I’d love some suggestions for books that really intimidated you, whether due to length or content, that ended up being amazing. (Or maybe they let you down… let me know if there’s a book that isn’t worth it!)
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (Waterfield translation). Profound content. Conceptually opaque. Worth every minute.
melonball6 on
I would say the two I finished and enjoyed are War & Peace and The Odyssey. I’m also currently working on The Old Testament (King James Version) and so far (16% complete) it is more enjoyable than I anticipated.
PsyferRL on
*Jane Eyre* intimidated me because it was a genre I don’t typically read published in an era I don’t typically read. Prior to reading it, the oldest novel I had read (and finished at least) was *Siddhartha* by Hermann Hesse (1922) which is over 400 pages shorter than *Jane Eyre*.
I was shocked by not just how much I enjoyed it, but by how readable it was in a modern sense. Not to mention, it also had moments which were downright hilarious! There are of course parts which are no longer acceptable from a modern perspective, but you have to expect that when you read a book that’s over 150 years old lol.
StateOptimal5387 on
I have it right next to me atm, The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. I hear it’s good maybe great, but some have said you have to give it a chance and as I’ve grown older I give books fewer and fewer pages to get my commitment. For me, it’s totally a right time right place right vibes kinda book.
redentification on
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
As far as I’m concerned, the first section of this book is impossible to read without some outside help! I tried reading this on my own in high school and made it through maybe 8 pages, so when had to read it in college I was super intimidated. I quickly enlisted the help of CliffsNotes and online study guides. It was worth it for me to take the extra time and get it figured out. The first section is a jumble, but when you can understand the different ways of marking time, etc., I think it’s incredible how it was all put together.
Dropjohnson1 on
Moby Dick. I had this impression that reading it would be a real slough, but I found it to be really engaging. While I think Melville could’ve spent a little less time singing his praises of the whaling industry, overall I found it to be very compelling, with some vivid characters and high-seas action.
My_phone_wont_charge on
The Iliad. I tried for years to read it because my dad loved it. I never made it past the fifth chapter. I finally read it through a few years ago and it was not worth the work
Cbnolan on
The count of Monte Cristo. I read it from November to January in this past year (roughly 3 months). It’s now one of my all time favorite novels.
YakSlothLemon on
Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Basically I knew that it was incredibly long, I was worried it would all be in dialect, and I was also worried it would be really racist.
I approached with trepidation.
I started and the next thing I knew I was six chapters in as Eliza was escaping across the ice floes with her infant… Holy hell that book moves! Minimal dialect, less racist than Mockingbird, and what a great read!
Aggressive_Sort_7082 on
The Stand by Stephen King because it was 1400-ish pages
Tho it is the best book I have ever read/listened too. Ever 😂
Technical_Truth_2390 on
**Cutting for Stone** by Abraham Verghese.
It’s a bit intimidating for some because it gets pretty graphic with the surgical procedures — vivid details about surgeries and medical stuff (and I’m a physician, so that’s saying something). But despite that, the story is so beautifully written and powerful. If you’re not squeamish, it’s definitely worth the read!
Negative-Wasabi on
Blood Meridian.
cultivate_hunger on
GOLDFINCH
FjodorKafka2201 on
In search for lost time by Marcel Proust. I finally read it last year. I’d always wanted to read it, but I wasn’t sure if i could do it alone (that is, without a reading group for example). It’s over 4000 pages long. In the end i read it without a reading group just by myself and i highly recommend it, and I could have read another 4000 pages. Great work of litetature!
15 Comments
Ended up being favourites:
Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius (Waterfield translation). Profound content. Conceptually opaque. Worth every minute.
I would say the two I finished and enjoyed are War & Peace and The Odyssey. I’m also currently working on The Old Testament (King James Version) and so far (16% complete) it is more enjoyable than I anticipated.
*Jane Eyre* intimidated me because it was a genre I don’t typically read published in an era I don’t typically read. Prior to reading it, the oldest novel I had read (and finished at least) was *Siddhartha* by Hermann Hesse (1922) which is over 400 pages shorter than *Jane Eyre*.
I was shocked by not just how much I enjoyed it, but by how readable it was in a modern sense. Not to mention, it also had moments which were downright hilarious! There are of course parts which are no longer acceptable from a modern perspective, but you have to expect that when you read a book that’s over 150 years old lol.
I have it right next to me atm, The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. I hear it’s good maybe great, but some have said you have to give it a chance and as I’ve grown older I give books fewer and fewer pages to get my commitment. For me, it’s totally a right time right place right vibes kinda book.
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
As far as I’m concerned, the first section of this book is impossible to read without some outside help! I tried reading this on my own in high school and made it through maybe 8 pages, so when had to read it in college I was super intimidated. I quickly enlisted the help of CliffsNotes and online study guides. It was worth it for me to take the extra time and get it figured out. The first section is a jumble, but when you can understand the different ways of marking time, etc., I think it’s incredible how it was all put together.
Moby Dick. I had this impression that reading it would be a real slough, but I found it to be really engaging. While I think Melville could’ve spent a little less time singing his praises of the whaling industry, overall I found it to be very compelling, with some vivid characters and high-seas action.
The Iliad. I tried for years to read it because my dad loved it. I never made it past the fifth chapter. I finally read it through a few years ago and it was not worth the work
The count of Monte Cristo. I read it from November to January in this past year (roughly 3 months). It’s now one of my all time favorite novels.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Basically I knew that it was incredibly long, I was worried it would all be in dialect, and I was also worried it would be really racist.
I approached with trepidation.
I started and the next thing I knew I was six chapters in as Eliza was escaping across the ice floes with her infant… Holy hell that book moves! Minimal dialect, less racist than Mockingbird, and what a great read!
The Stand by Stephen King because it was 1400-ish pages
Tho it is the best book I have ever read/listened too. Ever 😂
**Cutting for Stone** by Abraham Verghese.
It’s a bit intimidating for some because it gets pretty graphic with the surgical procedures — vivid details about surgeries and medical stuff (and I’m a physician, so that’s saying something). But despite that, the story is so beautifully written and powerful. If you’re not squeamish, it’s definitely worth the read!
Blood Meridian.
GOLDFINCH
In search for lost time by Marcel Proust. I finally read it last year. I’d always wanted to read it, but I wasn’t sure if i could do it alone (that is, without a reading group for example). It’s over 4000 pages long. In the end i read it without a reading group just by myself and i highly recommend it, and I could have read another 4000 pages. Great work of litetature!