I've got a long reading list of fun ones, but my other list is always a work in progress. Great fiction authors like Amor Towles and Ann Patchett, nonfiction authors like Bill Bryson, engaging history books like Ross King's "The Judgement of Paris."
What are some challenging reads that really delighted you?
by RepulsiveLoquat418
7 Comments
Most classics fit into the challenging reads category for me. From Tolstoy to the Brontes to Dickens etc.
The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (didn’t really enjoy the process of reading this one because it’s incredibly graphic and sad, but it’s still an excellent book) and recently Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata.
I’ve found the Lord of the Rings trilogy a bit of a challenging read at times but the stories and world they build are fantastic.
I found Mason & Dixon to be on the easier end of the Pynchon scale. But it was still both challenging and extremely rewarding.
Some books from recent memory that I’d call both challenging and a favorite:
*Liberalism* by Domenico Losurdo
*What is antiracism and why it means anticapitalism* by Arun Kundnani
*Black Marxism* by Cedric Robinson
I thought the Locked Tomb Series by Tasmyn Muir was challenging reading. The characters and world building are pretty complex so it took some time to really get a sense of what was going on, but it’s worth it!
I just finished Blow Out by Rachel Maddow. It was riveting to learn about the oil industry, its connection to politicians and Russia. Something everyone should read but when it was finished I was glad. Too much info.
Now I’m reading the history or Van Halen and then the Dungeon Crawler Carl is coming. It will be a treat.
After I’ll look for some classic fiction and then return to a boring book about facts & history & stuff.