# The worst sentences you've ever encountered in published books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204 "2013-09-06T21:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/81 "2013-09-12T14:06:00Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I think I’d have to read that one in context to pass judgment. It could be that’s the only thing we need to know about it! No, that stinks pretty good all by its lonesome. I think a restaurant that had no windows would be more worth commenting about: I’ve been in damn few restaurants that didn’t have windows. It would have been a lot easier to set the scene with just a few words: The restaurant was one of those cramped office lunch places with no cutlery or condiments on the table, just a holder for plastic cutlery and packets of condiments by the do it yourself drink dispenser. The restaurant was an Italian place with red checkered tablecloths that concealed tomato sauce stains easily. The restaurant was a faux-homey diner with fake cross-stitched homilies sitting on every table. See how those set the scene so much better than “The restaurant had a window.”? Hell you could extend it to “The restaurant had a windown, a door, a floor, walls and a ceiling” and still know virtually nothing about the place. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/82 "2013-09-12T14:40:17Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > No, that stinks pretty good all by its lonesome. I think a restaurant that had no windows would be more worth commenting about: I just have to disagree. I can absolutely imagine reading a story in which the sentence “The restaurant had a window” appears, and the restaurant is otherwise undescribed, and the story is nevertheless a good one without any particularly bad writing in it. The easiest way for me to imagine this is to impart some sense of irony or sarcasm to the sentence, but I don’t think that’s even really necessary. Like I said, I’d have to see it in context. Anyway, setting the scene is overrated. 😉 I generally skip that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/83 "2013-09-12T17:51:41Z")
I’ve not read L. Ron Hubbard’s Mission Earth, but I would imagine he has many poor sentences in that series. Anyone know of any? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/84 "2013-09-12T19:23:52Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’ve not read L. Ron Hubbard’s Mission Earth, but I would imagine he has many poor sentences in that series. Anyone know of any? Ditto with _Eragon_. I read the whole thing (at least the first book) and it had some real howlers, but I can’t be motivated to read through all the hundreds of pages to look for it. My Dad thought I’d really like it when he gave it to me which is why I read the whole thing. I actually did like the _Eragon_ movie however. As a book, it makes a great movie. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/85 "2013-09-12T19:37:03Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I actually did like the _Eragon_ movie however. As a book, it makes a great movie. I remember reading The DaVinci Code and thinking it would make a fun movie. Not so much, as it turns out. But I still think it coulda. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/86 "2013-09-13T00:20:15Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Ditto with _Eragon_. I read the whole thing (at least the first book) and it had some real howlers, but I can’t be motivated to read through all the hundreds of pages to look for it. My Dad thought I’d really like it when he gave it to me which is why I read the whole thing. My wife and I quit reading Eragon. It was so bad we couldn’t force ourselves through it. ---
**Author:** ![LuckyBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecae2f/32.png) [@LuckyBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckyBastid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/87 "2013-09-13T03:58:32Z")
Mission Earth? You know I believe I may have actually repressed the memory of it. I withdraw my earlier submission. You were all right. Mine was bush league next to Hubbard. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/88 "2013-09-13T04:52:58Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > A friend who majored in psychology and worked counseling sex offenders liked that book. She says she skimmed the sex but that the underlying theme was interesting, and she thought the author got it right – something about a damaged childhood manifesting itself in sexual issues. Well, that’s nothing new, is it? But she thought the author did a realistic job with the characterization. It’s realistic - for a sex offender. I’d assume your friend thinks it’s realistic because she recognises Grey for what he really is - a rapist with good PR. As a portrayal of BDSM it is inaccurate, bigoted crap. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/89 "2013-09-13T05:17:53Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > It’s realistic - for a sex offender. I’d assume your friend thinks it’s realistic because she recognises Grey for what he really is - a rapist with good PR. As a portrayal of BDSM it is inaccurate, bigoted crap. Lighten up, it’s a traditional romance, not a primer for BDSM. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204/90 "2013-09-13T13:44:26Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > He felt he had to keep going. Well, in addition to the full story I related above… I also just can’t stand to leave something unfinished. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worst-sentences-youve-ever-encountered-in-published-books/668204.md?page=4)