# Utterly loathsome books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186 "2003-01-12T20:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/1 "2003-01-12T20:48:55Z")
What books have you found to be utterly loathsome? Not necessarily famous books that you’re supposed to like, either. I’ll have to think about this one a bit, but for starters I’ll nominate Alice Walker’s _Warrior Marks._ Never have I been so frightened by self-absorbed navel gazing. Oh no! Alice Walker saw a clitoridectomy ritual on her birthday, and she was _so upset_ that she had to call her boyfriend long distance! Poor Alice- how dare the male supremacist patriarchy schedule a clitoridectomy on her birthday! Let’s read all about her spoiled birthday for ten pages! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/2 "2003-01-12T21:42:09Z")
Burroughs’ _Naked Lunch_. Of course, the loathesomeness was the entire point, but I still didn’t particularly enjoy, or even finish, the book. ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/3 "2003-01-12T21:44:13Z")
Finnish wrestler Tony Halme wrote a book called “Tuomiopäivä” or “Doomsday”, which is a 200-page rant composed of tripe, mainly against immigrants, (who Halme calls, among other things, baboons, Bingo-Bango’s and snakes) gays, leftist politicians and anyone else who doesn’t catch his right-wing fancy. And the worst part is that he’s trying for the parliament (election’s at March) and likely will get elected. I fear for the nation. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/4 "2003-01-12T21:46:24Z")
_Geek Love_ was easily the most vile book I’ve ever read. It was so disgusting that I don’t even want to talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/5 "2003-01-12T22:34:28Z")
I loved Geek Love. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/6 "2003-01-13T00:09:09Z")
L. Ron Hubbard’s _Mission Earth_ series. I know, I know, I mention these books whenever a “bad books” thread pops up, and you’re probably all sick of hearing it, but DAMMIT! I’m on a personal crusade to prevent anyone from ever reading them again! You’d thank me if you knew. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/7 "2003-01-13T00:09:31Z")
Zombie, by Joyce Carol Oates. The narrator Quentin is a serial killer who we watch commit evil, loathsome acts until we are eager for his comeuppance, which never comes. He is wearing a trophy from his latest and most horrifying murder when the book ends. I wished I’d never read it. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/8 "2003-01-13T00:19:46Z")
I am the Cheese. (I can’t remember the author, but the same guy wrote The Chocolate War) Come to think of it, I may have hated that book so much because I read it in ninth grade honors English class. The teacher decided that I was a good reader, and we read outloud all class (which basically meant _I_ read out loud all class). Reading a book outloud for an hour and a half while the rest of the class falls asleep would put anybody off a book. Also, the teacher himself didn’t even understand the book, and class discussions were limited to those started by either me or my friend. Another much-hated book was Flatland. We read that one in eighth grade geometry. It’s about a two-dimensional shape that travels to pointland (zero-dimensions), line-land (1 dimension), lives in Flatland (two dimensions) and travels to a three dimensional world. ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/9 "2003-01-13T00:26:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\*L. Ron Hubbard’s _Mission Earth_ series. I know, I know, I mention these books whenever a “bad books” thread pops up, and you’re probably all sick of hearing it, but DAMMIT! I’m on a personal crusade to prevent anyone from ever reading them again! You’d thank me if you knew. \*\* Christ… I listened to abridged versions of a couple of those on book-on-tape. (My small-town library’s selection was limited, and I desperately needed something for a long drive.) I classify them, along with XXX, in the “written by a 13 year old boy, for 13 year old boys” file. Let’s recap, shall we? The villain, like something out of a Jack Chick comic but instead of an atheist, he’s a Freudian psychologist, gets kidnapped by lesbians who use him in horrible ways which apparently we’re supposed to find titillating. Then the vaguely gay (or at least fey) cellologist reconstructs his penis, but now it’s abnormally large. Thus the bad guy is strapped to a gurney while the cellologists’ petite nurse (who is, naturally, Asian) rapes the bad guy, because she finds his new penis irresistible. Hoo boy. Jesus? Buddha? Bollocks! Sign me up for Scientology. I just can’t wait to become as well-adjusted as L. Ron Hubbard. ---
**Author:** ![Ashkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Ashkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashkicker)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/10 "2003-01-13T00:47:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ben \* > \*\* > The villain, like something out of a Jack Chick comic but instead of an atheist, he’s a Freudian psychologist, gets kidnapped by lesbians who use him in horrible ways which apparently we’re supposed to find titillating. Then the vaguely gay (or at least fey) cellologist reconstructs his penis, but now it’s abnormally large. Thus the bad guy is strapped to a gurney while the cellologists’ petite nurse (who is, naturally, Asian) rapes the bad guy, because she finds his new penis irresistible. > \*\* Cripes. Your kidding, right? See, Smeghead your crusade has helped. And Ben with your book review I’ll know to stay away from that section of the bookstore. What kinda person writes stuff like that? On second thought I don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/11 "2003-01-13T00:55:40Z")
Iain Banks’ “The Wasp Factory” And no, I do not want to give support for my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![quarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/50afbb/32.png) [@quarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quarx)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/12 "2003-01-13T02:19:49Z")
I read _The Turner Diaries_ almost seven years ago to find out what had motivated McVeigh, and I am still ashamed of finishing that piece of trash instead of shoving it down the garbage disposal. I’ll second _Naked Lunch_. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/13 "2003-01-13T02:38:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by monica \* > \*\*Another much-hated book was Flatland. We read that one in eighth grade geometry. It’s about a two-dimensional shape that travels to pointland (zero-dimensions), line-land (1 dimension), lives in Flatland (two dimensions) and travels to a three dimensional world. \*\* I loved _Flatland._ I loved it so much that I bought the sequel, _Sphereland._ I still reread both from time to time. My name is Scarlett and I am a topology geek. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/14 "2003-01-13T02:59:37Z")
Anne Rice’s _The Vampire Armand_. It should have been a sin for the publisher to unleash that vileness upon the world. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/15 "2003-01-13T03:08:54Z")
“Hannibal,” by Thomas Harris. Harris has never been a very good author, but has been overrated because his books were turned into a few pretty good movies. “Hannibal” was the absolute nadir of his so-called career - a 350-page gross-out with not a single realistic character or scene to be had. Every scene in “Hannibal” was either over-the-top disgusting or laughably ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/16 "2003-01-13T05:39:27Z")
I’ll second \*\*Hannibal[/B}. I think Harris tired of all this “fame”, and decided to become infamous instead. He finished “Hannibal” cause it was a contractual obligation. And I waited 10 years for it. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/17 "2003-01-13T06:40:02Z")
American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. Why, why, why, why? and Puke, Puke, Puke, Puke…I can’t elaborate more. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/18 "2003-01-13T07:17:53Z")
I’ll third _Hannibal_. The whole time I was reading it I could just hear Harris saying, “You clods want a sequel? _Here’s_ your damn sequel.” ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/19 "2003-01-13T07:20:53Z")
I hit submit too early. I wanted to add _The Big Nowhere_ by James Ellroy. For a few chapters I thought it was just revelling in violence and misery but I could still respect it as a plot-driven mystery story. By the end I just wondered what the hell was the point, and that made all the disgusting stuff seem more disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![LoN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@LoN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoN)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186/20 "2003-01-13T08:41:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\*L. Ron Hubbard’s _Mission Earth_ series. I know, I know, I mention these books whenever a “bad books” thread pops up, and you’re probably all sick of hearing it, but DAMMIT! I’m on a personal crusade to prevent anyone from ever reading them again! You’d thank me if you knew. \*\* I saw _Battlefield Earth_ yesterday. Assuming its faithful in any degree, i’m avoiding it like, well, John Travolta avoided sanity… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-loathsome-books/148186.md?page=2)