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Carrie wrote: "House of Leaves

by
Mark Z. Danielewski

This book has such great reviews. I bought it went it came out and have let it sit for years wi..."

This is such a good book. It may be 700 pages but they aren't straightforward and some pages only have a few words. But the story is wildly engaging. And terrifying.

Sarah wrote: "superawesomekt wrote: "For those reading Les Miserables or Anna Karenina, they are totally worth it!

Finally tackling Moby-Dick"

Right there with you!"

I just read it a few years ago after thinking I would hate it, and I am so glad I read it. Well worth the time in my opinion!

For everyone considering 1Q84 it is completely worth it. I read it for a long read for a book club a few years bCk and I still am proud of the accomplishment- such a long book and it is so good and memorable! It made my kids proud at 7 & 3 that their mom was reading such a big heavy book!

The only thing that used to intimidate me about reading was the length of the book because I was a ridiculously slow reader (all the way thru to my senior year of college). Summer reading was always pick the 2 shortest books didnt matter what they were about and I never finished a single one.
So, all the books on my list for this task are classics that have already been mentioned except one:

Roots by Alex Haley

Confession I’m rarely intimidated to read anything. But It’s have a list of books, that I started, and did not enjoy. I don’t like Faulkner, or Melville, or Tolkien. For some size is intimidating, but I enjoy reading by the pound. I’m sure I’ll figure this out, at some point, maybe.

Stephen wrote: "My first thought was an anti-racism book, but that's category 2.

Maybe The Tale of Genji?"

Sounds like you could double dip with your first thought.

Tri wrote: "Might up and read The Bible...."

Oh, that's a good idea! I used to have a guide to reading it through in a year -you just do a few verses every day, to make it less intimidating, but I've never gotten very far.

I'm doing the Popsugar challenge as well, and the longest book on my TBR appears to be Le Comte de Monte-Cristo. It's definitely intimidating me.

Anna wrote: "If the book you're intimidated to read is a classic that's freely available, I can recommend the Serial Reader app.

It breaks down novels into chunks of 10-20 minutes of reading time, and tells y..."

This is very cool! Thank you for the tip.

House of Leaves

Been really wanting to read this one for years. Time to finally tackle this beast of a book.

this has been staring at me from my shelf for a long time

No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us

Beloved

I am intimidated by the content in both of these books, but both very important reads!

Carrie wrote: "House of Leaves

by
Mark Z. Danielewski

This book has such great reviews. I bought it went it came out and have let it sit for years wi..."

I have this book... I started it and... I was planning to read The Idiot for this one and I think even if read it in Russian (which I do not speak) it would be less intimidating then House of Leaves. It was good, but reading it with dyslexia was the most horrifying thing I've ever tried.

I was originally considering The Handmaid's Tale for this, but I'm not necessarily intimidated by it more that I've had it in my TBR for so long and I'd like to read it.

So I'll be looking into this more.

I can’t believe The Color of Magic was put on the official Book Riot list. If you like fantasy or satire I highly recommend. Yes there are 40+ books in the series. I did not start with the first. Some can be stand alone but you must be careful with selecting.

My personal intimidations include
Don Quixote
It actually all his books
A Naked Singularity
2666
Middlemarch
Shantaram
The Eighth Life

And just about every other book listed so far. Tough pick.

A People's History of the United States I've been meaning to read this since high school, I guess now is the time.

I’m going to read Capital by Thomas Piketty. This has been sitting on my shelf for a while now. This task gives me the impetus to start.

So I've decided to use this task to read a book that'll help me learn something that I've been intimidated to learn, and chose Python Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming by Eric Matthes

Samara wrote: "Can I read a book that I've wanted to read but intimidated to do so that's not on their list? Even if it's not 1000 pages long? Would that still count?"

The list is just ideas, read anything you want to read.

Finally decided. Going to read the uncut version of Heinlein’s Strangers in a Strange Land.

I’m going to read a book of poetry for this task. I’ve never read an entire book of poetry before. I still haven’t decided which one.

Heinlien’s uncut version of Stranger in a Strange Land.

Around age 10 or 11, I picked up the copy of Moby-Dick or, the Whale on my family's bookshelf. Opened it up, read the first two sentences, and for some reason committed them to memory. No idea why. I turned 50 this year . . . still have those lines memorized. But I've always been intimidated to actually read it.

Seems like a good time to tackle it.

Shantaram has been sitting on my bookshelf for years. Time to crack it open.

My first thought was Proust: Swann's Way. But there are good ideas here: War and Peace, Infinite Jest (with its seemingly infinite footnotes.) Ulysses is another one. Moby Dick. Then again, I can read One Hundred Years of Solitude and knock off this category and Non European Work of Translation at the same time.

Tri wrote: "Might up and read The Bible...."
I thought about doing that too!

I thought I'd be tackling The Federalist Papers for this but I've tentatively dipped into it two days in a row . . . and had two really satisfying naps.

Jessica wrote: "I have way too many on my list, ha. I wonder what that says about me as a reader? The Book Riot list nailed me with Homegoing and Possession - both of which I've meant ..."

The Poppy War is great! It's got some same-ness but it's also super different due to setting and the style of magic. Would definitely recommend and I think it definitely fits into intimidating as well.

As for me, I think it will be The Stone Sky by NK Jemisin as I've been avoiding it for a while.

ProfBen10 wrote: "Priority of the Orange Tree is what I'm choosing for this one."

I read this last year for the doorstopper category - and loved it. Such a great book!

I'm going to read the Iliad & the Odyssey (I know, 2 books) but I've been drawn to them for years and always get intimidated before I actually manage to read them.

Sean wrote: "1Q84 has been staring me down from my TBR pile for years now."

Same

I'm not generally daunted by books, except for really long ones, but I just now decided that the book I'm going to use for my prompt is whatever book I use for the "Nature poems" prompt. Poetry is extremely "daunting" (read: not interesting) to me.

I'm intending to read Moby-Dick or, the Whale for this. If I get to 50 pages and it's not working for me, I'll pick something else. For instance, Homegoing, or a N. K. Jemisin series/ book.

For those wanting to tackle Moby-Dick for this challenge, might I suggest the arranged through The Art Institute at University of Plymouth. And if you don't like the narrator of one chapter, not to worry because someone else will be doing the next! They have a different person recording each chapter - several recognizable names - and it leaves things broken down into manageable, bite-sized pieces. It's also available through most Podcast players so, at 135 chapters plus epilogue, it's super easy to knock out a chapter a day.

I'm not sure where to begin on this one. I think classics is a choice for "intimidating" but I never can get into classic lit.

For this one, I'm giving Umberto Eco's The Pendulum of Foucault another chance. I failed miserably when I tried reading it about 15 years ago. I've just started it today and I'm already frustrated at the sheer amount of words I have to look up.

Nikki wrote: "For those wanting to tackle Moby-Dick for this challenge, might I suggest the Moby-Dick Big Read arranged through The Art Institute at University of Plymouth. And if you don't like the narrator of ..."

I have never seen this site. Thanks for the info.

I will be reading Les Miserables or Anna Karenina or maybe both... I've been wanting to read those in forever..

Ulysses.

Anna Karenina... finally making the commitment!

Crazy....me, too!!! Moby-Dick...Ulysses....are on my list for next year's challenge!
To Message 22, you won't be sorry! Took me some time, but well worth it! (Count of MC)

I’m using the suggested app, Serial Reader(thank you!!!! For posting about it!) and reading “The Island of Doctor Moreau��.
It’s not that I’m intimidated really but the classics are books I want to read but tend to push aside, sadly. Here’s all the motivation I need!

Right now, I am thinking of My Dark Vanessa. This has gotten such high praise from everyone in my bookish circle, but I am worried that the content will be too much for me. I think that with some mental preparation, I can tackle it though... maybe...

Emma wrote: "A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wild

I think I'll pick this one since I've always wanted to read this book, but have always been intimidated by it."

You won't be sorry that you chose this.

I'm going with The Satanic Verses. I have tried reading it previously and it was just too much for me. I've always wanted to be able to say that I have read it. This is the year.

I’m going to start with Pride and Prejudice. I purchased a beautiful collection of Jane Austen books a couple years ago, but I haven’t read any of them! It’s SO time!

I'm thinking either Lady of the Butterflies or a Margaret George that I haven't read yet (they're sooo long).

It's a good time for me to (finally) pick up A Little Life. Not only it's Thick thick, the book seems to leave the readers feeling devastated.

For those tackling Infinite Jest, I highly recommend a second bookmark to keep track of where you are in the footnotes.

Thatis a wonderful suggestion for Infinite Jest! I cannot believe I never thought of it. i spent so much time looking for the right note!