Anyone else have a book (or books) that they want to read but just never seem to actually get around to reading? Any books you feel like you ought to read but never do?
Probably unpopular, but for me it’s classic Russian literature- War and Peace, Crime and Punishment and the like. I know they’re supposed to be amazing, but I just can’t work up the energy to read them. I think Anna Karenina soured me on Russian literature; the middle portion of that book with Levin on the farm was such a drag that I’m hesitant about the other books.
What about you?
I’ve started and stopped Ulysses 3 times now. I think it’s a retirement project at this point.
Btw, I found War and Peace much more readable than Karenina.
I had a similar experience with Ulysses. It took me about a year, with lots of breaks to read other books. There were parts I found enjoyable, but mostly I just like being able to say that I read it. Finnegan’s Wake on the other hand, I don’t think I’ll ever get around to.
Ulysses was a retirement project for me. The best advice I got about the book was from an Irish friend - who’s read it multiple times - who told me to just read the book and enjoy the story and not get bogged down in the significance.