For me, it’s Jude the Obscure. That book is easily the worst book I have ever read, without a single redeeming quality, other than that it finally ends. I only finished it because Far from the Madding Crowd was so damn good.
But really, Jude is the gold standard of awful books, in my opinion.
What’s your so-awful-it-deserves-shelf-space book, if you have one?
Or am I just weird?
I keep every book I read, this year, I have 2 books that fit your description:
Both are just absolute messes of fiction. Poorly thought out and paced plots, terrible characters, and all of the nuance of a brick through a window. Both were book club picks, and whilst I hated every second of reading them, tearing them apart in the meeting was very cathartic.