God yes...
Moby Dick
Gormenghast books
Crime and Punishment
Lord of the Rings

Why do I keep doing this to myself?

Slogged through a pile of Salman Rushdie on the premise that it's the kind of book "you've got to read", but knowing - deep down - it was a load of pretentious guff.
( Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 17:08, 3 replies)

The Gormenghast Trilogy started well,
but Titus Alone is very weak.

Nevertheless, I'm going to call my next cat Steerpike. Or maybe my son, if I ever spawn. Whichever comes first.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 17:20, closed)

yes!
I actually regret having read Titus Alone as it sullied my memories of the first two.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 18:02, closed)

really?
I thought it was quite charmingly dream-like.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 18:19, closed)

really.

(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Fri 25 Jun 2010, 10:33, closed)

Titus Alone
Peake was already suffering with early onset alzheimer's when he wrote Titus Alone, which may account for it.
(unclestinky, Sat 26 Jun 2010, 13:34, closed)

A mate of mine
recommended Rushdie (and in particular Midnight's Children) to me.

Next time I saw him I told him that I'd bought it and really couldn't get into it, and he said 'Yeah, me too, I was just saying it was good, to be honest, 'cos it seems like something I should have liked'

I felt like presenting him with an invoice for the several hours of my life I lost attempting to enjoy it...
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 17:22, closed)

.
lol. I've got a copy of "Midnights Children" on my desk. I couldn't make head nor tail of the first page even, but people have started commenting on how well read I must be.

I asked a friend who had studied English literature if he knew anyone that had actually read Ulysees. He said that nobody has ever read it, and he thinks it was written as a joke.
( browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 17:29, closed)

it is
sitting on my shelf. As it has been since I bought it. Four years ago. One of those things where I look at it, think ".....nah" and go read The Hunt For Red October again.
(cypherspace is not a toaster, Fri 25 Jun 2010, 12:19, closed)

.
Yes I've found time to read Adrian Mole about 5000 times.
( browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Fri 25 Jun 2010, 13:15, closed)

But every single one of those books
is fantastic! Except Moby Dick, that was more than a bit rubbish
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 24 Jun 2010, 17:34, closed)