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Toughest Read
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I'm really struggling with "An atlas of impossible longing " by Anurhada Roy. I' ve been on it for 3 weeks and only reached page 110. I feel like giving up at times but I won't.
Hi - I'm new here :)I don't know about my toughest read ever, but certainly my toughest read recently was "A Brief History of Seven Killings". Not even getting into the challenge of sticking with the Jamaican patois, keeping all those narratives and all of those characters straight was brutal.
I almost wanted to make notes!
Welcome Ryan!I think my hardest read was... Anna Karenina... Tale of Two cities, Age of Innocence..
Were they worth it? Definitely. It was just very very difficult.
I have some tough reads actually.The Trial
The Glass Bead Game
These were probably my toughest reads in 2015.
Now I am really struggling with A Brief History of Seven Killings but I think this is happening because I haven't had much time as I did last year to read. The book itself is really good and I really enjoy all the points of view, the characters. Nor even the Jamaican jargon is hard - I actually think it is quite amusing to read (and listen because when I have no time to read, or when I'm getting ready to go somewhere I hear the audiobook).
![[ J o ] (woolfardis)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1673171874p1/4639825.jpg)
Hmmm. No specifics really, but at the moment I'm finding it hard to get through Modern Classics. Most of them (The Grapes of Wrath, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Great Gatsby, Watership Down) have all pretty quite the slog and, if I hadn't been reading them for my challenge I'm doing, I definitely would have given up on them. I'm not liking Modern Classics as of yet.
I had such a hard time finishing Ready Player One. Probably because it's Humanities Fiction and I'm not used to that kind of writing style. But all in all, it was a good experience. :)
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyers
I've told close friends and colleagues why this is:
When I first started reading Twilight I was in middle school or a freshman in high school (somewhere in there at least).
It's not the content of the books or the hype that ruined it for me. Starting this series when you are 14, and trying to finish it when you are a 17/18 year old teen who is soon to go on to college with new interests compared to when you were an early teen, it really has an effect on the outcome. I just could NOT finish book 3 and didn't give book 4 a chance. (I didn't even finish Part 2 of movie 4. It's as if it slipped my mind. I didn't have the same hype as I did when I was at the premiere night for Twilight and New Moon).
I was starting to discover the literature quality of the novels. I think that's why I still like book 1 and 2; I was younger back then. Even now I cringe when I even consider finishing the books.
The Twilight series is something I will just have to leave unfinished.
I read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" in high school and that was probably one of the hardest books, dialect wise, to get through. It was worth it though, it's one of my all time favorites.
Faroukh wrote: "Which book was the hardest to finish for you?I'm mainly thinking about the type of writing.
For Me, 12 years a slave."
Same for me - I had to really focus, the style was a bit tiring. A few years ago, I wouldn't even have finished this book, though - so it's nice to see how you can 'grow' as a reader and become more patient with yourself (and with literature)...
Also, I'm having a hard time reading Shakespeare. I'm usually buying bilingual editions, so I can cheat and read up on the lines I don't quite get in my native language ;)
The recent one has been Sikkim: Requiem of a Himalayan Kingdom, No Logo and the Golden Notebook.
It gets WAY easier with the third and fourth chapters, so stick with it! Elishe wrote: "Alex wrote: "Easily the most challenging book I've ever read:
The Sound and the Fury"
I was about to mention this book! I'm still on the second chapter because I'm taking a break fro..."
Mod
I don't know about my toughest read ever, but certainly my toughest read recently was "A Brief History of Seven Killings". Not even getting into the challenge of sticking with..."
My wife is also struggling with that book since more than a month. i think 2 months now. She keeps reading other books because ABHOSK gets to her nerves!
Mod
I'm mainly thinking about the type of writing.
For Me, 12 years a slave."
Same for me - I had to really focus, the style was a bit ..."
Yes, i almost gave up too, but i have never left a book mid way....so i'm glad i did finish reading it :)
Faroukh wrote: "Which book was the hardest to finish for you?I'm mainly thinking about the type of writing."
not so much the writing style (which I found fluent to read), but the content itself -- "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara.
I noticed how the last 1/3 of the book really, pulled me down emotionally - I felt relief when I had turned the last page.
I love reading about serious topics, but prefer e.g. Jhumpa Lahiri or Donna Tartt's approach.
Mod
I'm mainly thinking about the type of writing."
not so much the writing style (which I found fluent to read), but the content itself..."
That seems to be a pleasant kind of tough read. Ive heard really great things about A Little life.
:-) Faroukh ...it is - a great book. The reading flow was outstanding.
In a way, it might be considered a compliment for the author that the book had such an effect on me and dragged me down. I would say it is a book to be best read when you are in a stable, strong period of your life :-)
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The Sound and the Fury (other topics)The Man Without Qualities (other topics)
Eclipse (other topics)
The Sound and the Fury (other topics)
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I'm mainly thinking about the type of writing.
For Me, 12 years a slave.