What is the most tedious book you have ever read?

[Figmentofmyimagination]

I am going out on a limb here for my first thread - I am struggling through The Well of Loneliness by Radcliffe hall. Aargh. I read it out of "historical interest" because I was interested by her boldness and by the obscenity trial etc but bloody hell she should have got herself an editor. The writing is truly dire. I am not sure I am actually going to make it to the end.

Every couple of years or so I wade through a few more chapters of Anna Karenina before giving up in favour of something without as many Russian names. Ditto War and Peace.
Think, at 44, I should admit defeat on the Tolstoy front.
The Governess, 18th Century school story (first school story IIRC) is also diabolical.
I've whipped through Wuthering Heights a few times as I love it. And Jane Eyre. And The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
Joseph Andrews, though, was another one that made me question my need to read ever again.

For CSYS (yes, showing my age to Scottish mnetters) we had to read lots of Dickens.

Never was a book better named than "Hard Times".

Wolf Hall, Goldfinch, Life of Pi and worst of all Jane Eyre. Some of my favourites are on here, just show it takes all kinds.

Well...like every other book on this list, my poison may well be your favourite dinner.

An obvious disclaimer is that I may well be stupid and hence unable to appreciate Great Middle Ages Literature.

Another one for Wolf Hall. I love this period of history, the characters but the redium of the language bored me so much. I have tried four times and I just feel thick that I can't get into it.
Kafka's The Castle. Uni European lit read. I was up the walls having to read it.
Life of Pi.
Middle march - another I just never grasped and didn't like Dorothea.
But Wolf Hall beats everything in tedious length.

I have read War and Peace one and a half times.

First time I skipped the war bits. Next time I was bed bound for weeks and it got me through! One of my favourites but I don't think I'll read the whole thing again.

Don't feel thick, Galaxy. I am very clever* but I still think she's a terrible writer!

*disclaimer - compared to, say, Benny from Crossroads anyway

Lucky Jim.

Moby Dick.
Ye Gods, that took some reading.
I have never been able to finish Jane Eyre.
Loved Hard Times, though ! (and the Well of Loneliness).
A lot of the feminist fiction in the early 80's was dire.

Moby Dick - lots of boring crap hiding some fantastic info about whaling.

Heart of Darkness, god I tried but it was hoooooorendous

I'd forgotten The Catcher in The Rye. I just didn't care.

Ooh loved the Goldfinch! And The hundred year old man blah blah!

Still can't read Catch 22, Wolf Hall and the latest one to add to my list of books I can't get into/don't understand is How to be both by Ali Smith.

There is no frigging punctuation in it!! Am I missing something?

Moby Dick was another one pager. As was anything by Conrad.

I loved Time Traveller's Wife!

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka - I didn't expect there to be so much stuff about, well, tractors. I have no interest in tractors, none whatsoever. And the rest of it was just irritating, like something was about to happen but it never did.

crumblevision - I'm reading Sister now and finding it quite a slog, problem is a good friend recommended it.

My own tedious book was 'Eat, pray, love' - yawn.

The sixth and final book of the Clan of the Cave Bear series. Land of the Painted Caves it was called. Utter boring drivel compared to the glorious start of the series. Lots of looking inside caves just as the name would suggest and bugger all else. Piles of meticulous research dumped into the book without a proper connecting story. Fighting my way to the end of it was really difficult and I'm an avid reader.

50 shades of grey , only managed about 3 pages and didn't get to any dirty bits
Wolf Hall , though will try again
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse , awful
Withering Heights , but I think it was the dialect I couldn't cope with
Loved Room
Enjoyed Gone Girl

rivercam, I came on to say "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder. I kept reading to the end because I expected something really profound at the end of it, but it was a total disappointment!

A suitable boy - Vikram Seth

and Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

Markus Zuzak's The Book Thief. It was recommended to me dozens of times so when I saw it in a charity shop one day I thought I'd better give it a go. Couldn't get on with it at all, the narration style was just so awkward and rigid.

I second Cloud Atlas - seemingly endless book with no characters to care about in the slightest which seemed to be written with the sole purpose of showing how brilliantly clever the author is at being able to write in different historical styles. Whoop de doo. Gave up half way and regretted sticking it out that far.

Loved the Goldfinch though.

The alchemist by paolo coelho
Dh swears this book changed his life - I just thought it was self indulgent wank
Also struggled with 100 years of solitude - sorry mr Marquez

YY to Labyrinth - I persevered for about 100 pages because so many people had raved about it that they couldn't all be wrong, could they? I maintain now that they all were.