Which book/books have you really tried hard to read,but failed ?

[Mirage]

Mine are;
Ulysses(sp)
Wild Swans

< I like>

'The Satanic Verses'
Wanted to know what the fuss was about.
Struggled from start, conceded defeat after 2 pages.

Anyone else read it and can explain plot?

satanic verses OMG how tedious!(But loved Shalimar the clown), captain corellis mandolin ,the god of small things and that dave eggars book a staggering book of genius or something (that got given away and that hardly ever happens to books in this house

strangely though i loved wild swans,blind assassin and we must talk about kevin and ulysses (ok only joking about the last one!)

People either "get" Pratchett or they don't. I remember Christmases where i was convulsed with laughter at his latest, had to put the book down and take deep breaths... Read the paragraph out to sister/brother/mum to stony silence. Or to "yeeees, I suppose it's funny if you like that kind if thing."

I like Pratchett ok, I do laugh a bit, I will read it if I'm ill or something, but I don't actually like it. (I prefer Tom Holt in that line.)

Ulysses, obviously. It's still sneering at me from the bookshelf.
And though it seems like exactly the sort of book I'd love - White Teeth. Just doesn't push the buttons.

With Ulysses the way I managed to drive myself through it was to (a) read portrait of the artist as a prelude and (b) read the last two chapters first.

Not that you should drive yourself through it unnecessarily but I did manage to get into it in the end.

lord of the rings
Crime and punishment

But Quattro - did you like it?

Time Traveller's Wife
The Da Vinci Code
The Robber Bride
The Little Friend

War and Peace -just too long
but having success presently with revisitiing A Suitable Boy

Like would be too strong a word ... I was thinking that when I posted ... only drove myself through it because I had to ... there are plenty of more accessible and fun books out there.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin - so glad I'm not the only one!

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell

But I did love the Time Traveller's Wife.

Lord of the Rings - can't get past all those arsing elfin ballads - on and on and on..

loads. I am much less patient and persevering as a busy adult and abandon large swathes of books half way through if they don't sustain my interest.

A Prayer for Owen Meany - really trying hard to read it but can't even get to half way

loved a prayer for owen meaney but dh hated that and the little friend/donna tartt in fact so did all our book club apart from me

Oh and the one about the Ukranian Tractors - bored silly!

'Not another fucking elf'

(One of Tolkein's Cambridge colleagues attempting to read LOTR)

I like the little friend and owen meany.

Couldn't stand Lila by Robert M pirsig - a boyfriend tried to make me read it and it practically ended the relationship.

D.H.Lawrence gives me a stiff neck.