Books you can't bloody stand...

Return of the Native-- Thomas  Hardy.. couldn't get passed  the  first chapter..

Lady Chatterly--   

Anna Karenina...  can you tell it was in High  School?? 

Heart of Darkness..  not my bag..

Danielle Steele--  I have  to agree  with most  all her   books.. but  The Promise-- was  one  of the first books  I  remember crying  for!!      maybe I was young..  but it  was  a COOL concept.. 

Lord of the Flies--  no thanks!!

not  keen on Hemingway..  i'll take  Faulkner over him  any day!!

I am absolutely intrigued by "Confederacy of Dunces"- I am going to have to buy, thanks a LOT

I've said it before -  I loved Conferdacy of Dunces.  I lent it to my father-in-law to read and he loved it as well. 

I've said it before -  I loved Conferdacy of Dunces.  I lent it to my father-in-law to read and he loved it as well. 

And if you've ever either spent a good deal of time in New Orleans, or just visited (and been brave enough to sample a Lucky Dog!), it'll mean even more to you.

As luck would have it - yes, I have visited New Orleans and I can't wait for the opportunity (read - Money!) to take my husband there.   

not  keen on Hemingway..  i'll take  Faulkner over him  any day!!

I agree.  Hemingway always struck me as a such a b*stard; I never understood how he got famous - he wrote just like he was . . . drunk.  BFD.  I remember being forced to read 'A Farewell to Arms' at 16, and thinking, 'No woman with a brain cell in her skull would get involved with such a sad p**k!'  But then again, I read 'The Female Eunuch' as my summer book of choice that year.

I can't really think of any books I literally can't stand (exception THB, but that's more of a joke really), but there are books that completely stymied by. "Ulysses" is one of the most infamous. I cannot finish that book. Three times I've tried and it always gets the best of me. And the guy is only taking a walk through Dublin. "War and Peace" gets me as well. About 3/4 of the way through I call it quits. Anyone have books that they don't necessarily dislike but just can't seem to finish?

By the way, I'm in complete agreement on "Confederacy of Dunces". Savage and sarcastic.

I'm in the "pro" camp on Confederacy of Dunces....

Oh, and twisted, there are two tricks to Ulysses (I did my BA in Irish lit.) First, read it for the gorgeousness of the language without trying to understand what's actually going on. Second, if you're determined enough to read two books at once (I wouldn't be now, but at 20 I was willing) there's a book called Joyce Annotated that explains it pretty much line-by-line - so if you read a line that doesn't make sense you can look at the annotation and it gives you definitions and brief explanations and whatnot....

Barring that, get a copy of Kate Bush's The Sensual World and listen to the title track a lot. Yes I will, Yes I said, Yes. Lovely.

I never expected this topic to provide me with a book I WANTED to read!

here is another one I couldn't bloody well stand - The Celestine Prophecy 

S

I'm in the "pro" camp on Confederacy of Dunces....

Oh, and twisted, there are two tricks to Ulysses (I did my BA in Irish lit.) First, read it for the gorgeousness of the language without trying to understand what's actually going on. Second, if you're determined enough to read two books at once (I wouldn't be now, but at 20 I was willing) there's a book called Joyce Annotated that explains it pretty much line-by-line - so if you read a line that doesn't make sense you can look at the annotation and it gives you definitions and brief explanations and whatnot....

Barring that, get a copy of Kate Bush's The Sensual World and listen to the title track a lot. Yes I will, Yes I said, Yes. Lovely.

Cheers, Anne.  I think I'll give it a whirl. Interesting advice about reading for the language . . . . I don't know if I've actually ever done that with a book. Certainly I've enjoyed the prose of a book, but I don't think I've ever just read for the language. I kinda like that. I may just go look for both right now.

I honestly think half of the beauty of Joyce is the lyrical-ness of his prose - he writes the way Irish people talk - sing-song, evocative, and sometimes just for the sake of hearing the way the words sound. I'm a BIG Joyce proponant. 

Heh.  This thread is going to make my head explode.

A Confederacy of Dunces, people??  Really??



 

Anyone have books that they don't necessarily dislike but just can't seem to finish?

Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. My English lecturer recommended it, I've started it 3 times and then get distracted, but am determined to try again.

Anyone have books that they don't necessarily dislike but just can't seem to finish?

The Lord of the Rings.

*sigh*

If they'd just get out of the damn forest.

Modified 10 March to say:
I have changed my mind.  I'm a complete LOTR dork now  ; picked it up for another try, and voila - am reading it with interest and even speed now - just finished The Two Towers, off to pick up Return of the King - and also just started reading a book by Tom Shippy, who's one of the authors/ historians interviewed on the extended dvds.  I just liked the way he spoke, so thought I'd check out his books, and he's a great writer!

The Lord of the Rings.

*sigh*

If they'd just get out of the damn forest.

Heehee. thanks for the pre-commute giggle.

Any time 

I always like to know when I've made someone laugh!