Worst books of 2016

We recently posted our top 10 list of books published in 2016. This week we’re letting you in on our least favorite reads of 2016. I do feel kind of bad listing a worst of 2016 list however, this list is subjective and really just a reflection on which books we read during 2016 (not necessarily those published in 2016) that we didn’t particularly enjoy or with which we didn’t really connect. Many of these books will be ones that lots of readers love. What do you think or our list?

Book Worm’s List: The first 5 books are ones I really could not get on with while the last 5 are books I didn’t hate but that were disappointing in some way.

1. The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher – This was a collection of short stories and need I say it was not the one to change my mind, I still really dislike short stories.
2. August is a Wicked Month Edna O’Brien – full of dull unlikeable characters, sex seems to be the whole point of life even when its unwanted. Rape is a conversation subject to amuse others and Ellen just cannot seem to refuse men.
3. The Last September – this book was soooo boring I wished it had ended in August.
4. The Charterhouse of Parma – like August is a Wicked month this time with male central character instead of female
5. The Brothers Karamozov – this was really dull and I struggled to finish it. I know a lot of people really loved but I just couldn’t.
6. A God In Ruins Kate Atkinson – after Life After Life I was expecting some sort of tie in or at least the same magical feeling but nope this book just left me feeling flat.
7. Smoke – Like Jen says this promised so much and then failed to deliver.
8. All that Man Is – all I can say is I really hope this is not all that man is, and based on the men in my life it isn’t which is a huge relief.
9. Vinegar Girl Anne Tyler – This was a Shakespeare retold book and Tyler had said up front that she basically hated Shakespeare and this really came across in her updated work. This could have been so much more with the right treatment.
10. Hystopia David Means – I know lots of people love this but I found it to be very confusing with no real payoff for getting to the end.

Jen’s List: My list will probably make me fairly unpopular since I have included some books that made it onto top ten lists and several well-loved classics.

1. All that Man is by David Szalay: This is a book that made lots of top ten lists this year and I hated it with a passion. Granted, I concede that it was brilliantly written prose but I found the content repetitive and simplistic. I’ll probably get the most grief for listing this in my least favorite list.
2. Rabbit, Run by John Updike. A classic that so many love and I hated. I found it misogynistic and tedious to read. Definitely not my type of book
3. Winter People . Predictable and rather silly. I read this for one of my book clubs. None of us loved it. The beginning was okay but it was all downhill for me from there.
4. Serious Sweet: I didn’t hate this book (unlike the first three) and in fact I loved parts of it. Other parts however, read a little bit like chick-lit (one of my least favorite genres) and was simply a book that I didn’t enjoy overall.
5. Choke by Palahniuk: This was a brilliantly written book but made my list because I found it distasteful. At times I found myself feeling guilty for laughing at certain parts. It’s a good book but just one my sort of book.
6. Addison Cooke and the Treasure of the Incas: Okay, to be fair I knew I wouldn’t like it before I read it. It’s a kids book so not intended for me. That said, I thought it was ridiculous. I occasionally read children’s books to create a book library for my daughter as she gets older. This will not go in that library.
7. Smoke: Another book that made some top 10 lists that makes my bottom 10 list. Ugh, it had so much promise but failed to deliver for me. You can read that review here.
8. Excellent Women: So sorry, I know people love Pym. I found this dreadfully boring.
9. Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid. This book was all kinds of stupid. Interesting plot but convoluted and absurd. I felt highly irritated throughout the entire book.
10. The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie: I love squirrels. I did not love this book. Some parts were overly dramatic (the big evil corporation, etc.). Overall this was a 3-star read for me but it makes the list because I am out of books I really disliked. It probably doesn’t deserve to be on here.

Well, there you have it. What do you think of our lists? Which ones do you agree with? Which ones are we crazy to have included in our lists and why? Which were your least favorite books read in 2016?