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Intimidating books I long to read/finish
These are books that I want to read but intimidate me for some reason. Either the length, subject matter, complexity or even print size causes me to avoid these books for easier reads. What about you?
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A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
War and Peace
by
4.17 avg rating — 359,006 ratings
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| 2 |
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Les Misérables
by
4.21 avg rating — 833,761 ratings
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| 3 |
|
Don Quixote
by
3.91 avg rating — 299,144 ratings
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| 4 |
|
Ulysses
by
3.77 avg rating — 139,012 ratings
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| 5 |
|
The Count of Monte Cristo
by
4.32 avg rating — 999,535 ratings
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| 6 |
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Anna Karenina
by
4.10 avg rating — 912,505 ratings
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| 7 |
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Crime and Punishment
by
4.28 avg rating — 1,037,618 ratings
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| 8 |
|
The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso
by
4.08 avg rating — 168,428 ratings
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| 9 |
|
Gone with the Wind
by
4.31 avg rating — 1,247,758 ratings
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| 10 |
|
The Lord of the Rings
by
4.54 avg rating — 719,926 ratings
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| 11 |
|
Moby-Dick
by
3.56 avg rating — 606,013 ratings
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| 12 |
|
The Canterbury Tales
by
3.52 avg rating — 235,399 ratings
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| 13 |
|
Gravity’s Rainbow
by
4.01 avg rating — 47,192 ratings
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| 14 |
|
Middlemarch
by
4.03 avg rating — 176,053 ratings
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| 15 |
|
Infinite Jest
by
4.25 avg rating — 99,350 ratings
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| 16 |
|
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
by
4.51 avg rating — 215,000 ratings
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| 17 |
|
The Brothers Karamazov
by
4.39 avg rating — 373,740 ratings
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| 18 |
|
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
by
4.45 avg rating — 2,687,886 ratings
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| 19 |
|
Atlas Shrugged
by
3.69 avg rating — 403,821 ratings
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| 20 |
|
The Fountainhead
by
3.89 avg rating — 334,755 ratings
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| 21 |
|
The Scarlet Letter
by
3.44 avg rating — 905,077 ratings
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| 22 |
|
The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
by
Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 814,492 ratings
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| 23 |
|
Finnegans Wake
by
3.68 avg rating — 13,484 ratings
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| 24 |
|
The Faerie Queene
by
3.58 avg rating — 17,182 ratings
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| 25 |
|
2666
by
4.22 avg rating — 47,237 ratings
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| 26 |
|
House of Leaves
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 193,441 ratings
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| 27 |
|
The Arabian Nights
by
4.03 avg rating — 80,613 ratings
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| 28 |
|
Paradise Lost
by
3.85 avg rating — 178,883 ratings
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| 29 |
|
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by
3.87 avg rating — 251,151 ratings
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| 30 |
|
Bleak House
by
4.02 avg rating — 112,791 ratings
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| 31 |
|
Dune (Dune #1)
by
4.29 avg rating — 1,584,475 ratings
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| 32 |
|
Vanity Fair
by
3.81 avg rating — 132,283 ratings
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| 33 |
|
Great Expectations
by
3.80 avg rating — 861,365 ratings
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| 34 |
|
The Forsyte Saga (The Forsyte Chronicles, #1-3)
by
4.18 avg rating — 20,554 ratings
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| 35 |
|
A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present
by
4.08 avg rating — 261,185 ratings
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| 36 |
|
1Q84 (1Q84, #1-3)
by
3.95 avg rating — 334,722 ratings
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| 37 |
|
In Search of Lost Time
by
4.34 avg rating — 13,782 ratings
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| 38 |
|
The Complete Works
by
4.48 avg rating — 57,609 ratings
|
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| 39 |
|
The Gormenghast Novels (Gormenghast, #1-3)
by
4.03 avg rating — 9,834 ratings
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| 40 |
|
Cloud Atlas
by
4.01 avg rating — 263,940 ratings
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| 41 |
|
Frankenstein
by
3.89 avg rating — 1,787,149 ratings
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| 42 |
|
The Satanic Verses
by
3.71 avg rating — 70,718 ratings
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| 43 |
|
Dracula
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,426,326 ratings
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| 44 |
|
Le Morte d'Arthur
by
3.92 avg rating — 39,103 ratings
score: 836,
and
9 people voted
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| 45 |
|
The Tale of Genji
by
3.72 avg rating — 14,450 ratings
score: 742,
and
8 people voted
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| 46 |
|
A Confederacy of Dunces
by
3.89 avg rating — 293,282 ratings
score: 730,
and
8 people voted
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| 47 |
|
V.
by
3.97 avg rating — 24,890 ratings
score: 663,
and
7 people voted
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| 47 |
|
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
by
4.29 avg rating — 51,871 ratings
score: 663,
and
7 people voted
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| 49 |
|
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by
4.14 avg rating — 308,768 ratings
score: 648,
and
7 people voted
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| 50 |
|
The Republic
by
3.97 avg rating — 221,513 ratings
score: 642,
and
7 people voted
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| 51 |
|
Against the Day
by
4.05 avg rating — 10,069 ratings
score: 582,
and
6 people voted
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| 52 |
|
The Pickwick Papers
by
3.85 avg rating — 31,618 ratings
score: 556,
and
6 people voted
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| 53 |
|
Watership Down (Watership Down, #1)
by
4.09 avg rating — 500,780 ratings
score: 555,
and
6 people voted
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| 54 |
|
The Three Musketeers
by
4.10 avg rating — 346,239 ratings
score: 551,
and
6 people voted
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| 55 |
|
The Red and the Black
by
3.86 avg rating — 81,731 ratings
score: 547,
and
6 people voted
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| 56 |
|
A Clockwork Orange
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 757,305 ratings
score: 543,
and
6 people voted
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| 57 |
|
The Idiot
by
4.21 avg rating — 210,068 ratings
score: 540,
and
6 people voted
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| 58 |
|
The Wings of the Dove
by
3.78 avg rating — 17,428 ratings
score: 532,
and
6 people voted
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| 59 |
|
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by
4.29 avg rating — 52,370 ratings
score: 482,
and
5 people voted
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| 60 |
|
Shōgun (Asian Saga, #1)
by
4.41 avg rating — 208,172 ratings
score: 470,
and
5 people voted
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| 61 |
|
Doctor Faustus
by
4.08 avg rating — 13,555 ratings
score: 454,
and
5 people voted
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| 62 |
|
The Chronicles of Narnia
by
4.28 avg rating — 697,357 ratings
score: 450,
and
5 people voted
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| 63 |
|
The Once and Future King (The Once and Future King, #1-5)
by
4.07 avg rating — 116,775 ratings
score: 448,
and
5 people voted
|
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| 64 |
|
Critique of Pure Reason
by
3.96 avg rating — 41,238 ratings
score: 446,
and
5 people voted
|
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| 65 |
|
The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1)
by
Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)
4.67 avg rating — 636,476 ratings
score: 439,
and
5 people voted
|
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| 66 |
|
The Man Without Qualities
by
4.19 avg rating — 7,231 ratings
score: 388,
and
4 people voted
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| 67 |
|
A Fine Balance
by
4.38 avg rating — 157,665 ratings
score: 380,
and
4 people voted
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| 68 |
|
The Pale King
by
3.97 avg rating — 19,545 ratings
score: 376,
and
4 people voted
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| 69 |
|
The Recognitions
by
4.20 avg rating — 6,208 ratings
score: 373,
and
4 people voted
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| 70 |
|
The Life of Samuel Johnson
by
3.80 avg rating — 5,316 ratings
score: 371,
and
4 people voted
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| 71 |
|
Joseph and His Brothers
by
4.44 avg rating — 2,160 ratings
score: 369,
and
4 people voted
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| 72 |
|
Kushiel's Justice (Imriel's Trilogy, #2)
by
Jacqueline Carey (Goodreads Author)
4.28 avg rating — 19,745 ratings
score: 354,
and
4 people voted
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| 73 |
|
Mary Queen of Scots
by
3.99 avg rating — 17,365 ratings
score: 341,
and
4 people voted
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| 74 |
|
East of Eden
by
4.43 avg rating — 610,828 ratings
score: 332,
and
4 people voted
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| 75 |
|
Possession
by
3.90 avg rating — 83,445 ratings
score: 331,
and
4 people voted
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| 76 |
|
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
by
4.11 avg rating — 529,676 ratings
score: 328,
and
4 people voted
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| 77 |
|
The Ambassadors
by
3.63 avg rating — 12,894 ratings
score: 327,
and
4 people voted
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| 78 |
|
The Last Cavalier: Being the Adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon
by
3.66 avg rating — 841 ratings
score: 291,
and
3 people voted
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| 79 |
|
Leviathan
by
3.70 avg rating — 51,717 ratings
score: 288,
and
3 people voted
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| 80 |
|
Little Women (Little Women, #1)
by
4.17 avg rating — 2,408,273 ratings
score: 286,
and
3 people voted
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| 81 |
|
Master of the Senate (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, #3)
by
4.42 avg rating — 23,789 ratings
score: 278,
and
3 people voted
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| 82 |
|
Holy Bible: The New King James Version
by
4.41 avg rating — 8,028 ratings
score: 271,
and
3 people voted
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| 83 |
|
Kushiel's Dart (Phèdre's Trilogy, #1)
by
Jacqueline Carey (Goodreads Author)
4.02 avg rating — 83,493 ratings
score: 265,
and
3 people voted
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| 84 |
|
Under the Dome
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 319,341 ratings
score: 261,
and
3 people voted
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| 85 |
|
Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)
by
4.32 avg rating — 1,087,488 ratings
score: 260,
and
3 people voted
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| 85 |
|
Life: A User's Manual
by
4.18 avg rating — 9,920 ratings
score: 260,
and
3 people voted
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| 87 |
|
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Allen Lane History, 3 Volume Set)
by
4.02 avg rating — 15,308 ratings
score: 238,
and
3 people voted
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| 88 |
|
Walden and Civil Disobedience
by
3.94 avg rating — 38,718 ratings
score: 235,
and
3 people voted
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| 88 |
|
The Anatomy of Melancholy
by
4.11 avg rating — 1,857 ratings
score: 235,
and
3 people voted
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| 90 |
|
Lucifer's Hammer
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 45,119 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
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| 90 |
|
Of Grammatology
by
3.96 avg rating — 5,303 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
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| 90 |
|
It
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.24 avg rating — 1,235,769 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
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| 93 |
|
O Lost: A Story of the Buried Life
by
4.36 avg rating — 193 ratings
score: 194,
and
2 people voted
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| 94 |
|
The Man in the Iron Mask (Le vicomte de Bragelonne, #4)
by
3.99 avg rating — 66,706 ratings
score: 193,
and
2 people voted
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| 95 |
|
J R
by
4.32 avg rating — 3,708 ratings
score: 188,
and
2 people voted
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| 96 |
|
The Toilers of the Sea
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4.05 avg rating — 4,914 ratings
score: 187,
and
2 people voted
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| 97 |
|
Fear and Trembling
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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 30,323 ratings
score: 183,
and
2 people voted
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| 98 |
|
Camilla
by
3.75 avg rating — 2,899 ratings
score: 182,
and
2 people voted
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| 99 |
|
Ethics
by
4.10 avg rating — 20,497 ratings
score: 180,
and
2 people voted
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| 100 |
|
Kushiel's Chosen (Phèdre's Trilogy, #2)
by
Jacqueline Carey (Goodreads Author)
4.30 avg rating — 41,555 ratings
score: 179,
and
2 people voted
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Tags:
intimidating
Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)
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message 1:
by
[deleted user]
(last edited Feb 11, 2010 11:22AM)
(new)
Feb 11, 2010 11:19AM
Oh no! The Count (of Monte Cristo) is just plain fun!! don't be intimidated... now Moby Dick on the other hand gives me the jim jams!!
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The Count may be quite thick, but he really does read fast. Promise!
I may take you up on that. I'm currently reading Pickwick Papers by Dickens. I figure 800+ pages on the tiniest type is the least daunting reason for not finishing the 'intimidating' books on my list. Perhaps Count will be next.
What is said of the Count applies equally to Gone with the Wind! Only daunting in size, not matter. It is pretty heartwrenching (in my opinion) which makes its re-read daunting, but I still love it, and would recommend it to anyone, not just avid readers. All those pages fly by fast and are completely worth it!
Don Quixote is not hard to read at all. It's an extremely funny and intriguing text. Everyone should take a closer look at it.
Excellent List. How can i save this list on my computer.
War and Peace is long, slow paced at times and may be a bit boring but amazing. I hope you'll give it a chance. (I was scared of the size, too, so I bought it in 3 or 4 poket sized books)
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