborate on my comment if anyone interested
Normal people is my favourite book of all time, but I completely understand why you would hate it! I love it so much because I relate to the characters and it feels like I’m in their heads/they are in my head. First time I feel represented,and others do to. Which is why I think it got the hype and it’s a love hate book. You have to relate to the character to enjoy it!