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All right folks, lets here your favorites and your not so favorites!
1. Loved it
2. Hated it
3. Afraid to read it
4. Conquered it



1. "Forever Amber" - I found this one for a dollar at a used book store and I absolutely loved it!! Even though it has a billion pages, the plotline was phenomenal and I couldn't put it down. I finished it in record time and I would recommend it to anyone.

2. "Age of Innocence" - This might have been the most boring book that I ever read. Yawn. I even read it a second time some years later and it was just as boring as I had remembered.

3. "Les Miserables" - This book has been sitting on my shelf for YEARS just waiting for me to pick it up and read it...but I am afraid that it is just too heavy for me to actually pick up off the shelf and read. Hahaha!

4. "The Stand" and "Anna Karenina" - Both books had looked a little daunting, but I bravely opened the covers and found both novels to be absolutely amazing. Now I can proudly say that I conquered those two titles! Ha!

Okay, Here's my list...

1. loved it
2. hated it
3. afraid to read it
4. conquered it

1. 'the Help'...I absolutely loved that book. (I have forever amber on my must read list...I'm glad to hear it is so good)

2. 'The other Boleyn girl' I know everybody loved it, national bestseller, but I just couldn't get into it.

3. 'Bleak House' it's been on my shelf forever, but I think I'm really afraid of it.....

4. 'Anna Karenina' I read this with my book club and absolutely loved it!

1. The Magus: This was one of the most amazing books I have ever read. I consider it one of my all time favorite books, and it is unlike anything else I have ever read. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and kept me guessing through the whole thing. I had no idea what was going to happen or what direction it was taking.

2. Outlander: I am a huge fan of Historical Fiction, it is one of my favorite genres, and I have heard so many people rave about how much they loved this book and the series, and personally I found it to be atrocious. The main character of the story was the most incompetent and useless heroine ever, and the whole time I just wanted someone to push her off a cliff. The writing was lacking, and the book could have benefited with some good editing because it was longer than necessary.

3. Don Quixote: I have it sitting on my self and I want to read it, but I cannot quite get myself yet around to doing so. It has a rather daunting presences.

4. The Brothers Karamazov: This was a very hefty book both in size and content. A bit tedious to read at moments but still over all interesting. There were moments which were difficult to get through but overall I still enjoyed it.

Ha! I have read the entire first part of Don Quixote, and then....I am not sure what happened! I put it down and time passed, and I have yet to pick it back up again. Now I think that I will have to read it from the begining to remember what happened. It was a good read, but I just lost the groove. I hate when that happens!

That's what happened to me with Moby-Dick. I got to this boring part in the middle

1. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - Read this twice in the same year for my two English classes, and I loved them each time I read it. I actually thought I wouldn't enjoy it the second time I had to read it because I already knew the plot, but there were so many things I didn't catch the first time, so it was almost like reading it for the first time.
2. The Awakening by Kate Chopin - I couldn't finish this. It was just too depressing for me.
3. Middlemarch by George Eliot - I heard it's like Cooper's Leatherstocking novels (which I love) except with no action which I can't accept.
4. Uncle Tom's Cabin - I didn't think something that long could be such a page turner. Since I already mentioned this title, I would also say Chesapeake by James A. Michener which I had to read through twice because I read half of it, put it down for a while, and forgot the characters.

Connor wrote: "That's what happened to me with Moby-Dick. I got to this boring part in the middle"

I too have this same problem with Moby Dick. I have attempted to read it three times over a decade. I can never get past chapter eight or nine. Herman and I are just not meant to be I think.

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Favorite book of all time. I need to reread this. Not only is it a supernatural/horror novel, but a wonderful examination of the human psyche.

2. The Mill on the Floss. *spoiler* I was so excited to read this book, and it was so terrible. NOTHING happened. At all. The characters just remained stagnant and miserable. And like all novels with affairs in them, the main female character died in the end. Lame.

3. War and Peace. I own it, and I love Tolstoy. And I love reading. But it's just so big and intimidating.

4. The Silmarillion. Big Tolkien fan, but he is so into his world that sometimes reading his fiction is like reading an actual history book. Whew!

1. All the books I've read so far, I've loved.

2. Love / Hate Wuthering Heights. I love the book. I hate some of the characters. I just get frustrated with the actions of the characters, I would have liked Heathcliff if he had made the right *choices*

3. Les Miserables, such a huge book, I have ADD, so its hard for me to focus on one book, and especially so hefty.

4. (Almost Conquered) The History of Tom Jones: a Foundling. I've been reading this book for years since I saw Becoming Jane, and have an obsession. Finally got to the last "book" and stop. 50 pages left. I'm almost there... I guess I held on to the book for so long, I'm having a hard time parting with it.

Erato wrote: "Connor wrote: "That's what happened to me with Moby-Dick. I got to this boring part in the middle"

I too have this same problem with Moby Dick. I have attempted to read it three times over a dec..."

If you want to make friends with Herman, you must try reading Omoo. It's his non-fiction account of his travels through the South Pacific. It's action packed and lots of fun. Complete opposite of Moby Dick, but strangely enough, it chronicles the time in his life when he came up with the idea for the novel.

1. Loved it - The Count of Monte Cristo. I've probably read it 15 times. Such a great story!
2. Hated it - The Last of the Mohicans. I can't tell if I hated the writing or the plot more.
3. Afraid to read it - Ulysses. I don't know why, but James Joyce scares me to death. I'm afraid I'll read 500 pages and still not know what is going on.
4. Conquored it - A Light in August. I spent the first couple of chapters completely flummoxed, but when I started getting into the plot, I just fell in love with it.

Loved it: Jane Eyre, Crime & Punishment

Hated it: Lady Chatterley's Lover--I know everyone loves this book, but I couldnt stand any of the characters. Ulysses, also, but I read it in college and might have a different opinion now. Little Women.

Afraid to read: Moby Dick, War and Peace. They are both so huge it's intimidating.

Conquered it: Don Quixote. I'd also put this in category 2. But I did finish it.

Fun post...
1. Loved it... There are so many, but 'Emma' by Jane Austen. Before I started on my classics project, I had never read a single word of Austen. Ever. Now I find myself scouring every word of every novel. She's simply brilliant, and 'Emma' was the most fun.

2. Hated It. 'Oliver Twist'. I love most Dickens, but this one made me cringe a little. The main character was insipid and the Dickens' portrayal of Jews was a bit too difficult to swallow.

3. Afraid to Read: 'The Mayor of Casterbridge'. I am only afraid because I have read other Hardy works and I really don't like them.

4. Conquered it. 'Middlemarch'. I read every word, every didactic word.

1. Loved it: The Republic. Beautifully written, could read over and over and learn something new each time.
2. Hated it: Pride and Prejudice. Very slow read, couldn't make it pass the middle.
3: Afraid to read: Atlas Shrugged. Rand writes such long complex novels.
4: Conquered it: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Fun read.

This is tough for me..
1. Loved it: Emma. I originally read it for a class but found it very intelligent and entertaining.
2. Hated it: To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't even know why. I couldn't finish it.
3.Afraid to read: Don Quixote. What a massive work
4. Conquered it: the works of John Milton (also for a class). I recently finished Gone with the Wind and had to take a break in the middle of reading it to ease my brain.

1) Loved it: One Hundred Years of Solitude, I was scared of this but its one of my favourite ever books now.
2) Hated it: Jane Austen in general
3) Afraid to read: Ulysses, War and Peace, Finnegans Wake and Les Miserables
4) Conquered it: Anna Karenin (loved it) and Moby Dick (loved it in the end but it was HARD work!)

Looks like I agree with Clare on a couple.

1. Loved it: To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Hated it: Have still to make it through any Jane Austin, I will try again.
3. Afraid to read: Ulysses
4. Conquered it: The Count of Monte Cristo (and loved it)

1. War and Peace - Loved it! It's a great read.
2. Loved the book/Hated the ending: The Count of Monte Cristo. I wish Dumas was around to throw the book at him or perhaps to discuss politely!
3. Afraid to Read: Moby Dick
4. Conquered it: Les Miserables

I love seeing all of the books that people have conquered! Good job everyone!

1.loved it. Pride and prejudice.. ok sue me! I am a sucker for rich dashing and proud heroes n happy endings.read it many times.
2.Hated. Gone with the wind ..*spoiler* actually its love hate. I read nonstop till the end hoping for a happy ending instead was depressed for a week.
3.Afraid : Don Quixote.. something about the name
4. Conquered it : Atlas shrugged

Marie, I am with you. I always felt we should cut the last chapter out of Gone With the Wind!

1. Loved it: Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
2. Hated it: Anything by Virginia Woolf
3. Afraid to read it: Ulysses by James Joyce
4. Conquered it: Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (in Middle English), Milton's Paradise Lost, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and Sinclair's The Jungle --this list could go on ;)

Ashley, Nancy is right about Bleak House! That book is endlessly fascinating, not only the main character, curiously repressed but strong, but also the incredible cast of secondary characters. And I was delighted to hear Trollope mentioned. Where in literature is a more interesting marriage than Glencora's?

Shelley
Rain: A Dust Bowl Story

1. "To the Lighthouse" At first I was really confused because I had no idea what was going on, but then I stopped paying attention to the plot and just read, really feeling a connection that I never felt with a book.
2. "Scarlet Letter" Oh my God. I don't know how I ever finished it.
3. "War & Peace" I think the lack of pressure by not having to read it for a class is inhibiting me from reading another Tolstoy novel. :/
4. "Anna Karenina" and "Middlemarch" I had to read both of these last semester in a month-long period. I absolutely loved both, "Anna Karenina" more than "Middlemarch"

Can I add?

Another loved it: Mrs Dalloway
Another afraid to read: Swann's Way

I haven't read many classics yet, I'm busy discovering them. Those that I did read, I mostly loved.

1. So hard to pick only one... I loved Oliver Twist, David Copperfield (I'm reading it now, I'm halfway through and love it so far), The adventures of Tom Sawyer/ Huckelberry Finn and The secret garden.

2. None, so far.

3. Ulysess by James Joyce.

4. Robin Hood. I did read it, and didn't get bored, so I bet I can say that I conquered it. It was far from my favourite book though, there were many heads that got chopt off.

1. Loved it: "Jane Eyre", "Quo Vadis"...
2. Hated it - Hm... not really "hated it" but rather did not like it: "Madame Bovary" and "Tess d'Urbervilles"
3. Afraid to read it: "The Name of the Rose" and "Dangerous Liaisons". The first looks too complex, the latter... too epistolary (? does this word exist, haha?) It's made up of letters and I'm afraid I won't like it beause of this. Oh, and "Lost Illusions". Balzac is a great writer, and quite difficult to read.
4. Conquered it: "The Red and The Black". At first I thought it was too difficult for me, and I was scared that the historical background (which I was not very familiar with) would drive me mad, but in the end it turned out to be one of my favourite books. Ever. Lord of the Rings was also a challenge for me, it was the first epic book that has 500+ pages that I engaged into.

Okay...just from this year:

Loved it: Middlemarch. True, nothing really happens...but it doesn't happen so beautifully.
Hated it: Oliver Twist. Not Dickens' finest moment.
Afraid of: The Origin of Species. Got about a third of the way through and sputtered out. I'll try again someday.
Conquered: Moby-Dick, which has been intimidating me since 8th grade. Y'know...that book's actually not so bad.

1. Hamlet, The Scarlet Pimpernel, any E.A.Poe works or Chekhov...
2. Tess of the d'Urbervilles
3. War and Peace (and Moby Dick)
4. Treasure Island (the language freaked me out when I was younger)

1 Roots, not sure if this is considered a classic, but I loved this huge book, couldn't put it down.
2.The Sun Also Rises - not a Hemingway fan
3.Crime and Punishment - just can't seem to get started on this one.
4.Moby-Dick or, The Whale, difficult to get through, but well worth it. Love Melville's descriptive language. I decided to read this after reading Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer fantastic book that made me want to read Moby-Dick or, The Whale

I just did the math: I spent more than half of my life in fear of Moby-Dick. Sigh...wasted years.

:)

Hmmm...
1. I love so many it's hard to just put one, but I'm going with anything by Dickens or Dumas.
2. Hate, loathed and despised Madame Bovary (what a TWIT).
3. Terrified of Ulysses by James Joyce. Have been all my life, and I completely agree with whomever it was above that is certain they will be just as confused after 50 or 500 pages as they were on page 1.
4. In HS muddled through Gogol's Dead Souls and Stendhal's Red and Black, not sure I got much out of either but I read them. A better victory was making it through Beowulf, which I adored, and Ulysses, which I enjoyed.

You mean the Odyssey in #4 there, Julia?

1 Leaves of Grass, one of those collected works that draws me in deeper and deeper until Walt and I are musing together.
2. The Canterbury Tales...just, yuck.
3. Origin of Species, I pick it up every now and then and maybe it's a fear of dense scientific language or maybe the vastness of the argument is just too daunting, I don't know.
4. Varieties of Religious Experience, took a little while but it was worth it.

Leaves of Grass is at my bedside now--read a little now and then, and yes, it is very good.
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. I finished it, but it was so foreign to my experience and it bored me. However, I know that for some it is wonderful.
3. War and Peace--so long and so promising...
4.Les Miserables. I could have put it down for #1, but it was much more daunting than Mockingbird and so worth the time it took to read.

This is one of the harder questions I've ever been asked...
1. Jane Eyre -- the writing of Charlotte Bronte is truly mesmerizing.

2. A Visit From the Goon Squad -- the plot seemed to be non-existent. It was so hard to follow and felt as if no matter how much I read nothing ever happened.

3. The Pillars of the Earth

4. Atlas Shrugged -- Ayn Rynd has some really interesting ideas in her novels, however it sure does take a long time to get into and finish them.

Sam, have to agree with you on A Visit from the Goon Squad ,what a waste of time.
The Pillars of the Earth by all means get started on that one. It's a great read and goes along much faster than it's size implies.

Alex wrote: "You mean the Odyssey in #4 there, Julia?"

Yes, sorry!

Wuthering Heights. Ick

I have not read "Pillars of the Earth" yet either, it is definitely on my to-be-read list though. I have heard great things about it!

Silver wrote: "1. The Magus: This was one of the most amazing books I have ever read. I consider it one of my all time favorite books, and it is unlike anything else I have ever read. It kept me on the edge of my..."

Even though I love historical fiction I hated Outlander as well.

1. loved it: Anything by Jane Austen
2. hated it: Madame Bovary
3. afraid to read it: Ulysses
4. conquered it: War and Peace

1. loved it: Evelina - I enjoy Frances Burney's writing even more than Jane Austen
2. hated it: The Alchemist - I found it very mundane. I can't understand why it's considered a classic
3. afraid to read it: War and Peace - I know it only has half the word-count of Clarissa, but there's something about it that's particularly daunting
4. conquered it Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady - I loved it. Although it took me over a month to get through it.

1. loved it: The Financier by Theodore Dreiser
2. hated it: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. afraid to read it: I`m not afraid to read, because being afraid have the same result as starting to read, not liking and moving over to other book/activity.
4. conquered it: Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

I agree with you Liz on The Alchemist, just meh.

And Julie, I too haven't worked up the courage to read Ulysses.

1. Loved it: Gone with the Wind, I read it in three days when I was 11.
2. Hated it: Uncle Tom's Cabin, though maybe 'hate' is too strong a word. I think I was just too young for it (I was 12) but I had chosen it for my school book report, so I had to finish it.
3. Afraid to read it: The Egyptian, because of its reputation and some other, personal reasons.
4. Conquered it: Possession, I even read all the poems and stories that many people skip.

1. Loved it: Alice in Wonderland. So very clever.
2. Hated it: Ulysses. Just boring and hard to follow. Also hated 50 Shades of Gray. All that hype. It was just stupid.
3. Afraid to read: anything else by James Joyce.
4. Conquered it: the Sound and the Fury. What a great book! Faulkner is not always easy but he is usually worth it.

Julia wrote: "Hmmm...
1. I love so many it's hard to just put one, but I'm going with anything by Dickens or Dumas.
2. Hate, loathed and despised Madame Bovary (what a TWIT).
3. Terrified of Ulysses by James ..."

I couldn't get through The Red and the Black! Nor Ulysses, either.

Ashley wrote: "Okay, Here's my list...

1. loved it
2. hated it
3. afraid to read it
4. conquered it

1. 'the Help'...I absolutely loved that book. (I have forever amber on my must read list...I'm glad to hear it..."

Bleak House is really good, it's just fat, not scary. Set in such long-ago times and yet the people are just like they are today. All these people hanging around wasting their lives waiting on their settlements. I hear that story all the time, about what people are going to do when their settlements come through, and how they can't work because they're waiting on their settlements and all this...turns out it was going on way back in Dickens' time!

So far, just for this year, not all time.


1. loved it: Of Human Bondage
2. hated it: Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
3. afraid to read it: War and Peace
4. conquered it: Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

Sorry to use Moby Dick twice, I really disliked it and wanted to quit reading it every time I picked it up.