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Overrated and Underwhelming: Books to Avoid

Once one gets beyond the academic and critical adoration, the hefty sales and subsequent best-seller listings, the publishers' hype, and the movie adaptations, one is left with the simple truth that these 50 books aren't very good. Or so says our maverick English Teacher and contrarian, who was once chastised at a department meeting for suggesting that Dashiell Hammett was a better writer than F. Scott Fitzgerald. (He is, by the way. Read "The Glass Key" and "The Thin Man" and you'll see.)
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avg. score: 12 of 50 (25%)
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The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Alchemist
1
Paulo Coelho
Angels & Demons (Dan Brown)
Angels & Demons
2
Dan Brown
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
Atlas Shrugged
3
Ayn Rand
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
4
Cormac McCarthy
The Bridges of Madison County (Robert James Waller)
The Bridges of Madison County
5
Robert James Waller
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
6
J.D. Salinger
Chronicles of Narnia Series (C.S. Lewis)
Chronicles of Narnia Series
7
C.S. Lewis
The Cider House Rules (John Irving)
The Cider House Rules
8
John Irving
Dark Places (Gillian Flynn)
Dark Places
9
Gillian Flynn
Dr. Zhivago (Boris Pasternak)
Dr. Zhivago
10
Boris Pasternak
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
The Da Vinci Code
11
Dan Brown
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Fahrenheit 451
12
Ray Bradbury
The Fault in Our Stars (John Green)
The Fault in Our Stars
13
John Green
Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy
Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy
14
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake
15
James Joyce
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
16
Mitch Albom
The Giver (Lois Lowry)
The Giver
17
Lois Lowry
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
18
Gillian Flynn
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
19
Margaret Mitchell
The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
The Good Earth
20
Pearl S. Buck
Grendel (John Gardner)
Grendel
21
John Gardner
The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
The House on Mango Street
22
Sandra Cisneros
The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
The Hunger Games
23
Suzanne Collins
Inferno (Dan Brown)
Inferno
24
Dan Brown
Interview With the Vampire (Anne Rice)
Interview With the Vampire
25
Anne Rice
The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)
The Lost Symbol
26
Dan Brown
Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel García Márquez)
Love in the Time of Cholera
27
Gabriel García Márquez
Origins (Dan Brown)
Origins
28
Dan Brown
Outlander Series (Diana Gabaldon)
Outlander Series
29
Diana Gabaldon
The Paris Bookseller (Kerri Maher)
The Paris Bookseller
30
Kerri Maher
Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
Pillars of the Earth
31
Ken Follett
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
32
Jane Austen
The Queen of the Damned (Anne Rice)
The Queen of the Damned
33
Anne Rice
The Secret (Rhonda Byrne)
The Secret
34
Rhonda Byrne
The Shack (William Paul Young)
The Shack
35
William Paul Young
Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)
Sharp Objects
36
Gillian Flynn
The Shipping News (E.Annie Proulx)
The Shipping News
37
E.Annie Proulx
Song of Fire and Ice
Song of Fire and Ice
38
Tampa (Alissa Nutting)
Tampa
39
Alissa Nutting
This Side of Paradise (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
This Side of Paradise
40
F. Scott Fitzgerald
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