Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
One reader's thoughts as she steps from book to book.
Books I've Finished
- "A Christmas Memory"
- by Truman Capote 12/8/12
- "Child's Christmas in Wales"
- by Dylan Thomas 12/7/12
- "One Christmas"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- "The Thanksgiving Visitor"
- by Truman Capote 11/29/12
- Inside Mrs. B's Classroom
- by Leslie Baldacci 11/28/12
- The Bee Eater
- by Richard Whitmire 11/15/12
- There Are No Shortcuts
- by Rafe Esquith 10/28/12
- I'd Like to Apologize to
- Every Teacher I Ever Had
- by Tony Danza 10/21/12
- Corked
- by Kathryn Borel 10/15/12
- Year of Learning Dangerously
- by Quinn Cummings 9/30/12
- A Hologram for the King
- by Dave Eggers 8/23/12
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- by Harper Lee 7/18/12
About Me
- Christine
- I often have a few books with bookmarks in them at once. I enjoy classics more than contemporary works of fiction, often read historical fiction, and love to get glimpses into other people's lives by reading memoirs and biographies.
16 comments:
House of Leaves, and i still havent finished it (i tried to read it about 6 years ago and havent made much progress)
Many years ago, as a young adult I tried to read the "The Women's Room" by Marilyn French. I remember finding it tedious to read and not at all enjoyable, even though I considered myself a feminist. Couldn't get through to the end. I sometimes wonder what I would think if I tried to read it now but I'm not sure I want to invest time trying.
Hmm, that's a toss-up.
Hardest personal reading book was The Hours by Michael Cunningham. Y'gotta understand: I don't leave books unfinished. But I got to page 130 before I had to put it down, because otherwise I would have thrown it across the room, then run over and set it on fire.
Hardest "had to read it" book was Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. That was literally painful to get through. I would have cheerfully warmed myself by its flames, except it was a textbook. I got an almost obscene amount of pleasure from selling it back to the bookstore at the end of the year.
i think i've mentioned it before but David Copperfield was one i struggled thru to maybe 1/2 way before i had to discard it from extreme boredom and almost a rage at how little i cared.
i was also in a book group where we focused on the classics which i've always had a hard time liking. the worst one had to be From the Earth to the Moon by Verne for me as i'm not captivated by science fiction at all.
on my own, i got thru about 2 pages of Mrs. Dalloway (as i'd start the same paragraph over and over) and wondered how many millions of ways i could've better spent that hour. i think it may have been my lack of attention and mindset tho - this might be one i'd consider giving another chance as i know many people that liked it and know it's a great literary work.
"The Great Triumvirate" - a riveting history book I had to read in college. It was about Calhoun, Webster and Clay. Wow, I couldn't even remember who it was about. I had to look it up. But I read the whole thing. We had a D'Toqueville book that was also difficult.
Well, I've read the first 100 pages of "War & Peace" 6 times so that seems to be a problem, but the hardest has to be Douglas Hofstadter's "Godel, Escher, Bach". I have struggled with this one for over 25 years.
But, as God as my witness, someday I WILL read it!
Erin,
I found the Heart of Darkness very compelling, if somewhat disturbing. Did you dislike the content or the style?
Ooh . . . Emma. By Jane Austen. I read all the Jane Austen books except Pride and Prejudice in about two weeks' time, and Emma was the second-to-last that I read. Although I really like Austen, by the time I got to Emma, I was getting sick of her, and I didn't think Emma had enough going on in its miles of text to be worth reading. But I finished it!
Insomniac:
It was pretty much all of it, content and style included. I didn't like the misogyny or the racism underlying a lot of the text. I remember wanting to smack at least two characters.
I suppose Conrad just struck me the wrong way.
I can understand that Erin. I can't describe it as enjoyable because of those elements but, nevertheless, it is a book that has hauntingly stayed with me since I read it as a teenager. Definitely unforgettable. Hence it has to be amongst my favorites.
My vote has to go to Middlemarch by George Eliot. Man, I struggled and faked my way through that one for a class. The words may as well have been numbers.
The Women's Room is one that was definitely difficult for me, though not because it was poorly written or confusing. I'm only about a third of the way into it (put it down several months ago, but the bookmark is still in place), though I hope to someday pick it up again. It's hard for me to read because it's so deeply painful...I empathize too bloody much with these women, and it hurts my heart to read it. Maybe someday when I'm not in so fragile a place in my own life I'll be able to read it again with more objectivity.
My Indian Boyhood by Luther Standing Bear was also heartbreaking. Beautiful work, of course, it's just sad to see such a happy, gentle time through his eyes, knowing what would come next.
I got stuck in les Miserables. The 200+ description of the war killed my interest. I was in it for the people. On the other hand I have seen the stage version at least twice.
Great Expectations almost killed me in high school. I hated it so intensely that I have never picked up Dickens to date. Remembrance of Things Past by Proust was attempted in my early twenties. I'd need to be in a class to finish it. And the most deadly by far....Foucault.
I loved Les Mis, but I understand your feelings about the Waterloo description. That book almost makes me understand why books are abridged. DRD
I believe I once tried to read Swann's Way by Proust, which I guess is only *part* of Remembrance of Things Past, and I couldn't even get through *that.* Maybe I'll give it another go someday.
Back when I was still in high school, I tried reading Plato's The Republic (checked it out of the library), and after several renewals, I finally gave up. I can't remember why--if it was too difficult, or I just didn't have the time/inclination.
A couple more I never quite got all the way through: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and, believe it or not, The Bible.
And, while still in high school, I faked my way through William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury so that I could write a paper. I did read most of it, just not in order, and I skimmed a lot of parts. That stream-of-consciousness style was often difficult for my 17-year-old brain to comprehend.
Man, after reflecting on all this, maybe I should just list the books I *have* finished reading.
~Lisa
Post a Comment