Bad Classics: Classic Books We Think Are Overrated

Ever read a classic and asked yourself, "What’s the big deal?" There are thousands of books the world considers classics, from Shakespeare to Salinger. But while some classics deserve their esteemed place in literary history, others might have left you wondering what all the hype was about. Here are some of the classics you might want to skip out on reading.

What classic book did you hate? Or perhaps you're extremely appalled that we abhor any classics at all? Let us know in the comments!

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"Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett

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Samuel Beckett's classic plays out just as the title implies: a whole lot of waiting. While waiting everlastingly for a man the reader is never actually introduced to, the story's only four characters kill time by bickering with one another, talking incessantly about seemingly deep topics of conversation and wondering whether or not Godot will ever actually reveal himself. The only part that is actually worth the read is Lucky's famous monologue, which is by far the most riveting part of the entire play. If reading two acts of repetition is what you are looking for, you've found your new favorite classic. If not: move along.

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Samuel Beckett's classic plays out just as the title implies: a whole lot of waiting. While waiting everlastingly for a man the reader is never actually introduced to, the story's only four characters kill time by bickering with one another, talking incessantly about seemingly deep topics of conversation and wondering whether or not Godot will ever actually reveal himself. The only part that is actually worth the read is Lucky's famous monologue, which is by far the most riveting part of the entire play. If reading two acts of repetition is what you are looking for, you've found your new favorite classic. If not: move along.

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milcah marcelo said on 20 Wednesday 2011 pm31 3:35 pm: Amazing, I wholeheartedly disagree with the presence of every single book on that list!

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Comments

[Michael Downing]

10:46 AM on 08/02/2011

"Mersault, fails to express any real emotion throughout the entirety of the novel, making it difficult for the reader to feel a connection to the character. "

This complaint is close to complaining about 'Moby Dick' because it was about a whale. Mersault's detachment was a key element in the novel.

[TheEnergyDD2]

11:19 PM on 07/31/2011

This article was obviously written to insight violence from those who love literature. Some good arguments, but I could also make a good argument for slavery... but that doesn't make it worth printing.

[Seth Gitner]

02:10 PM on 07/30/2011

What an idiot

[mburgh]

08:06 AM on 07/30/2011

Articles like this devalue great literature. Long after the Huffington Post and all its principals are mouldering dust, these books will still be read. What a waste of time.

[fusillijerry]

05:13 AM on 07/29/2011

American Tragedy. Theodore Drismal.

[Bandit29]

10:21 AM on 07/27/2011

I had a college class that was based 100% of Ulysses. I have never read a book I found more tedious, more annoying or more boring. Much ado about nothing. However, the professor was in love with James Joyce and our grades were based basically on agreeing with him. Needless to say, this course did not help my GPA. I have read all of the selections mentioned and agree that most are very over-rated except Moby Dick which I believe to be truly a classic novel.

[Dan Filson]

04:43 PM on 07/30/2011

This comment says more about the awfulness of your professor than the subject. As it happens I too loath Ulysses but that is beside the point. Your professor had no right to try to pass on his obsession to you. Alternatively it was a macabre attempt to test your gumption as to whether any of you would have the bottle to raise a fuss and rise up in protest, arguing for widening the syllabus. Either way, you seem to have failed the test.

[carobeanie]

04:33 PM on 07/25/2011

I have only read 2 of the books listed. While they did not secure a place on my favorites list that I will re-read often I would never consider reading a book a waste of my time. It seems pretentious to me for people to act like a book isn't worth someone's time or overrated. Stories have had a lot of time put into their creation while the author is exploring the art of writing. Not everyone likes Picasso or Monet, but does that really make looking their paintings a waste of time?

This list is comprised of opinion. I respect that people don't favor the books in this list or in the comments. But since when did experiencing another person's effort in expression become above someone's use of time? Or that only things we thoroughly enjoy or favorite becomes worth our time to invest? Or that because something is a classic that people *should* read them to begin with? I think this article shows how fast food like journalism has become.

[veggiemom]

09:51 AM on 07/25/2011

ANYTHING by Ernest Hemingway! For Whom the Bell Bores Me to Death; The Old Man and My Sanity; Farewell to Time I'll Never Get Back. Sorry Hemingway fans, but he never did anything for me.

[RdSparrow]

05:05 AM on 07/25/2011

You forgot 'A Seperate Peace' by John Knowles. I'll never forget the look of surprise on my Freshmen English teachers face when we all told her how much we hated this book. I wonder if they ever dropped it.

[fusillijerry]

05:25 AM on 07/29/2011

I agree. How much white stuff can you teach the children.

[nelsoac88]

04:35 PM on 07/24/2011

This list should just be taken down. If you think any of these books are overrated either you probably haven't read them or you have no appreciation for the nuances of literature. People who say classics are overrated don't understand or know how to read finely-crafted works.

[fusillijerry]

05:29 AM on 07/29/2011

Infinitely nuanced insults to those who disagree with you.

[argielau]

03:55 PM on 07/24/2011

overrated??? You must be out of your mind!

[sj10689]

02:23 PM on 07/23/2011

I'm somewhat indifferent towards "Waiting for Godot" (though it did have its moments), and I definitely feel "The Catcher in the Rye" is overrated. The following comment doesn't reflect my opinion in any way, but I'm a bit surprised not one of Shakespeare's plays made it to this list. (Though "Othello" and "The Tempest" were generally good reads.)

[TxHeifer]

11:44 AM on 07/23/2011

My overrated list would include Ulysses by James Joyce and anything written by William Faulkner.

I know many posters think John Steinbeck is overrated, but I would like every member of the US Congress, especially those who are rabidly anti-union, to re-read The Grapes of Wrath.

[JoeyDee2]

07:18 AM on 07/23/2011

If this gets through...if not maybe a moderator could pass this on to someone who can answer my question. Hmmm. A lot of people here panned this article and I pretty much agree for the reasons stated. What criteria is used to publish articles at HP? I've submitted several articles or article ideas. You know, "If You have anything to say?" No response whatsoever. I'm not claiming to be some great writer. And then this drivel turns up here. I have a little cred (college professor; some published work) if being unknown.

[fusillijerry]

05:16 AM on 07/29/2011

"What criteria is used to publish articles at HP?"

Having a point?

[Dan Filson]

04:39 PM on 07/30/2011

What criteria are used ....

The singular of criteria is criterion. I suspect HuffPo uses more than one criterion. One is probably trying to hook in readers so that their attention then drifts to the adverts on the side.

[kduffy1234]

11:27 PM on 07/22/2011

Funny I remember these books as:
Uselessies
Waiting for Bardot
Mobey Schtick
Catch Her In a Lie
Great Ghastly
The Strain Germ

But I was in remedial reading and we had verve!