Ten Difficult Books I Want To Read Because I'm Insane
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- In today's video, I talk about the ten difficult books I want to read (because I'm insane). We all have those hard or difficult books we want to read, but are all too intimidated to pick up. On this list are the books that scare the crap out of me! Enjoy the video.Thank you for stopping by!
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The Silmarillion is one of those books that you name, and nobody argues that it's a hard read the first time you read it. But once you get through it, you'll feel like you beat a Dark Soul's boss.
I read the Silmarillion for the firdt time one night on an illicit epub file that bugged out every time it saw a diacritic, on a laptop, under the blanket, in an unfamillar dacha type room, pretending to be asleep. Enjoyed every second of it, and hated every second of the hangover pretending I had slept the next day. My parents did not approve of this sort of literature.
Great Expectations and Infinite Jest are pure distilled dopamine.
Not nobody. For me it was the most enjoyable experience I've had with the Tolkien book (one of the best books I've read for sure). On the contrary Hobit was painful and I've struggled a lot with it.
@@Snow-lv4bk it is an enjoyable read, but that doesn't mean it isn't a challenging read when you first read it.
@@Snow-lv4bk Same! I love LOTR and have read it multiple times. I've only read The Silmarillion... once, or maybe twice. It's beautiful and I do want to read it again. But The Hobbit doesn't do a whole lot for me. It's okay, but I don't love it.
@@TolkienGeek. Yep!
If you're going to read Great Expectations, start in the autumn and make sure you have lots of tea or coffee to drink. Charles Dickens books always need an atmosphere and comfort.
I read "Great Expectations" to help me fall asleep, thinking it would be boring. I finished it in five days. I never did cure my insomnia, but at least I read one book from 2010-2020.
I loved this comment! I love when people feel that certain books (or movies also) require a specific mood and environment. I have never read dickens tbh and I’m curious as how it would feel
@@CatchThe80sWave you read 1 book in 10 years?
Read it in my high school English class
Re: War and Peace, I’m currently doing a “slow read” which is one chapter a day - and they’re super short chapters! It’s great because you read other books simultaneously, and yet Tolstoy’s characters remain fresh! Highly recommended!
There’s even a reddit yearly group for people reading it over the year.
War and peace isn’t difficult to read. It is just very large.
Ayn Rand is just empty torture. Not worth it at all.
I wonder if the English version is half-written in French as the original one. Just the distraction of going back and forth from the novel to the back of the book with translation prevented me from reading it beyond the first part.
Im Russian, I like you and understand you 😂
Speaking for Stormlight, don't be intimidated. Those are the most easy reading books... maybe because I read era 1 mistborne first but Sanderson has a way of making you see the stuff he writes in your head so vividly. Bruh, both you and Ashlynn, I honestly await y'alls intro into the cosmere. All the best, always enjoy the videos. :)
Totally agree! Patiently awaiting any Cosmere videos. 😁 Sanderson books have become my comfort place if I need to decompress after a heavy book or get out of a reading slump.
I’m also a character-driven reader, but I’d say the world building comes pretty naturally in Sanderson’s books, and the prose is honestly so approachable! Admittedly Way of Kings does have a fair bit of setup at the beginning, but once you get through that it’s smooth sailing!
I was just going to say...those are books that you start reading and boom, you're finished. They read so fast
Part of that is Sanderson's prose style - it isn't extraordinary, it's not special at all. He purposefully does this because of how heavy his books are, so it makes it easier to read about a thousand made up words and not get confused. I think he learned that lesson from seeing peoples reaction to Wheel of Time - Jordan has far better prose than Sanderson, but people can find it harder to get into Wheel of time because his prose is comparatively harder to parse, it isn't "invisible" like how Sanderson writes.
Yeah, Stormlight are sold as YA in my country. Super easy and accessible, very juvenile.
I only read the first one, but I agree. They're huge, but not difficult. I loved Book 1. It's like a movie in your head. You can fly through it! My problem was 1) It took so long to get Book 2 that I knew I'd have to reread Book 1 again to refresh my memory, and 2) I had no idea, when I read the first one, that it was going to be such a long series.
If he ever gets done with the darned thing, I would love to go back to it. I hate missing out! But I don't want to get burned in case it doesn't for whatever reason. I am not a Game of Thrones fan, but I've seen what those poor fans have been through. I do not want to invest so much time (and money, if I buy them) only to be left hanging the way they have been. Let me know when you're done, Brando!
the count of monte cristo is my favorite book and its so worth it i swear!!! it is so entertaining and the characters are so raw and the story is so amazing i cant even talk about it properly. you will absolutely love this book!
I agree with you a 1000%! I was really sad when the book was over. Some of the storylines were like modern mystery novels and Hobb’s Royal Assassin lifts the most exciting plot from Cristo.
I personally never found it a difficult read and loved Dumas but I love classic literature. There are some I couldn’t get through though. Last one I gave up on was Henry Fieldings The history of Tom Jones… just 🥱 no thanks and I’ve never been able to get through Ulysses by James Joyce. I just don’t get what all the fuss is about and don’t get me started on Finnegans Wake, what on earth is that about? 😂
@@MaliciousChickenAgendaI agree
By far the best book I've ever read ❤
I dearly love Tom Jones - it’s very very funny🥰
17 yo here, I read The Count of Monte Cristo in December and read The Brother's Karamazov in the last month and they are my two favourite books ever. If you commit to finishing any books on this list, I promise these two will be the most rewarding and satisfying when you finish (I am reading War and Peace rn too and I agree it is intimidating).
Count of Monte Cristo is ACTUALLY so good 😍😍 I red it when I was like 14 for a reading challenge my mom made us kids do during the summer and I put it off thinking I'd hate it but it was 😘👌
The Count of Montecristo is so good! I know it’s long, but please try to finish it! It’ll rewrite your brain chemistry. I’m not intelligent enough to properly explain how much I loved and understood this book, but really, the characterisation, the descriptions, the intricacies of the plot, the character growth, everything is just stunning.
Keep persevering with The Count, it’s big but an easy read and incredibly rewarding - one of my favourite classics. For some of the others, there are some really good “how to read (insert book title)” videos that might help😊
I will be reading Count of Monte Cristo, Don Quixote, and War and Peace, this summer. I prefer classic books to modern books. The writing is just so much better. I will also be trying out The Wheel of Time around the winter holidays.
Currently reading Count of Monte Cristo. Really enjoying it. Taking me a while!
I would Highly recommend you pick one and relish in it's glory and enjoy the journey!
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favourites. Don Quixote was an interesting read as well. I'll be reading War and Peace and Dostoevsky's The Idiot this year. I'm up to book seven of the Wheel of Time and it's great but I needed a break. You'll enjoy it.
I am actually doing the opposite of you. I started Wheel of Time in January and I am currently on book 6 and this winter I plan to read Don Quixote, Moby Dick, and War and Peace to get me through winter.
@@gigglingchicken8444 yeah I live right smack dab in the middle of Canada so our Winters are long and cold not much else to do but read
As someone who isn't a huge fantasy reader, I got into Brandon Sanderson's mistborn series and I found the magic system very digestible even though I was intimidated. Although Stormlight is longer, I feel like it's similar! Thanks for creating such fantastic videos! All the best to you and Ashlynn ! Cheers from Canada!🍁🍁
I got into stormlight blind because of a meme I saw lol...powered through all 4 then decided to check his other stuff so I went and read Mistborn era 1 where I saw a character I swore was in Stormlight and decided to look into it and thats how I found out about The Cosmere😂
I loved this video. Feels like you took the words right out of my mouth. If I were to make a top 10 hard books it would be just like this. It’s like you said, it is a mountain I’m determined to climb. Monte Cristo, les misérables, Dune, and war & peace are def at the top of my list. Anna Karenina used to be on my list, but it feels good to say that I crossed it off. We’ll get there!
Hey Ian, some of these books I have not heard of and I too shall be adding them to my read list. Thank you for the ideas! :)
Two words... Finnegans Wake
I read Count of M.C. via audible because of all the French and it was AMAZING! There are characters that the narrator did incredibly.
Do you know which version of the audiobook it was?
it always makes me smile when booktubers speak about War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy the way you did, when here in Russia we are obligated to read it in our 10th grade literature class :) however, many russians (of any age) agree that it is not a good decision, not only because the book is obviously difficult for 16 year olds, but also because being obligated to read something huge like this leads you to the point of not wanting to read it at all. i personally started War and Peace twice, in 10th and later in 11th grade, but even being a big reader did not manage to finish it. so it is also still on my list of difficult tbr. speaking of the other books you mentioned, i also want to get to other Cormac McMarthy stories (read The Road few years ago as well and absolutely loved it. actually been planning to reread it in 2024), to Atlas Shrugged, to Great Expectations, and to Moby Dick (the one i own an unabridged original language copy of, so it is going to be even more difficult). on my list there are also Under the Dome, 11/22/63 and the Dark Tower series by Stephen King (his books are not that difficult to read but these are damn long! reading It by S.K. took me a whole month, though i loved it anyways), Ulysses by James Joyce, Dune by Frank Herbert, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan, The Man Who Laughs and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. for me also Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky turned out to be a difficult one, the same as with WaP i started it a few times and never finished (actually all of his Big Boys, such as Brothers Karamazov or Demons or Idiot are on my tbr as well). one of my difficult tbr books i am happily reading right at the moment, Middlemarch by George Eliot. very enjoying the exquisite language so far!! well, it’s gotta be all. thank you for the video, Ian! have a great week!!
Moby Dick is going to be difficult. More because it's very rambling than because of language. I think the best advice I've heard from Moby Dick readers, is "you can skip the cataloging of the whales bit." Moby Dick is my, well, Moby Dick.
Les Mis is also a very tough read. Just be prepared. I think the French people of that time bought one book and expected it to last them their entire lives.
I recently finished Crime and Punishment, it was the first piece of Russian literature I’ve ever read and it was pure bliss, that story was just majestic… I started the Brothers Karamazov already :) I also bought other popular Russian books like the Master and Margarita and a couple of Leo Tolstoy novels, I’m so excited to get into these stories😊
Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favortie books of all time. I am dipping my toes into the cosmere this year and I started with Tress of the Emerald Sea (loved it) and am now trying to read Mistborne. I am struggling with immersing myself in Mistborne but I flew through Tress, reading it in one day. Glad I found your channel!
Tress is such a good book to start with. His other books aren’t nearly as whimsical but they’re all just as well-written and entertaining
Another banger Ian!!!!!! AS ALWAYS. Thank you so much for putting out so many great videos all the time it truly makes my day and I know it makes thousands of others peoples too. God bless brotha ❤
I’m so glad you’ll attempt Monte Cristo again, I think you’ll love it. I know translation is a rabbit hole but it really does make a difference. (Cristo is my fave book and I’m currently 300 pages through war and peace and I sampled translations before choosing.) W&P is very much a character development book. I found it helpful to annotate Tolstoy despite not usually doing so with fiction 💡I’m excited to see you delve into these🎉 (I got 300 pages into Moby Dick and put it down to start w&p😂
I have a hard time reading Moby Dick. The prose is hard to follow, but it's still on my TBR list.
LOL try listing to them on audiobook format. I did that with a book that I did not want to read but I had to, to get to the next book. And it was so much eaiser. You can also listen and read along if you want to do that. But yeah audiobooks, that was a game changer for me.
Dumas is a phenomenal writer. The Count is an amazing story that I still reread the book since my first read in highschool. So insightful into humanity while also keeping you on your toes on what happens next.
Just ordered Infinite Jest from Amazon. Want to give it a try. Thanks for your list!
Very kind shout out, and great video!
This video popped up in my recommendations and I'm hooked. Subscribed and will become a constant watcher!
So many classics! Good luck trying to get through all of these books! They seem super intimidating to me.
It's great to see people challenging themselves! I've been reading for years (in my mid-70's). The past 6 years I've been co-reading two grandchildren's school reading lists ...great fun! Here's a few suggestions for some of your choices. I read "The Count of Monte Cristo" in January. It's an easy read & moves right along. I stayed with it until it was done, rather than reading several books at a time (my usual practice). "War and Peace": Once I realized everyone is known by 3 different names & made a character list for reference & it moved right along. I decided to read a book/section, take a break to read a few other books, then return. I ended up finishing the first book/section, took a break, then returned. It was so good I didn't break again & continued to the end. It also helps to know some history of the Napoleonic Wars. I am more familiar with the British POV, this was my first foray into the Russian POV. I loved the battle sections! Overall, It became a favorite! (So far I favor Tolstoy over Dostoyevsky, but have lots more to read!) "Great Expectations" - wonderful atmospheric writing, great characters ...if you listen to audiobooks, this is a good one in that format. "Atlas Shrugged": This & "The Fountainhead" were recommended to me in college. Ayn Rand revealed an alternate worldview I had not previously thought about. Her work got me thinking ... not always agreeing, but definitely expanded my thinking. Good luck with your challenge. Proceed at your own pace & enjoy great writing! (I don't think I will ever read all of "The Silmarillion", though I have friends who accomplished it.) Have fun ...I'd love to read these books for the first time again!
2 videos in one week!? You've been killing it with the uploads lately😁
Great video and great list. I’ve started and stopped Les Miserables a few times. This is my #1 difficult book that I would love to read, but overwhelmed by it. I have it on my Kindle so maybe I’ll try again. I also owned a copy of Infinite Jest for many years but eventually donated it. I’ve also heard a great analogy for Tolkien’s works. The Hobbit is a middle school grade book, LOTR is adult fantasy, and the Silmarillion is a dense history book.
It's nice to hear I'm not the only one who hits the same point in a book you're enjoying and just can't continue. For me it's War and Peace. Five times. I've reread the first 200 pages 5x! And I love Tolstoy's short stories, love those first 200 of W&P and yet, I'm blocked. Best of luck with your reading!
maybe you could just skip that part that makes you stop… in such a huge book, we are not able to remember everything we read, I suppose. I did it jumping the door description at Umberto Eco’s The name of the rose, and it didn’t fail me understanding the plot
Can’t wait for the 50 Shades of Grey reading vlog!
That is already out on his channel
The Brothers Karamazov was my favourite book I read last year! It’s a challenge but oh so worth it! Just take it slow and you can get through it. War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo and Infinite Jest are also on my TBR this year! So many great books on your list 😊😊
I feel you those are some massive books to get through! I feel like all classic books intimidate me and make me feel like I might get bored reading them but I definitely want to get over that fear and read some classic books this year!! Happy reading Ian!!🩷☺️
The Little Women series is a great classic series to start off with in my opinion. Not as difficult to read as perhaps Pride and Prejudice. I loved all three books.
@@Heaven7671 thank you!! I plan on starting with that book to ease my way into reading classics!🩷☺️
No reason to be intimidated by classic books. Even with the difficult ones it's mostly just a matter of getting used to reading different prose styles, which just takes time more than anything. Like the video mentions Dickens being difficult, but I grew up reading Dickens so reading Dickens is like a warm hug to me. I can't imagine finding him "difficult," but that's only because I'm used to him. As for getting bored that's a subject thing, but I tend to find I'm much more consistently entertained by classics than contemporary stuff because with the latter there's a lot of crap out there while with classics you're generally reading the best of the best from when they were written.
Daaamn Silmarillion, I am so hyped to hear your thoughts about it! Also Sanderson, maan, no suprise I love watching you. Lets gooo
Heck yes, NASB crew! lol. So glad I found your channel! I've added a few books to my list. Time to binge watch lol.
Really excited for when you read The Count of Monte Cristo. That's one of my favorite books (like top 10) and once I read it, I was like angry with myself for not reading earlier.
Dickens is extremely difficult for me. He's wordy and it seems like all the characters are charicatures. So when I think of "big scary book", I think of Dickens. Russian Litterature is pretty hard, too. I'm totally with you on Infinite Jest as well. Look forward to your updating us saying you've read all of them (eventually) and no, I don't want you to suffer! lol
im sooo sure you're gonna looove Branderson's stormlight!! They are big but the character work and prose is very fluid and easy to read :) Plus they're REALLY fun :O Please try the first two books this year!
Infinite Jest is great! Definitely use tabs to keep track of characters and developments. I read it in 21 days and think about it most days since I’ve finished it (last year!) Also, Atlas Shrugged is very readable once you kinda get into the rhythm of her writing. I really enjoy more long form fiction, so I love these videos!! My BIG book for this year is Anna Karenina by Tolstoy.
The Silmarillion is my all-time favourite book. I've read it countless times since I was first introduced to it at age 13. The first read can be difficult for many, but I promise that it'll be worth it and you'll be sucked further down into the wonderful world of Tolkien. Utilize the maps and such at the back of the book, and I suggest approaching it not like a novel, but as a collection of stories. Yes, there's an overarching storyline but I swear it reads more like a history textbook 😂
Solid list! I've read eight of your ten, but I haven't read the two fantasy series. I completely agree with Brothers Karamazov as #1. It's my favorite novel of all time. I would highly encourage you to replace one of those with the unabridged version of The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Of all the "difficult" reading feats in my life, that's the one that was the most impactful and rewarding by a pretty big margin. I think it should be required reading.
the count of monte cristo is AMAZING and as far as classics go it is so engaging - i think the most important thing is to be in the right headspace for a longgg classic, i started it once and made it like 50 pages in and wasn't ready for it at that time but when i picked it up again i blasted through it and loved it!!
Malazan is my Everest too! I’m on book 6 and there is always a lot going on and a lot I don’t understand but the journey has been great so far
This was really good, I really liked the idea of it. Good luck.
New subscriber!
I really want to start reading big books again, I remember I used to back in college.
I want to start with Sanderson, nope, I've never read him.
Greetings from mexico!
Amazing video! So fun to watch and what a list! Those books are huge. There's definitely some books that I'm a bit intimidated by or that have such a serious topic that I tend to avoid them:
1. Forager - Michelle Dowd
2. $500 House In Detroit - Drew Philip
3. Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System - Cyntoia Brown
4. Beyond Ourselves - Catherine Marshall
5. Two Years Before The Mast - Richard Henry Dana Jr.
I actually just bought Forager yesterday!
Glad to have someone else join in on the fun!
Thank you for the inspiration!!
Do audiobooks count?
I listened to the Blood Meridian audiobook and it really let me follow the story, rather than getting distracted with the reading.
I loved it. One of my favourites.
That's exactly how I got through it too. Long car ride. (17 hours).
I agree with you about War and Peace. I've recently started reading it. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't difficult to read.
Atlas Shrugged, go for it. Yes, it's very long, but the point of it is so relevant for today.
I also want to read more of the classics. I have a hard time with the prose flowing for me.
The Count of Montecristo is my favorite book of all time! I found it super engaging and I honestly got lost in it. I'm scared to start War and Peace but that's also on my "Big Book tbr" 😬 Best of luck to you!
I will say that the Brandon Sanderson books that you have on your list are beasts and I am currently reading. I have not seen a magic system like his. It is so fascinating to me. I will say, there are parts of these books that did totally confuse the crap out of me, however it all makes sense in the end.
Great Expectations is one of Dickens more accessible reads so don't be scared if things like a tale of two cities has put you off! Takes a while to get into the language but the plot, the characters, the observations on society - so worth it!
Right now I'm intimidated by the Gormenghast series...I think its just going to get so bizarre it could be hard to follow!
I've always thought Tale is much more accessible? It has a very straight line plot.
I just finished the Brothers Karamazov and it's changed my life. Coming from a Rusyn-American , Russian Orthodox background, I feel deeply connected to this novel & characters. You can do it! The Grand Inquisitor chapter had my jaw on the floor. Great list! Love your taste.
Massive Sanderson fan here. Good luck on you journey, really hope you enjoy the stormlight archive. if it seems too big to tackle try warbreaker or elantris :)
Love this! Lots are on my Wishlist as well as godel Escher Bach
My Top 10 Scary Books are: The Last Superstition by Edward Feser, 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson, The Finest Hour by Winston Churchill, A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, 1984 by George Orwell, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxis
These are in no particular order, but they are all books I really want to read at some point. I enjoyed this video and seeing what you find challenging to read!
Dude, I'm halfway through War and Peace right now and it's mesmerizing. Really enjoying the characters and their shifting philosophies.
You’re my favorite booktuber!
WOW ‼️ I am impressed with the books that you want to read. I am just attempting to read The ShadowHunters series. 🤠🧡 your videos and book recommendations make me want to read more books that I struggle with. I also can’t read classics like Charles Dickens or Jane Austen because the writing is so hard and I can’t focus and even with audiobooks I find them a bit boring or slow so I won’t read them.
won't read, is what you mean to say.
I do love NASB but I also love ESV & the new LSB. Word for word over thought for thought every day!!
Also on my Intimidating books TBR are King Killer which I will start when any news for book 3, I want to finish Once & Future King, starting Licanius in May, want to read thru Hercule Poirot collection, and also very interested in Discworld series but put starting it off until next year
The Brother Karamazov has been on my shelf for years and I fail to make it past the same spot every time. Dracula is another classic that scares me (pun intended 😅 ). Amor Towles is an amazing author, but his books are intimidating and difficult since his prose reads like a classic. Love your videos! All the best to you and miss Ashlynn!
Dracula Daily is about to start! I was always intimidated by it too but having the letters/diary entries/etc all emailed to me on the day they're dated makes it so easy and fun to follow! highly recommended :D
Oh I’m so looking forward to you reading Brandon Sanderson I’ve read two of his books so far and they have both been 5 ⭐️ reads!
Eeeeeeeeeeeek!
Sorry I just love The Count of Monte Cristo so much! I was surprised it was on your list. Now I'm kind of curious what part you couldn't get past. I'd say the thing I like most about it is the characters.
in terms of books I'm having a hard time getting through it would be Les Mis, I got about halfway through it and haven't picked it back up again in a while but I intend to!
Also The Silmarillion, it's hard to read for me because I read the book of lost tales and the Silmarillion is different and I think I prefer the book of lost tales.
The Count of Monte Cristo is awesome one of my all time favorites! I’m currently reading Crime and Punishment and the translation (Oliver Ready) is amazingly easy to read, I’m totally enjoying it. You’ve got this and I totally understand challenging yourself, I still do it and I’m just a little older than you 😉😉😉 BTW Anna Karenina intimidates me 😳
Great expectations and blood meridian are two of my all time favourites. They are ‘hard’ to get into but once you do, you are in for a real treat.
Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series is definitely intimidating. However, Sanderson’s writing style is very easy to read. While each book are big chunky boys, once you start you’re not going to want to stop. I’m currently working through Oathbringer (Stormlight #3) and am loving it!
I read The Count of Monte Cristo for the first time this year, and yes, it is intimidating.. but man is it worth it! It has become my favorit classic easily, it's very easy to read and the plot moves along very quickly after the prison scene. Stay strong and enjoy the journey 🧡
Ooo yes I have the Brothers Karamazov on my list to read! My dad loves Russian literature and this is one of his favorites books ever! So I really want to read it hopefully this year!
I cracked down and finally got to The Stormlight Archive last year so I could be part of the hype for book 5 this December. It was pretty much only the page counts that got me worried. I got through them easier by checking out the audiobooks on Libby and also having the physical. You don't have to really worry about the wider cosmere, there are easter eggs, but he makes them subtle. that's why rereads are so fun!
My favorite book, but it is a slog at some points, is In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. Some of his sentences are like labyrinths. But the prose borderlines on being lyrical and his insights into human behavior is beautiful.
Read it in a French lit class. Very good.
I LOVE the Count of Monte Cristo. Currently doing a reread now. There's so much to the book that if you push past where you got stuck you'll almost definitely find a part of the story that you love and sticks with you. Stormlight is large in page count but it's nothing like the Count of Monte Cristo or Malazan. Instead of super dense prose I think you'll find it's very approachable and really a fast read.
i've read it 3 times in my life ( I'm currently 34), it's quite the journey! Also, as I age, there are different parts that take different meaning to me ( or give me different feelings), glad you're also re reading it :)
Great video. If you want to add to your challenging list, a la Malazan, that is also iconic, try Janny Wurts WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW. 11 books. See if you are up for it in the future! Worth the struggle. Best prose (for me) in SFF.
haha…I have the same feelings about Dickens. For my taste, he is a more difficult read than many others. I love anything Steinbeck. Super accessible, great characters, and storylines, great messages. I think part of it is the writing style and era the work is from and part of it is your particular reading brain when you try a book. There are plenty that I loved years before but would be bored by now and others that I have hated before that I love now. Great list!
I just wanna say Ian that you don't have to feel intimidated by the stormlight archive, you already read a lot of big fantasy series, like GOT for example. It's funny that you say that Brandon does more world building and plot first, that is overall true for mistborn, because the characters were not all flashed out. But in the Stormlight Archive it's definitely Characters first, world building and plot last. So I hope you give them a shot some time, because I wanna know your opinion. I really like your channel btw, your girlfriend and you are such a great couple 🤩 keep it going :)
That's his wife not his girlfriend
Hi please keep us updated let us know how it goes. It seems. like it will be interesting. You always give very sincere opinions on books.
My father's recommendation for any Russian author, but especially War and Peace, is to write down a character's name the first time you come across it. You will at different points need to add patronyms, nicknames, and titles, but it's a handy reference which will keep you from thinking that Alexander Andreiovich (made up example) is a new character when he's the Grand-duke Tovarich who was introduced30 pages earlier.
I loved War and Peace. I picked it up when I was recovering from an emergency appendectomy, so I had plenty of time for reading. It captured me quickly.
I like Crime and Punishment and I have a friend who adores The Idiot. I think either of those gets you to an understanding of Dostoevsky that lets you approach The Brothers Karamazov more easily.
When I was about to comment the Stormlight Archive you said it lol. Was going to recommend that and The Expanse series. 8:50
This is the first video of yours I've seen, and I don't know your personal opinions or tastes, but when ever I have a really hard book that I want to read, Audiobook is the way I go, it often helps me get though long and hard reads. Montie Christo and LotR being ones that were just to tough for me to read
I’m currently reading The Way of Kings and am having a great time! I was also very intimidated (still am tbh 😂) and am definitely more of a character reader too. It’s really good and I love all 3 of the main characters, I’m only 30% through but definitely recommend jumping in!!
I've only made it a couple hundred pages into Infinite Jest, but some parts had me in tears from laughing so hard. I ended up leaving it at a friend's house, and by the time I got it back a year or so later I just put it on my shelf where it sits unread to this day. I hope to one day revisit it. I think Gravity's Rainbow would be a great addition to your list. I was unsuccessful in my attempt at that one too, but there's no denying that it's a brilliant and worthwhile read if you don't give up. I have a terrible history of reading half a book and never finishing it.
Ayn Rand was nuts. We all out grow it.
I hated her books. I did read Atlas Shrugged & The Fountanhead. Horrible writing, terrible stories, disgusting philosophy.
I’m an English Lit major with graduate degrees, so I’ve read most of these. Read all of Dickens 🤗. Read The Count of Monte Christo in French lol. Same with Les Miserable. I’ve read both War & Peace and Anna Karinina.
Hardest book for me to finish was Moby Dick, with Women In Love/Sons & Lovers tied for second place. I in fact read Ulysses, Finnegan’s Wake & Tristram Shandy ( 3, 4,& 5 in my list) as well.
Wow, great list. Totally agree with The Silmarillion, and Brothers Karamazov. I think they're the only two books I ever gave up on. From reviews I've read, I'm too scared of Blood Meridian, should I be?
As a huge Tolkien fan i completely understand where you're coming from on The Silmarillion. I started to read it years ago but stopped.
If you want help getting through hard books, I’d recommend the Hardcore Literature Book Club. The guy who runs it gives great lectures. He’s so enthusiastic about literature that it is contagious. Many of the titles on your list are titles he has talked about. It’s a Patreon subscription you have to join, but I think it’s worth it. I joined specifically for Infinite Jest. I’ve wanted to read it for years, but have been too intimidated to begin. The book club is starting it next month. I can’t wait!
Slowly reading some of my hard/difficult books already and can understand some of your difficult books to read. My list is Mistborn/Cosmere series, The Poppy War, Throne of Glass (just because so many people like it and I read ACOTAR series and what if I don't like this one), Stephen King, Malic, Robin Hobb's books, and Warbreaker (Length and understanding the magic system in the book).
I read Great Expectations when I was a freshman in high school so many many years ago, not for class as many people assume when I say that, and I loved it. I've owned Atlas Shrugged and War and Peace for years and still haven't read either past the first few pages. Started Count of Monte Cristo a long time ago but don't remember every finishing it, or anything about it really. I should revisit that one. I am in love with the Stormlight Archives series. I just finished the first book and am starting the second soon. I love the magic system in this series as well as the characters. I hope you read and enjoy them. I don't think I have heard of Infinite Jest. Not sure if it is something I want to tackle! Same for the Brothers Karamozov. I have never tried to read the Silmarillion. This is another that I am not sure I am up for. I hope you eventually read them all and get everything you hope to out of them.
So I'm a relatively new subscriber and I'm low-key bingeing your past videos and I just watched the one where you read thrillers for a week and I think you might enjoy Night Film by Marisha Pessl. Speaking of difficult books, I try to read one every quarter and my four for this year are Moby Dick, Anna Karenina, Walden and Don Quixote.
I feel ya on Dickens. I think it’s really impressive how smooth his prose is, but my problem is his prose is so smooth that my mind easily wanders and I end up rereading pages because it just didn’t stick.
Stormlight is so so so amazing, definitely give it a chance!! It’s easier to read than it seems
I made a recent vlog of reading War and Peace. I’m in the middle of it and enjoying it. I read The Count of Monte Cristo recently and made a video of that as well. It is now in my top 5 favorites of all time. Highly recommend reading those books.
War and Peace can be tough, depending on the translation - the copy you showed retains the French when spoken, the Russian nobility at the time used French over Russian. Thankfully the French is translated in footnotes, however there can be paragraph upon paragraph of French in the text. As for my scary books to read they would be Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, and Joyce's Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake. I'm currently reading Infinite Jest, and The Brothers Karamazov.
I'm reading Gardens of the Moon at the moment and I know everyone says it takes till book 3 to know if you like it but I'm already loving it
War and peace is a book that I could not put down! And there is a lot going on Tolstoy guides you through it effortlessly! I read the Briggs translation, but have sampled others and the writing is consistently quite approachable!
Malazan Book of the Fallen is definitely a difficult read, but it is definitely worth it. I feel like it's graduating with a master's degree in fantasy after you finish that series. If you're able to I'd listen to the audiobooks while reading the books. It helped me to focus when I read it for the first time.
Silmarillion is worth it when you get to it. (I didn't read it until I was in my 40's, despite reading LOTR 4 times starting at age 12!). Great Expectations is good entry level Dickens (I read one every summer by him), and is definitely one of the ones worth your time. (Not all of them are IMO). Count of Monte Cristo is a top 10 of all time for me - push through! You have a highly readable translation of War and Peace on your video! It's big and dense, but I think is worth it. And Tolstoy is MUCH easier to read than Dostoevsky, so don't be too intimidated to be honest. Brothers Karamazov - this one is definitely more challenging, but (again) worth it. Good luck with these and thanks for a fun video!
Dostoevsky is by far my favorite author, but Anna Karenina is by far my favorite book of all time!!!!! I actually am rereading it now and DUDE im loving it so much more!! And as crazy as it may sound, Tolstoy is honestly one of the easiest classic authors to read. I think part of the reason is becuse its translated into english rather than reading like Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, and all the victorian era authors who wrote in english but its old english and thats a big reason why it can be difficult reading those books. But Tolstoy especially really does write so so beautifully in so many ways, even as he rambles on he has such pretty writing in my opinion. I haven't read War and Peace yet, i plan to later this year sometime, but I would say start with Anna Karenina because it truly is one of the greatest works of fiction if not the best.
I love Tolstoy, but can't stand Anna Karenina. My recommendation is Resurrection, Tolstoy's last book.
@fabrisseterbrugghe8567 Really! I've been really really wanting to read Ressurection for a while now, I see it at Barnes and Noble everytime I go (like every week lol). I just heard a lot of mixed reviews on that one so I think I just want to save it till I read War and Peace and then I'll do that one.
Big suggestion on War and Peace. Read it last year, and quite enjoy it. If you don’t speak French, get the Anthony Briggs translation. If you don’t speak French, you’ll get overwhelmed by chapter 3 for constant reference to footnotes. Briggs translation made a HUGE difference to me.
Which is supposedly the best translation of The Brothers Karamozov?
Nice list!
A few of my favorites:
Gone With the Wind
Uncle Tom's Cabin (really beautiful)
Ben Hur
I absolutely love Count of Monte Cristo. I found reading these large classics go so much better when I break it down to like 50 pages at a time and only going further if I want to.
Some of my difficult books are Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Twain, The Odyssey by Homer, and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.
Stormlight is my favorite series because of the characters. If you like character work you will love the Stormlight archive.
I would say for blood Meridian it’s definitely hard. Page length is not an issue but the content is difficult for sure! However, as for the grammar issue, listening to the audiobook while I read really helped!
I recommend the Oxford Classics edition if they have published these books. The footnotes help a lot. And they're also quality products in terms of the material.