does not bear annotation—it probably requires little conversation as well. On the other hand, Finnegans Wake will not draw a big book-group crowd. The more I think about this, the more I realize how difficult a task book-group leaders, including Oprah Winfrey, have: the book has to be substantive enough to give people something to talk about, but not so difficult that people can’t persevere to the end, or that they feel inadequate to the conversation.
