Anthemic Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 anything by ayn rand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisCounterpart Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 The Silmarillion is a tough read indeed, but being a huge LOTR fan I managed it, and even more than once - I had to cos I chose Tolkien as the theme of my academic studies. Wasn't that bad... But being a language student, I am quite ashamed to admit that I just can't bear to touch such things as any of the Bronte sisters, Dickens, in fact anything that can be labelled "realism".. Shakespeare is another thing to feel guilty about. Kinda liked the Tempest but probably only because it was sort of fantasy-ish. Maybe I just can't relate to any of that cos it was written so long ago... The most vivid memory of not being able to finish the book (I actually gave up on page 14!) was Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Being Russian, I have often wondered why he is so hugely popular amongst young people in the West. For me it was like wading through knee-deep sand - the language was so heavy. Maybe it acquires something fascinating in translation, I dunno. Another unfinished (or shall I say barely begun) book was Hemingway's Farewell to Arms. I picked it up as part of my undergraduate course, read a couple of pages and thought "I know exatly what you're on about here, I don't need to read anymore". I could have gone on cos I related to the sentiment, but the style didn't grab me... I just stick to my sci-fi, some fantasy and other non-realism. It got me where I had aimed for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Sphinc-Tor Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 I agree...Silmarillion was a tough one, but a must for any Tolkien reader. I like the stuff about Numenor best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southernjim Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I opened The Da Vinci Code, looked at it, and began to cry. After that, I vomited on the pages, and took it back to the library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeddyRulz Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 (edited) I had this looney idea that I might begin and finish "Remembrance of Things Past" by Marcel Proust this year. (For anyone who doesn't know, it's actually seven volumes long, and is considered one of the greatest literary achievements ever!) Yeah. I got about thirty or sixty pages into the first volume ("Swann's Way") and gave up already. I still think I'd like to read the whole thing before I die, but this wasn't the year. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_of_things_past Edited January 10, 2009 by GeddyRulz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Sphinc-Tor Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ Jan 10 2009, 06:53 PM) I got about thirty or sixty pages into the first volume and gave up. I did the same with Harry Potter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RushHour Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 Fantasy novels. Most of them are long, boring, too far-fetched, and a waste of my time. Meh. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 QUOTE (Jenzin @ Sep 15 2008, 09:22 AM) QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ Sep 14 2008, 12:43 PM) QUOTE (Jenzin @ Aug 19 2008, 01:44 PM) I don't know if Catcher in the Rye is considered a classic or not, but I cannot finish that one either. It is a classic, and I can't believe anyone could not finish it. I've read it at least three times in my life. Perhaps it helps to first read it as a "misunderstood" and disaffected teenager. Holden Caulfield thinks everyone's a "phony," and everybody I knew in school really related to the book. Maybe I'll give it another try with that in mind. I didn't read it in high school, my first experience with the book was as a thirty-three year old college student a few years back. The relation part just wasn't there for me. Definitely a better read as an angry young man. If you're over 30, no need to go back and read it...unless you kid's reading it. I'm experiencing that right now, re-reading books from my youth as my daughter goes through school. It's pretty fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 QUOTE (*Limelight* @ Oct 7 2008, 12:39 AM) Pride and Prejudice I can't read it. I just can't get into it. I really can't. Makes for a much better movie script. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 (edited) QUOTE (attn deficiency. @ Sep 12 2008, 10:20 PM) I tried to read Life of Pi. It was awful. I wanted to gouge out my eyes instead of reading it, but unfortunately it was required for school over this summer. Too bad you didn't like it. I really enjoyed it. Lots to think about. Let me ask you: Do you think he was hallucinating or did the fantasy really occur? Edited January 11, 2010 by goose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Don't read this book>>> Every Contact Leaves A Trace by Elanor Dymott .... unless you wanna waste 7 hours of your precious time wading through 395 pages of long-winded verbose crap. It's a murder mystery. The author doesn't even tell you who did it. She gives 3 potential suspects, but she doesn't tell you who actually did it. In the end, I wanted to throw the stupid book into the fireplace. I would have too, if it didn't belong to the public library. Thank God I didn't waste my money on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchetaxe&saw Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I couldn't get through A Confederacy Of Dunces. Just didn't care for any of the characters enough to want to know what would happen to them next. In my top 3 books EVER. Hilarious & unputdownable. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchetaxe&saw Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 anything by ayn rand. Reading Atlas Shrugged is like walking through treacle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy muse Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I tried to read Life of Pi. It was awful. I wanted to gouge out my eyes instead of reading it, but unfortunately it was required for school over this summer.but the movie was good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Dad Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I couldn't get through A Confederacy Of Dunces. Just didn't care for any of the characters enough to want to know what would happen to them next. In my top 3 books EVER. Hilarious & unputdownable. Absofuckinglutely ConfederacyCatch 22Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Ways Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Has anyone read Dos Passos? I started reading the 42nd parallel with the thought of reading the USA trilogy. I think I got 30-40 pages into it and was wtf? Should I try again? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I tried to read Life of Pi. It was awful. I wanted to gouge out my eyes instead of reading it, but unfortunately it was required for school over this summer.but the movie was good.I'm surprised. I think both are good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue J Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon. I was excited to start it; I was really looking forward to it. But I don't think I ever finished it. I can remember reading parts of it and thinking why, why did I do this to myself?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueschica Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James Only read the first 4 chapters. It is set in Jamaica where a gang is trying to assassinate a Bob Marley type singer. The part I read is very dense, with lots of characters and, especially, different language dialects and subplots going on. It was very hard to keep everything straight so I didn't mind when It was due back at the library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue J Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I've started, but never finished, a couple of books by Chuck Palahniuk. Can't stand him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 I've not had that problem with a book - a movie, perhaps (15 minutes: "That's it - I can't watch any more of this!"), but never a book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyBlaze Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I've not had that problem with a book - a movie, perhaps (15 minutes: "That's it - I can't watch any more of this!"), but never a book.Is there a thread like that in Video Vertigo? There should be. Go start one BabyKitKat! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunter Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I love all things Rush related but I couldn't get through Clockwork Lives. Couldn't read another sentence. The tacked on, ham-handed Rush references were just too much for this reader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Has anyone read Dos Passos? I started reading the 42nd parallel with the thought of reading the USA trilogy. I think I got 30-40 pages into it and was wtf? Should I try again?I just read Three Soldiers in December. Pretty good, although the use of dialects is a bit challenging. What are you finding challenging in what you're reading? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I tried to read Life of Pi. It was awful. I wanted to gouge out my eyes instead of reading it, but unfortunately it was required for school over this summer.but the movie was good.I'm surprised. I think both are good.Me, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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