Of Human Bondage.
I felt bound, alright. Trapped in that pointless story for pages. and pages and pages....
I felt bound, alright. Trapped in that pointless story for pages. and pages and pages....
Blood Meridian.
I got 100 pages into Infinite Jest, that's 10% of the book, before giving up in bewilderment.
Just what the title says. Not poorly written books, but books where something about it made you scratch your head. Maybe someone can explain.
Most of my textbooks in school. Especially the ones about science and math.
Hey, this thread's back! Conflicted feelings on Wallace in general, though I generally like hysterical realism in all its messy glory. My co-workers are discussing Vollman as I type this, who's also an author I've DNF'nd many time due to excessive difficulty (should read The Rifles tho).
Other books that stumped my 'ol noggin:
Dhalgren- Huh?
Canopus in Argos- Whuh?
Godel, Escher, Bach- Brain leaks out of ears...
Sound and the Fury- Eh, not that bad really. I liked Quentin and Jason's portions.
ETA- Since Gene Wolfe passed away recently, I should mention the only book of his that left me really stumped was The Land Across. Finished and liked it, but made no sense whatsoever.
I couldn't ever really connect with Gravity's Rainbow. So many people I know read it and loved it, but I could never get past the first 50 pages. Maybe I'm just dense.
I couldn't ever really connect with Gravity's Rainbow. So many people I know read it and loved it, but I could never get past the first 50 pages. Maybe I'm just dense.
Interesting. My ex-husband tried reading that book. And he read the whole thing except for the last 50 pages. Then he gave up. I asked why he didn't finish it, and he said he was just so confused, he couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. So he gave up when he only had a few pages left. And that was amazing cuz he was a major book person.
PHILADELPHIA–According to riders on the eastbound C bus, John Bolen, 23, made a conscious effort Monday to make the cover of Thomas Pynchon's The Crying Of Lot 49 visible to all on board. "Instead of resting the book on his lap or on the seat in front of him, he was holding it up in this really awkward, uncomfortable-looking way," rider Caryn Little said. "Then, every so often, he'd glance around to see if anyone was noticing what he was reading." Bolen vehemently denied the Pynchon-flaunting charges, insisting that "the light was bad" on the bus.
But that's the best part!
Mieville is really hit-or-miss for me. I don't think I ever finished "Kraken"? Stopped reading him after that one. Pity, because he's really atmospheric when he's good.This Census-Taker by China Mieville. I have no idea what happened in that book.
Oooh, yeah, I love Mieville but at the end of that one I had only grasped the slightest hint of what had been going on. Like,This Census-Taker by China Mieville. I have no idea what happened in that book.
It took me three tries to finish Kraken. After a while I'd forget why I stopped reading during previous attempts, only remembering that I really loved the first third-ish. I think he just threw in too many ideas with Kraken.Mieville is really hit-or-miss for me. I don't think I ever finished "Kraken"? Stopped reading him after that one. Pity, because he's really atmospheric when he's good.
Hahaha, I tried with anything Lacan or post-Lacan and kinda get the feels but no, I actually like Critical Theory and play along best I can but I know my limits.A notable absurdity of my exploration of Critical Theory is that I read The Matrixial Borderspace, a post-Lacanian text that it completely reliant upon his terminology, without ever having read a single word written by Jacques Lacan. I got the thing about "laying down your arms to paint" and almost nothing else.
I also read the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein without any foreknowledge of Analytic Philosophy whatsoever and can safely say that I didn't understand a word, an admittance that I consider somewhat noble, as philosophers are likely to pretend to have understood the Tractatus within almost every given conversation.