Another author who got full of himself and it spilled into his books: Tom Clancy. For the techno/military thriller fans, some of his early books were great reads. His later works got horrible-- way too long, incredible repetition and almost non-existent editing, and the entire novels were basically just political diatribes. The Bear and the Dragon (2000) was the final straw for me. I didn't read anything new from Clancy after that. I've heard some radio show interviews with Clancy, and he's definitely one author I wouldn't bother crossing the street for the opportunity to meet.
what else do you do besides playing chess?

I got duped into buying Celestine Prophecy. I feel like I could throw a rock and hit a fifth grader who could have written that book with a little editing help.
That took no. 1 on my "If I could beat the author with his own book for the waste of my time" list. And it's a little OCD but I have a hard time not finishing something if I start reading it so...it's really annoying when the book is bad.
I'm going to warn the fifth graders!
Boardgames, fencing, folk music, luge.
Luge? That's awesome.
I'm blessed to live near Muskegon, Michigan, home of the only easily accessible luge track in the United States. It's nowhere near the size, or speed, of the olympic tracks on television, but it's still fun, and I have done the Lake Placid track, too. Just not from the top.
On the subject of the original question in the OP, I was suddenly reminded of the scene in Blazing Saddles. I'm thinking of the scene where the Sheriff suggests, "Let's play Chess."

Did anyone get their grades back from this thread? I need a good one or oh man my dad's going to kill me.

Everybody got an A except you goldendog, since you lied to the teacher and said that your owner ate your homework. Summer school for you!
It looks like it's military school for me.
Worst book ever - The Rule of Four by Caldwell and Thomason. A decent beginning, but unreadable beyond page 200 or so. A complete letdown.