Overrated books, or how to annoy fellow nerds

I don't know what it is about my taste in literature, but I sure have to say that some of the beloved "classics" suck the big one. Catcher in the Rye? Total crap. It's about a stupid kid who likes to swear and screw. Ooh, so good. Please. I feel like most people liked it because they read it as teenagers and felt the same rebelliousness. Whatever.

Now, that aside, the biggest book I take umbrage to is Dune. I cannot, in any way, understand why people like it so much. Granted, the overall story is novel, but the writing is just...horrid. I don't know how to describe really, other than it felt like all throughout the author was trying to show off. Like, something would happen, and I could almost hear the author go, "did you see what I did there? Aren't I awesome?" The writing felt full of itself, and boring to boot. The story didn't flow, and I was bored the whole time. Which is sad, because I wanted to like it.

Also, I found Ringworld to be lame. Cool concept and the characters were interesting to start off, but it never really seemed to go anywhere. It felt like a poor man's Hitchhiker's Guide, but without the great humor. The characters never really grew, the story was so forgettable that I've already forgotten it, and just, meh.

Lord of the Flies is a terrible story, but at least that's kind of the point. Stranger in a Strange Land was boringly sexual. I couldn't even make myself finish it. So dull... Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep was okay, I guess, but also felt forgettable to me as well. Asimov is...hit or miss with me. Some I quite like, some I find boring.

I think one major author I dislike that people will find odd is Neil Gaiman. I've actually read quite a few of his books, and to a one I came away really disappointed. The thing is, he's a good storyteller, but he can't seem to decide whether he's a YA author, or graphic /porn writer. I don't mind some sex in my fiction, but his stuff is disturbing, especially when it comes in suddenly into a story that's not written so. It's hard to explain. It's kind of like he wants to write two very different genres and just mashes 'em up together without blending. And his sexual stuff is just...dark and icky. Meh. I've read so much better, and better integrated, sex.

Authors and Books I *do* like.

Now that I've covered many books and authors I find overrated, I thought I'd pick the ones I do quite enjoy. Often to the point that I've reread them many times.

Orson Scott Card has been a lifelong favorite of mine. I read Ender's Game in 3rd or 4th grade, and it really stuck with me, particularly since I was a quite intelligent child. I learned lessons from that book that stayed with me for years. There's been a few of his that I quite disliked, but most everything I else I absolutely adore. His writing is just so...smooth. It flows, and is almost impossible to nitpick. I once tried to diagram a page or two; I just ended up reading it all.

In a similar vein, I always enjoyed Anne McCaffrey. In particular, her Ships books, the Rowan series, and pretty much the entire Pern series. Also started in 3rd or 4th grade (though some of the sex was a bit beyond me at that age). Her writing was just so well done. Between her and Card I was ruined early on for a lot of poorer writing styles.

Since his arrival on the writing scene, I've eaten up everything by Brandon Sanderson. Sooo good. Love the Hitchhiker's Guide series, fond of Ray Bradbury, and like Feist. I like Stephen King in theory, but every time I read his books, I feel like he could condense better, and maybe be a little less...gross. He also can't seem to ever write a damn ending. People like their stories to conclude, Stephen! I like the Hobbit quite a bit, but I'm honestly only so-so on Lord of the Rings. Should have been half the length, maybe cut out the entire chapter on the damn mushroom fields...

I absolutely love C.S. Lewis. Except his 3 space books, for some odd reason. I've never understood why I've loved everything he's written save for those 3. A favorite for some years now is the most-talented Steven Erikson. An absolutely amazing creator of a unified world with so many amazing and lovable characters. I feel like he's more than on par with R. R. Martin, better for that he isn't depressing and kills way fewer characters. Also, they don't all stay dead. There's a reason I stopped reading after Martin's first book. I quite enjoyed Terry Pratchett and the Dresden Files are most excellent.

I have mixed feelings over the Wheel of Time series. It's mostly well-written, but it not only went on too long but, about half-way through, several of the books become interminable. I would have quit if I hadn't been told it does pick up. Though honestly, the main reason I have a hard time loving the series is because of how he wrote his female characters. Bitches, all of them bitches. Except for Min, and possibly the princess, for whatever reason. Save for those two, every. single. female is such a nagging, hateful, angry, authoritarian, dislikable bitch. Seriously. I have never read a book before where every single female character was so unlikable and controlling. I don't know what happened to Robert Jordan, but I'd swear he had some serious issues with women. Not that all the male characters are likable, but they seem a lot better balanced and realistic.

What amazes me, as I think on all these, is just how many books and authors that I have read that I have absolutely no memory of whatsoever. Sad to think of how many stories that have flowed right past with no impact.

Lastly, there are a number of comic book novels and comic series that I do so love, but I haven't the foggiest what their names are. I'll just leave it at I like comics. Not so much the darker storylines. I don't care for Watchmen at all, nor that gritty Batman one set in the future where he and Supes try to kill each other. Bleck.