Leaving for vacation next week. Any recommendations for books so awful, so putrid that they are unintentionally funny as a result?
 

I'm traveling with my wife and two toddlers next week for Mexico and then Disney. Let me restate, I have two toddlers. I doubt I'll be spending much be able to concentrate on such heady works of literature as "Atlas Shrugged" and "Vanity Fair."

So, please tell me your recommendations for books so bad, so putrid, so downright awful that they are actually unintentionally funny as a result. VC Andrews "Flowers in the Attic", for example.

Do we have any recommendations for books that left you saying "I can't believe how bad this book is" while sporting a little smile.

Anything by Danielle Steel?

What is actually a good read is "Edie" about the life of Edie Sedgewick. It is written through vignettes by Truman Capote, Betsy Johnson, Andy Warhol, Gore Vidale, numerous other Sedgewick family members and famous New Yorkers. It gives a wonderful overview of NYC in the 60s-70s and the hedonism of that time.

Ok, this has nothing to do with your topic, but as a Yankee fan, you should read "October Men" by Roger Kahn - the story of the 1978 championship team and a great recounting of the entire history of the Yankees that led up to that year.

Okay, you have toddlers, are going to Disney and think you'll have time to read? I suppose your wife works alone in child care duty? I suggest you read Dr Phil's "Relationship Rescue" cause you probably need it.

For unintentionally funny material that is somewhat educational to boot, I'd be inclined to print some of the threads from good ol' Fodors.

I was really poking fun there, I hope I don't get flamed, LOL. I don't enjoy many putrid books. I have read many...I get to the end and am angry that I bought them or wasted my time. I suggest anything by Carl Hiassen to make you laugh out loud. I have everything he's ever written and I love him. Try "Team Rodent" for a refreshing look on how Disney has screwed up Florida. For novels, start with "Tourist Season", "Double Whammy" and "Skin Tight". You need to go in order, he has a character who returns in many books. ps...have fun!

Craig,
I read October Men. I thought it was marginal. IMHO, Kahn tried to turn the book into an essay on sports in the 1970's and in fact the country in general. Tossing out references to Jimmy Carter and a guaranteed-payment tennis match by Rod Laver, and then trying to tie the event back to the Yankees, gave the book a really odd flow. I almost felt like he used this book as an excuse to toss out opinions, anecdotes, and stories that he'd wanted to use but couldn't fit them into another book.

Linda,
While I don't normally intentionally scout out the awful, I'm one of those people that can find humor in something so bad and so terrible that it becomes high-comedy. I once purchased a record featuring songs that had been recorded by the likes of Larry Hagman, William Shatner, and Leonard Nimoy. Few things in life are funnier to me then the sounds of "Where are you Mr. Tambourine man" spoken with the over-acting dramatic flair of Shatner.

Essentially, what I'm looking for is mindless entertainment where I don't have to think.

well, let's see....how about Janet Evanovitch's (sp?) mysteries. Very funny. Exceptionally mindless. Quick read. Readily available @ airport bookstores!

More intentionally funny than unintentionally funny .... but certainly a light read, and timely!

Molvania: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry.

Ryan, I should have acknowledged the possibility that you had already read October Men in my first post. I agree its not a "10". If you can tolerate all of Kahn's parenthetical comments, it is a quick read which is important with kids around.

For truly (unintentionally) bad, I nearly hurled "The Bridges of Madison County" and "Scarlett" into the garbage can.

(I would have too; had they not been library books. At least I didn't PAY to read that drivel...)

I would add to the Bad Book list, anything by Anne Rice.
I just read Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen and liked it and did chuckle, but I don't think it is that bad..

Oh my God, Ryan, I have a Leonard Nimoy album! Seriously! And another truly awful one is by Foster Brooks, LOL! (I'm a musician and I love finding truly horrible music)

"Any recommendations for books so awful, so putrid that they are unintentionally funny as a result?"

my life

Mickey Spilane!

Forgot to add Barbara Bradford.

Ryan, we have that SAME album. It's called "Golden Throats." Shatner singing "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" is one of my favorites. There's even a Volume II if you're interested. (Highlight: "Light My Fire" sung by Mae West)

Pick up a bodice-ripper for something so bad it's funny. Or The Celestine Prophecy. But I'm with those who suggest reading something light and intentionally funny. Molvania, from what I've seen so far, is a scream, and being in guidebook format would lend itself to reading in bits and pieces.

Valley of the Dolls? I remember the people in my freshman dorm reading it aloud for comic relief.

Personally, I find even the jacket blurbs of many self-help books to be ludicrous.

Orange Crush, or, Triggerfish Trail, both by Tim Dorsey, are based in Florida.

Orange Crush is political -- the story of a governor.

Treiggerfish Trail covers the used car businesses, slum landlords, and provides informtion on topics as diverse as how to murder a person using sa hula-hoop.

Both are funny, well written, and can be dipped into for short periods of time.

BAK