Thanks for the heads up Molly, I'll see if I can hunt down a copy.

Thanks for the support too Cecily and Sam, I'll be waiting in the new year to hear your views! :)

Emma wrote: "I might start War and Peace too, I've had it for at least a decade... :)"

You may want to check out the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation which just came out a few years ago I believe. I read their translation of Anna Karenina and it was beautiful. From what I have read - they bring out a much truer representation of Tolstoy than some of the older versions. And, theirs is more readable.

Sam and Emma: If you remind me nearer the time, I'll happily reread Titus Groan (and Gormenghast) after Christmas. Two of my favourite books, so maybe I can win you over. (Titus Alone is a totally different book.)

Emma wrote: "Sam wrote: "Emma wrote: "We can encourage each other to keep going with it when we struggle too if you want :-)"

It's a deal :)

I'll save Titus Groan for Christmas I think... the front cover got ..."

Fabulous :-) is starting on the 1st Jan okay for you too, I don't mind starting it earlier/later if you want :-)

Oh dear, that's never a good thing.

Sam wrote: "Emma wrote: "We can encourage each other to keep going with it when we struggle too if you want :-)"

It's a deal :)

I'll save Titus Groan for Christmas I think... the front cover got me all nervous this morning.

Emma wrote: "I might start War and Peace too, I've had it for at least a decade... :)"

Yea go for it Emma, I'm saving mine for the new year so will start reading it on the 1st (yup I'm that sad I've planned when I'm going to start it lol). We can encourage each other to keep going with it when we struggle too if you want :-) it's always easier to keep going when someone else is motivating you too

I might start War and Peace too, I've had it for at least a decade... :)

Thanks Gilly and Mary, feeling better about giving it a go now, and I think I'll be sticking to the English version for the time being...but you never know!

Sometimes seeing the film first helps you with a long and complicated story. It certainly makes it easier to keep all of the characters straight.

GillyP wrote: "Sam wrote: Nah, it's just one of those books that in my head has become a huge epic that only rea..."
If it's any consolation, I've never found W&P to be terribly challenging. It's very long, you h..."

I'd agree with this. Admittedly the first time I read it,as a teenager, was shortly after watching a very long running BBC adaptation so the plot outline and characters were already in my head. Don't try watching a film adaptation first though, as they have to miss out such a tremendous amount.

Sam wrote: Nah, it's just one of those books that in my head has become a huge epic that only rea..."
If it's any consolation, I've never found W&P to be terribly challenging. It's very long, you have to have a memory for characters and some knowledge of a (very well-documented) part of history for the context but that's all, otherwise it's a fairly straightforward telling of a tale; an a to b plot, a cast of characters - not especially difficult - unless you're planning to read it in Russian?

Chris wrote: "Couldn't finish The Time Traveller's Wife three times!"
I only tried once. Once was enough.

Sam wrote: "Cecily wrote: "Sam, if you're "dreading" reading War and Peace, why are you going to, is it an assignment?"

Nah, it's just one of those books that in my head has become a huge epic that only rea..."

Alot of the books on my to-read list fall into the more complex, classic category. I too, feel that I should challenge myself and join in the "great conversation" by reading these books. Maybe when my daughter heads off for college.

Right now she & I would like to tackle The Odyssey. Can anyone recommend a good "version" of this?

Cecily wrote: "Sam wrote: "Now I've heard in other book discussions that Don Quixote is quite heavy in the content too, but I think the person who read wasn't use to such text..."

I didn't find it so. It has e..."

Thanks for the link Cecily, it does sound really quite good. I'm certaintly going to keep a look out for it :-D

Sam wrote: "Now I've heard in other book discussions that Don Quixote is quite heavy in the content too, but I think the person who read wasn't use to such text..."

I didn't find it so. It has echoes with Shakespeare, but is easier to read (I found) because it is a novel not a play. Anyway, my review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/233... .

That is quite spooky actually!

Now I've heard in other book discussions that Don Quixote is quite heavy in the content too, but I think the person who read wasn't use to such text so that may have been it. I was looking out for a copy of it when I was in Hay on Wye (where I got W+P) but unfortunately I didn't find one. Will keep an eye out for it though, thanks for the recommendation :-)

The Crossing is the only one of those I haven't read, and I was discussing C&P only an hour ago with a friend via email - spooky!

Anyway, if you've read all of those, W&P should be OK. And if you want something heavy (in pages) but lighter (in content), there's Don Quixote, which is great fun.

Well I've recently read Cormac McCarthy's The Crossing which I struggled with as he had a lot of very descriptive text and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which took a bit of getting into. And I have read a few Dicken's books previously which I did enjoy and I've read Crime and Punishment too which I also did enjoy once I got the knack of it so I think W+P is the next step really. I'm sure I will enjoy it, I think it's just the psychological thing that its WAR AND PEACE (as it appears in my head lol), kind of like those childhood fears that you finally conquer when you're an adult if you see what I mean

Sam wrote: "I figured it's time I challenged myself a bit more with what I read rather than just reading the same kind of books or 'easier' books all the time, you know expand my mind ..."

Absolutely. But you could go half way: read a shorter Tolstoy first or another book that is slightly less challenging. I'm all for expaning one's mind, but I like to enjoy the process.

Cecily wrote: "Sam, if you're "dreading" reading War and Peace, why are you going to, is it an assignment?"

Nah, it's just one of those books that in my head has become a huge epic that only really dedicated and clever people read, you know the type of one that when people say they've read it you just go WOW. And I figured it's time I challenged myself a bit more with what I read rather than just reading the same kind of books or 'easier' books all the time, you know expand my mind etc etc (strange I know...)

Sam, if you're "dreading" reading War and Peace, why are you going to, is it an assignment?

Jeannette wrote: "Mary wrote: "Stuart wrote: "Emma wrote: "I've decided it's time for me to take part in the global recession and so instead of buying new books I've decided to go back and read those I cast aside ov..."

I agree Jeannette, I've just got my own copy of War and Peace and it's going to be my personal book challenge of 2010, so maybe Pratchett is a bit of a come down after reading W+P especially more than once (I'm dreading trying it once!)

All I can say Mary is I'm very impressed :-)

Jaime wrote: "This is not going to be popular, but I could not finish Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time. I tired like heck. What Mortenson did is bey..."

I know what you mean - I found the first probably third of this book to be a chore. But then, when he immersed himself fully over there it really got exciting. I don't know how far you read into it, but once he stops with the background of his life and building up to making connections and raising money, the whole rest of it makes up for it three fold.

Mary wrote: "Stuart wrote: "Emma wrote: "I've decided it's time for me to take part in the global recession and so instead of buying new books I've decided to go back and read those I cast aside over the years...."

Anybody who can read War and Peace multiple times (wow) probably needs something "heftier" than Terry Pratchett. But, my whole family loves most of his books! Maybe you could try The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents It's juvenile fiction with an existential theme! :)

John wrote: "Jaime wrote: "This is not going to be popular, but I could not finish Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time. I tired like heck. What Morten..."

Ah, relief that someone agrees with me! I was going to mention the break-up with the girlfriend as being irrelevant. And the pacing! Perfectly stated, John.

Stuart wrote: "Emma wrote: "I've decided it's time for me to take part in the global recession and so instead of buying new books I've decided to go back and read those I cast aside over the years. This is my cur..."

I'm with Stuart on this one. I've never read a whole Terry Pratchett book. Husband loves them but I can't get into them at all.
BUT I have read the Time Traveller's Wife (twice) and War and Peace (too many times to remember)

Jaime wrote: "This is not going to be popular, but I could not finish Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time. I tired like heck. What Mortenson did is bey..."

You are not alone on Three Cups of Tea. It was highly recommended to my, but it just grates on me. The story is fine the writing sucks. As someone else pointed out every second word is Mortenson. I get it, I know who he is. Write Greg, or he occasionally. The book needs more pace to it. Who care about his breakup with his girlfriend.

Thank you for all of the replies! What is most interesting is how many people have failed to read the same books as I.

I, like Jeannette, cannot stomach Dickens - I've never even made it half way through a Christmas Carol.

I tried the Colour of Magic once and made it about 3 pages in before getting bored.

I read the twilight books with a sort of perverse delight that such awful fiction existed until the last one when I couldn't continue. It took a bribe to kick start me.

Tonight I shall restart Gormenghast I think. I've got a lot of alone time coming up with my other half away for the best part of a month so I can get stuck in :)

The only books I don't finish tend to be ones that I think are total rubbish, such as Summer Things (and I still finish some of them, more fool me, perhaps).

Some of those mentioned above are my favourites!

With Gormenghast, I suggest you attempt them separately if you find them daunting. I think the first two are utterly brilliant, but the third is very different in every respect.

McCarthy's The Road is depressing, but so so beautiful. And the film looks promising.

One Hundred Years of solitude can be confusing at first, but if you keep notes, that's not a problem.

I must say I admire all of you who are able to just put a book down when you're not enjoying it. I don't know why but I can't just leave a book unfinished, think I may have a mild problem with reading related OCD or something, even if it takes me months I have to finish every book I start. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it, they haunt me if I don't lol...

Emma wrote: "I've decided it's time for me to take part in the global recession and so instead of buying new books I've decided to go back and read those I cast aside over the years. This is my current pile:

..."

See, Emma, you are not alone!

Stuart wrote: "Emma wrote: "I've decided it's time for me to take part in the global recession and so instead of buying new books I've decided to go back and read those I cast aside over the years. This is my cur..."

Oh, no, try a different Pratchett! Try
Going Postal

Emma wrote: "I've decided it's time for me to take part in the global recession and so instead of buying new books I've decided to go back and read those I cast aside over the years. This is my current pile:

..."

I have not finished certain books, some are so far in the past - 20+ years ago, the author and the title elude me. I must confess the one and only Terry Pratchett novel I tried to read I never finished, I just did not take to it.

Oh God, I can't finish McCormack's 'The Road', I just keep getting too depressed!

This is not going to be popular, but I could not finish Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time. I tired like heck. What Mortenson did is beyond amzing and wonderful. I have high admiration for him. I just found the book slow going and found my mind wandering. It made me feel so bad, but I would read a page and realize that as I was reading I was thinking about something completely different. I think I'd really enjoy hearing him speak about his mission and experiences. Someone else recommended I try reading the young- adult version of the book as it's pared back a bit.

The way I look at it is that there are so many books out there and so many I still have to read. I read for pleasure. I read to enjoy myself and I am often doing things throughout the day that I don't enjoy. Why take my relax and enjoy time and force myself to be bored. What's the point? I am not going to waste that precious time forcing myself to read something I am not finding interesting to read. If I wanted to do that, I'd take another college course. LOL

That's why I like having a "to-read" list on goodreads. Library holds can completely run your life!

I tried and tried to finish the Host. The lady at the library said that it was slow until the middle of the book and I really tried but I just could not stay interested! So I just came on the site and read spoiler reviews instead, harhar. Maybe one day I will finish it. Right now, I have a bunch of books on my "to read as soon as I can get them at the library" list.

A more recent one that I never finished was The Eyre Affair, but not because it wasn't interesting, but because a few books that I had on hold at the library came up so sacrafices had to be made - in this case it was the Eyre Affair. One day I will finish that one also.

Couldn't finish The Time Traveller's Wife three times!
Or the Lovely Bones as well as War and Peace and few other classics. I used to finish everything no matter what, now I just feel there's so many books so little time! I give it a good shot and if it's not working there's plenty more out there that does.Sometimes it helps if you take these kind of books away to a foreign place where you can't get anything else then you just HAVE to read them!!

Don't despair Emma! I have several categories of books that I don't finish! If I can't get into a book, I drop it. I have not-finished Twilight twice now (always at the same place, too)! If I start a book and hate it, I drop it. If I start a book and find it barely tolerable, I skim it and read the ending! (I even have a goodreads bookshelf for them.)

The next category is for books that I think I should read, but they are too intimidating. I have never finished any Dickens except for A Christmas Carol. It seems a lot of the heftier clasics fall into this category, including the French and Russian heavyweights! My husband read about 3/4 of Les Mis and gave up, without reading the ending! I read the ending for him. :)

Emma, I'm sorry to say that I've always finished the books I've started, no matter how much it has pained me to do so. Although there are times when I wonder whether it's worth making yourself finish something that you're not enjoying.

Good luck with getting through them, I'm sure you can do it :-)

Btw just finished One Hundred Years of Solitude myself, and it does get better as you go along :-)

I've decided it's time for me to take part in the global recession and so instead of buying new books I've decided to go back and read those I cast aside over the years. This is my current pile:

Les Misérables
Birdsong A Novel of Love and War
A Prayer for Owen Meany
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Middlemarch
The Gormenghast Novels Titus Groan, Gormenghast, Titus Alone

There are others, too numerous to list - I counted 33. It seems I am very shabby when it comes to follow-through.

There must be others like me? Surely one of you fine people out there must have cast aside a book or too, make me feel better about my ways - I beg you!