Which Books have you Failed to Finish?

[marlowe]

...... the only one I can think of is The Trial, by Kafka. I actually got almost to the end. I wonder what happened? Actually, no, no I don't care. That was the problem, really.

Go on, you know you want to...
http://www.shmoop.com/the-trial-kafka/ending.html

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Go on, you know you want to...
http://www.shmoop.com/the-trial-kafka/ending.html

Yep. I did. Meh.

I recall reading Metamorphosis, and finding it quite funny (not sure if that was Kafka's intention). And The Castle was quite exciting (but I can't remember how that ends....).

My almost biggest cock up was tossing aside Northern Lights after I found the idea of a familiar, and a book whose lead character was an annoying child, quite irritating. Oh, my, how wrong would that have been, had I not had the fortitude to take seriously the recommendation of a colleague....

 

[GT49er]

My almost biggest cock up was tossing aside Northern Lights after I found the idea of a familiar, and a book whose lead character was an annoying child, quite irritating. Oh, my, how wrong would that have been, had I not had the fortitude to take seriously the recommendation of a colleague....

I didn't like the sound of the Northern Lights much either, but my daughter persuaded me to give it a try. Enjoyed it, and the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife. Kind of lost it half way through The Amber Spyglass (the third book) though.

 

[PTC Gull]

Pages all stuck together?
Get a sock man!

moby dick

Something tells me these 2 could be related.....

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Aside from all the ones I never started (ho ho ho...) the only one I can think of is The Trial, by Kafka. I actually got almost to the end. I wonder what happened? Actually, no, no I don't care. That was the problem, really.

OMG!

Possibly my all time favourite book.

 

[Gwylan]

I think. I'm pretty sure if you did a poll (not just on NSC, but anywhere) for world's best book/favourite book/greatest novel of all time etc, nine times out of ten I guess you'd find Lord of the Rings pretty near the top.

There's a world of difference between best/greatest and favourite though. I believe that the most read authors in the UK are Agatha Christie and Catherine Cookson: I don't think you'd find many people saying they were the greatest writers ever. But, yes, LOTR, would definitely be near the top of favourite books: maybe not in the greatest list but decidedly gives pleasure to thousands of people.

I must say that the one I am surprised about is Catch 22. I can see why people may find 18th or 19th century prose a bit dense and I can understand why books such as Crime and Punishment may be heavy going: but I do find it hard to understand why a modern, comic novel is difficult. I love Catch 22, read it about half a dozen times and didn't find it a remotely difficult read; different things for different people.

 

[Buzzer]

I don't like not finishing a book.

Likewise. I see it as a personal failure and even when the book has been tosh (A Little Life) or v.difficult to read (Brief History of Seven Killings) I've soldiered on but I have given up on a fair few. A few that come to mind: Ulysses. I think I've tried a dozen times and each time got no further than the first 100 pages.

Another was a recommendation from a friend: 'The Celestine Prophecy' - in part a Dan Brown type novel and in part something giving deeper insight (think Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Sophie's World). It was execrable. A story of someone who goes looking for their friend in S America who has gone missing having announced the discovery of the 13 steps, or however many, to a more meaningful life. The main character also discovers each step as they continue their hunt for their friend . I got about a quarter of the way through and was hating every page but the final straw came when the main protagonist was walking along a country road and meets a chap on a cart and horse coming in the opposite direction. The gist of the conversation went as follows:

Main character: "Good day sir!"
Bloke on cart: "Good day to you too! I can tell by that look on your face that you have reached the 2nd rule of the Celestine Prophecy"
Main character: "That I have sir. And most enlightening it is"
Bloke on cart: "Here, take this piece of paper on which the 3rd rule is written for you are now ready to receive this wisdom"
Main character: "Why thankyou sir!"

Me: "Oh, you're bloody kidding me. What a load of b*ll*cks. Can't believe I paid good money for this rubbish"
*book dumped in bin*

It remains to this day the only book I have thrown away rather than give to friends/charity. It sold millions too in the USA. And yes...I'm still bitter about having spent a tenner buying it.


Celestine Prophecy - Please, please stay well clear.

 

[portlock seagull]

just because a book is a best seller it doesn't mean it's actually read and there is NO WAY you can judge a book by it's cover. I would recommend Wuthering Heights btw .... I couldn't put it down and read it in a day

Know you meant 'good' but there's fifty shades of grey 'sales', more of a fad and curiosity in 1 summer. And then there's LoTR 'good' sales which still dwarf (see what I did there) popular pulp fiction books like the above example, and took decades to write such is the enormity that it defined an entire genre and still does decades later. So I don't buy your counter-argument even if I understand it. Thanks for the recommendation, still prefer Kate Bush's version though.

 

[portlock seagull]

No, I'm sorry, but there is every reason to find LOTR tedious. Just a stream of made up place names and made up peoples names none of which you can empathise with. I had the same trouble with One Hundred Years Of Solitude. Just an endless cascade of similar sounding names. I'm not put off by long works, but they do have to have some kind of focus, and feature someone whose place I could imagine being in, otherise there's nothing to relate to.

I'll deal with you later

 

[Buzzer]

Know you meant 'good' but there's fifty shades of grey 'sales', more of a fad and curiosity in 1 summer. And then there's LoTR 'good' sales which still dwarf (see what I did there) popular pulp fiction books like the above example, and took decades to write such is the enormity that it defined an entire genre and still does decades later. So I don't buy your counter-argument even if I understand it. Thanks for the recommendation, still prefer Kate Bush's version though.

I found Tolkien's books of varying degrees of interest and readability. The Hobbit starts off as a pure children's story although he changes the style to more like LotR partway through the book, LotR is just about manageable but there are chapters and chapters of background info that make the book very turgid and hard going and then when I read the Silmarillion I was just so bored because the level of detail kills any attempt at suspense or action. In hindsight, I think it's one of those rare times when it's helpful to have seen the films before reading the books.

 

[boik]

I'll deal with you later

Ooh, you fantasists do get very protective!

 

[burnee54]

Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Tried several times just can't get past the first chapter.

 

[looney]

Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky. Heavey going having to check references every few pages.

Atlas Shrugged, Ayan Rand. Monomania became a bit tedious after a whiile..

The state we are in, Will Hutton. Total garbage and deliberately disingenuous.

Thus Spake Zarathustra, Neitzsche. Self indulgent incoherent gibberish.


Mien Kampf Hitler, read half his bio, it got to disturbing after that.

 

[looney]

To be fair, not just you - but you are definitely in a minority, I think. I'm pretty sure if you did a poll (not just on NSC, but anywhere) for world's best book/favourite book/greatest novel of all time etc, nine times out of ten I guess you'd find Lord of the Rings pretty near the top.

I doubt it. Not saying the books are bad, haven't read them. It falls firmly in the fantasy niche and although having its firm adulterants I would say in the modern era with so much choice its not that widely read, I didn't read it(sample of one). It may have gained renaissance due to the films but to me its always seemed a bit dungeons and Dragons mainly for boys. Would be interested to see the stats on it though.

 

[Buzzer]

Atlas Shrugged, Ayan Rand. Monomania became a bit tedious after a whiile.

Likewise. It's at least 200 pages too long as a novel and 400 pages too long as a manifesto for free market capitalism. Can I suggest you give Hayek's 'Road to Serfdom' a go instead? Quite easy to dip in and out of. Also suggest Roger Scruton's books. I suspect you will find him a little too conservative (small and large 'C') at times although I reckon that there's plenty of common ground. I presume you've read the latest Douglas Murray

 

[PTC Gull]

The Path Between the Seas. After visiting Panama a few years ago, decided to read how the canal was built. After 300 pages, came to the conclusion it would take the same amount of time to read the book as it took to build the canal.

 

[pearl]

Yep. I did. Meh.

I recall reading Metamorphosis, and finding it quite funny (not sure if that was Kafka's intention). And The Castle was quite exciting (but I can't remember how that ends....).

My almost biggest cock up was tossing aside Northern Lights after I found the idea of a familiar, and a book whose lead character was an annoying child, quite irritating. Oh, my, how wrong would that have been, had I not had the fortitude to take seriously the recommendation of a colleague....

OMG! I read Metamorphosis when I was about ten, I had no idea Kafka wrote that! It was a book my older brother had, along with 'After the Fire' and 'The Catcher in the Rye'

 

[pearl]

Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Tried several times just can't get past the first chapter.

I've always wanted to read that, just never found the time so far

Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky. Heavey going having to check references every few pages.

I love that book, but struggled with his other ones

Atlas Shrugged, Ayan Rand. Monomania became a bit tedious after a whiile..

The state we are in, Will Hutton. Total garbage and deliberately disingenuous.

Thus Spake Zarathustra, Neitzsche. Self indulgent incoherent gibberish.
Yep!

Mien Kampf Hitler, read half his bio, it got to disturbing after that.

 

[pearl]

Sometimes you start a book and you find it a real struggle to get through and consequently never finish it. Sometimes it's because the book doesn't live up to your expectations and sometimes the problem is not with the book itself but your mental state at the time of reading it just doesn't make it conducive to read that particular book at that particular time.
Which books have you failed or struggled to finish and why? Do you intend to go back to them?
My list is:
1. "The Idiot" : Dostoyevsky : I think you have to be very committed to tackle this book and if your mind's not there you've got no chance.
2. "Under the Volcano" : Malcolm Lowry : Depressing subject matter so not a good book to go to when you're not feeling too great yourself which strangely is when I always seem to return to it. Am determined to get there in the end. It apparently took ten years to write so quite appropriate that it's taken me about five years to try and finish and I'm still not there. Haven't tackled it for over a year.
3. "Silence" : Shusaku Endo : Athough a relatively short book, still struggling through it. Not sure if it's the book or just me but I discovered my sister in law failed to finish it too.

great thread btw

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

The Bible
No point in reading it all as he dies in the end