Hard to read, the fiction.

[Augusto86]

The Bible

The last quarter/third of both Paradise Lost and The Divine Comedy felt unbearable. Blake's Jerusalem is pretty tough, too. For sheer unreadability, I nominate the Davinci Code.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by Augusto86

The Bible

**** you. I was just about to post that.

 

[GQgeek]

finnegans wake

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by robin

That too.

Are you a masochist or was it for a dissertation?

I was an idiot - I was firmly entreanched in the idea that I was going to be a philosopher, too.

I think that I said this once here - Rand should only be read by people old enough not to fall for her. she is very seductive to young people, and should be read carefully. I bought her hook line and sinker.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by iammatt

**** you. I was just about to post that.

And some of the bible wasn't even original fiction, but ripped off from Sumerian and Babylonian mythology.

 

[denimdestroyedmylife]

Originally Posted by Augusto86

The Bible

Damn! Me, too. Each time I get stuck on the bit where so and so begat so and so who begat what's his name who begat that guy who begat the other dude who begat this fella who swallowed a fly and so on.

 

[denimdestroyedmylife]

Originally Posted by Baron

Gravity's Rainbow ground to a halt in my brain about 50 pages in. I think I could read it if I just poured myself into it without stopping over a weekend. There's a tipping point that needs to be reached with books like that.
Yay! I read GR too.

Strangely, I could not make it through Pynchon's V, which is much shorter, and supposedly more accessible. When I lose track of characters, and I have to keep backtracking, that is the death knell. EDIT: there is a Jonathan Franzen essay in How To Be Alone about difficult books; he compares reading them to mountain-climbing. I forgot the rest. He mentions Gravity's Rainbow and uh... uh... that other guy. Uh......

 

[robin]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Dune is awesome and it is popular for a million different reasons, most of which are probably valid.
None of the reasons are for the writing though, correct?

 

[shoreman1782]

Yeah, that is some terrible literary criticism

I have developed a bad habit of not finishing books. Not not getting through them, just putting them down and forgetting them and then returning them to the library when they're due and not renewing. This happened recently with "The Curious Incident ofthe Dog in the Nighttime"--a very readable book; and "A Wild Sheep Chase," which sort of bored me.

Any books you regret finishing? Jonathan Lethem--You Don't Love Me Yet. Hated it.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Originally Posted by robin

I thought that was always more of a joke book - are you saying that people actually try to read it?

Uh... I don't think we are talking about the same thing.

But yes, its a work of fiction, by a pretty popular author, its just that my brain gets stuck in all the mathematical cryptology formulae and wankery. Its also a very dense book, for some reason. The copy I have has extremely small text. So that, coupled with the information overload, two overlapping storylines, and my general disinterest in math - I've never been able to finish it.

 

[robin]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

Uh... I don't think we are talking about the same thing.

Oops, yep, I was thinking of another book. Edit: I was thinking of Necronomicon.

 

[Dakota rube]

I've been slogging through what should be an easy read: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I have started, stopped and re-started this blasted thing a half dozen times since last autumn and haven't made but a 100-page dent in it. The book lies dormant, silently mocking me, on my coffee table. The story is quite easy to follow, and the characters are wonderfully developed. Its just that Irving goes into such detail! He could simply say what time it is, but instead he delves into the whole concept of time, man's attempts to harness and conquer time, and the mechanics of a freakin' watch! (Okay, I'm exagerating, but still...I'm having a dickens of a time with this book.)

 

[globetrotter]

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

I've been slogging through what should be an easy read: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I have started, stopped and re-started this blasted thing a half dozen times since last autumn and haven't made but a 100-page dent in it. The book lies dormant, silently mocking me, on my coffee table.

The story is quite easy to follow, and the characters are wonderfully developed. Its just that Irving goes into such detail! He could simply say what time it is, but instead he delves into the whole concept of time, man's attempts to harness and conquer time, and the mechanics of a freakin' watch! (Okay, I'm exagerating, but still...I'm having a dickens of a time with this book.)

I love that book. keep trying.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

I've been slogging through what should be an easy read: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I have started, stopped and re-started this blasted thing a half dozen times since last autumn and haven't made but a 100-page dent in it. The book lies dormant, silently mocking me, on my coffee table.

The story is quite easy to follow, and the characters are wonderfully developed. Its just that Irving goes into such detail! He could simply say what time it is, but instead he delves into the whole concept of time, man's attempts to harness and conquer time, and the mechanics of a freakin' watch! (Okay, I'm exagerating, but still...I'm having a dickens of a time with this book.)

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I love that book. keep trying.

I hated that book and could not get through it. It almost broke up my relationship with my wife as it is her favorite book, and early on in our relationship, she begged me to read it. I just couldn't

Our dog is named Owen, after Owen Meany.

 

[dopey]

Originally Posted by robin

Dune. I don't understand why it's such a popular science fiction piece when the writing is so horrible.

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Dune is awesome and it is popular for a million different reasons, most of which are probably valid.

I'm with the elf on this one.