# Is Catcher in the Rye the worst book ever written? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461 "2005-10-09T23:55:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GrahamWellington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/54ee81/32.png) [@GrahamWellington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrahamWellington)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/1 "2005-10-09T23:55:14Z")
I read it a long time ago just because I heard people I respected say it was their favorite book. But it sure seemed stupid to me, with lines something like, “I went outside in front of the hotel and fumbled with the roll of money in my pocket, while thinking about how cold the ducks must be in the park.” Honestly, does anyone really think this a very good book? I’d be curious to know your answers if you think it is. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/2 "2005-10-10T00:00:59Z")
It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but I enjoyed it when I read it. Not so much because I identified with the bratty Holden Caulfield, but because it was an interesting “day in the life”, so to speak. I wouldn’t rank it up there as one of the best books ever, but it certainly isn’t the worst. Perhaps I’ll read it again and see. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/3 "2005-10-10T00:01:39Z")
Of course it’s an incredible book by one of the better authors of the past century. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/4 "2005-10-10T00:02:15Z")
> [@GrahamWellington](#): > > I read it a long time ago just because I heard people I respected say it was their favorite book. But it sure seemed stupid to me, with lines something like, “I went outside in front of the hotel and fumbled with the roll of money in my pocket, while thinking about how cold the ducks must be in the park.” > > Honestly, does anyone really think this a very good book? I’d be curious to know your answers if you think it is. Oh I haven’t read it in such a long long time. I remember enjoying it but noticing things like what you mentioned. And Holden seemed like he could use a good swift kick. But I think that was part of why it appealed to so many people. The whole alienated-young-American idea was a bit new at the time the book came out. I’ve always suspected the appeal of this book is greater among men than women. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/5 "2005-10-10T00:02:30Z")
Well, I can honestly say I don’t remember why - but I remember liking it when I read it in high school. It seems I’ll have to read it again. Then again, 1984 is my second favorite book so I tend to like what very few others enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/6 "2005-10-10T00:09:24Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > Then again, 1984 is my second favorite book so I tend to like what very few others enjoy. **congodwarf** , darling, you’re not alone. My high-school boyfriend and I actually used to write love-letters to each other “from Winston to Julia”… :rolleyes: _1984_-lovers, unite! _Nine Stories_ (also by Salinger) is loads better imho, but if you think _Catcher in the Rye_ is the worst book ever written, you’re obviously not looking in the right places. Read some Judith Krantz, or possibly that VC Andrews book with the incestuous attic-livin’, and _then_ get back to me about the worst book ever written. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/7 "2005-10-10T00:12:41Z")
I neither loved nor hated the book, but if you think it’s the worst thing ever written, you just don’t read enough. The writing quality of _The Da Vinci Code_ is unquestionably worse. The authors of _Atlanta Nights_ were trying to create something worst, and while it’s very funny, they succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/8 "2005-10-10T00:13:01Z")
What have you got against the poor ducks, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/9 "2005-10-10T00:14:05Z")
Oh, hell no. The dubious honor of “Worst Book Ever Written” is a multiway tie amongst any of the titles ever written by Danielle Steele. _Catcher in the Rye_ doesn’t even make the top 100. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/10 "2005-10-10T00:17:45Z")
I take it you’ve never read any of the “Left Behind” books, or anything by L. Ron Hubbard. _Catcher In The Rye_ is **Art** by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/11 "2005-10-10T00:21:06Z")
I daresay that when people speak about something being the “worst book/movie/TV show ever,” they almost certainly speaking from a rather sheltered perspective. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/12 "2005-10-10T00:22:36Z")
> [@](#): > > I read it a long time ago just because I heard people I respected say it was their favorite book. But it sure seemed stupid to me, with lines something like, “I went outside in front of the hotel and fumbled with the roll of money in my pocket, while thinking about how cold the ducks must be in the park.” > > Honestly, does anyone really think this a very good book? I’d be curious to know your answers if you think it is > [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > What have you got against the poor ducks, anyway? While were on the subject of the ducks in _Catcher in the Rye_, it seemed to me the obvious answer to Holden’s question was that they flew south for the winter. (Or were their wings clipped?) ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/13 "2005-10-10T00:29:22Z")
I thought it was overblown, and pretty shallow. I agree with the others who posted after you on the “worst book ever written” part however. Perhaps this is the “Most Overdramatic Thread Title Ever Written?” ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/14 "2005-10-10T00:35:03Z")
I didn’t like it. But I also didn’t like Heart of Darkness. I just didn’t see what the big deal was, but many people I respect a lot really like both, so… 😕 _Worst book_…no…I don’t read L.Ron Hubbard or Danielle Steele, but I can submit for your reading pleasure Dean Koontz ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/15 "2005-10-10T00:37:48Z")
I might say it’s the worst book anybody ever told me was the best book ever written. My high school English teacher (who I liked) made a big deal about recommending this to my cousin, who was having some problems at the time, thinking he would really relate to it. I dunno. I certainly didn’t, and my cousin’s problems didn’t seem to end anytime soon. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/16 "2005-10-10T00:49:10Z")
I see you managed to avoid having to read _The Old Man and The Sea_ in high school. That and the second Forrest Gump book. Ol’ Winston must have had several embarassing pictures of the publisher in order to get that crap released. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/17 "2005-10-10T00:55:04Z")
If _Catcher in the Rye_ is the worst book you’ve ever read, you need to expand your reading material. It’s not even the worst book taught in lit classes. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/18 "2005-10-10T00:56:51Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > I daresay that when people speak about something being the “worst book/movie/TV show ever,” they almost certainly speaking from a rather sheltered perspective. Yeah, what that guy said. Thus, why I’ve never been a fan of best/worst lists. Heck, I have trouble when someone asks me what my _favorite_ anything is. There are always too many choices. Is it an overrated book? Probably. Most of the books I was ever told to read in high school are overrated. We all remember “Lord of the Flies” don’t we? ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/19 "2005-10-10T01:04:53Z")
Salinger only wrote 4 books and then went into a solitude that amounts to life-long hibernation… Caulfield was a “treatment” for the character Seymour who appears in _Nine Stories_ and is referred to in his other two books _Franny and Zooey_ and _Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters and Seymour and Introduction_. Personally, I find them all to be exceptionally well written and interesting. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461/20 "2005-10-10T01:18:41Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > Well, I can honestly say I don’t remember why - but I remember liking it when I read it in high school. It seems I’ll have to read it again. > > Then again, 1984 is my second favorite book so I tend to like what very few others enjoy. I must have developed my tastes all at the same time as my top four favorite books are _Catcher in the Rye_, _1984_, _Brave New World_ and _Cat’s Cradle_. I read them all in one year. I read voraciously, but those four stick out as my favorites. Of course, I’m a sucker for dystopian society stories of any kind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-catcher-in-the-rye-the-worst-book-ever-written/325461.md?page=2)