who is the most overrated writer ever?

[Domer121]

Nora Roberts....She can give housewives a thrill..but there is a way to get that thrill without dumbing yourself down....though I suppose without Nora Roberts what else would they sell in the aisles at Target?...

[ryguy]

Hemingway by far IMO is the most overrated author of all time. I think he is a horrible writer.

[bouquin]

Paulo Coelho, I've read "The Alchimist" and it was so poorly written and simplistic, I really felt like I'd just wasted my time.

I agree absolutely.

[ennison]

You are very hard on Mr H. No doubt his style can grate and he seems desperately easy to parody but look a bit closer at some of the short stories and at 'A Farewell to Arms'. That pared down style takes a bit of doing.

[manolia]

Dan Brown isn't even rated as a good author...everyone is aware that his books are crap.

Unfortunately I've met people who actually believe that he is a good author!!
(can you imagine that?).

Overrated authors..let me think..one name comes in mind.Paulo Coehlio. And of course the lady with the Harry Potter series. By far the most unoriginal books ever created. If you are into fantasy literature you know what i mean.
Also I think that Orwell is a bit overrated. I don't know..just a thought!

[grace86]

Harper Lee. Maybe I should read "To Kill a Mockingbird" again someday, but that book was torture to get through.

I don't agree with Hemingway being overrated. Perhaps he just takes a little more thought to get through, I think he is tough.

[ennison]

Lee 'torture to get through'? Surely you're thinking of someone totally different.

[grace86]

Lee 'torture to get through'? Surely you're thinking of someone totally different.

Nope, I think reading her book was the only thing that ever made me fall asleep in class. But maybe reading it with a classroom is what did it for me.

[bluevictim]

That's interesting. I really liked To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm kind of surprised that you found it so soporific; I thought it was pretty interesting, and a lot easier to read than Hemingway (for example). Maybe it wasn't enough of a challenge for you. I wouldn't consider Harper Lee a "great" writer, though, because, as far as I know, TKAM is the only thing of note that she wrote.

[Adudaewen]

I loved Harper Lee. I think that it is really hard to read anything in a school setting, on a deadline. Literature is to be enjoyed not assigned. I hated almost all the books that I read in high school, but when I read them now I love them. (Some of that might have to do with personal growth and a mature(er) mind, but I can't read in a hard desk, under florescent lights, with a clueless student teacher telling me what the text is about. BLAH.

I have to agree with Hemingway. He is not the easiest person to read. I find a lot of his books to be quite tedious and though I'm interested in the story he is telling, its hard to push myself to actually get through them.

[grace86]

I loved Harper Lee. I think that it is really hard to read anything in a school setting, on a deadline. Literature is to be enjoyed not assigned. I hated almost all the books that I read in high school, but when I read them now I love them. (Some of that might have to do with personal growth and a mature(er) mind, but I can't read in a hard desk, under florescent lights, with a clueless student teacher telling me what the text is about. BLAH.

Hmm yes you have a point. Maybe I will reconsider putting her on that list until I can take her book at my liesure (sp?) one more time. Shouldn't be bitter I guess for the author surely didn't ask to be read in a classroom Hah!! you have swayed me!

[dorindapaige]

I've never despised an author more than James Joyce, but I've only read a few of his books (and those many years ago). I know I've matured as a bibliophile, so I'm considering giving him one more chance. "Portrait" will definitely not be my choice, but I'm considering "Finegan's Wake."

My other humble choice is Tolkein (please don't all attack the newbie at once!) I appreciate fantasy, but he bored me to tears!

[Matrim Cuathon]

i find that among my peers i ahve the msot open mind as to what constitutes a good book. just becuase i disagree with the author does not mean that the book is bad. for the most part i read Sci-Fi and fantasy but i can enjoy almost any topic. I have many books from Valdemar, Darkover, and WoT as well as the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. LotR had like 400 pages of walking, walking, walking, but it was still an interesting story with a well-explored history. The other 3 authors arent considered great but they at least get credit for not having each succeeding conflict be agaisnt a more and more massively powerful enemy, a sad trend in modern SF/F.
Ive gotten many comments on the variety of my reading, although msot of it is SF/F: David Brin, Isaac Asimov, Lackey, Zimmer Bradley, Jordan, David Eddings etc.
Yet i still manage to have interest in Austen, Tolstoy, Twain, Kafka, and the rest of that massive list of "classical" authors. I find it vastly amusing that many people confine theselves to such a small number of topics in stories.
Certainly as a male ive been teased quite a bit about Austen. I might actually be around this forum a lot as i am sadly at a loss as to any sort of lterature discussion in school or with peers.
I noticed that not a few people did not see much value in Catcher in the Rye.
I understood, certainly, why many people found value in it, but for myself, i really cant see how it is so popular. The same goes for Steinbeck. I was very happy, however, when we read quite a bit of Bradbury.
As for Dan Brown and Rowling, the number of people i have met who think them quite talented as authors is highly disconcerting. Honestly, i read the books and took what value they had, but the character and story deveoplement left quite a bit wanting.

[*Classic*Charm*]

I wouldn't consider Harper Lee a "great" writer, though, because, as far as I know, TKAM is the only thing of note that she wrote.

Aww, but you have to give her a break, considering she was only sixteen when she wrote it! A good number of people her age don't have that much insight.

[grace86]

Aww, but you have to give her a break, considering she was only sixteen when she wrote it! A good number of people her age don't have that much insight.

Okay, credit where credit is deserved, I did not know she was only sixteen at the time she wrote TKAM...