By YKA Staff:
Happy World Book Day! Today, as we celebrate books across the world, we thought of doing a fun activity with our community of readers. We asked them to tell us about any book that they think should just not have been written. Sounds a bit cruel, we know, but readers are the best (and sometimes harshest) critics of writers and the responses we got prove that this is definitely something to think about!
And if you have something to add to this list (think of unnecessary sequels, classics that made you groan or books that perpetuated the same old stereotypes), leave a comment below and join the conversation!
1.
‘Twilight’ is a book, which should have never been written. Although it is a bestseller and a delight for many readers, I denounce the concept of blood-thirsty vampires and the unrequited love of the girl which seems annoying beyond a certain point. The essence of love remains obtrusive due to the girl’s character which portrays anti-feminism and perpetually plays second fiddle throughout the book.
– N. Ramachandran
2.
Honestly speaking, I believe every book has a story or a message that the author believes, needs to be told. It’s their point of view and they are entitled to it. Reviewing and criticizing a book is one thing, but saying that it should have never seen the light of day is too cruel.
– Avantika Debnath
3.
Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ should never have been written, because it created so much fear, hatred, and nationalism, leading eventually to a brutal war and the annihilation of millions of Jews, Sinti and Roma people, and political opponents.
– Jonathan Old
4.
Chetan Bhagat’s ‘Half Girlfriend’ should have never been written because it’s nothing but a 3-star Bollywood movie with irrational ideologies and “filmy masala”. The only thing missing in there was a cheesy disco song by Yo Yo Honey Singh. It taught me only one thing- never read a Chetan Bhagat book, even if it means spending a 4-hour-long journey alone.
– Vageesha Sharma
5.
The books that should never have been written include everything Chetan Bhagat has ever written. It feeds into and perpetuates not just region-based stereotypes, but also gender stereotypes in a big, extremely detrimental way. I also think ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ was hugely problematic. The exhibition of the power of the male to control the female, emotionally, physically and sexually, was plain regressive, sending a lot of our fights back by several steps. ‘Lolita’, I couldn’t handle either.
– Saumya Baijal
6.
The ‘Mills & Boon’ series should never have written because more than love angles, the stories depicted immature story line. It never came out to be anyway practical and never could appeal to sensible readers.
– Hina Mukherjee
7.
‘Can Love Happen Twice?’ by Ravinder Singh should never have been written as it has nothing new to offer and it seems Ravinder Singh has just used his name which he earned after ‘I Too Have A Love Story’. It is a complete wastage of time and money.
– Sonali Chaudhary
8.
The ‘Twilight’ series by Stephenie Meyer should not have been written because it is a fiction about vampires and werewolves which is painstakingly slow and clichéd. The books are exhausting because of the disturbing and uneven blend between the love story of Edward-Bella and the fight between the vampires and the werewolves. Had the story been completed in one book, it would have been likeable, but the stretch of the book, like the mozzarella on a hard-crust stale pizza, is very annoying.
– Ishita Mishra
9.
As someone who regularly organizes book club meets, I am delighted that you guys are celebrating World Book Day. Umm.. my vote would for all the Nikita Singh, Ravinder Singh, Durjoy Dutta, Chetan Bhagat novels. Now thanks to them, people have forgotten the actual definition of a romance novel
– Abhyudaya Shrivastava
10.
Chetan Bhagat’s ‘The 3 Mistakes Of My Life’. All three mistakes were stupid and didn’t make sense. The protagonist laments losses which are mostly beyond his sphere of influence and grossly exaggerates their impact in his life. It was a big mistake reading it.
– Vishesh Jain
11.
‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’ should never have been written because of its mere senseless storyline, repeating and unnecessary content, and sexual abuse.
– Somi Patel
12.
‘The Maze Runner’ series should never have been written because there is nothing new about an apocalyptic world with a bunch of teenagers… too clichéd and ridiculously predictable.
– Rishiraj Bhowmick
13.
Any Chetan Bhagat book should never have been written because he is simply the worst writer ever who has no understanding of story telling and is too over-hyped.
– Arti Deshpande
14.
‘Linchpin’ by Seth Godin. Utter trash.
– Abhimanyu Singh
15.
The books which I feel that should not be written and/or published are the NCERT textbooks from class 1 to 12 because they are making me mad all the time with insufficient details and information related to various topics.
– Harikrishnan J.