Today’s question from Deb is:
Name a book or author that you truly wanted to love but left you disappointed. (And, of course, explain why.)
One book that came to mind when I read this question is Haweswater by Sarah Hall. I read it in 2006 before I wrote about books on my blog so my notes on it are brief. It’s a novel about what happened when the Haweswater dam was constructed and the valley of Mardale in Cumbria was flooded. I read it because I was interested in the area and on the cover it said that it had won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in 2003, so I was expecting it to be good. I think I’m obviously in the minority here because I thought that it was “Disappointing, verbose, overwritten and detached – characters not described with much empathy.”
BooksPlease 
I really am beginning to think prizes are awarded by a group of wags who want to get people to read awful books as a joke!
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That’s happened to me sometimes. I’ve really wanted to like a book because of the subject or someone I respect likes it, and it just hasn’t done it for me.
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Margaret – I’m sorry you were disappointed in this one. It’s always a shame when one wants to love a book….but doesn’t. Thanks for sharing your experience, though; it’s always good to know which books work or don’t for readers like you whose opinions I respect.
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I hate it when that happens. Sometimes I wonder if I’m the problem–trying a good book at the wrong time–or if it’s really just bad.
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Oh bummer this one wasn’t a good fit for you.
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I think sometimes like Sheila said the book just isn’t a good fit for you. Others may have had such a different expectation or outlook that they enjoyed it while you didn’t. I do agree with Jill about prizes though. I don’t know where they get some of the judges or what the judges are thinking. Maybe they’re jaded or too academic or too, too literary – anyway, they aren’t the average reader like us.
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