Worst Books Read in 2013

I'm sure someone will think this is mean or disagree, but I'm sure some people disagree with what I thought were my best books that I read in 2013.  So, if you don't want to participate in the worst books that I've read this year, just move along now and stay in a happy place.  But if you'd like to read what I suggest you stay away from? Continue on below..

*MY* Worst Books Read in 2013...

In a Small Town – Marc A. Di Giacomo, finished on April 10th

Just stay away.  I had lots of issues with the writing.  And it just wasn't worth reading.

Description: The shotgun blast catches Detective Matthew Longo by surprise. His world unravels into a nightmare that seemingly won't end. Murder, rapes, pedophiles, the small town of Hutchville, N.Y. is changing. It is up to him to make a difference. While partner Donny Mello is in Italy attending a funeral for a family member who is connected, to say the least, a beautiful F.B.I. agent waits to question him about his family business. Can Matt keep from answering the Agents questions? More importantly, can he hide a potentially career-ending secret from his community, his brother, and most especially Agent Cynthia Shyler?

 

The Book of Ruth – Jane Hamilton, finished on June 9^th

This book is just sad.  Nothing wonderful about it.  The writing is good but the story is just sad and there is nothing making it worth reading.

Description: Winner of the 1989 PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award  for best first novel, this exquisite book  confronts real-life issues of alienation and violence  from which the author creates a stunning testament  to the human capacity for mercy, compassion and  love.

 

The Wednesday Daughter’s – Meg Waite Clayton (Aug 5^th)

 

This was the saddest of all for me to include on this list.  I LOVED The Wednesday Sisters.  But the sequel? It was so painful.  I had to skip parts and it was nowhere near the excellent quality of the first.

 

Description: It is early evening when Hope Tantry arrives at the small cottage in England’s pastoral Lake District where her mother, Ally, spent the last years of her life. Ally—one of a close-knit group of women who called themselves “The Wednesday Sisters”—had used the cottage as a writer’s retreat while she worked on her unpublished biography of Beatrix Potter, yet Hope knows nearly nothing about her mother’s time there. Traveling with Hope are friends Julie and Anna Page, two other daughters of “The Wednesday Sisters,” who offer to help Hope sort through her mother’s personal effects. Yet what Hope finds will reveal a tangled family history—one steeped in Lake District lore.

Tucked away in a hidden drawer, Hope finds a stack of Ally’s old notebooks, all written in a mysterious code. As she, Julie, and Anna Page try to decipher Ally’s writings—the reason for their encryption, their possible connection to the Potter manuscript—they are forced to confront their own personal struggles: Hope’s doubts about her marriage, Julie’s grief over losing her twin sister, Anna Page’s fear of commitment in relationships. And as the real reason for Ally’s stay in England comes to light, Hope, Julie, and Anna Page reach a new understanding about the enduring bonds of family, the unwavering strength of love, and the inescapable pull of the past.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon – Stephen King, finished on Oct. 29^th

This was my first Stephen King novel and I was surprised.  It was a lot of descriptions and it just didn't really go anywhere.  Not sure I'd give another a shot, since I did this for a book club read and only agreed to it because it wasn't insanely long. 

Description: Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland strays from the path while she and her recently divorced mother and brother take a hike along a branch of the Appalachian Trail. Lost for days, wandering farther and farther astray, Trisha has only her portable radio for comfort. A huge fan of Tom Gordon, a Boston Red Sox relief pitcher, she listens to baseball games and fantasizes that her hero will save her. Nature isn't her only adversary, though - something dangerous may be tracking Trisha through the dark woods.

What were the worst books you read in 2013? Any disappointments? Sequels that just didn't cut it?