Interesting thread, although I don't know if "regret" is the right word. Even if I don't end up appreciating a book, I'm usually glad that I've gone through it, if only so that I'll know what all the fuss is about.

I'll skip over the throwaways -- the forgettable paperbacks you just read to pass the time (I'd put Stephen King in that category). As for "quality" books, there are a few that I've read because I had heard they were brilliant, but came away feeling let down. Thomas Wolfe's You Can't Go Home Again is one of those; The Lord Of The Rings is another. And, although it may sound like heresy to some members of this forum, I found Kerouac's On The Road to be a complete waste of time.

And yes, like others on this thread, I can live without any more Ayn Rand. I was intrigued enough to stick with The Fountainhead until the end, but only made it about halfway through Atlas Shrugged before I put it down. One-dimensional, simplistic, with a vaguely Nazi view of human nature; I really have no use for that kind of thing.