talkmagic.co.uk

In Electronic Media Format Reviews, where the review of The Hateful Page was recently revived, I found myself thinking ... and wondering ...

I don't remember reading a book that I hated. Not really hated, as in anger and rage and a desire to rip it to pieces. Even the worst of the books that I was forced to read at school I only hated in a *cringe* kind of way, not an *aaargh* kind of way. So long as I never saw them again I didn't need to make all copies in the world spontaneously combust. What was the worst book my class was ever forced to read at school? T.S.D.O Adrian Mole is definitely a contender, with A Wrinkle in Time not far behind.

There are plenty of bad books around. I just don't read them, nor get particularly upset over them. In fiction, some books are just plain unreadable - in some cases you read one sentence, and just know that the book not worth the effort. In non-fiction, some books are written by authors whose views you vehemently disagree with, although on occasion such books can be entertaining in their own way.

But if you ask me what's the most extreme negative emotion I have ever experienced as a result of reading a book, I can answer without hesitation. It wasn't hatred or anger (I not only still have the book; I even bought the sequel) but it was a very, very strong emotion at the time. It was basically empathetic. In this particular novel, the leading female character was abused sexually and psychologically, and it was written in such a way that I can't begin to describe how deeply disturbing it was, how close I came to feeling the character's anguish through the pages. Got right under my skin, made me go all quiet and withdrawn like I'd seen a ghost, and I was totally incapable of even approaching the book for about three days before I dared to touch it again and finish it. Female author, btw, and it was a historical fantasy novel set in celtic Britain.

So I'm wondering about the diversity of negative emotions that the rest of you have experienced as a result of reading books.

Sylvia Brown.

20+ dollars a book...

'Nuff said

American Psycho-hated it and would happily bring it along...

are you trying to impact upon my sales mr. morgan?

i suggest you research a woman from over here called Jordan/Katie Price, or indeed Kerry Katona for their autobiographies...and then stare hard at their books and i dare you to not want to rip them to shreds...

the books i mean, not the person..

abraxus wrote:Jordan/Katie Price, or indeed Kerry Katona

oh very well said Abraxus. Kerry Katona.. wot IS all that about? She was so lame in Atomic Kitten, she must have been one of the few in her position who didn't even attempt a solo career! Not much of a singer then.

But for some reason she thinks we should be interested in her nearly every week and her pregnancies and relationships etc. on the front pages of magazines.

Talk about making a little go a very long way.. perhaps I secretly admire the gall. Not for her to agonise over substance. Whilst "the-rest-of-us" are trying to go for the next thing, that little bit further.
I bet her DL is pants too.

Yeah, I'd say American Pyscho - it's the only book I had to stop reading. And I loved Wasp Factory. I read it because I enjoyed the film, largely for its comic element, but I didn't find the book "clever" at all, just one man's attempt to think of the sickest things he could.

It was a case of "you've read it, you can't unread it" and a timely reminder that despite the fact they tell you to read! read! read! at school, sometimes exercising a little discretion in terms of what goes into your brain is a good thing.

I would rip up a copy of that, just because I feel it would sully my bookshelf and the mind of whoever else might get hold of that particular copy.

There are many books (i.e. the majority of "chick lit", Danielle Steele, Mills & Boon etc) I'd gladly see pulped simply for the benefits of seeing the resources better allocated, but that's not really an emotion... unless you want to invent the emotion "objection to the banal"!

I bought a book called Covert Hypnosis which sounded great and wasn't cheap (about £30). It was basically aimed at American car salesman and stated the bloody obvious all the way through. No use if either:
1) You're not a salesman
2) You not American

Atrocious, useless, badly written tosh for morons. It was printed on cheap paper too.

I once read a book by Malorie Blackman called noughts and crosses. It basically details from the points of view of both of the main characters the Romeo-and-Juliet esque forbidden love of two teenagers, simply because one is white and one is black (in the book one is a "nought" and one is a"cross"). I never get emotional through reading, but this was the exeption. Lets's just say that the book was part of a trilogy, but I couldn't read the other two because I felt that I'd literally lost a part of me when one of the teens was hung with his girlfriend crying his name because of a terrorist act he was forced to commit.

A powerful read, especially hard-hitting if you're a teenager and can relate to the emotions in the book.

I wrote:But if you ask me what's the most extreme negative emotion I have ever experienced as a result of reading a book, I can answer without hesitation. It wasn't hatred or anger (I not only still have the book; I even bought the sequel) but it was a very, very strong emotion at the time. It was basically empathetic. In this particular novel, the leading female character was abused sexually and psychologically, and it was written in such a way that I can't begin to describe how deeply disturbing it was, how close I came to feeling the character's anguish through the pages. Got right under my skin, made me go all quiet and withdrawn like I'd seen a ghost, and I was totally incapable of even approaching the book for about three days before I dared to touch it again and finish it. Female author, btw, and it was a historical fantasy novel set in celtic Britain.

The book I was referring to is Guardian of the Balance by Irene Radford. I didn't reveal this in my original post because it entertained me to wait and see whether anyone would ask within a day. I'd recommend the book to people who can't say they haven't been warned, but seriously, when the central character goes through some very traumatic experiences, you might just find yourself sharing her pain. And that can be ... unpleasant.

BTW, I notice that the Amazon "look inside" feature bowlderises out the sexually explicit prologue...

Bernard Malamud "The Fixer" I read a huge amount of books of all types, by far this is the one that sticks with me. It's about the Russian Jews during the pogroms. I know sounds boring but it is incredibly written and though provoking and incredibly moving. Not something I say about most books.

3 others that I found really worth reading.
Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" first book of the genre really his best work.
Ken Follet, "Eye Of The Needle" espionage one of those books that grips you from the first page and doesn't let you rest till the last page. I find these pretty rare for me.
Ken Follet (again) "Pillars of the Earth" I read this before its recent re release. Just a good book.

Love Ken Follett, read Pillars of the Earth and World Without End. Both amazing books. Currently reading Triumph of the Sun by Wilbur Smith, it has had me close to tears, looking away in disgust (even though there are no pictures), and smiling and laughing to myself. A very good book.

I actually cried reading Rosamund Pilchers 'The Shell Seekers', but was quite short in comparison to the two mentioned above.

Must recommend Yann Martels 'Life of Pi' while on the subject.

Anaryn xx