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Probably Don Quixote. It started off really well, but it devolved towards the end into this long-unending self-referential rant full of name-drops and exposition, and I could barely follow any of it and pushing through that was a huge chore.
I later learned I had read a bad translation, and that there is one good translation out there I should try, but the whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth and I don't want to go anywhere near that book again.
Game of thrones, for me. Made for a good basis for a show. Fucking terribly dull to read.
Yeah I finished the first book and put it down and said fuck this shit.
I enjoyed the suspense of wanting to see what would happen but then I realized that the author is a sadist who only wants the readers to suffer and that was enough to end the entire series for me. I got roped into watching the first episode of the first season and I was like oh it's the entire first book in one hour fuck this shit and I've not watched anymore of it.
I hope you're joking.
Martin knows how to write people. He can create the most vile, repulsive, irredeemable characters known to man and then teaches them mercy, honour, and sacrifice by forcing them into situations where they have to question who they are.
He redeems the irredeemable, not only in the text, but also outside of it by merit of the sheer humanism he expresses in his works.
I learned a lot about humanity, mercy, and forgiveness just by reading his books. No other author has come close to reaching me in such ways.
I think it is great that you were able to gain so much from reading his books. I personally did not. That is not to say the values you drew from them are invalid in any way. It's not an assault on you personally. You liked his books, I didn't. Both of those things are ok. So no, I am not joking. While I have read other works that impress me to the level that you describe, Game of Thrones did not do so for me.
Hmmmmmm
I'm not sure about that
"whilst I concur wholeheartedly with the detailed rebuttal you have given, I alas remain uncertain, caged by the incongruous gut feeling that compels me."
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. I am usually a huge SciFi fan, but I like the genre for it's ability to reflect on humanity by extrapolating on current technologies/trends or comparing our culture to unique alien ones.
Revelation Space was technobabble and descriptions of weapons for pages upon pages, and it was totally devoid of any philosophy or reflection on humanity. I never DNF a book, but this one I almost gave up on.
The Alchemist, I had to read it for a community college class. It's probably the most predictable book I've ever read, but not in an entertaining way. Just painfully boring.
I read Siddhartha for highschool a couple years before, I would say that the books are almost identical, except I liked Siddhartha more.
You want a book with similar themes but actually amazing? The wizard of Earthsea.
I know the books aren't literally the same. But the vibes feel very similar. I want to say they have very similar structure, but my memory doesn't work that great.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
I tend to quit books if I don't find them very good. One I did finish that I fucking hated was The Girl on the Train. All of the characters were fucking insufferable.
Worst book I've quit is Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. What a horrible book!
Worst I've finished is Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, immediately followed by Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I'll throw in a special mention for The Scarlet Letter and The Great Gatsby. All terrible books that I finished only because they were required reading in school.
I don't even remember the title, but it was written by Clive Cussler.
It was the dullest, most stereotypical adventure book with the bog standard protagonist and plot, with no interesting twist or unexpected event at all.
There are books I started and did not finish that I do not remember. However, there a few that I finished but hated. The worst was:
Reverie - this was a lgbt book club thing in Libby. The protagonist was a whiny incapable teen that never redeemed themself. I kept thinking it would get better and it never did. Things resolved because magic, so poor/lazy writing.
I finished Battlefield Earth.
The thing is, I remember enjoying it. I mean, it wasn't literature, but it was a lot of dumb fun.