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Books can be a form of escape or your personal torture. Depending on the title you pick up and the book’s contents, you could be transported into a fantastical world or a boring one you wish to escape from instead. However, some books deserve a “do not read” stamped in bright red, even if they’re beyond popular with some people. Here are 15 Truly Awful Book Recommendations to Add to Your Do Not Read List
1. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.l. James
We’re all familiar with this fanfiction drivel that spawned a trilogy of movies. Well, we’re here to tell you the book is not worth the time. It’s written like a fanfiction piece, and not even the good kind of fanfiction, either. Plus, the plotline is nonexistent, and the timeline just doesn’t make any sense.
2. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
It’s one of the more popular recent books, and we’re telling you to put it on your do not read list. Why? For starters, this book’s list of trigger warnings is ridiculously long. Secondly, it is a trauma-fest which will, in turn, traumatize you. Sure, it is well written, but the characters, progression, and storyline will only make you hate the author and yourself for picking it up.
3. Anthem by Ayn Rand
A lot of Ayn Rand’s books are terrible, and Anthem is just one of them. Most people never make it to the end of her books because they are typically written in a convoluted, gibberish way. Anthem is supposed to be her take on a dystopian future where humanity enters another Dark Age.
4. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
It was great when you were a teenager in the 2000s, but if you ever try to reread the series, you would be surprised to find that you can’t make it past the first chapter without cringing. Plus, there are seven books in the series now, and you’re better off watching the movies (which are also a hit-and-miss). Her writing is terrible in the early days, and the story is formulaic with troubling moral lessons, including stalking and toxic relationships.
5. Verity by Colleen Hoover
Another famous author in recent history has caused a divide in the book-loving community. Colleen Hoover’s Verity is the worst book she’s ever written. It’s like a teenager attempting to write fanfiction erotica. At the same time, she mixes it up with a psychological thriller and a terrible plot twist.
6. Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
It is simply poorly written, with uncomfortable sexual references toward underage minors that are wholly unnecessary and borderline creepy. Some of the overt displays of racism even feel like rage bait for readers to talk about the book. Leave the World Behind is about two families forced to stick by each other on a weekend gone wrong.
7. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Don’t let the story’s intriguing title and exciting premise fool you. This book has a predictable plot twist and is terribly written, with traumatized women as leads. Overall, the author handles each character’s dark and uncomfortable subject matter poorly. The book is about “final girls” who have survived massacres and get together to support each other.
8. The World Rose by Richard Brittain
What is supposed to be an epic fairytale romance and fantasy set in an ancient world turns out to be an incoherent mess of a delusional stalker. Aside from its problematic author, there are many reasons not to read this book, like sentences that don’t make sense and a dull, boring storyline.
9. Tampa by Alissa Nutting
An unlikeable protagonist is a surefire way of getting people not to like a book, and Tampa is a good example. Plus, the book deals with some disturbing subject matter which involves an underage minor. You could justify it by saying the author tried to pull a Lolita, but she did it in the most distasteful way.
10. Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
It’s a poorly written book with a terrible plot, needless anachronism, and cruelty set in Edinburgh across several decades. There’s nothing to love in it, which is a shame as it had a promising premise that would quickly draw people in if done right. It is about a house in Luckenbooth, Edinburgh, that houses misfits and its stories over the years.
11. The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan
This contemporary exploration of relationships promises a funny and witty novel. Still, its dialogue and characters must be more exciting as everything falls flat. The characters feel one-dimensional and have no depth, with an air of unlikeability. You’re better off reading something else.
12. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK by Mark Manson
This non-fiction self-help book touches on acceptance and commitment therapy principles but is also highly repetitive. The author’s writing gives off a tone of immaturity and tries for a so-called “edginess,” which honestly does not help its case. He drops curses into his sentences to make a point and uses shock humor to make an impact.
13. The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma
A case of morning people shaming night people summed up in a book. Various scientific research has shown that each person has their own Circadian Rhythm and is productive at different points of the day. The 5 a.m. Club essentially pushes the narrative that only those who wake up at 5 a.m. will be more successful in life.
14. Roger Fishbite by Emily Prager
Anyone who tries to recreate or is inspired by the contents of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is somewhat problematic. Especially since it is challenging to execute it tastefully, this novel tries to parody Lolita, updating the story to the modern day and adding twists. It features 13-year-old Lucky Linderhoff getting seduced by her mother’s husband, Roger Fishbite, and it is distasteful, to say the least.
15. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
A story that falls short about a missing mother with the father as the apparent perpetrator: the story follows four of the Delaney siblings and their beloved parents, but one night, things go south. Apples Never Fall is a tedious and lengthy book with a very anticlimactic ending, which is the final blow to the book’s reputation.
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