The Most Overrated Books of All Time Books

The Most Overrated Books of All Time

original ranker Ranker Community  70,649 views 90 items 39 followers
This list of bad books not to read is ranked by literature fans worldwide. Anyone can vote on this list of the worst books, which makes it a trustworthy resource for finding out which books just don't live up to their hype. You can even add your own list of bad books to these rankings, and save other people from the pain of having to read them. From the over-hyped to the just plain overexposed, these overrated books prove that you can't judge a book by its cover...or its reputation.
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Rank     Name
  1. 1
    Up 947
    Down 781
    Dan Brown
  2. 2
    Up 1395
    Down 339
    Stephenie Meyer
  3. 3
    Up 4441
    Down 498
  4. 4
    Up 1225
    Down 310
    Stephenie Meyer
  5. 5
    Up 739
    Down 703
    Ayn Rand
  6. 6
    Up 1218
    Down 304
    Stephenie Meyer
  7. 7
    Up 497
    Down 91
    Elizabeth Gilbert
  8. 8
    Up 877
    Down 291

    The Secret

    Rhonda Byrne
  9. 9
    Up 145
    Down 19
    Stephenie Meyer
  10. 10
    Up 79
    Down 22
    James Frey
  11. 11
    Up 336
    Down 306
    Ayn Rand
  12. 12
    Up 436
    Down 211
    Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger More
  13. 13
    Up 314
    Down 536
    J. D. Salinger
  14. 14
    Up 30
    Down 2

    Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science

    L. Ron Hubbard
    added by: Dave_7672
  15. 15
    Up 36
    Down 13
    No image

    Sex & Travel & Vestiges of Metallic Fragments

    Cole Coonce
  16. 16
    Up 54
    Down 9
    No image
    Stephenie Meyer
    added by: CatherineSineadMaryReynolds
  17. 17
    Up 22
    Down 3
    Candace Bushnell
    added by: rankermaker58
  18. 18
    Up 173
    Down 213
    Stieg Larsson
  19. 19
    Up 7
    Down 11
    Khaled Hosseini
  20. 20
    Up 334
    Down 149

    Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul

    Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Matthew E. Adams More
  21. 21
    Up 230
    Down 661
    J. K. Rowling
  22. 22
    Up 30
    Down 16
    Robert James Waller
  23. 23
    Up 26
    Down 12
    No image

    The Devil's Own Day

    Cole Coonce
  24. 24
    Up 42
    Down 27
    Paulo Coelho, Donna Boyd
  25. 25
    Up 24
    Down 8

    The Book of Mormon

    Grant Hardy
    added by: Dave_7672
  26. 26
    Up 11
    Down 8

    The Secret History

    Donna Tartt
  27. 27
    Up 45
    Down 12
    Richard Nelson Bolles
  28. 28
    Up 13
    Down 33
    Leo Tolstoy
  29. 29
    Up 64
    Down 51
    Beatrice Sparks
  30. 30
    Up 83
    Down 106
    Edith Wharton
  31. 31
    Up 107
    Down 18
    Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Arline McGraw Oberst More
  32. 32
    Up 57
    Down 42
    Don DeLillo
  33. 33
    Up 12
    Down 13
    Alice Walker
    added by: HappyMan
  34. 34
    Up 113
    Down 21
    Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, LeAnn Thieman More
  35. 35
    Up 103
    Down 19
    No image
    Mark Victor Hansen
  36. 36
    Up 13
    Down 21
    John Kennedy Toole
  37. 37
    Up 70
    Down 58
    Zora Neale Hurston
  38. 38
    Up 154
    Down 275
    F. Scott Fitzgerald
  39. 39
    Up 33
    Down 28

    The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

    Junot Díaz
  40. 40
    Up 52
    Down 58
    Jonathan Franzen
  41. 41
    Up 110
    Down 25
    Mark Victor Hansen
  42. 42
    Up 41
    Down 58
    Michael Crichton
  43. 43
    Up 6
    Down 9
    Marcel Proust
  44. 44
    Up 24
    Down 16

    The Koran

    Arthur Jeffery
    added by: Dave_7672
  45. 45
    Up 28
    Down 39
    Jeffrey Eugenides
  46. 46
    Up 20
    Down 27
    Charlotte Brontë
  47. 47
    Up 70
    Down 161
    Salman Rushdie
  48. 48
    Up 133
    Down 289
    Nathaniel Hawthorne
  49. 49
    Up 83
    Down 149

    A Thousand Acres

    Jane Smiley
  50. 50
    Up 24
    Down 24
    No image

    The Bible

    Keith Giffen, Scott Hampton
    added by: clash1977
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    1. Hal Cera
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 11/27/2012 6:30 AM
      Most Overrated Books Of All Time, you guys.
    2. Emely Cassada
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 9/07/2012 10:30 AM
      most overrated books, guys!
    3. Fidel Moat
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 7/01/2012 8:30 PM
      overrated books, by gum!
    4. DigBick
      The Catcher in the Rye at 5/20/2012 1:53 PM
      An absolute pain to read through...I don't think people understand how this ranking thing works, this was the most horrendous book I've ever read. Oh, and about the Bible being up that high, grow up. Nothing more annoying than an arrogant atheist
    5. howl
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 2/27/2012 9:52 AM
      Bible, twilight and the secret up up up
      harry potter, lotr da vinci code down down down
    6. Pegster
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 4/27/2011 9:20 AM
      If by hitting the un-happy face button, I am saying that these books are NOT overated and are actually well worth the read then I have signified correctly. If by hitting the heart button means that they are over rated then that is what I choose. If those buttons should be reversed, consider that my response.
    7. Monkeygaud
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 4/25/2011 8:28 AM
      This list is a "trustworthy resource" because anyone can vote. Yet how many people voting about the Bible have actually read it? Or "Chicken Soup for the NASCAR soul"? This list is ridiculous and not "trustworthy" at all.
    8. Jack
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 4/25/2011 4:31 AM
      Hurrr these books are too mainstream they are bad...Durrr
    9. RIFF
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 4/07/2011 9:35 PM
      So I should avoid reading any book with the words Chicken, Soup, or Soul in the title. Good to know.
    10. crazy2
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 4/07/2011 2:19 PM
      TWILIGHT ....... A BOOK ABOUT A GIRL WHO FALL IN LOVE WITH A DEAD MAN....... SEX WITH THE DEAD???? DAMN!!! THAT'S NASTY............
    11. crazy2
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 4/07/2011 2:16 PM
      THE BIBLE IS 100% OVERRATED BOOK OF ALL TIMES.!!!! THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CHANGE THE BIBLE... TO WHAT THE CHURCH WANT'S YOU TO KNOW... NOT THE WHOLE TURTH, JUST TO BRING IN MONEY... SOME CHURCH PEOPLE WILL SAY.. " I WILL GO TO H**L " IF IT IS TRUE, I WILL GO TO H**L. ARE THEY SAYING "GOD" IS A BAD ASS MOTHER??? AND WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PIRSTS WHO R**E YOUNG KIDS???
    12. wvcarrin
      Bible at 3/23/2011 3:12 AM
      I will see most of you guys on Judgement day and we'll see what the author says.
    13. Iconoclastes
      The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 3/20/2011 8:43 PM
      I can get behind a couple of these as bad books. I can see where many (most) maybe don't *quite* live up to the hype. Maybe. But there are really good books on this list, and shouldn't be called "bad". And if we're going for *overrated*, shouldn't the christian bible (okay, all 10 of them) be on this list?
      1. Greg
        The Most Overrated Books of All Time at 3/21/2011 3:32 PM
        It is now #1... no pun intended, but Jesus Christ, good job. Although either Twilight, The Great Gatsby or Everybody Poops would be my #1.
    14. NyQuil
      Bible at 3/20/2011 5:38 PM
      Interesting characters, possibly the greatest story ever told. Completely unbelievable, however. Totally implausible, and no basis in reality.
    15. MichaelRandall
      Bible at 3/20/2011 3:38 PM
      Guys... this isn't "The Holy Bible". This a poetry book written by a man named Thom Gunn called "Bible".
    16. MichaelRandall
      Bible at 3/20/2011 3:30 PM
      [User deleted their comment]
    17. NathanDavis
      Bible at 3/20/2011 3:14 PM
      There is just as much evidence for Yahweh as for Zeus and Thor. This is by far the most overrated book even written by man.
    18. suppletime
      Bible at 3/20/2011 12:33 PM
      [User deleted their comment]
    19. CodyMichel
      Bible at 3/20/2011 11:13 AM
      @glendean1918 Ok, New King James version you say. Looking..."They shall fall by the sword, Their infants shall be dashed in pieces, And their women with child ripped open." (Hosea 13:16) And this is where we are supposed to get our morals from? Totally overrated.
    20. TeaBeforeWar
      Bible at 3/20/2011 9:35 AM
      [User deleted their comment]
    21. logoballz1
      Bible at 3/20/2011 8:27 AM
      What a LOAD of C**P! So many sheep think of this as non-fiction! If you consider it as fables and fairy tales, then you can remove it.
    22. glendean1918
      Bible at 3/03/2011 7:32 AM
      "I cannot even believe that someone would suggest the Bible be placed on such a list! Try reading the New King James Version."
    23. glendean1918
      Bible at 3/03/2011 7:31 AM
      [User deleted their comment]
    24. glendean1918
      Twilight at 3/03/2011 7:28 AM
      I think, based on the overall theme, all of the books in this series should not have even been on this list. It was an entertaining read once you read the sentences over again to squeeze out the author’s meaning. But, if you think the books are poor, watch the movies! They are horrible. It appears to me that “Twilight" was the cheapest made film in the history of the film industry.
    25. glendean1918
      Twilight at 3/03/2011 7:21 AM
      [User deleted their comment]
    26. glendean1918
      Twilight at 3/03/2011 7:13 AM
      [User deleted their comment]
    27. sayitasitis
      The Da Vinci Code at 12/29/2010 5:23 PM
      Lets face it, people, although not necessarily for the right things, are becoming wiser to truth over fiction and fable. Dan Brown was desperate for a best seller, had one of Hollywood's top producers on his list and in sync of a false belief and thus the result, The Da Vinci Code along with its lies and fables; yes overrated and under read for the better of all.
      Now, give the same author and producer a story about the cure for cancer that has already been discovered since shortly after Terry Fox (passed on to Ron Howard in 1993), or the subtle takeover of American culture by the snake-in-the-grass 'Islamic/Muslim faith' and it's self-proclaimed prophet (identified in his own book, the Quran, as an apostle), with his pre-Islamic moon god, Allah, and you might have peoples attention; rave reviews by the naive and beheadings of those involved in said production by the so-called peaceful Muslims who are busy fooling the masses as such 'peaceful and loving' people, verses the cultish monster and Imperialistic system it truly is.

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