Has a book made you feel like a "reading failure/challenge"?

[loriwademan]

JR Tolkien Books....feel like an idiot. Tried so many time to read his books and I always give up. They just don't make me feel WOw mostly annoy me and I feel unconnected and STUPID

[Kimpaluch]

JR Tolkien Books....feel like an idiot. Tried so many time to read his books and I always give up. They just don't make me feel WOw mostly annoy me and I feel unconnected and STUPID

Don't feel that way. Tolkien can be difficult and unapproachable. The classics, both early and modern, aren't classic because they are easy. Some are easier for certain folks more than others.

Reading should be something you enjoy.

Kim

[shellyb]

I didnt find Lord of the Rings and easy read to be honest. I've read it two or three times now and found that if i treated it as a long journey and didn't try and read it all at once it worked better.

[Carla Hurst-Chandler]

Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities.
Not sure if it was him or me...but pretty sure it was me...lol

[Yelibenwork]

I have read half way though "The Little Drummer Girl" by John LeCare but could not finish it. The story seemed to stop moving. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Marquez came highly recommended by friends but I couldn't go beyond the fifth page.

Other books I couldn't finish:
1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2. Never finished any book by Sydney Sheldon (Started about three or four of them)

I don't regret not finishing The Alchemist and Sydney Sheldon's books. But putting down LeCare's book makes me feel guilty. Still, I don't find the strength in me to overcome the boredom with its abundance of details in the narrative.

-- Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:33 am --

Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities.
Not sure if it was him or me...but pretty sure it was me...lol

I was tempted to put aside Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities until I passed about 200 pages. But after that the story seemed to fly for me. It was so riveting. I am glad I finished reading it.

[Carla Hurst-Chandler]

I have read half way though "The Little Drummer Girl" by John LeCare but could not finish it. The story seemed to stop moving. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Marquez came highly recommended by friends but I couldn't go beyond the fifth page.

Other books I couldn't finish:
1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
2. Never finished any book by Sydney Sheldon (Started about three or four of them)

I don't regret not finishing The Alchemist and Sydney Sheldon's books. But putting down LeCare's book makes me feel guilty. Still, I don't find the strength in me to overcome the boredom with its abundance of details in the narrative.

-- Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:33 am --

Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities.
Not sure if it was him or me...but pretty sure it was me...lol

I was tempted to put aside Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities until I passed about 200 pages. But after that the story seemed to fly for me. It was so riveting. I am glad I finished reading it.

Oh, I finished it...and I enjoyed it by the ending. Just seemed like a book in search of a good editing, to me. Some of the minutia was germaine to the story...other...not so much.

[AliceRose]

Philip Pullman. I tried reading His Dark Materials and only got a couple of pages into it. Then somebody loaned me another one of his books, and I never even opened it. I don't know why, he's definitely a good writer... I just don't think the fantasy genre keeps me very interested. I always feel really stupid when I say I've never read one of his books!

[flowenflower]

Hmmm, books I've never finished are... Well only one comes to mind.. The Ruins by Scott Smith.. I just couldn't stand it.. All it was constant bickering.. Nothing really happens in it.

[I Love Brains]

The one book that makes me feel like a "reading failure" is Ulysses by James Joyce. Hailed as one of the greatest literary work of the twentieth century, I enthusiastically dove into the book. By the time I reached the middle of chapter 2, I had lost complete interest. The writing style made it hard for me to comprehend the content, and eventually I lost all interest in the book. I often think about the fact that this book got the better of me and I resolve to pick it up again some day and find out what makes this book so great, but for now I will finish World War Z.

[MandiKenendy]

The one book that makes me feel like a "reading failure" is Ulysses by James Joyce. Hailed as one of the greatest literary work of the twentieth century, I enthusiastically dove into the book. By the time I reached the middle of chapter 2, I had lost complete interest. The writing style made it hard for me to comprehend the content, and eventually I lost all interest in the book. I often think about the fact that this book got the better of me and I resolve to pick it up again some day and find out what makes this book so great, but for now I will finish World War Z.

I agree - I had to study it for a Uni course but after the first page I already knew I wasn't going to get it. Had to skim it to the end for the course but I just found it so difficult and boring. We were told at Uni it was supposed to be written as someone's thoughts so there is no flow but I just found it irritating to read. Felt this way about a lot of the books on that course. It was called "The Modern Novel" and we had to read, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Wolfe, Women in Love by DH Laurence and Middlemarch by George Elliot. I didn't like any of them. Women in Love was the only one with a vaguely interesting story line but I felt that all of the books were trying too hard to different and had forgotten to care about the enjoyment of the reader.

[MayMay]

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.
It's suppose to be good but I just can't get through it.
I had to read it for a school thing and I'm honestly ashamed to admit I just used Sparknote. I WILL make it through one day but until then I guess I have something to fall back on for a sleep aid lol.

[LisaMRunge]

For me, Heart of Darkness was always inscrutable. I read it in high school, then again in college, and never felt like I understood it at all. Perhaps I should try it again, but there are so many other books out there that I actually want to read, I probably won't pick it up again.

[Kermit21]

Probably everyone has felt that at one time or another. The ones that normally get me are the ones that supposedly "everyone" likes. I dislike most of the subjects Shakespeare chose. I just couldn't finish The Kite Runner. It is horrific how some people can treat others and I just couldn't get past that to the message the story was trying to get across. Yet at the same time Leo Tolstoy is one of my favorite authors. It is a different book for each person, but we all encounter at least one book that we just can't take.

[Gresca]

The only book I have ever started and was unable to finish is The Curse of Chalion. I have heard it is such a great book but I can't even make it through the first chapter for some reason. I think it's all the description in it. I live to have a little description and be able to imagine a little bit but it just gives so much detail the imagination can do no work. I do plan on getting through it one day though.

[paulmcneer]

"The Sound and the Fury" by Faulkner. I absolutely hate 'stream of consciousness' and will not attempt another book like that. I think I got through 30 pages before giving up. Too many good books out there to waste time on a book that is unreadable.