The point of this thread is to share which books you're found most boring and perhaps why you've found it boring.
For me, the most boring books I've read are "To Kill A Mockingbird" By Harper Lee and "War Of The Worlds" By H.G. Wells. I must admit, when I first read To Kill A Mockingbird, I found it a deeply moving novel, but later that year, we began to do it in school, and I've read it over and over again.
War of the Worlds, just didn't grab me, I just felt it had so much potential for being exciting, I mean it's about alien invasion, it shouldn't be that boring!

Originally Posted by The Mystical Spoon

The point of this thread is to share which books you're found most boring and perhaps why you've found it boring.
For me, the most boring books I've read are "To Kill A Mockingbird" By Harper Lee and "War Of The Worlds" By H.G. Wells. I must admit, when I first read To Kill A Mockingbird, I found it a deeply moving novel, but later that year, we began to do it in school, and I've read it over and over again.
War of the Worlds, just didn't grab me, I just felt it had so much potential for being exciting, I mean it's about alien invasion, it shouldn't be that boring!

Well, I agree that To Kill a Mockingbird wasn't the best book, especially when having to read it at school... X.X

As for War of the Worlds, I read that a few years ago, and I loved it. Although I don't think it would be as fun if I were to read it again. I find that when you can read a book multiple times without it getting boring, now that is a good book.

"Feather Boy" was really boring. I have no idea why our teacher made us read it. "Cat's Cradle" was kinda boring too, but I think I found that one boring mostly because I didn't really understand it.

• 
  I'd have to say Philippa Gregory's Earthly Joys.
  
  Basically, it's supposed to be about this gardener who falls in love with the duke he's working for. At least, that's what the summary on the back implies.
  
  Holy crap, people.
  
  See, it's based on actual people (John Tradescant the Elder and the Duke of Buckingham) and actual events, but the thing is that when the actual people and events are horrifically boring, they usually don't lend very well to the written word.
  
  For starters, it's about 200 pages of the main character tooling around, looking at plants, before this duke even shows up. Now, even though this character is just OBSESSIVELY in love with anyone he serves, it's a good 100 pages more before anything actually happens between them. Oh, and I should probably mention that Mr. Tradescant would be getting social security checks at this point in the game. Indeed, his life is so unbearably dull that, in order to get on with the actually interesting parts, a year must pass between nearly every chapter, making him about 60 before anything happens.
  
  And here is the real kicker. What year is it when John and the duke finally, how to you say, get it on? Late 1627. What year is it when the duke keels over? Mid 1628. How many pages have elapsed? 64. How many are left? 141. At what point do I give up on something interesting happening and stop reading? Mid 1628.
  
  So all this, on top of the fact that the main character is a huge dick to his wife and kid, and has no free will personality of his own to speak of? And his rabid belief in the God > King of England > the middle man > man > woman hierarchy, even though he spent a good chunk of his life serving a man who served the Queen of England? Huge waste of time.
  
  I told my mom, a gardener, about it and even she wasn't interested once I clarified that it was about Tradescant the Elder and not his son. If a woman who likes reading lengthy books about trees thinks you're boring, well. That's a sad commentary right there.
  
  Can you tell I've been waiting to rant about this for a while now?

Echo. Echo is the worst book ever and I want to burn the book so bad.

Another boring book I read recently is ' Angels crest' by Leslie Schwartz. It took me five tries to read it entirely, it,s about a man who tries to rebuild his life after his carelessness led to the death of his three year old son. The beginning is quite good, but it goes downhill from there.

I don't believe there is such a thing as a boring book.

Sure, the writing may be dry. The plot may be slow moving. The characters may be dull. But that doesn't mean it's boring. There is always something in the writing for you to attach your attention to. If you find it boring, I suggest that you go back and reread it. You must have missed something.

But on that thought - There are a number of books that I dislike because of some short comings. I just hate addressing them as 'boring'.

Winesburg, Ohio by... I can't remember the person's name. It was a horrible book and my teacher made us read it instead of Pride and Prejudice because two of the students in the class (I being one of them) had already read it.

Never EVER read that book if you are able to get out of it. IT SHOULD DIE!

Originally Posted by Knerd

I don't believe there is such a thing as a boring book.

Sure, the writing may be dry. The plot may be slow moving. The characters may be dull. But that doesn't mean it's boring. There is always something in the writing for you to attach your attention to. If you find it boring, I suggest that you go back and reread it. You must have missed something.

But on that thought - There are a number of books that I dislike because of some short comings. I just hate addressing them as 'boring'.

• 
  
  So if you don't like the writing, the plot, or any of the characters, then what else is there?
  
  I'm pretty good when it comes to what interests me and what doesn't. So the idea of spending a week rereading something that didn't interest me the first time, just to see if I can find one thing to make me say "Well, okay, that part was pretty cool"? When I could be reading, again or for the first time, something that truly interests me?
  
  Well, even I'm not that nice. I'll only do that for movies.

I really like To Kill A Mockingbird, even if I have read it a couple of times.

I think The Silmarillion is boring. I've tried time and time again to read this book, but I've never got past the seventh page. >.<

Uhhhhhh. I love to read. I don't think there's ever been a book that was
boring...

OHWAIT. Scratch that. LOL.
Last year, I had to read THE GREAT GATSBY.
hor-rible.

Let's see..most of the boring books I've read are those for school requirements. Some of my most disliked books include:

• House of Stairs
  Farenheit 451
  The Pigman
  Lord of the Flies
  Silas Marner
  and Nothing but the Truth.

As for Farenheit 451 and Silas Marner, I didn't even bother to completly read the book, just skimmed through it and used sparknotes. I found the books totally pointless. In Fareheit, it was about burning books, and I found no plot whatsoever. As for Silas Marner, it was just a detailed summary of a person's life -- very boring life might I add.

The Pigman and Lord of Flies, and House of Stairs were required summer reading, and a term paper was due on each one, so reading it was a nesscessity. I just couldn't find out what was the purpose of each book though, like there was no reason for it to be written, since you didn't learn anything from it.

Now for Nothing but the Truth, it's about a boy who wishes to transfer out of his homeroom, so he hums the national anthem while he was suppose to "stand at respectful, silent attention." He became suspended after several times, and newspapers all over the country posted "kicked out of school for patriotism." Teachers were fired and the whole nation was in a ruckus. After the boy transferred to a new school, where you were suppose to sing the song, he wouldn't.

Originally Posted by Sedge

• 
  
  So if you don't like the writing, the plot, or any of the characters, then what else is there?
  
  I'm pretty good when it comes to what interests me and what doesn't. So the idea of spending a week rereading something that didn't interest me the first time, just to see if I can find one thing to make me say "Well, okay, that part was pretty cool"? When I could be reading, again or for the first time, something that truly interests me?
  
  Well, even I'm not that nice. I'll only do that for movies.

What else is there? The underlying themes, the author's intentions, the historical context, the interaction between the character's set of beliefs and the author's, the comparison with modern productions, the application of contemporary philosophy, even the cover of the novel if you're that desperate. There is always something to attach yourself to.

Putting a book off as 'boring' is just throwing it to the side without giving it the attention it deserves. If you don't give writing it's due, of course you aren't going to like it.

By rereading something you originally disliked, perhaps you'll be expanding your mind and tastes. No one says you have to love the piece to death, you just have to learn to appreciate the different stylings.

Originally Posted by Knerd

What else is there? The underlying themes, the author's intentions, the historical context, the interaction between the character's set of beliefs and the author's, the comparison with modern productions, the application of contemporary philosophy, even the cover of the novel if you're that desperate. There is always something to attach yourself to.

Putting a book off as 'boring' is just throwing it to the side without giving it the attention it deserves. If you don't give writing it's due, of course you aren't going to like it.

By rereading something you originally disliked, perhaps you'll be expanding your mind and tastes. No one says you have to love the piece to death, you just have to learn to appreciate the different stylings.

I totaly agree. For example, as a story I completely abhor Animal Farm; but once I knew the symbolism behind the story, I was able to look at it in a completely different light. Even so far as to get that certian something out of it that I can apply elsewhere. (But I really hate that story. >.<)

@Simplixity
How can you think of Farenheit 451 as boring! ... Oh yeah not everyone likes Ray Bradbary. ^^;

@Narim
I thought the Silmarillion was really interesting. I read it twice. :3 It kinda reminds me of a Norse mythology mixed with a little Welsh.

The Brothers Karamazov.

I don't care if anyone likes it here and decides to rebut my statement. You like it, fine. I just don't, so don't push me.

I started reading it because mom recommended it to me a while back, but it got old really fast. I got back to reading "I Know This Much Is True" instead.

Originally Posted by Knerd

What else is there? The underlying themes, the author's intentions, the historical context, the interaction between the character's set of beliefs and the author's, the comparison with modern productions, the application of contemporary philosophy, even the cover of the novel if you're that desperate. There is always something to attach yourself to.

Putting a book off as 'boring' is just throwing it to the side without giving it the attention it deserves. If you don't give writing it's due, of course you aren't going to like it.

By rereading something you originally disliked, perhaps you'll be expanding your mind and tastes. No one says you have to love the piece to death, you just have to learn to appreciate the different stylings.

• I'm a simple man; I probably wouldn't even notice half those things unless someone pointed them out to me. Sad but true. xD
  
  The main things that entertain me about a book are the characters and the plot, so if I don't like them, or at least find them interesting, then chances are it's not for me. I mostly read for the basic enjoyment of the story, so such deep analytical things probably aren't going to be what attaches me, nor would they 'save' a book for me. Sometimes there are things that people just won't like. Truthfully, though, the book I talked about in my previous post is really the only one I've read in recent memory that I could truly call 'boring'.
  
  However, in regards to me not sounding like a total simpleton, I have read books that I didn't necessarily like, in the way explained above, but still found interesting. For example, I thought As Meat Loves Salt was somewhat slow moving and ultimately unsatisfying, not to mention its seriously unlikeable main character. However, it also had plenty of high points to counter the low, and a reason for being unsatisfying, namely an unreliable and possibly insane narrator. And while unlikeable as a person, I still found the main character to be compelling and worthy of having 600-page novel devoted to him. Unlike certain other novels set in 17th century England.
  
  I call "different strokes for different folks". Granted, I've been looking for an excuse to use that line, but I still think it's fitting.

a lot xD

ONe of the worst books ive ever read was the book Great expectations, oh god that book made me almost fail english class, it was so boring and so hard to read that i stopped reading it and barely passed the test. i think school ruins alot of novels though

Originally Posted by nottyreloaded

ONe of the worst books ive ever read was the book Great expectations, oh god that book made me almost fail english class, it was so boring and so hard to read that i stopped reading it and barely passed the test. i think school ruins alot of novels though

I quite agree that books are ruined by schools, as I'm sure one could apreacialte the social and historical content of any book and appreciate how the writer uses certain techniques and vocabulary for language without drawing it out, that, in my book causes it to become tiresome. I do enjoy reading books, and I've read every book i own at least twice, but I hate having to tear a book apart, to break it down into chunks, as I'm sure no book deserves that, and i strongly doubt it was written for that purpose.

• The most boring book I ever read whould happen to be every book I have ever read!Lol , I hate to read!

• 
  Not even books with explosions in them!? :shock:

I can't think of any normal books I don't like. I'm not a big fan of war novels but normally they're pretty easy to read. Actually I've thought of some. I don't like Dante's The Inferno or The Unvanquished by Faulkner. That's probably just because I was forced to read them as a highschool freshman and I didn't understand them. I plan to read them later on and hopefully they'll be better. :3 The un-normal books (I'm just calling them that because they're not really ment to be wonderfully written books) I don't like are the self-help books like "How to Raise Financially Fit Kids" or something like that. Those books are normally so boring and most of the time their information isn't that great either. -__- So yeah. >__>

I normally find the books teachers make us read in class the most boring. Besides that I'd never read a boring book unless forced. In ninth grade my teachers read to us or made us read some of the lamest books possible. Half the class would seriously be asleep and they'd scream at us. Luckily I knew a way to fall asleep where it looked like I wasn't even with my eyes shut. I'm so sweet; haha. These books were so boring this one kid would wake up after being yelled at ad pass out again not soon after. Some kids would get written up. The teachers' fault though; these books sucked.

The crucible, it took me forever to actually read it, and I couldn't find myself enjoying the book at all. The only one book worse than that was Catcher in the rye. Sweet lord that book made me want to kill myself by the time i had actually finished it. I felt bad for the other books because they knew i didn't chose them before that book.

Originally Posted by missyTARD `

I normally find the books teachers make us read in class the most boring. Besides that I'd never read a boring book unless forced. In ninth grade my teachers read to us or made us read some of the lamest books possible. Half the class would seriously be asleep and they'd scream at us. Luckily I knew a way to fall asleep where it looked like I wasn't even with my eyes shut. I'm so sweet; haha. These books were so boring this one kid would wake up after being yelled at ad pass out again not soon after. Some kids would get written up. The teachers' fault though; these books sucked.

• I'd check your town's water supply for some sort of narcolepsy-inducing chemical. o_o