Are there any books you have read which felt like a real drag whilst reading, yet upon finishing, you enjoyed?
Are there any books you have read which felt like a real drag whilst reading, yet upon finishing, you enjoyed?
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The Age of Innocence …… I was glad it was finished ?
@Sandra it’s on my list. Should I remove it? Ha
@Gemma The House of Mirth was much better.
Enjoyed The Reef.
I did not particularly enjoy “The age of Innocence,” but I did like the production of it at McCarter (Princeton) last Fall.
The Secret Garden. Mostly the weird talk of the ‘magic’ in the garden. But the book has stayed with me.
No so much of a drag but two books I think of are the trial and never let me go. The trial is interesting and a great read but I remember thinking this is good but nothing dramatic has happened and then BAM! ? never let me go leaves you in the dark for the first half of the book and some may not continue reading , but you should! The books excellent and its worth not knowing what’s going on at the start. I love both of those books?
@Sean The Trial by Kafka?
I recently watched the film of the trial. It was awful. I enjoyed the book
@Gemma nice to know. ?
@Jayne yes ?
Dickens tends to do this to me. The first 2/3 can be a bit tedious, then it all finally kicks of in the last 1/3.
Most probably Dickens. And I have the exact opposite impression of Austen – the beginning is crammed with action, and then it starts dragging in the middle/towards the end.
This doesn’t make sense to me. The only thing I can think of is the relief of finishing a book I was required to read in school. But I did not enjoy those, just glad it was done. There were books I picked up with some hesitation (recommended) but found I really liked. Dune and Game of Thrones come to mind
Angle of Repose. Drags through the book with a big finale.
The Bible dragged at times. In the Bible there’s extreme statements and beliefs, unbelievable repetition, and some very slow parts (God help ANY of us in trying to make it through the Book of Numbers!). However, there’s, too, much to appreciate (e.g., the stunningly beautiful Book of Ecclesiastes!). All in all, it is gratifying to be finished with the tome!
@Marc you can never be finished with the Bible! Indeed it drags at times but there are truths and beauty and great mysteries ever new
@Audrey The work does indeed come in handy again and again throughout our lives.
Funny but while reading Franny and Zooey i thought Salenger was praising his own intellect via self depreciation until the ending phone call…then I was enlightened to the true meaning.
Hardy moves at a snail’s pace…slowly…slowly…then it gets good!
@Lorrie That’s exactly how I felt about far from the madding crowd. It’s like about the middle of the book it turned on a dime.
@Lynne, I read it in high school and our English class complained about it every day….until they didn’t!
Moby Dick. I forced my way through just so I could claim the title of having finished a book my mother never could. I put it down thinking ‘Finally! Now how do I brag to Mom about this?’ and left my copy in the nearest leave-one-take-one library.
A week later I was disappointed to find somebody had already taken it so I couldn’t reread the best bits. Dagnabbit!
I forced my way thru Gulliver’s Travels to claim I read it…not sure it was worth it…BTW I never finished Moby Dick myself 🙂
@Christopher Gulliver’s Travels is pretty high on my list of Mountains to Summit. Right up there with Hunchback of Notre Dam and several Russian novels.
@Tammy I’m facing The Count of Monte Cristo and War and Peace as the “mega” novels I want to read…or brag that I read 🙂
@Christopher Those two are on the list as well! =D Going to have to jump on this as soon as I finish my thesis!
@Tammy good luck on your thesis…I’ll let you know of I survive those epics 🙂
@Christopher Thanks!!!!
A room with a view by EM Forrester. We did it for our book club several years ago. I ended up reading the book twice because I was leading the discussion. I liked it a little bit better the second time. And every time I Thought about it since then… I’m like hey that Book wasn’t so bad! Now, what was the reason I didn’t like it? LOL
Anna karenina… Long.. Painful… But I’m glad that I read it.
I just did madame bovary for last months read and that was hard yakka but I think I’m glad I read it. …. I think. ??
Anna Karenina was indeed a drag for me. I’m not sure whether I have enjoyed reading it, but at least I broadened my branch of literature 😉
@Claire lol.. Yes it was one of those “I can say I’ve read it” books.
But i actually liked some of the messages and discussions in it. I just felt that they took a really really long way round doing it. ?
I agree with you. Somehow, however, I failed to sympathize with Anna wholeheartedly. Maybe I have a bit of conservative side in me, but I rooted more closer to Levin.
Yes.. I’ve forgotten all the characters names etc (and to be honest the majority of the book) but the landowner was my favourite character.
Glad I’m not the only one. I was inspired to continue on by a coworker who speaks Russian and let me know that some of my frustrations are common in native English speakers. However, it’s still in the “Currently Reading” list after several months.
Lol.. @Darrell I can’t even remember how long it took me but it seemed like it took forever!!