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What Well-Known Books Could You Not Finish?

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I don't usually give up on books. But there are a lot of writers where I've read one book by them, and not felt the urge to explore further.

But I did fail to finish "Finnegan's Wake" (reluctantly, after 100 pages or so) and Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" (gave up with relief).

I haven't yet given up on "A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu", but only because I haven't actually started it.

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Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know
Disappointed in so many of you.

I liked Gravity's Rainbow, Ulysses, A Clockwork Orange, Heart of Darkness... Christine was pretty slow and took awhile to pick up, but it wasn't awful. I finished it, and am a pretty big fan of King's. I also like David Foster Wallace's writing, though I haven't attempted infinite jest yet.

As for books I didn't finish: War and Peace... I remember being assigned to read Jane Eyre in university, getting about 30 pages into it, and then deciding to rent the movie instead. Also I've made a couple of attempts at reading Christopher Moore after someone described him as "like Douglas Adams" and I just can't do it. He's a fucking terrible writer, and should have a restraining order placed between him and any kind of word processor, type writer, note book or legal pad, the same way that pedophiles aren't allowed to go near schools and playgrounds.


Well, I'm disappointed right back at you. I finished War and Peace! Didn't really get much out of it, except being able to say that I finished it, so that's exactly what I'm doing here. I also made it through Crime and Punishment and Dr Zhivago.

Back on the topic... I never finished The Brothers Karamazov. My interest in Russian literature could only stretch so far...
At the risk of proving my status:

Lord of the Rings - seven hundred and thirty pages dedicated to the hairs on Frodo's feet is a tad too much detail.

Fifty Shades of anything - hundreds of pages of derivative email exchanges and crappily written sex doth not a compelling novel make.

Filth by Irvine Welsh - found it really hard going.

A Brief History of Time - I own the dumbed-down version and still feel stupid when I read it!

Anything by the Brontë sisters - it's all so damn depressing.

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Moby Dick and Uncle Tom's Cabin. Seems I'm destined to remain ignorant of whatever essential life lessons they offer.

And To Kill A Mockingbird the second time around, the first being at gunpoint when I was at school. Although to be fair, my Audible crapped out and I couldn't be bothered retrying the download.
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I have the books on my shelf still so I may do them justice some day but it’s been years since I started:

Lord of the Rings - I read six pages and have no memory of what I just read. I tune out but my eyes keep moving.

Ulysses - I get hung up on the allusions and the stream of consciousness is difficult to follow.

The Big Sleep - A novel about a detective that pretty much requires that the reader become a detective in order to deduce what’s even going on. Cue the Charlie-Kelly-conspiracy-reaction gif.

...and then probably two-thirds of the books I was ever assigned to read in school.

Ender’s Game was on this list for over a decade but then I finally managed to finish around five years ago. People have suggested that I read the others in the series but I can’t bring myself to do it as the one already took me long enough.

I can’t think of a good tagline so this will have to do. Suggest a better one for me?

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. A complete turd.
Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein. Everyone in my class was reading this so I had to as well. Made it through about 50 pages, found it boring and beyond tedious but had to pretend it was brilliant so as not to lose face with my friends.

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger. After Chapman had shot Lennon I thought if I could see what the message was. I couldn't and gave up half way through. My money would have been better spent on a copy of Four Four Two and a packet of licorice allsorts.

The Gulag Archipelago - Alexander Solzheinitsyn. Tried reading this during a short stay in hospltal, thinking it would impress the nurses. It didn't. But I kept it on my bookshelf for a while still hoping it might impress any houseguests.
Green eggs and ham by Dr. Suess
I couldn't finish the book "Barack Obama In His Own Words".

After reading more than half of it, und researching much of it,
I realized it was full of untruth, even blatant lies, that was not how things really happened, or turned out to be.
Lesser Example: Mr. Obama did what to deserve a Noble Peace Prize?
Such dishonor to those who did deserve und achieved this honored award I think.
...So I traded the paperback for something I found more worthy to read.

"The Last Jeffersonian: Ronald Reagan's Dreams of America"
Moby Dick

and stop laughing
1776 by David McCullough.
It felt like a school text book.
Admittedly, i didn't give it more than 3 chapters of a try.
Quote by flyer_uk
Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein. Everyone in my class was reading this so I had to as well. Made it through about 50 pages, found it boring and beyond tedious but had to pretend it was brilliant so as not to lose face with my friends.

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger. After Chapman had shot Lennon I thought if I could see what the message was. I couldn't and gave up half way through. My money would have been better spent on a copy of Four Four Two and a packet of licorice allsorts.

The Gulag Archipelago - Alexander Solzheinitsyn. Tried reading this during a short stay in hospltal, thinking it would impress the nurses. It didn't. But I kept it on my bookshelf for a while still hoping it might impress any houseguests.
Hahahaha! This reminds me of when I tried to watch the Matrix. Three times I tried to watch that turkey and I failed every time. It sucked. But I tell everybody what a GREAT movie it was. Hahahahahaha!
Quote by doctorlove
Green eggs and ham by Dr. Suess
I think he goofed Dr Suess. He should have named it "Green eggs and Country Ham". Oh Lawd
Quote by ivanka_simkiewisz
I couldn't finish the book "Barack Obama In His Own Words".

After reading more than half of it, und researching much of it,
I realized it was full of untruth, even blatant lies, that was not how things really happened, or turned out to be.
Lesser Example: Mr. Obama did what to deserve a Noble Peace Prize?
Such dishonor to those who did deserve und achieved this honored award I think.
...So I traded the paperback for something I found more worthy to read.

"The Last Jeffersonian: Ronald Reagan's Dreams of America"

That's actually a pretty common theme with political autobiographies. I was at a winery last month, having drinks, and wound up chatting with a college professor. His focus was English but one of his colleagues at another university is a professor of US History and is working on verifying the claims made in Grant's memoirs. So far he was confident that at least percent of it was exaggerated and in a few instances, even fabricated. Bending the truth is far from a new developement.

I can’t think of a good tagline so this will have to do. Suggest a better one for me?