Books you want to read but are afraid to?

[Bookwraiths]

The Stand, The Walking Dead, and I Am Legend. I had horrid nightmares after reading each of these novels. I think the concept of a worldwide pandemic was the thing that upset my sleep.

[Julia]

Wendell,

You know you ought not to read World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, The Hot Zone and Doomsday Book? Two of them are among my favorite books, I don't often tell people not to read them...

[Kythe42]

Armand wrote: "Actually I am afraid to start reading Moby Dick b/c I am afraid that I will find it dull but then feel obligated to finish it anyway because it's considered one of the best American novels ever and..."


I actually feel this way about The Lord of the Rings. I want to read it and feel I should because they are very important fantasy books, but at the same time I feel very intimidated by how long it will take me to read them. There's also the fact that the first time I tried to read Fellowship of the Ring as a kid the reading level was so far over my head that I gave up after a few pages. I'm sure I'd do much better with it as an adult but that memory of it as a child also adds to the intimidation.

[Cheryl]

I get dreams inspired by well-written books all the time. I refuse to read horror, thrillers, anything with child abuse, because I need to avoid, for the sake of my family, being more crazy than I already am. But even dreams that are not nightmares make me feel weird all morning, like I'm not myself and I don't know how to be in my life.

But I don't think I'd avoid those books anyway. So long as they're not actual nightmares, I find it interesting to get into a character's head so far. And not many books are actually that well-written.

[Jodie]

Cheryl. I completely agree with the child abuse thing I can't read or watch anything with it in as sets off huge anxiety in me so I steer well clear!

[Armand]

Kythe42 wrote: "I actually feel this way about The Lord of the Rings. I want to read it and feel I should because they are very important fantasy books, but at the same time I feel very intimidated by how long it will take me to read them. ..."

We need some sort of biblio-priest who can grant us absolution and forgiveness for the canonical books we cannot finish...

[Sparrowlicious]

The Mists of Avalon

Okay, let me explain. This book is hailed as amazing and feminist and all sorts of positive things ... but at the same time it seems to have troubling themes that don't go to together with the praise for the book.
???
I've only seen the movie adaption and we all know an adaption can't compare to an actual book.

Also, I'd really like to read more books by Stephen King but everything that's psychological horror or 'something's under your bed' stuff gives me nightmares. ): Too much imagination, I guess.

[Kythe42]

I just recently finished reading The Mists of Avalon and I'm not sure what you mean by troubling themes that don't go together with the praise for the book. Could you explain what you mean by that?

The movie adaption was pretty good but yeah it was a lot different than the book. Well actually the movie kept fairly close to the first half of the book but the movie changed and left a lot of stuff out regarding the second half of the book.

Click here to read my recent review if interested.

[Sparrowlicious]

It's hard to explain without reading the book (how would I know them?). But as you can see on its page, there are lots of mixed reviews.

[Kythe42]

Sparrowlicious wrote: "It's hard to explain without reading the book (how would I know them?). But as you can see on its page, there are lots of mixed reviews."

Yes there are a lot of mixed reviews, but reading them, and I've read several of the reviews, isn't going to tell me what your personal concerns with the book are. It's ok if you don't want to discuss it though. I suppose it's one of those books people either love or hate.

[Thomas]

I understand, Armand, although "afraid" to read to me is more just a reluctance because I've read a number of "great" books that I just could not appreciate. I found Larry Niven's "Ringworld" (a Hugo award winner) to be boring. Worse than that was Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" which I read twice because it is listed everywhere as one of the greatest books of all time. I didn't get it. I read reviews and synopses and still don't see the point.
We have the right, Armand, to admit to the fact that we just don't like some books, regardless of their reputation.

[Leland]

Julia wrote: "Wendell,

You know you ought not to read World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, The Hot Zone and Doomsday Book? Two of them are among my favorite book..."

I keep meaning to finish the Doomsday Book.

[Lindsey]

I think in retrospect, I probably would not have read Let the Right One In, had I known about the pedophilia. Vampires and gore I can handle...child abuse, no. It's an excellent book, but I think people should be aware of the disturbing content beyond the vampire horror.

I also would never have read Room, had it not been for book club. I almost skipped it when that was selected...

Usually I avoid books with very realistic horror, the kind that you might read about in the newspaper. Supernatural horror, zombies, etc., bring it on! :)

[Jodie]

Lindsey I'm so glad you told me about Let the Right One In it was in my to-read pile

[Lindsey]

Sure! I know I would've appreciated a heads-up. It just came out of no where, I was so confused!

[Jodie]

Do they really need it in there? I can't understand if you can write about anything why add that? I can understand the confusion, seems ridiculous to me but that's personal opinion

[Lindsey]

Well...I think maybe it did make some sense, given the arrangement that the vampire character had with her human companion. The vampire was turned when still a child, and it was therefore useful to her to have an adult with her in order to blend in better.

From what I understand, this particular detail was omitted from at least one of the movies (definitely the Hollywood version), if not both.

[Jodie]

I just can't stand things like that. I would think it would ruin the book for me and I doubt I could read it.

[L.G.]

Lindsey wrote: "Well...I think maybe it did make some sense, given the arrangement that the vampire character had with her human companion. The vampire was turned when still a child, and it was therefore useful to..."

Wow. I'm passingly familiar with the Hollywood movie, so this is coming at me out of left field. That definitely puts a different slant on things...

[Sparrowlicious]

Another thing I thought of:
Science Fiction with space travelling.
I don't know. I'm afraid that it might bore me. But maybe it's super cool?
Also, everything with war in it. To be honest, I don't get the appeal of soldiers and stuff. Must be because my country is neutral and the only thing our military is good for is when there's another flood and they're helping out. Like, a lot. They're heroes, alright. But it's a different kind of being a hero because there's no fighting involved.

(Oh and yes, I do not want to discuss the Mists of Avalon because what caught my eye in the reviews was people pointing out that it's a lot about 'who falls in love with who' which is something that bores me to death.)

[Kythe42]

Well I would agree that there is romance type stuff throughout the book, but I definitely don't think it's the main focus of the book. If it was the main focus then it would probably bore the hell out of me as well. Perhaps the people that wrote such reviews just chose to fixate on that stuff and couldn't let themselves enjoy the other aspects of the book.

But I'm not here to try to pressure you to read it or anything. I was just curious about your reasons for avoiding it. There's no reason to waste your time on books that you think you won't like.

[Gav451]

Lindsey wrote: "I think in retrospect, I probably would not have read Let the Right One In, had I known about the pedophilia. Vampires and gore I can handle...child abuse, no. It's an excellent book,..."


Like you Let the Right one in haunted me for an age, not just the abuse but also the poverty and the despair and the all encompassing darkness within the lives of everyone there.

I agree also that its a brilliant book but by no means an easy read at all.

If you start this book be aware the author is not going to allow you an easy ride.

[Lindsey]

@Gav451: Absolutely agreed. I read Snow Angels around the same time as Let the Right One In, and both books were set in Scandinavia. They were cold, dark, bleak, and filled with hopelessness and despair. And violence, alcoholism, and mental illness. It kind of turned me off from works set in that region for a while, even if not all stories follow that trope.

[[deleted user]]

I think I'm always afraid to read a book that everyone raves about, in case it doesn't match up to the hype. But obviously you have to do it.

As for the other sort of fear, I don't get that with books, only with movies. I had to take the dog for a walk one night after watching 'Sleepy Hollow', and I kept looking back along the path to see if I was being pursued by a headless Christopher Walken.

[Leland]

Well. He was certainly terrifying in that movie

[Thomas]

A good antidote to high expectancy in a book or movie is to disregard the raves of others with a healthy dose of skepticism. That way you can judge for yourself.

[Kythe42]

Now I'm having some more books that I feel nervous about reading.

See fairly recently a former teacher of mine who was a father like figure to me had a heart attack and had major bypass surgery. When I went to visit him in the hospital I remembered how much I loved talking to him so in an effort to reconnect with him I told him I was interested in a subject that I know he's interested in but most people probably aren't that open minded about. While I am curious about the subject I think I exaggerated how much interest I had.

I was just hoping to have a few conversations with the man, but he got really enthusiastic about it recommended some books on the subject. I now feel obligated to read at least some of the books he suggested, particularly the beginner type ones. I feel nervous about reading them because I'm afraid even the introductory books will be over my head and I certainly don't want to disappoint him.

I'm going to have to force myself to read the books and hope the subject matter isn't as hard as I'm anticipating. Who knows, maybe I'll even enjoy reading these books. On the plus side if there are things I don't understand it gives me more opportunities to talk to my teacher on the subject.

[Cheryl]

Hey Kythe42 - I definitely empathize. I tried (long time ago) to impress someone that I wanted to like me by pretending more interest than I had in a subject. Well, I read a few of his recommendations, and they were ok and I learned some stuff, but then I found a related subject in the bibliographies of some of them, and found out I was seriously interested in that subject.

I'd like to say I convinced the guy that the tangential subject was cooler than the original, but I think we broke up before that happened. But I still had my personal growth thing going!

[Kythe42]

That's really cool that you discovered something else you were interested in that way.

I think another reason why I was feeling so overwhelmed, was that he had duplicate copies of several more advanced books that he wanted to give me. Not lend, flat out give me. I think I was feeling overwhelmed by both the subject matter and the generosity. I did take one of the books to be polite, but said I'd get back to him on the others after I'd had a chance to obtain and read the beginner's books.

The one I ordered came in the mail today and after reading what was on the dust jacket blurb I'm actually more exited about reading it and I think I'll enjoy it more than I originally anticipated.

[Stevie]

I find in myself a tendency to "become" characters when I'm really into a book. I.e., if I read a spy novel I get paranoid and check around corners when walking. If I read a warrior novel I start to act like a warrior, etc. For this reason I was semi-afraid of reading A Clockwork Orange for a long time. But I'm happy to say I finally read it and didn't become a serial killer. Whew.
But seriously, there have been other books I avoided for similar reasons: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Valis come to mind.
Other books I avoided because I thought they would just be too hard to read, but I enjoyed them when I forced myself to try: Gravity's Rainbow, The Sound and the Fury, and One Hundred Years of Solitude come to mind.

[Tim]

Brian Herbert and Kevin j Anderson novels. These guys just cannot write, the hardest novel I have ever read in my life, was Hellhole Awakening by these clowns, and while it didn't give me nightmares, it certainly scared md away from reading anything they write in the future. Seriously, reading books by these two is like watching baby seals be clubbed in the back of the head.

Gotta save those poor defenseless trees from useless slaughter.

[Cheryl]

Steve, yeah, the ability to immerse one's self in an engaging book can have consequences. I empathize closely with many characters... and with you. ;)

[Leland]

I rather liked the Dune "House" series. But to each their own I suppose. :)

[Chris]

Leslie wrote: "I rather liked the Dune "House" series. But to each their own I suppose. :)"

I did too, especially the first one.

[Jaime]

I'm afraid to read - and consequently steer clear of - those eldritch tomes bound in human skin that drive all who read them to gibbering madness. Those are right out!

[Micah]

Nemo wrote: "I think I'm always afraid to read a book that everyone raves about, in case it doesn't match up to the hype..."

So...basically the fear of being disappointed, or the fear of not having the same taste as others?

There are plenty of books people rave about that I didn't care for, and plenty more that I know I wouldn't care for so I just don't read them.

One of my very best friends, for example, reads books in the same genre as me, watches the same kinds of movies and TV, listens to music in similar genres that I do...Yet when we compare our likes and dislikes of specific titles, we disagree on probably 85% of everything.

So what? I have my own tastes, so does he. There's no need to be afraid of having your own opinion. Pick a work you've heard good things about and read a sample. If it doesn't excite you...meh. Probably not for you. Move on to something you do like!

[Micah]

Tim wrote: "Brian Herbert and Kevin j Anderson novels....it didn't give me nightmare it certainly scared me away from reading anything they write in the future..."

Funniest. Post. Ever.

And the truest. I made the mistake of buying their 3 Dune "House" prequels at the same time (from a used bookstore, thank God, so I didn't shell out full price). I forced myself to read them, kind of like I forced myself to watch The Ring Cycle by Wagner once on TV.

Brain. Hurt! They destroyed Frank Herbert's work worse than PJ did Tolkien's.