![]() The point of this list is not to challenge the books' quality, nor is it list books that are just difficult to penetrate. Is there no great book that you just know you'll never read? Nothing that has led to you to say, "I acknowledge thy greatness, oh venerable tome, but I worship other gods"? I've read nearly all the first five books in this list - I've got bogged down in the latter stages of Proust, but the rest of them aren't that difficult. This list is silly.Īlex wrote: "Oh, come on. Most of the rest of the books here are, for the most part, either not worth reading (Of Grammatology is far from Derrida's best book) or not very good. War and Peace is completely readable, Ulysses isn't difficult for anyone with a brain, Infinite Jest is perfectly readable (it's just incoherent) and what, Gravity's Rainbow is off-putting because it has the occasional technical expression in it? Which is a problem why, exactly? As for the next five, On the Road is a good book with some of the same problems as Infinite Jest (it's more coherent, but if you're not in the mood, you can't finish it) American Psycho is not difficult, and certainly a lot easier (and nothing like so good a novel) as As I Lay Dying Moby Dick is a positive page-turner, and nobody thinks that anyone has to read all of Gargantua and Pantagruel, especially since the last two books are crap. That decision may be taken because the book is difficult, but one hopes that there is more to it. This list is an opportunity for you to identify the great books that you have decided not to read. A curious reader reads challenging books. To choose not to read a book simply because it's hard is uninteresting. (James Joyce’s Ulysses, I’m looking at you.)Īdditional note: this is not just a list for books that are challenging. The qualifying criteria are simple: 1) there is some consensus regarding the book’s excellence 2) you’re never, ever going to read it. This is not a list for books that are widely read but of dubious quality. This list is about the books you know (or strongly suspect) are excellent, but you’ve decided to forego… FOREVER! Note that crucial point about excellence. For every book you read, you choose not to read, or to delay reading, innumerable other books. But I digress.) Reading involves choices. Speed reading a book for pleasure is like going to a Michelin-starred restaurant and insisting on completing a seven course meal in 30 seconds. (I won't say any more about speed reading, except to wonder why anyone would want to do it, aside from reading purely informative material. Even a speed reader can't read everything. Books take time to read, and life is short. We are scared, afraid of failing or running without knowing where to go and what to expect on our way.For the bibliophile, the limiting function is time. We think that we lack knowledge or experience to face new challenges and we lay back in our perfectly ergonomic chairs without even trying. We often miss great opportunities because we believe that we are not prepared for them, that it is not the right moment. Opportunities require courage, and this only depends on us. Start before you are readyĪs André Gile said: A man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. You won’t get unlimited chances to have what you want and nothing is worse than regretting the opportunities you didn’t seize. But if you don’t do it, you may be losing one of the best opportunities that will come your way. The truth is that you are never going to be prepared enough to take the train. Weak people wait for opportunities strong people make them.” – Orison Swett Marden Seize common occasions and make them great. “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. You could have asked for more opinions, attended different preparation courses or made a deeper research taking into consideration hundreds of possible variables and scenarios. You are never going to be prepared enough to start an ambitious project. You could have studied more, read one last page before entering the classroom or taken one more practice test to enhance your knowledge. You are never going to be one hundred percent ready for a final exam. You could have practiced more, memorized the veering structure of the songs one more time or reviewed every single step of your performance before the show. You are never going to be prepared enough for your first concert. ![]()
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