Most boring/difficult books you've ever read.

[Squidden]

Guns, Germs and Steel was absolutely the most dry and boring book I have ever read.

I also absolutely hated the Odyssey. Come to think of it, any ancient literature I hate because it isn't written realistically. In modern literature, someone "goes to bed with a sigh" or "speaks with an angry demeanor" where old stories just seem to list events rather than describe them.

 

[the Dept of Science]

I recently finished The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon, which is only about 130 pages. On the other hand, its by far the densist thing I've ever read. In those 130 pages, there is a whole host of characters, conspiracy, plot twists, a play, detailed alternative histories and the underlying sense that large parts of it are hallucinations or complete red herrings.

 

[OptimisticPessimist]

Le Morte d'Artur. I should never have to study up in order to read what essentially ammounts to an anthology. Worth it, though.

 

[DeathsHands]

The Blood Ravens Omnibus by C.S. Go-- Multilaser. 40k fans know this one.

Weird plot, lack of consistency (Razorback to Land Raider gogo), and overall pretty tacky writing. I mean, it's just awkward and boring.

 

[Chiyo-Chan]

I don't even need to think about this one.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

 

[Madskull]

Most boring: Anna Karenina
Most difficult: Nineteen Eighty-Four

Reason: Anna Karenina has damn near 900 pages mostly filled by descriptions and boring feelings and stupid things like that.

Nineteen Eighty-Four has some pretty obscure descriptions and the story was, at least for me, very hard to follow.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

To Kill a Mockingbird.

So many people throw praises at its feet, I found it very boring and it took me a while to figure out that main character was actually a girl.

 

[spartan1077]

The Crucible! I couldn't get past page 5...and I had to read it for school

 

[Patrick Dare]

The Great Gatsby. That was the only book I didn't read in highschool. I just found it incredibly boring.

Well Nietzsche was a challenge. And if educational books count anyting with the names Schödinger, Bohr and Heienberg in them.

EDIT: I just realized everything that's difficult comes for Germany.

EDIT2: Except Niels Bohr.

Add Heidegger to that list.

The Crucible! I couldn't get past page 5...and I had to read it for school

I had to read that in school too. I didn't really find it boring but it bothered the fuck out of me how stupid they were. "Oh, that fire moved when you walked past...WITCH, BURN HER!!"

 

[Ace of Spades]

Any tragedy written by Shakespeare. Killing off half the cast at the end of the play doesn't make the play tragic, and it doesn't help that I need to constantly look at the reference pages just to figure out what the hell is going on. Update the language, and then maybe we'll talk.

 

[Kaisius]

Displaying my heresy here, I'll say ANYTHING BY TOLKIEN.

Praise God, Glory, Hallelujah!! I AM NOT ALONE!!!
I registered JUST to reply to this post!
I've tried to read The Hobbit several times, I get 75 pages in and he starts telling about Bilbo's 3rd aunt, 4 times removed, and why she's the reason for the Baggins reputation and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.......

 

[Krelias]

Foucault's Pendulum - Really hard to follow too many esoteric references.

 

[I Max95]

macbeth if it counts
that thing bored me to tears

 

[Kinokohatake]

It's not a book but The Wheel of Time series goes from fantastic to painful. Holy god that got so old that I wanted the bad guys to win.

 

[Jake the Snake]

Um, I think its called Roar of Thunder, Hear My Cry. I read it in eighth grade. Was awful. Just another fiction book about how hard blacks had it in the south in the early 1900s. BORING. AS. FUCK. OK, FUCK WE GET IT! RACISM IS BAD! YOU HAVE BEEN ENFORCING THIS SINCE I WAS 2! I HAVE BLACK FRIENDS, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?

 

[Purple Shrimp]

the Silmarillion, ugh

lord of the rings was good though

EDIT also Ulysses

 

[Nouw]

Moby Dick was boring and Starship Troopers was difficult.

 

[the-kitchen-slayer]

I hate to say it... but the Narnia books. Great for kids... but when your a grim-dark teen and doing it for school? ugh...

 

[Spoonius]

The Silmarrilion.

 

[EcHoFiiVe]

Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained were really difficult for me.