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[Misc] Books you gave up on
- Thread starter Flounce
- Start date
Cordwainer
Well-known member
- Jul 30, 2023
- 468
Friends that have stuck with mirror have all said it’s fantastic so will endeavour to give it another crack..good luck!
Bloody Southerners
- Oct 12, 2022
- 2,498
I agree with every word of the first paragraph, and yes, The Woodlanders is probably my favourite of Hardy’s novels too, despite it not being a cheery read.
As to your edition of the book, that’s incredible. The history of where it’s been and what its readers have seen would make a novel in itself.
We had to read it for uni - I don't blame them in the slightest
Same thing happened to me with The History of Glue
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.
Really wanted to like this and tried a few times to read it. Always thinking I would “get it” this time. Well there’s either nothing to get or I am just not seeing it.
Really wanted to like this and tried a few times to read it. Always thinking I would “get it” this time. Well there’s either nothing to get or I am just not seeing it.
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SPOILER ALERT!!! If you’ve had no contact with Society of the Snow then move on… NOW.
I feel a bit guilty for this one…
I generally read non-fiction. I bent my own rules and got a copy of Society of the Snow after having seen the film.
The film was excellent. Harrowing, obviously, but excellent. A tale beyond imagining and a straightforward narrative arc. Then I got to the book. It was just too…florid? Too existential.
So I ditched it. Which seems a bit rude, given that I was essentially binning off the experience of survivors forced to eat their fallen fellow travellers.
I can only conclude that I am a bad person.
I feel a bit guilty for this one…
I generally read non-fiction. I bent my own rules and got a copy of Society of the Snow after having seen the film.
The film was excellent. Harrowing, obviously, but excellent. A tale beyond imagining and a straightforward narrative arc. Then I got to the book. It was just too…florid? Too existential.
So I ditched it. Which seems a bit rude, given that I was essentially binning off the experience of survivors forced to eat their fallen fellow travellers.
I can only conclude that I am a bad person.
chip
Well-known member
A friend gave me Jude the Obscure because I reminded her of Jude, didn't finish that.
On the road
the electric kool aid acid test
Sometimes a great notion - got through catch 22 but this a step to far.
And, of course, Ulysses
On the road
the electric kool aid acid test
Sometimes a great notion - got through catch 22 but this a step to far.
And, of course, Ulysses
chip
Well-known member
And Cloud Atlas was a struggle
OzMike
Well-known member
After reading The Hobbit and LOTR trilogy as a teen I tried The Silmarillion.
It was too hard and I gave up on it.
I read it 2 years ago, understood it much better when older, but still class it as the hardest book to read, so complicated.
I seldom read a book twice, though did make ecxeptions for Time Enough For Love by Robert Heinlein and Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith.
It was too hard and I gave up on it.
I read it 2 years ago, understood it much better when older, but still class it as the hardest book to read, so complicated.
I seldom read a book twice, though did make ecxeptions for Time Enough For Love by Robert Heinlein and Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith.
I struggled with Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books.
Rather enjoyed many of the screen adaptations but the books left me cold .
Rather enjoyed many of the screen adaptations but the books left me cold .
Seagull58
In the Algarve
I've only failed to finish two books in my life:-
War and Peace
The Canterbury Tales
War and Peace
The Canterbury Tales
OzMike
Well-known member
Tried Far From the Madding Crowd, never got past Chapter 2.
You got lucky - it's the most harrowing end of a book I've ever read.
chip
Well-known member
I don't recall the start being that great either. I got as far as the children on coat hooks ...
Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ
Hove / Παρος
100 Years of Solitude - ever single character seems to be called Jose Arcadio and that makes it impossible to follow the story.
If a book I’m reading has a complicated name in it, I’ll read the entire book having never bothered to read or learn that name.
“it was only then that Flavinski Ro…” oh yeah, him again.
“it was only then that Flavinski Ro…” oh yeah, him again.
Professor Plum
Well-known member
- Jul 27, 2024
- 313
The trouble with any version of Ulysses is that every paragraph, in fact almost every sentence, contains references — cultural, religious, political, literary, historical —that need or deserve exploration and explanation. This complexity and richness is largely why it’s considered a masterpiece. It’s staggeringly 'intellectual'. The reason I’ve struggled to make inroads into Ulysses is that I’ve always felt I can’t just skate over all of these hidden meanings. I need to understand them.
There’s a truly great, if unfinished, podcast series called 'Re: Joyce' by Frank Delaney in which he reads out Ulysses line by line and explains everything. Unfortunately Delaney died a long way before completion, but he left behind 368 episodes to enjoy. They’re only 5-10 minutes each and are a real joy to dip into.
This is all making me think it’s time I had another crack at the book.
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Mundays Right Foot
New member
As a matter of principle, for most of my life, once I started a book I always made a point of finishing it, even if it was shite.
Then I tried to read 100 years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Just no. Couldn’t understand the intent, and all the characters have the same names. I really wanted to finish it, but there was no hope.
I still try to finish books, but now know it’s OK to admit defeat.
Then I tried to read 100 years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Just no. Couldn’t understand the intent, and all the characters have the same names. I really wanted to finish it, but there was no hope.
I still try to finish books, but now know it’s OK to admit defeat.