Least Favorite Books of the Decade

Alright, saddle up, friends! Today I'm going to be listing my ten least favorite books that I read in the last ten years!

I don't actually have a comprehensive list of all the books I've read in the last ten years, I didn't use Goodreads all that much until apparently like 2013 or 2014, which is as far back as my year in review goes. So, I have no idea what I read in the first few years of the decade, but these are the most notably bad (for me) books that I know I read in the last ten years.

Most of my list consists of books that I read before I started blogging, which I think shows that blogging really helped me to be better at picking out books that I was going to like! So if I happen to have a review for these books, I will have them linked if you click on the title.

And this list only consists of books that I finished, I didn't include any DNFs in this list.

Let's just get right on into it.

1. Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones

When I was first thinking of my worst books of the decade, this was one of the first ones that came to mind. This is the most recent book to make this list and is probably the biggest disappointment. It's the only book that made this list that was a super anticipated book. I couldn't stand the main character of this book or the repetitive phrases. Repetitiveness is something that bothers me a little bit in any book I read, but it was SO unbelivably bad in this book.

I think most notably, the thing that bothered me was the problematic portrayal of sex in this book. Liesel doesn't seem to think anything positive about herself until she gets the D and then she manages to find her worth. No. Bad. You don't need a man to have worth!

2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

World War II historical fiction is one of my all time favorite genres to read. And this is probably the worst one that I can remember reading. And it's particularly sad that the book could be so bad, but the movie so good.

I absolutely hated being in the main character's head. It was so infuriating. I mean, I know the MC is a nine-year-old little boy, but I can't believe that he would be as clueless about what was going on around him as he was. And the way he interacted with Schmuel made me so angry. I just really don't believe that even a nine-year-old boy could be SO incredibly dense.

If you're interested in this story, just watch the movie.

3. The Word for Yes by Claire Needell

This is a book about rape culture that also features a few instances with the point of view of the rapist. That sounded really interesting to me. Unfortunately, I didn't care for this book at all. I didn't like any of the characters and there were some POVs in the book that felt like they didn't add anything to the already too-short story. For all the growth the characters had and all the resolution there was, I feel like I might as well have nor read this book at all. 

4. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

Before I started blogging or found book Twitter, I found a lot of my book recommendations on Tumblr. This is the most notable one that I found on there, and perhaps one of the last times I trusted Tumblr for such things.

I really don't remember a lot about this book at all. What I DO remember about this book were the completely ridiculous weapons that the seekers used in their work. Like the weapon that has a training mode to turn on so you won't actually hurt someone with it?? And also can basically take the form of whatever you need it to be at that time?? Like, talk about unrealistic.

And the super dangerous weapon that basically scrambles your brain if you get hit with it?? What??

Note that I could be totally making this up because it has been AGES since I even bothered to think about this book, but that's how I remember it.

5. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I probably don't need to say too much about this book because if you're someone who has happened to read my blog for any amount of time, you will know that I really did not like this book.

So basically I just did not like the direction the romance was headed and the writing style drove me up the wall. Nothing new here.

6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I want to say that this book didn't live up to the hype for me, but I got this book back in the magical days when I knew about so few books that I actually browsed the shelves to find what I was going to read. I didn't know about the hype for this one until I started getting into the book community.

I am pretty sure that I was not a fan of the writing style of this book and I was also disappointed because I FEEL like the synopsis said something about an epic romance (which I don't care enough to go check if I am making that up), but it was just super anticlimactic for me.

And this is probably the book that I am currently the saddest about not liking.

7. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I didn't dislike this particular book. If the Mortal Instruments series had stayed as just a trilogy, I really might be a Cassie Clare fan. But for some weird reason, I absolutely hated the second part of the series. I don't know what specifically it was about it, but it made me never want to pick up another book by this author. And I haven't. And she hasn't announced anything that is making me want to change my mind either.

8. Paper Towns by John Green

This was the third of the four John Green books that I have read, and it was the beginning of the end. I liked Looking for Alaska and I liked The Fault in Our Stars, but I really didn't like this one.

All I remember about this book beyond the road trip aspect, is that Margot Roth Spiegelman was only ever referred to by her full name and I hated that. I hated reading her whole name. I thought it was a bit pretentious. And in general, I didn't like her character.

9. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I originally picked up this book because a coworker had told me that it was banned for being too "gory". Not gonna lie, not sure if she knows what the word gory means or if she just couldn't come up with the right word for what she wanted to say, but whatever she said sounded interesting so I went home and ordered the whole trilogy. Didn't read the synopsis. I went in so blind.

I was really surprised to find out that it was, in fact, a *gasp* sex book! That was probably the last thing I was expecting when I picked it up. And I didn't like it. And I didn't like any of the other books in the series, but this was back in the day when I was damn sure gonna read a book if I actually went out and got it!

I remember at one point in the second book, I had to rage quit for awhile because I was so frustrated that the only way that Ana's speaking was described was as a murmur. I wanted to send the author a thesaurus so badly. Like.. there are other words!!

10. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

This was the end of my desire to read any books by John Green. I truly don't remember what this book was about beyond that they main character only dated Katherines. But after a certain point, all of John Green's books ran together because all of the characters felt the same to me.

I really and truly can't stand the way his characters talk. Like.. I know I read somewhere once upon a time that he says teenagers aren't stupid and that's why he writes his characters the way he does. And like... he's not wrong, teenagers aren't stupid. But no one talks like that in real life! Let alone ALL the people!

I think it wouldn't have mattered what order I read his books in, my feelings would be the same. I might have liked whichever couple I read first and wanted to tear my hair out by the end of whichever ones I read last.

So there you have it, ten of my most notable bad-for-me books of the decade! Did any of these books make your list? What are some of your worst books of the decade?