Books that make you want to throw them at a wall

I'm currently reading Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (I know it sounds really cliche and tacky, but it's surprisingly good! The author should have named it something else :/). Beth Fantaskey did a wonderful job making reader feel what the main character was feeling..which is pretty much a roller coaster of emotions...I keep wanting to chuck the book at the wall and it's driving me crazy. Sometimes books can be infuriating.

Have you read any books that make you feel the same?

P.S. Don't worry- I would never actually throw my book....then I would have to get up and go get it.. XD

I think I actually *did* chuck Less than Zero across the room when I finished it. It made me want to bleach my brain. Urgh.

Not sure if I've had that reaction to a book I actually *enjoyed,* though. (Although, I have been known to exclaim out loud if a character is doing something I find frustrating.)

I punched Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton a few times before I managed to finish it. It made me mad. In large part because it was, in my opinion, badly written.

I tend to want to throw or punch book I dislike more so than ones I enjoy, though, it has happened. I just for the life of me can't think of an example.

Oh, and I also was surprised at how much I enjoyed Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. The last third, less so, but the awesome that was the first two thirds made up for that. : )

I've wanted to throw books because there are so bad and others because they're so good, so you are not alone. I've read books that make me want to throw them across the room and then stomp on them because I hated the characters and/or the plot and couldn't believe that I was wasting my time on them. I felt that way about How to say goodbye in robot which I just loathe but for some reason other people actually seem to enjoy. And then I've wanted to chuck a book across the room because the story is so good and the tension is so high and I MUST KNOW NOW what is going to happen or I might just flip out right then and there, which is what I experienced while reading Monsters of men (dear god, patrick ness are you trying to kill me! Please just let this end and please oh please let it end well!)

Uh oh - I don't throw books against the wall. I feed them to the dog! So it's a negative thing... but you've got me worried/excited now. I'm at the library & my copy of The Knife of Never Letting Go came in. I won't be able to start it right away, and they better not try to pull it out of my hands when it's due!

I threw a book against the wall once.

I had purchased it at a thrift store, and I turned a page in the middle of the book and found that the previous owner had squished a cricket in there.

Ugh!

Gross!

>6 foggidawn: very icky!

When I read Glass Houses and got to the cliffy at the end I was really tempted to throw it at the wall. I hate cliffhangers, especially those that end in the middle of a scene. I really enjoyed the book but I remember how mad I was that I had to wait months for the next book to come out.

>8 Jenson_AKA_DL: A cliff on Glass Houses? You're making me curious.

>9 cammykitty: Glass Houses was published shortly after Twilight but before the overwhelming stampede of other vampire themed stories. I've found the series highly interesting so far but this particular author loves cliffhangers. She said it is mainly because it is what the publishers wanted (I had a short Myspace conversation with her years ago about it).

Makes sense. Publishers are stuck on series right now because they think it's good marketing, and in theory, a cliff hanger should make you want the next book... so long as you aren't so annoyed by the ending that you lose faith in the author.

lol!! That´s funny!

I felt this way after I read The Passage and realized the already too-long book was predecessor to another couple of books (for which there was no way I was going to have the patience). I also felt this when attempting to read P.S. I Love You, which was so obnoxious--to me--I'm not going to even get into what I did after I threw it.

When I've gotten deeply into a book I love, I have the urge to do lots of things. The biggest thing I find myself wanting to do is hide if something awkward is happening or about to happen. :p

LOL!!! I understand the hiding impulse!

#14 - I wish I could say I hadn't actually ever put a book down to hide from the awkwardness . . . and not be lying! :p

13-15 This is so funny! I have the same problem, but usually when I'm watching TV--I often change the channel when someone is about to "get into trouble" especially if the "background music" is manipulative. But then I forget to go back and finish watching!! Finally realized it goes all the way back to watching I Love Lucy as a kid--I used to leave the room when Ricky was about to yell at her, lol. Now I am trying to do this less often (yeah, I know, Good luck with that). Couldn't watch the Wicked Witch scenes either; I can be such a baby.

Oddly, I don't think I do this with books. Sometimes I have to force myself to stay on the page and not skip ahead. If that keeps happening, I know it's time to just jump to the last chapter and skim. Same thing if I avoid picking one up for a few days--I probably don't want to finish it...

Gone with the Wind. Hard.

Breaking Dawn. The Host. Both of them drove me crazy.

Breaking Dawn. The Host. Both of them drove me crazy.

16> I have a good friend with a low tolerance for embarrassing scenes in tv/movies. She's always running out to see about popcorn, and then deciding not to buy anything after all. (And we're horrible friends. We tease her about this mercilessly.)

Thing is, with books, you can run out of the room but the words are still waiting for you when you return. It's hard to hide from them!

> 13, 16, 20: I thought I was the only one who can't stand to watch or read about characters in embarrassing situations. That's the main reason why I couldn't watch The Wonder Years -- not only did you have to watch poor Kevin embarrass himself, but you had to hear his thoughts on the situation as well. And forget finishing Carter Finally Gets It -- after I got to the scene where Carter eats Taco Bell right before taking a girl to the movies (you can guess what happened next, I'm sure) I couldn't take it anymore. I was way too mortified for the kid.

21> Me too!!! I couldn't take that show.

Let me first say that I LOVED Jessica's Guide! She did quite a bit of throwing that book under her bed and ignoring it, too.

While not YA. I did throw Dracula the UnDead, the "official" sequel to Dracula, at the wall.

It's usually a compliment. It means I really got into the book. :) I may have done it with Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian as well. (There seems to be a vampire pattern here.)

21, etc - I'm with you all. One reason I like watching movies at home, alone, is so I can keep my finger on the mute button, to skip all the embarrassing bits.

Witch and Wizard by Patterson, - couldn't throw it far enough, blech.

Playing with Fire by Brian Katcher. I LOATHED the main character- so superificial, such a twit!

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkekes made me want to throw it against a wall. This book has a majorly contrived plot. Yes, teenagers can be cruel. Parents can be clueless about their children. But to this extent?

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. I really enjoyed the first two books, and waited with anticipation for the final book's release, rushed to get it as soon as I could, handed over the ridiculous wad of cash it takes to buy a hardcover new release in a rural Australian town where there's only one bookstore... and then when I finished it, I angrily tossed it in the garbage bin outside.

(This was NOT a normal occurrence, let me assure you. I always treat books with much love and care, and even the most rubbish ones I'll just sell or give away... but I think I just didn't want that book to exist anymore! :P)

The Amber Spyglass... not sure why that touchstone isn't working.

Oh, and Twilight of course. Never actually threw it I think, but I definitely wanted to!

>28 Owlnip:: I agree about Amber spyglass. I was so disappointed by the unsubtle anti-religious message of the book - not because it was anti-religious, but that it was unsubtle.

I have a regular urge to slap a charachter with a wet codfish and say 'You foolish girl/boy, did you not see that coming.' or 'why oh why did you have to go and do THAT'

DH is entertained by my explosions of expletives. Trying to re-tone things now DD is about. So holy guacamole is acceptable. DH does then want an explanation as to why the expletive. DH has my copy of Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, I wasn't quick enough to pick it up off the doorstep when amazon delivered it. His expletives are not suitable for young ears, have advised him that I don't want to know why, just hurry up and hand it over.

Ha ha glad to see so many references to Patrick Ness in this thread, he is the King of Unbearable Tension :)

Oh I feel your pain- I too wanted to throw the passage against a wall. I didn't because it was a library book but I threw it mentally. Did the man never meet with his editor?

Yeah Patrick Ness really killed me with the ending of Monsters of Men. I like very firm endings and he left so many things open! I wish he would write a sequel to the book, but I can't think of how he could top the horrible things he did to those characters!

I definitely have to read Patrick Ness. Oh, and there's always more horrible an author can do!

Ohmygoodness, i honestly hated Angelology by Danielle Trussoni. i counldnt even finish it!! it had too many "likes"... he was 'like' this, the building was 'like' that, like like like like... i dont know if the author was on a similes/metaphors binge, but i only got to chapter 3 before i tossed it aside and returned it to the library asap. im so happy i didnt buy it.

36 Perhaps she was trying to be a Valley Girl?

Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. I felt betrayed by the ending; had to make up my own for my own peace of mind!

#38 Ha! I often do that when a book has an upsetting ending, I rewrite it in my head with a happy one :) Not that I would actually want to change the books themselves, most of the best novels I have read had sad endings, but it's so tempting to think back to when it all went wrong and work out how things could have been different.

i always throw catcher in the rye
it's a daily battle between me and that book i like it and yet i'm not sure why and if i did enjoy it and it does my head in
it's so annyoying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I almost threw my Civics book at the wall - it's written for a third-grader (I'm a high school junior making As in AP and college history courses) and highly propagandist.

The only book I've ever been so disappointed in that I might have thrown it was Ready or Not by Meg Cabot; its precursor, All-American Girl, was so good that I braved it despite the back of the cover - it's all about the character's decision to sleep with her boyfriend or not - but I should've just left it alone.

i agree some books are just ugghgh!!!!!!!!!!!!! but you still read them,cause they can still be great.

I remember reading Less then Zero and wanting to chuck it as well. I thought it was horrid and when I heard that it was actually a best seller I was sort of shocked.

>29 Owlnip: - I would never throw any of the Twilight novels. You'll only put your shoulder out of joint and break whatever the absurdly large book hits.

@25--I read that. Wasn't impressed in the least. Did you throw it because you were frustrated like/at the characters, or did you just not enjoy it like me?

@31--Hahahaha the first part made me laugh XD

For me its more like this: "YOU, YOU STUPID GIRL! GO KISS HIM, RIGHT NOW. NOW!!!" hahaha I often fantasize about what I "would have done"

I don't think I have a specific book in mind. I do know that I get frustrated with the preponderance of books written in the first person, not the third. If I stop reading a book, it is usually one with this POV. To paraphrase Monty Python, "And second person is right out!"

MGP

Anna and the French Kiss. Gayle Forman, who is amazing, raved about it on her blog and it got a ton of good reviews. I don't usually go for teen romances, but I figured this might at least be a guilty pleasure. Lo and behold, it was one of the most awful, tedious books I've ever read.

The love interest is introduced on page 15, jerks the protagonist around until page 367, and then they finally get together and have a relationship for SIX FREAKING PAGES. Sorry, not interested in 350 pages of a girl pining for a boy with nothing else on her mind.

Books that end up in a cliffhanger, especially when the author, publisher, editor, or whoever is in charge of that sort of decisions, does NOT warn the reader beforehand that there will be a sequel to the story.

It's so frustrating: devouring a story, suffering with the characters, trying to figure out what's going on or what will happen next... just to realize... that you won't find out until the sequel is out. Or even worse: the book you're reading is #1 in a God-knows-how-many-books-long series. AAAAARRGHHH!!!!

Listen, I know series are rather popular at the moment, I've read a few myself, but please, for chrissake, show some respect and let us KNOW we're reading a series. Please.

@49-- I totally understand what you mean. In frustration that I was "tricked" I'll often rebel against reading the rest of the series, whether the first book was good or not. I also really hate when I accidentally buy the 3rd book in a series because it is not indicated on the binding or inside of the book.

Hm, one thing though...my favorite series is Vampire Academy. It sounds cheesy, but its packed full of adventure, fighting, and romance. I really enjoyed this series and plan on reading it a second time when I get the chance. It was just so emotional. The author did a wonderful job portraying the feelings that the main character was going through.

@49 - I just got hit by one of those. It's not throw it at the wall frustrating, but I think it's why I'm not sure what to write in my review. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a fun, laid back read with monsters, until the climax in the end which all of a sudden feels rushed. Then at some point, it slips past the climax and turns into set up for the next novel. No indication of a sequel, and I'll bet no sequel is written as of yet. One is definitely planned though.

51: Tending to agree after just finishing the book.

MGP

I don't think I've ever wanted to throw a book because I hated it (though I can think of a few right now that deserve it). I usually just put them someplace where they won't be found for a few years, like not being read tortures them.

I almost threw City of Bones after I finished it. It had been a long time since I was so into a book that I felt like I could step through the pages and live with them.

NineTiger> Glad someone agrees with me! Most of the reviews have been glowing, so it makes me feel like a curmudgeon to say that the ending disappointed.

53 LOL! like not being read tortures them. I think it does! First the dog chews them, then the silverfish find them...

I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (sp?).

FRENCH THE LLAMA I wanted to throw it against the wall so bad!! It was so boring!!

Besides a couple short passages that made me get through it, it was just blah blah blah blah blah. And the only other reason I even got through it was the fact that it's my MANDATORY summer reading book. UGH!

*headdesk*

Don't read this book until your school makes you. FRENCH THE LLAMA, couldn't they have picked any other book?!

I hated the 'twilight' books and films too
what a pile of crap, i love dracula and all that spin off stuff but twilight?
pah average teenage reading for oafs

I wanted to throw Twilight at a wall, but I didn't want to damage my posters. I settled for chucking it at my brother.

I got really into Fallen by Lauren Kate, and *hate* that the publishers are into doing a trilogy now, but it can mean for well-developed characters. However, having read Torment I was SPOILER ALERT, "Girl, stop being mopey and get a spine. Two, he loves you? I see a friend connection between you too, but not the love one." Granted the female protagonist is a teen, but still. Some teens aren't. Are there any YA trilogy series that *aren't* angst ridden?

I didn't have the energy to throw Fallen at the wall. It started off quite strongly but just seemed to drift off and lose interest in its own plot.

59> I agree. I couldn't finish Fallen. I read almost half of it and then just gave up because NOTHING was happening. I almost always finish books, but I just couldn't do it.

There is only once where I actually threw a book. It was one of those 'Oh, this was all just a dream' endings. There could be a worse cliche ending, but I can't think of one.

>58 macart3:: So far the Hex Hall books are not angsty. The narrator has an excellent, self-deprecating sense of humour which I found very refreshing, not being a fan of mopiness myself.

>62 Sakerfalcon:: Started reading Hex Hall and I just thought the dialogue was not stellar. However, since you recommended it, I'll give it another chance.

>62 Sakerfalcon:: Oh dear, I hope it gets better for you. I mainly liked the book because it wasn't all angsty and "I'll die if I can't be with X for the rest of my life", as opposed to certain other YA paranormal books out there . . .

64

Anything written in third person present. Sounds too much like script direction.

MGP

Anne of Ingleside

Quite dissapointing, as Anne of Green Gables is one of my fav. books.

If my copy of Anne of Ingleside had not been from the library I would have thrown it across the room.

But it wasn't worth it.

>66 NineTiger:: Agreed!

The only book I've actually thrown across the room was by William Golding (Lord of the Flies author.) I finished The Spire and torpedoes that baby to the far wall. My best friend did the same thing without me having told what I did.

I wanted to throw My Sister's Keeper at something, but I was at an outdoor cafe in Volterra, Italy, and I didn't want someone thinking, "Oh, look at the temperamental Americana."

Lastly, and more on-thread, I wanted to toss The Knife of Never Letting Go when he let the dog ____. (Fill in the blank so as not to be spoiler-y.)

69> let the dog ____ . . . and on the carpet, too! j/k I hated that part also. I was wondering why I listened to my friend who told me to read it. It was a really good series, but good like it made you think more than good because it was enjoyable.

My Sister's Keeper - I still can't forgive Picoult for that ending. I'll never read anything else by her - ever. Such a complete and utter cop out. Hate it.

Thanks for the warning on The Knife of Never Letting Go. Life is too short and Mount TBR is too tall. If I want a painful book that makes me think, I'll finish Blindness that has a Nobel prize on it. (No, I don't really intend to finish Blindness.

>Cammykitty-snorted on my keyboard!
>booklizard- I know! I won't read any more Picoult either. I wondered if she was wanting to be clever or did her editor make her do it? Interesting the movie took it the other way. But, yeah, I'm done as a with her as a reader.

#71
Noooooo! Don't discount The Knife of Never Letting Go just because of the bit with the dog! It is one of the best YA novels I have ever read and is ultimately a hopeful book I think. The third book in the Chaos Walking trilogy; Monsters of Men has just won the Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature very deservedly in my opinion. I think you would be missing out if you don't read it.

72# I hope your keyboard forgives me! ;)

73# Don't know what this bit with the dog is, but I'm hypersensitive to bits with dogs. I train dogs. Disgrace is a beautiful (and icky) nobel prize winner, but with that little bit with the dog at the end, I'll never like it!

72> You actually watched the movie??? I wouldn't even do that.

74> I know what you mean. I'm still traumatized after reading It's Like This, Cat in middle school. If you change your mind about reading The Knife of Never Letting Go, let me know and I'll tell you about the dog bit - that way you might be a little desensitized. (I didn't want to read The Hunger Games because it sounded too much like Lord of the Flies meets Survivor, but I kept hearing about it so I finally broke down and read it and I'm glad I did!)

>BookLizard I put off The Hunger Games for the same reason using the same analogy!! But I, too, am glad I read it. (And Collins is not Golding, thank goodness!)

>cammykitty: probably a good idea to take BookLizard up on the offer if you do decide to read, someday. I would have liked some desensitizing, being a "a-dog-saved-my-life" kind of dog lover, myself.

75&76 Yes, this sounds like a time when a spoiler actually would be a good thing.

I wanted to throw The Knife of Never Letting Go across the room because of the horrific cliffhanger ending. It was obnoxious enough that I didn't read the rest of the series and I don't plan to ever, I don't care how good people say it is. I loathe cliffhangers at the ends of books.

@78 Don't read Miss Peregrine's home for Peculiar Children then!

79 cammykitty - I'll make a note.

77> I'll send you a private comment spoiler

78> If you don't like ambiguous endings either, you won't want to read Monsters of Men.

OT, but the mention of cliffhangers reminded me of the time I went to see one of the Star Wars movies with my brother. During one of the pivotal fight scenes, when one of the good guys got knocked over and was hanging onto a platform with one hand and the bad guy was about to finish him off, the theater lost power. There was a collective gasp when the screen went blank, then the alarm sounded and we had to evacuate the building. LOL. The timing was so perfect that you had to laugh.

81 BookLizard - I have no problem with ambiguous endings. I have a problem with ridiculous cliffhanger endings. Have you read The Knife of Never Letting Go? Books are not tv shows. Cliffhangers like that simply do not belong in books.

>79 cammykitty: ditto that one! staid, formulaic, and ultimately uninteresting....

>83 jlbattis2: I didn't think it was quite all that bad, but it was horror-lite. I never really feared for anyone. The monsters weren't terribly convincing and the character didn't spend much time trying to combat them until the end, that got RUSHED horrendously because the author was so worried about setting up a sequel. It felt like there wasn't an ending in it at all. Cool photos, but disappointing.

Matched by Ally Condie. I was really looking forward to it, and I had heard good things, but I just couldn't care about anything in it. Unlike the superior books it was ripped off from, the dystopian society in this book didn't add up. There was too much stuff that existed or not just to be convenient to the plot, and no payoff. I just kept wanting to shout at the characters, "YOUR PROBLEMS AREN'T IMPORTANT TO ME!"

85> Thanks for sharing. Matched is one of those books that I keep saying I should read, but never do because it just doesn't appeal to me. Same thing for Graceling.

Pretty well agree. As a middle school librarian, I wanted to read this since my kids love the other Patterson juvenile books. Was not impressed, though my kids like the book. It seems as though Patterson tries too hard to use "cool" teenage language and scenarios to the point that it's almost laughable. I guess I should be glad that my kids are reading, but I won't direct them to this title.

For me, Graceling was way better than Matched, and has been one of the best YA titles to come out in recent years.

#88 -- I agree with that. I didn't care much for Matched, but I loved Graceling.

Seriously?! I thought it was just me! I couldn't finish the Fallen series because it wasn't ending and it got really boring. But I liked the first book.

86> Funny that this thread has been revived 2 years later. I DID read the Matched trilogy and while the first book was "meh," the other 2 were good. Also read and loved Graceling and sequels, but it darn well better be a series and not a trilogy because the ending of Bitterblue is too lame to be the final ending.

Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin ---- CHEESY, Boring, Predictable .... I didn't throw it because I'm going to trade it in for credit at a book store. However I'll tell everyone how bad it is!!

The art of Wishing by Lindsay Ribar ----- Seriously I get the paranormal kick but genies??? It's like a teenage aladdin. LEAVE it alone already.

I love Vampire Academy! The movie adaption is coming out this year but it doesn't look like it will be on task. It makes me sad when they do that.

I am working my way through that series right now! I just read City of Fallen Angels at the wall when I got to that cliffhanger. I just yelled "Again!" and got super frustrated. I did rush out this morning to buy the next one though!