Bestsellers that don't live up to expectations

I enjoyed the Thursday Murder Club and have read all of them. They are easy, light reading.
I loved Crawdads and enjoyed the film.
I gave up on Captain Corelli's Mandolin, it was boring.
The Lovely Bones was okay.
The Salt Path was okay but the explanation for going on the walk was odd and their casual theft offensive - now we know why.
I love the Wolf Hall trilogy and the dramatisation.
I love the Handmaids Tale, though a lot of Attwood's books are quite heavy going.
The Goldfinch was okay.
I liked The Time Traveller's wife.
I hated I am Pilgrim.
I didn't like the Underground Railroad.

Just reading GENEVA by Richard Armitage. Full of mistakes. We lived close by and know the territory oh so well, but the book is splattered with errors which makes it laughable IMHO. He's obviously never lived there, and he would seem to have only consulted a map for his research.

Sorry is Cormac McCarthy.

Hated The Road by Cormac Macarthy, was just so depressing and sickening. Read it all because I thought it might be an important if difficult read, but would not recommend it to anyone.

Loved the Hilary Mantel trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. Took a while to get into it but was really worth the effort.

Poppyred

Time too precious to keep on reading a book that you don’t enjoy…..

You may think so. To me, reading is never a waste of time.

The Salt Path and The Thursday Murder Club were both awful.

Absolutely loved the Thursday Murder Club books - as did everyone in my bookclub. They make me smile - which can only be a good thing.
Hated The Lovely Bones and We Need to talk about Kevin, also hated Guilty By Definition (Susie Dent), and The Poisonwood Bible.
Really enjoyed The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist

The Goldfinch I agree - I trudged through to the end but didn't really see the point of it.
The Handmaid's Tale I started to watch on Amazon Prime but found it so gruesome I stopped and certainly won't be reading the book(s?)

Where the Crawdads sing didn't grab me either. The end didn't surprise me.

Robert Harris never fails to please but I soon had the twist worked out in Conclave, too- well before the end. If you've read The Wasp Factory it's the same twist!

Maybe by the time you reach our age, it gets harder and harder to please us, and/or we are immune to marketing hype.

Time too precious to keep on reading a book that you don’t enjoy…..

I see quite a few people have given up on various books. I can't do that - I have to finish a book, even if I'm not particularly enjoying it. I don't know why, it's just something I've always done and feel compelled to do. Maybe it's in the hope that it will improve...

If I read a good book then I never watch the tv or film version. I like to have my own images in my head.

The majority of people on GN are retired and many have experience of retirement lives and retirement living - and this book just doesn't make sense.

They are like Geoffrey Archer books. Read by people who know nothing about the world he placed his books in, but not by anyone with any knowledge.

Magenta8

Strange that GNs' are almost unanimous about disliking "The Thursday Murder Club". Lots of people must have liked it, it was a best sellers list for weeks and is still selling well.

I notice that "The Salt Path" has not been mentioned.

Being on the ‘Best Sellers List’ doesn’t mean the book is good though.

People buy it because it’s been hyped up and they are fearful of ‘missing out’.

Only after spending their money do they realise it’s not a great read.

I’ve read all the Thursday Murder books, but have not warmed to the characters or the plots. I haven’t bought them though, just borrowed from the library. I am about 192 on the list for the next one, but don’t mind waiting.

I don’t have Netflix, so won’t be watching the film version.

The last car boot sale I attended had all the TMB on one stall.

I enjoyed The Thursday Cub and a sequel.
Couldn’t stand the Time Travellers Wife.
Loved Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
Enjoyed the Crawdads.
Can’t stand those books where people keep dying and co:ing back in another body.
Enjoyed The Goldfinch.
Couldn’t stand Normal People.

I found “the salt path” not worthy of any of the plaudits, and found it too ridiculous for words!
I enjoyed “the time traveller’s wife enormously” as I like that sort of science fiction.
I have read many books that I didn’t particularly enjoy although others have. It’s a question of taste, some like one book that others hate and vice versa.
“Thursday murder club” is very lightweight, readable and quite silly. A beach read.

@petra I agree with you on Donna Tart, just couldn’t get into it.

Strange that GNs' are almost unanimous about disliking "The Thursday Murder Club". Lots of people must have liked it, it was a best sellers list for weeks and is still selling well.

I notice that "The Salt Path" has not been mentioned.

I find it funny how people's reading tastes differ so much.

Here's my take on those mentioned above:
Thursday Murder Club (not impressed at all - couldn't understand all the hype surrounding it, but I am looking forward to the Netflix series).

Where The Crawdads Sing - loved it.

The Lovely Bones - loved it.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin - really struggled to get into it but adored it after the first couple of chapters right through to the end.

The Time Traveller's Wife - gave up after first chapter.

Hilary Mantel books - gave up after first page

Orbital - no plot, therefore really boring even though 'beautifully written'.

Raising Hare (a recent 'bestseller') - absolutely wonderful, but then I know somebody who thought it was a load of boring rubbish.

NotAGran55

The Thursday Murder Club might be a ‘best seller’, but you just need to read book club forums to see how many people have dumped it part way through.

I didn’t make it past the kindle free sample. 😂

The Thursday Murder Club might be a ‘best seller’, but you just need to read book club forums to see how many people have dumped it part way through.

I read all of The Lovely Bones but absolutely hated it…..

Thursday Murder Club is a classic case of lazy, greedy publishing. The publishers, as others have said, rely on the fact that the author is already famous and ignore the face that the novel is trite, unoriginal and poorly written. It’s all about the profit.

The critics I have read are very scathing about the film version of Thursday Murder Club.
Perhaps that means I shall quite enjoy it.
It is on Netflix on Thursday.

merlotgran

I’ll watch The Thursday Murder Club when Netflix release it next week but couldn’t get into the book.
I loved Crawdadds though.

i found the Thursday Murder Club irritating. I managed to read one, but that's my lot.