# Books that deserve burning? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404 "2003-01-09T00:32:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/21 "2003-01-09T04:11:29Z")
I give bad books to the library. Anonymously. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/22 "2003-01-09T04:49:05Z")
Maybe no book does deserve burning. But I personally feel James Michener’s books, _Chesapeake_ in particular, might profitably be used as drywall insulation. They’re nice and thick, too, so your house would stay particularly warm. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/23 "2003-01-09T04:59:21Z")
It’s a comic book, but _Blade of the Immortal_ by Hiroaki Samura. I don’t think of myself as a prude, but this book is objectionable on every possible level. Horribly misogynistic, sacreligious, pointless, and worst of all, just dumb. I bought the thing thinking “Hey, looks like a supernatural _Lone Wolf and Cub_!” Now I don’t even like having the thing in my house, and I don’t know how to get rid of it. I’m against book-burning, not because of the principle but just because I’m such a cheapskate. I’d agree with the previous mention of _Hannibal_. I was about to throw it away before I remembered I’d borrowed it from a friend. ---
**Author:** ![dejahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dejahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dejahma)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/24 "2003-01-09T05:03:40Z")
1. The Bridges of Madison County. I actually had arguments with women who were convinced this was a true story. 2. Wild in the Streets. A sixties book about 14 year olds getting the vote. Don’t trust anyone over 15. I was about 16 at the time and still recognized it as excrement. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/25 "2003-01-09T05:05:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bobblehead \* > \*\*Burning books is a SIN! \*\* Well, that gives my vote to burn **the bible** even more resolute. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/26 "2003-01-09T05:18:32Z")
“Wild In The Streets” was a book? I have a copy of the movie on video. It’s crap, too, but it’s FUNNY crap, at least, and has Richard Pryor in it. As to burning books… why bother? Crappy books fade into oblivion, anyway. …and stuff like “Mein Kampf” and “The Turner Diaries” need to stick with us… to remind us of the madness in men’s souls, and the need to keep an eye peeled for the loonies BEFORE they blow stuff up, instead of AFTER… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ace_of_Swords)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/27 "2003-01-09T05:18:38Z")
No book deserves burning: Even the most execrable book illuminates some dark corner of the mind. Someone wrote child pornography? Might help catch a killer if detectives have access. Mein Kampf? Insight into a dictatorial mind. _The Turner Diaries?_ Eerie insight into Oklahoma City. There was one book, a fantasy novel that someone posted in MSIPMS; written with horrid puncuation, the most florid purple meaningless prose you can imagine, and allegedly with all the tab stops screwed up in book form! It was awful, yes, but awfully funny! So Nae to the burning, lads… ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/28 "2003-01-09T05:34:14Z")
…ditto on the Hanibal thing… SPOILERS-OF A SORT… I loved the books Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs, and looked forward to reading the conclusion. But about three-quarters of the way through the book, you get a clear sense of how Harris is going to end the book, so your reading accelerates, and your sense of anger and disbelief go through the roof, and you just skim the last couple of pages and you just want to THROW THE THING ON THE NEAREST FIRE!!! ---
**Author:** ![dejahma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dejahma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dejahma)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/29 "2003-01-09T05:36:10Z")
Yes Wild in the Streets was a book in the 60’s. Every other word was the F word. Basic premise was that 16 year olds should get to vote. This was when voting age was 21 and draft age was 18 and in real life people were trying to get the voting age reduced to 18, “If I have to die for my country don’t I at least get to vote on it?” No and you don’t get to drink either, lol. I think I may be the only person to ever read the book, lol. But I still remember it as one of the stupidist books I’ve ever read. Eventually everyone over 21 got sent to concentration camps. LOL, who would do all the work? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/30 "2003-01-09T06:24:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lissa \* > **I take the ones I dub a Waste of a Tree to the local used-book store, which is primarily stocked with Harlequin Romances from the late 80’s. No matter how bad the book I am selling, it can be no worse than what they carry in profusion.** I read a Danielle Steel romance novel once. It involved a wealthy, successful news anchorwoman falling madly in love with a wealthy, successful doctor. But the two of them couldn’t find true happiness until the wealthy, successful doctor sold his big, perfect, multimillion-dollar mansion and bought an even **bigger, more perfect, more multi** million-dollar mansion for the two of them to live together in. I guess the moral of the story was supposed to be that how “romantic” a home or a vacation or a gift is, is measured by its price tag. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/31 "2003-01-09T06:28:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Banquet Bear \* > **I loved the books Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs,** I found the book _Red Dragon_ to be a big disappointment. If I pick up a book titled _Red Dragon_, dog gone it, there ought to be a red dragon in it somewhere! Preferably a huge ancient red dragon with 88 hit points (1st Edition) that still has its full complement of 3 breath-weapon usages per day when he meets the hapless adventurers. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/32 "2003-01-09T06:45:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*I found the book _Red Dragon_ to be a big disappointment. If I pick up a book titled _Red Dragon_, dog gone it, there ought to be a red dragon in it somewhere! Preferably a huge ancient red dragon with 88 hit points (1st Edition) that still has its full complement of 3 breath-weapon usages per day when he meets the hapless adventurers. \*\* Geek. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/33 "2003-01-09T06:55:47Z")
This thread has inspired me to compose and publish a really lousy book that emits a pleasant, fruity aroma when burned. That way, as people burn it, they’ll catch the delightful scent and think, “Hey, that’s kind of cool.” and they’ll forget why they disliked the book in the first place. While I don’t think I’d ever burn a book, this sacrosanct reverence for the written word does not extend to all forms of information. _cough_ AOL CDs _cough_ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/34 "2003-01-09T06:57:05Z")
Well, when the phone book distributors drop off the **third** set of Yellow Pages in as many weeks on my front doorstep, I’m longing for a fireplace… ---
**Author:** ![shell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@shell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shell)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/35 "2003-01-09T07:23:05Z")
I’d burn _Valley of the Dolls_ . I managed two pages before throwing the book across the room and yelling " Light reading for the subliterate". ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/36 "2003-01-09T07:26:02Z")
Everything ever written by Patricia Cornwell. ---
**Author:** ![Kang\_and\_Kodos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8baadc/32.png) [@Kang\_and\_Kodos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kang_and_Kodos)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/37 "2003-01-09T08:47:05Z")
Without a doubt, THE REGULATORS by Stephen King/Richard Bachman. What a horribly, horribly written book. Easily the worst book I’ve ever read. Ever. And bear in mind I’m still considering those Choose-An-Ending adventure books I read when I was 11. ---
**Author:** ![senor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@senor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senor)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/38 "2003-01-09T09:10:12Z")
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. ---
**Author:** ![Kezermezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@Kezermezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kezermezer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/39 "2003-01-09T09:20:56Z")
I had forgotten the title of this book (blocked it out on purpose actually, I think) but I looked it up just now so I could tell anyone reading this specifically to _not read this book whatever you do_. Be you sitting on the toilet, feeling a long wait coming on, or just begining a twelve hour plane ride realizing you haven’t got anything to read but this book, _do not read it!_ It was rather hard to figure out if I had the right title as even after seeing it I couldn’t remember for sure if it was the book I was thinking of (that’s how deeply I’d burried it in my subconscious) and I finally did figure it out by reading some people’s reviews on Amazon, and all those people liked it. The thought that comes to my mind is that they must all be insane. But if someone is reading this thread thinking “Hey, I read that, and it was wonderful!” please don’t jump on me. Or ever run into me in a dark alley. **The Trap** by Tabitha King. I decided to give her a try and this was the first book I grabbed off the library shelf (I for one LOVE libraries!). I will never, ever, evereverever pick up another of her books again. I think it just may kill me. ---
**Author:** ![lukaspriest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5a626/32.png) [@lukaspriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lukaspriest)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404/40 "2003-01-09T10:22:47Z")
I’d burn Mein Kampf for what it advocates. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-deserve-burning/147404.md?page=3)