Our staff share the classic novels (and authors) they believe are overrated…

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. An unappealing heroine, a very dull story and an awful ‘love interest’ – I genuinely do not understand what people see in this classic. I do, however, very much recommend the sublime Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, which tells the story of Rochester’s wife. – Isobel Moore, bookseller at St Kilda

George Orwell’s time would have been much better spent writing more of his wonderful essays than the novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is remarkably dull. – Ford Thomas, online team member

I really did want to like On the Road. I bought a copy as a fifteen-year-old because I was pretentious (clearly) and it seemed like a pretty cool thing to carry around. I planned on dropping references to the ‘beat’ generation effortlessly into everyday conversations and I started a stream-of-consciousness diary. But I don’t think I ever made it past page 20. Its manic energy is supposedly a call to freedom but I found the prose tediously repetitive. Even now, when I see bearded boys in skinny jeans clutching copies every day on the tram (I spotted at least two just this morning) I feel guilty for never having finished it, but maybe, like The Catcher in the Rye, it’s one of those books that you need to let go if you didn’t read before your early twenties. – Stella Charls, marketing and events coordinator

Rumour has it that a member of my family smuggled Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence onto a plane and into Australia back when it was still banned here. If I had to make that choice now, I probably wouldn’t bother. While I recognise how groundbreaking and important it was at the time – and still is as an artefact of the time – it’s not a classic to which I’ll return. – Elke Power, Editor of Readings Monthly

Anything by Hunter S. Thompson. – Jemima Bucknell, Online Fulfilment Manager

Shakespeare, oh my gosh Shakespeare. I feel like I was forced to study one of plays every other week at high school and have never recovered. (I did surprise myself by enjoying Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing but I suspect this isn’t one for the purists.) – Bronte Coates, Digital Content Coordinator

Ulysses… The detail – the mind-numbing detail – in this book is not genius. It is repetitive and filled me with an enormous and overwhelming fatigue both times I’ve tried to read this book. I know many will disagree with my cold-hearted approach to one of the most beloved (?) Irish novels of all time. Some might even hate me for it but for me, I recommend you leave this one alone. – Chris Gordon, Event Manager of Readings

There’s no doubting Tolkien’s incredible imagination, but my god, glaciers melt quicker than the plot of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. For me, the extended histories, detailed family trees and overwrought descriptions feel more like reading an encyclopedia than a novel. Obviously for many people this is exactly the point – they’re my mum’s favourite books and for her, the enjoyment comes knowing every nook and cranny of Middle Earth. And such a fully realised world made for a terrific film adaptation – but for me, that’s plenty. – Alan Vaarwerk, Editorial Assistant for Readings Monthly

Want to defend one of the books listed here? Email your response to [email protected].