Books that Didn't Change My Life

All this "Books that Changed My Life" business made me think of the others that I'd read which are often touted as life changing, but just didn't do it for me. So, here are the books that didn't change my life, and the year that they didn't change it.

The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien - age 13
I enjoyed it, but it was just an interesting story weighed down by, well, lore. It should have just been called Lore of the Rings.

The Stranger - Albert Camus - age 24
Mersault kills a guy, waits to be executed. I wasn't much of a Cure fan either. There are far better examples of absurdist fiction. In fact, it's not even the best Camus novel - that's The Plague.

Harry Potter - Joanne Rowling - age 27
I don't really see this as a book - more a list of things that happened with a lot of tacked-on exposition at the end to paper over the many cracks. The first volume killed all further desire to read any of later lists. Really, if you want some children's fantasy that isn't insulting and lazy, read Philip Pullman. "But it gets kids to read!" argue people. True, but it's a shame it's not as well-written as a cereal packet.

Atlas Shrugged etc - Ayn Rand - age 30
People who say that Rand changed their life are just saying "I don't see why I should help or not exploit people and a book gave me legitimacy."