Most difficult book you've read?
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2666 by Roberto Bolano. It doesn't really have a "plot" in the common sense (i.e. problem and resolution), the number 2666 doesn't appear in any of the book's 912 pages, the book randomly switches between various stories that have only the most basic connections, and the style and structure are the most complex I've ever seen. Despite all of that, it was an amazing book to read and the fact that I even managed to finish gives me a sense of accomplishment.
Great Expectations grammar wise, had to put it down pretty damn sharpish.
And... Haters. Horrifying book, brilliantly written, but I'm not an adult yet so the hopelessness of the protagonist's life has made me so pessimistic about the future that it really scares me sometimes.
And... Haters. Horrifying book, brilliantly written, but I'm not an adult yet so the hopelessness of the protagonist's life has made me so pessimistic about the future that it really scares me sometimes.
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durell.
It is very beautiful, yes, but I just couldn't grasp what was happening or who was who. I found myself thinking, 'What? There's a bajillion more pages of this?' a few pages in.
Hopefully I can pick it up later..
It is very beautiful, yes, but I just couldn't grasp what was happening or who was who. I found myself thinking, 'What? There's a bajillion more pages of this?' a few pages in.
Hopefully I can pick it up later..
Man, I did a paper on that book too, it ended up as half my grade in college. It's a damn great novel though, well worth the hard read.Hashime said:
OT: the Gormenghast trilogy, honestly, I couldn't get past page 17, when it was still describing the dust on the floor of the room it had been describing for 17 pages. Bah!
I just read all three books of the that trilogy last week and thoroughly enjoyed them. I thought the setting was interesting and the concept of mixing together post-apocalyptic political struggles with a coming-of-age story was a rather novel approach. The writing style was pretty simple and engaging, despite the fact that the protagonist was annoying at times. To be honest my biggest problem with those books was that they were a little shallow in terms of plot, so you saying that The Hunger Games is the most difficult book you've ever read blows my mind.hazabaza1 said:
By the way, how is it wimpy for a teenage girl to hide from a group of thuggish teenagers equipped with swords, axes, and bows that are intent on killing her in the most brutal method possible? I'd call that pragmatic and intelligent, not wimpy.
well, im midway through Paradise Lost by Milton, and I have to say, it kind reminds me of when I used to play Runescape, some fun stuff, and a fair amount of grinding, just because well, no Quotation Marks, really long sentences and old english, just a lot of stuff
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson for me just. . .I loved it to death, but I could only handle it in small doses. The plot wasn't that convoluted, the writing style was easy to follow. It was a thick book, yes, but for some reason I just could not steamroll through it. It makes me feel stupid. 
Non-Fiction: The weird database textbook I got for my database course. It was also my only source of information outside of the internet, since my 70 year old Asian prof had the worst accent I've ever heard. And I hang out with a few Asians. One of them didn't get into my University because he didn't speak English well enough, yet it was better than my profs.
Anyways, the book had terrible grammar, was loaded with useless information, and most sections were introductions to the next section. And not in a good way.
Fiction: The Catcher in the Rye was hard. I couldn't get past the first three pages. I really don't like books written in accents. Maybe I could get it if I tried again, but I'd rather read to enjoy a book, not just to say I read it.
Anyways, the book had terrible grammar, was loaded with useless information, and most sections were introductions to the next section. And not in a good way.
Fiction: The Catcher in the Rye was hard. I couldn't get past the first three pages. I really don't like books written in accents. Maybe I could get it if I tried again, but I'd rather read to enjoy a book, not just to say I read it.
Probably the Reavers by George Macdonald Fraser. I love most of his work. But it's a comedy of sorts set in Elizabethan England, it's filled with old pop culture references and English specific jokes, character are often written phoenetically and it's bordering on Monty Python-esque ridiculous-ness at times. I enjoyed some parts but I eventually had to quite as I kept getting bored as I didn't understand stuff and found some stuff hard to follow.
That and a non-fiction book on infectious diseases in the 20th century. The first half was good reading about ebola and other stuff. But when it got to HIV/AIDS it got really tedious, it was written chronologically so a lot of early chapters was musing on what it could be and the whole politics of it got dragged out for a long time. I quit when they were still calling it GRID (Gay related immune disorder or something).
That and a non-fiction book on infectious diseases in the 20th century. The first half was good reading about ebola and other stuff. But when it got to HIV/AIDS it got really tedious, it was written chronologically so a lot of early chapters was musing on what it could be and the whole politics of it got dragged out for a long time. I quit when they were still calling it GRID (Gay related immune disorder or something).
Gosh, you Ninja's me! Also, I almost got into the book when he started breaking down until he told Phoebe that he wanted to be a "Catcher in the Rye"... He seriously just wanted to be a baseball player in a Rye field?!!!! WHAT THE F*** MAN!!!! WHAT THE F***?!!!!Jark212 said:
Worst. Title Drop. Ever.