15 Books I’ll (Probably) Never Read 

Wuthering Heights is good. Just go into it knowing that it is not a love story, it is a revenge story, and you will be fine.

Moby Dick is astounding. The closest American Lit ever got to the great European epic tradition. It’s funny and magical. The whaling chapters are filled with jokes and set off on their own. Ulysses is a wild ride. You just need to be on its wavelength. It’s a comic novel and, in the end, quite moving. Every one of the 18 sections is written in a completely different style so if you don’t take to one just hold on till the next. “Wuthering Heights” is a total original. A poetic vision of a completely malign universe. Every character is loathsome. It’s fantastic. Don Quixote can be read in two sessions. Read part 1 and leave it be. It stands on its own. Then read part 2 another time. It’s such a fun read. Read the Edith Grossman translation. Same with Proust. Read Swann’s Way and see if you like it. “War and Peace” is one of the most humane reading experiences you’ll ever have. It is not difficult to read at all. It’s just long. But well worth it. Tolstoy created vivid characters that you feel you know better than your own friends. I’ve never met anyone who read it and hated it Gravity’s Rainbow is a trip. Just be primed for some good old fashioned obscenity. Don’t bother with Ayn Rand.

For Wuthering Heights, it is meant to be “toxic”. It is written to shown insanity of love and the possibility of love and hate being much closer than it appears. It isn’t meant to be held up as some grand love story to aspire to lol Also, Don Quixote is really what pioneered the modern novel. I highly recommend reading it, it is an amazing book

So I've read almost all of these (Not the Silmarillion or Atlas Shrugged)! Lol. I'm not here to convince you to change your mind (your reasons are all valid!) but here are my thoughts: Moby Dick - Can remain unread. It's long and not a whole lot happens. I was bored a lot of the time. Ulysses - Very, very challenging. Large parts wholly impenetrable. Better than Moby Dick because it's actually funny. Maybe try Portrait first, as you suggested? Infinite Jest - One of the best books I've ever read, but it's NOT for everyone. I'm the target - white, educated dude. Also have a history of addiction, so it speaks to me. Atlas Shrugged - No desire to read. Read Fountainhead and hated it. Wuthering Heights - The best of the Brontes, but it's weird. It's not supposed to be a "traditional" love story. I prefer Jane Eyre. Don Quixote - One of the best books I've ever read. Funny. Not a difficult read. Don't let the length discourage you. Richard Brautigan - Trippy short novels. Feel dated now. Can be skipped. War & Peace - AMAZING. Short chapters make it easy to read. Second only to Anna Karenina. Honestly, can't recommend this enough. But I would start with AK (shorter). On the Road - Read when I was young. Made a big impression. Not sure if it would now. Tristram Shandy - Along with Don Quixote, the birth of the modern novel, but not essential unless you want to "understand." In Search of Lost Time - Very long, very challenging read. Sentences run entire pages. I got into it, but it's a real commitment. Juice may not be worth the squeeze. Gravity's Rainbow - Very difficult. Can be skipped. Testaments - It's fine. But not a patch on Handmaid. Thanks for the fascinating channel. I have read and been exposed to so many great novels as a result. Really appreciate your candidness and honesty.

Like aleksandrawilkos1278 says, I think you Wuthering Heights and Don Quixote are worthy books for consideration. WH is not that long. War and Peace established Tolstoy's reputation as a great writer. It is very readable except for the Russian practice of using so many given names to identify various characters. I would say that you NEED to read these 3 works. All 3 are not difficult reads and are on most book lists of the greatest novels in world literature.

IN SERCH OF LOST TIME by Marcel Proust has been one of the joys of my reading life. At first, I read the first, middle and last book of the group. I was in my 20's when I did. Although I am close to 80 years old, I have never forgot Proust. To me, the novels is like reading what I thought would be a normal book that turned out to be cream and a pure pleasure. If you don't read any of these novels, you will be missing out on a wonderful experience.

I didn't read WH as a book about great love story. I read it as a story about grief, rejection and classism. It's very well written, the characters stay with you, it's captivating. And Don Quijote is brilliant!

I spent years semi-avoiding Moby Dick, meaning I did attempt it a few times but never got past the first chapter. Maybe not even the whole first chapter. Then someone suggested the audio with William Hootkins. Wow. Now one of my all-time favorite books, had a smile on my face the whole time because Ishmael is a huge snark-monster and there is a lot of humor! And it lends itself quite well to narration - there are whole sections written like a play (complete with stage directions). And William Hootkins does an amazing job as a narrator. I was gripped. Not a moment of tedium. Ulysses, on the other hand, I'm still on your side of the "I really don't think I ever need to get to this - everyone please agree with me so I don't have to do it!!" I have a friend who just read it for the second time alongside an equally thick tome of commentary that explained wth Joyce was getting at. Nooooo! I'm also with you on David Foster Wallace, Jack Kerouac, Thomas Pynchon, and Ayn Rand - no interest at.all. Nope. I read Wuthering Heights after listening to the Kate Bush song. I liked it, but I don't think you have to read it. Definitely not a love story. I still want to get to Don Quixote. I think I need a buddy read to keep me going... (which is actually how I got through W&P, which I did enjoy, not just as an achievement 😉 Maybe same with Proust? Maaaybe? Or not. In no rush, at any rate. May run out of lifetime before there is enough urgency... Lol, The Silmarillion. LOTR is one of my all-time favorites; one of few works I have read multiple times (and may again). And I got like three pages into the Silmarillion and gave up. 😅

I will never read Ayn Rand. There's an on-going joke at work about a copy of Atlas Shrugged that showed up in our green room - we still don't know who put it there (horrifying!), who is the secret torie in the office!

I've read Moby Dick, Ulysses, Infinite Jest, Atlas Shrugged, Wuthering Heights, War and Peace, On the Road, The Life, and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Gentleman, In Search of Lost Time, and Gravity's Rainbow. I read most of them before I was 18 because I didn't have a phone and had plenty of time to read. I fell in love with stream of consciousness with Ulysses, and postmodernism with Infinite Jest, and that led me to read Gravity's Rainbow later on. I've read most of these books multiple times. I read Atlas Shrugged, but would not read it ever again. I just detest Ayn Rand. I need to reread War and Peace because I don't remember a lot of it, and I plan on rereading Proust's masterpiece every few years. Gravity's Rainbow and the novels of Thomas Pynchon are some of my favorite works, and I constantly reread his novels. I read Wuthering Heights in my sophomore year of high school and that kind of turned me off of reading for a while because we had to read it twice. But I don't know, I love reading I guess, and challenging myself with long, difficult novels. I know it's not for everyone, but some people do crossword puzzles, and I read Pynchon.

ON THE ROAD by jack kerouac is one of my favorite books. I re-read it every so often. I have read his other books. I love the Beat Generation but Jack Kerouac is my favorite. It is a trip in America that is unique and original. Everytime I read the book, I get something new out of it. I think you should try it , but someone recommended it to me and it took a while for me to read it. It is influenced by Buddhism. I feel a strong sense of envy when I read it because the trip is awesome because he author is awesome.

The only book you should read on the list is War and Peace.

I would suggest trying Moby Dick on audio. I read it that way a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised. The first chapter hooked me. And while I agree the non-plot driving chapters can feel unnecessary and tedious, I don’t personally think that’s true. It made me think a lot and I’m actually planning a reread. Wuthering Heights is on my no-no list, but I’ve tried twice and I just don’t want to spend time with those characters. Same with On the Road. I am going to try Tristram Shandy though. Elizabeth Gilbert mentioned it in her book Big Magic and actually made it sound fun. I might also give the Proust a try but who knows when. Sounds like a project for my 50s.

A library friend recommended going through the free Yale course on Don Quixote while reading it so I could appreciate what is supposed to be funny. I listened to Overdue Podcast that did a deeper dive and that sparked my interest. It's a February reading plan

The day I donated my copy of Infinite Jest I felt liberated.

Don Quixote was originally published in two volumes, separated by a decade. The publication history is fascinating as it greatly influenced the actual content of volume 2 - another author published an unauthorized “sequel” in the meantime and Cervantes incorparated it into his own novel. It’s amazing. Part 1 is very episodic because it’s a satire of every popular genre of literature of the time (while also being a satire of the chivalric romance, of course). I highly recommend giving it a try. Knowing a bit about Spanish literature of the time helps catch everything, but even without that knowledge, it’s a good time.

I think you would love Moby Dick, actually. I don't think you'd find the Whaling chapters tedious. They weren't. I thought they added depth and conture to the narrative and I loved them. I highly, highly recommend reading the book and following along with the audio read by William Hootkins. It was 5 stars. So good, Greg. Please please don't let this one pass you by. It's funny and poignant and thrilling and spectacularly written.

One reason I like your channel is that you are honest when a book everyone is reading and loving just isn’t doing it for you. 🌻

Atlas Shrugged is right wing bull-ish and I read both it and the Fountainhead back in the day. Save yourself the trouble. Don Quixote is kinda hilarious. I read Ulysses also but if you’re not studying it you may not get anything out of it ( I didn’t)

The only one I'm going to try to sway you on is Wuthering Heights. I truly believe that it is a mistake to read it as a love story and I don't think that it was the authorial intent of that book. Instead, I believe it should be read as a book about obsession and its destructive qualities. Speaking not only from personal experience, but from anecdotal experience from many of my reader friends, the book is MUCH more successful when read in that light. As for Moby Dick, unless you are really, really, REALLY into 19th century whaling the (original with, I think, Gregory Peck) movie is better. I do recommend that.

Books that people actively avoid reading because of some political bias makes me want to read them even more.

You read war and peace because it’s the best. No body writes relationships and the complexity of human interconnections moving from micro to macro and back again.

The Dubliners is an easy to read collection of short stories - no experimental language syntax. However, the stand out story is “The Dead”. Definitely read only that story it if you are not interested in the collection. Also, in the film adaptation, Anjelica Houston does a stand out job portraying the main character, Greta, in the last movie her father directed. The characters in “Wuthering Heights” are not a likable group. However, Emily Bronte’s writing is remarkably vivid and imaginative. The story is about obsession and revenge, not love. The idea of it being a great love story probably goes back to earliest versions of Filmmakers interpreting the story and casting Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. I read “On the Road” as unassigned reading while in college, did not like it and couldn’t understand why it was so often referenced in articles. Don’t waste any time on it. I had to read Brautigan’s “In Watermelon Sugar” and a few other stories as a course assignment for post-1950 American Lit. Did not find it intriguing - too experimental. I don’t recommend it. Unless, you have to read something you’re definitely not into as a course requirement don’t struggle with “I think I really should read ______ to say I read it.” Life’s too short and goodness knows there are an infinite variety of books one can try.

I've only read Swann's Way [vol. 1] of Proust's In Search of Lost Time and I absolutely think that volume is worth a read even if you don't continue on with the rest of the series! While there's 'philosophical' takes in the novel, it's really just so beautifully written that it flows easily. And Proust has so many incredible insights about time, memory, boundaries, societal conventions, and how marginalized people interact with the world/the world interacts with marginalized people in very different ways. This was by far my favourite book from my lit MA and I hope to read the rest of the series one day! I would recommend reading the short wikipedia summary on the Dreyfus affair just for a bit of context there but other than that I think anyone could enjoy this book without being in an academic class setting.

Moby Dick is soooooooooooooooooo good tho. I'm sure you've read the first page. This is a burn on society and it is so up to date, you will get a total kick out of his asides and references. There are archaic references, yes, but the slang references and his observations are so NOW they are hilarious. It's like you're on twitter sometimes. You can SKIP ANY TEDIOUS PART!! SEriously. It's interactive.. You know, people with the biggest hearts, who sigh the most over what people in power do, this book is a balm. Ulysses, I am doing a deep dive on, and I'm coming away with the sense that people can skip it but that is a very premature statement. I'll tell you what is one of the best books I've read, is a book about that book, called The Most Dangerous Book, The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses. That is a must read history book. Ulysses, IDK if it is a must read, but I think it's a must read about, and Most Dangerous is the best best best. The history is more amazing than you think. But yes, Moby Dick, absolutely do not count it out! Do not! My problem with Moby is that I could talk too much about it, so I just end up saying things you have already heard.

Atlas Shrugged is an infuriating read. Just don't. I read Ulysses, but I'd only recommend it to people who like complicated puzzles that require annotations. Moby Dick was mostly boring. War and Peace was amazing, but it takes tracking all the alternate names. Could fit 'achievement" more than memorable for characters. Don Quixote was okay. The Testaments was disappointing.

wuthering heights isn’t a romance novel and i kind of resent that books that misunderstand it like twilight gave that impression. if anything, it’s like a victorian gothic version of the film parasite lol. it’s like people are so used to calling out romanticized abuse in colleen hoover books that they forget that there are actual well-written books out there where the relationship is supposed to be psychologically explored as toxic, and perhaps an acclaimed classic is going to be one of those lol.

I've read 7 from your list and have 2 others on my TBR list. Ulysses--just finished my reread yesterday morning. First time got hung up on a companion reading of a book of footnotes. This time I used a much more slimmed down guide by Daniel Muhall which gave brief overviews of what to look for in each section. I read and simultaneously listened to the great audio version done by Jim Norton which captures the incredible musicality of Joyce's writing. First time was climbing Everest, second time great fun. Don Quixote is really two books written about 10 years (?) apart. I read the two books a year apart and was glad I did. First book has more of the iconic episodes and second book beautifully expands on the relationship between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Moby Dick--great book. Time for a reread. Audio looks promising. Wuthering Heights--a bit overwrought, but worth the read. Love and hate interfering with each other. War and Peace--time for a reread. If you haven't read Anna Kerenina, I'd start there instead. On the Road--read Kerouac's Dharma Bums instead. Good book and (I suppose) not so "Dudish". Gravity's Rainbow--great fun when I read it in the 70's. Wonder what a reread would look like. My TBRs are Tristam Shandy and Search for Lost Time. Hope you try one or two (as long as you avoid Atlas Shrugged).

I have heard many good things about War and Peace. The reason I have such affection for it is the musical Nastasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812. It adapts one story from War and Peace. It is humourous and lovely and looks at the different characters. The first song is called The Prologue and begins with telling you that the main character 'Andrey' isn't there and we're not going to look at the war of 1812. This is just side plot and just makes fun of itself saying: And this is all in your program you are at the opera Gonna have to study up a little bit if you wanna keep with the plot Cuz it’s a complicated Russian novel everyone’s got nine different names So look it up in your program We’d appreciate it, thanks a lot And then introduces all the characters with one word and repeats them throughout the song so you remember . . . maybe. And it's a musical that is playing a little with mode as the characters narrate how they are saying things and what they are doing. Some of the songs I really like are 'Dust and Ashes', 'Sonya Alone', 'Pierre and Anatole' and 'Pierre and Andrey.' From the vibes of the songs and having read Anna Karenina I don't think War and Peace is suppose to be hard work or an accomplishment. It's humourous and about characters and relationships. I think people just tend to aggrandize big classics. I know people who have said Jane Austen is very stiff and formal when she's utterly hilarious. I think some of that has to do with their place in canon more than their content. And that what is funny is based in understanding the setting. I haven’t actually read it yet because it's big. But I plan to. And I understand not wanting to because of the length or not being interested in the subject. But I know it is a beloved novel not because of it's philosophy or literary merit but because of it's characters and story and humour. To me he's inna group with Dickens and Trollope, but funnier. His works are all about a Russian nobles whose influence and way of life is slipping away. And they are long because they were serialized. Apparently, I'm even more passionate about this then I realized 😂😂

You should read Moby Dick. It's magnificent. I didn't find it tedious at all. War and Peace is worthy of your time too. Finally, I LOVE The Silmarillion. It is my favorite of all of Tolkien's works. I've read it 4 or 5 times.... I love the lore, history and world-building.

War and Peace IS fun. It’s a glorious and accessible romp. Tolstoy is also the sharpest most emotionally intelligent of all the Victorians. I love Austen and Wharton but Tolstoy is sharper than both. You can skip Foster Wallace’s fiction, but you should definitely read the essay collection that named your channel. It is undeniably excellent. I read the Lord of the Rings books when I was a teenager. They bored me senseless. I decided then and there that nothing on Earth could induce me to read The Silmarillion.

I was totally with you until Wuthering Heights. It’s my favorite book but not because it’s a love story…I’m not sure what it is but I love it. It’s maybe more a study on the repercussions of abuse and neglect and the consequences on future generations. But the atmosphere alone just pulls me in every time.

You would enjoy Wuthering heights. To me, Heathcliff was portrayed unsympathetically, so you won’t feel like Bronte is glorifying a sicko. His character is contrasted with another who is younger than Heathcliff and heavily influenced by him, but who is able to be softened and redeemed. It’s a great story. The characters are incredibly vivid.

Don Quixote is not just funny, it's moving. It's not perfect by any means, but there are plenty of modern classics thought accessible which are harder to get through. What's great about it isn't that it's the first novel, but that it has such an accurate view of humans and the world: romantics are delusional, but they also have the best and most practical attitude towards life. There are also abridged translations that get rid of the side stories. Somewhere in my collection I have one. War and Peace isn't as great as Anna Karenina, but it's still got so many transcendent moments. The way I describe it to people is: imagine if Mad Men and The Wire were the same show - on the one hand showing how the world has changed from the recent past, and on the other hand showing how political processes really work. It's not an Everest so much as a world. The characters are not as important as how the characters interact with each other. Yes the length can wear on you, but after you put it down it stays with you forever.

Surprised how many of those I read. Admittedly a lot of them on audio, that really helped. So here we go: Moby Dick was a surprise, really good on audio, but not the sotry I expected. It's more a book about whaling, whales and fishermen. The writing is really great, but I blanked quite a bit on some of the boring whale geneology. Go for the audio, if you pick it up. Ulysses: I tried for the 3rd time last year, and decided I really don't care about a day in the life of a man. Tried reading and audio, but wasn't worth it. I liked The Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a young man, listened to that read by Colin Farrel. Really recommend that one! So much more accessible that Ulysses. Infinite Jest: I was so surprised how much I liked it. I read it and listened to it with a time lag (I think I have a video on that actually). I still need to read more of him, as I like his style of writing. Atlas Shrugged: Listened to it (also vlogged it) and was so surprised how much I enjoyed the experience. Really had me thinking about things. Still want to look more into her philosophy and listened to Fountain Head. The Art of War was free on audible at some point and I can't remember a word of it. It's just some war theory that stupid guys adore. Wuthering Heights was awful and still I want to reread it at some point to see if I missed something. I expected a love story, got people torturing each other. But I think for the writing it is interesting. Don Quixote was rather fun in parts, but repetetive and the second part didn't grab me at all. Also went for the audiobook it was really well done. I listened to the free one in the audible members catalogue. Never Heard of Richard Brautigan. War and Peace, also listened to, it was so boring! So much war and characters I didn't care about. If you like how Tolstoy writes his characters you might like it. I can't connect with his writing. Also didn't really enjoy Anna Karenina. On the Road was a book I really loved in my twenties, but am avoiding reread it for years as I think it's not working anymore these days. Tristram Shandy is on my TBR, currently also available in the audible members catalogue. So not interested in the Simarilion. Reading the Lord of the Rings was somewhat tedious for me already, despite my dad reading them at least once a year. I have a "Proust for busy people" which is basically quotes and I keep thinking one of these days I'll look for an audiobook. I hated the Handmaids Tale and avoiding Atwood's writing ever since. And haven't read any Pynchon yet. Okay, I got carried away. Would I recommend any of the books? Not really. My main motivation for most of them was wanting to have read them rather than wanting to read them. So especially the long ones count as achievements for me, but not all of them were actually enjoyable. I recommend audiobooks, as those always feel easier and less boring when I am not into a book. For most of the books I could see, why people still talk about them and what they did for literature, but that doesn't mean they are still enjoyable reads for everyone. I say skip the books if you don't feel like it or just sample them, to see if they grab your interest.

If you are saying should read, I don't want to read, convince me to read.... I think you should put these books aside and select all the other wonderful books on your pile of possibilities to spend time with! . My daughter was a English major and told me not to waste my time with so many of these books you mentioned!

Don't go into Wuthering Heights thinking it's a romance. Just expect a story of revenge. It works out better that way. Don Quixote is funny and worth it. Maybe take it in parts. There is an audio here on RU-vid that is good (and it is in parts).

Here's my tip: read Wuthering Heights and stay away from people who call it a love story. And here's another: read Don Quixote, but treat it like a short story collection. Or two regular-sized books.

I don't know why Wuthering Heights is still called a romance. It's not a romance, and you cannot read it as a romance. It's really about two toxic people who are obsessed with one another and the aftermath of that toxic obsession.

The Lord of the Rings is in my top ten list of all time. That said, I have never read The Simillarion and I don’t plan to. In my opinion it is completely unnecessary.

I think you may appreciate Moby Dick - the length of the book is part of helping the reader feel the journey personally, in a way. It is overall a great thing and the ending pays off (unlike some books, long or short, where you get to the end feeling like the writer stopped taking care of the reader.) In other matters - deckled pages? Not a fan 😉

I’ve been following you for a few years now so I think I have a fairly good idea of what you would probably enjoy, that said, I am confident that if you tried to read Atlas Shrugged you would throw it across the room. Several of these I had to read in school ( Moby Dick, Ulysses) and I have no fond memories of either. On the Road contains one of my least liked characters in literature, Dean Moriarty. I threw that one across the room

I recently read In Watermelon Sugar/Richard Brautigan (1968). I can only describe it as hippie, trippy, post-apocalyptic, poetic, weirdness. I don't come across that combination often! At only 144 pages, it is worth trying.

I hated Wuthering Heights. The whole time I was reading it I was pissed. Heathcliff was a disgusting creep and Catherine was useless and pathetic and I just wanted them all to die of Tuberculosis already. Moby Dick was long and tedious for me, but there were moments that were spectacular too. I wouldn't call it the greatest American novel. But I have a lot of love for the parts of the book that I loved. I had some issues with a lot of the Homeric and Biblical references though. I haven't read The Odyssey and I was raised a proper heathen, I DNF'd the Bible and I didn't grow up listening to the stories. Sometimes I looked up the references for context, but other times I got bored and just blew past them. So even though I read the entirety of Moby Dick, I was left feeling like I'd only read half of it. I'm serious about the metaphors based on classic literature, there are so many. So, I think Moby Dick is a book that is better "studied" than casually read. Maybe it's the greatest American textbook? 🤔 The Testaments has been sitting on my bookshelf since it was released and I just can't seem to pick it up. Same with Harper Lee's sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.

Moby Dick. I was like you, I was curious as it's a "American classic" and it was NOT WORTH IT 😂

Interesting list. I would like to read Don Quixote.

I read ATLAS SHRUGGED in my college years because a professor I liked recommended it. It was easy to read, and I enjoyed it although I felt somewhat troubled by it. Later, I read some of the criticism of it and that criticism made sense to me. I thought back on my reading it and changed my opinion of the book. I, too, considered who the people were that praised it. I never considered the book or the author again.

Moby Dick. I started it, loved it. But i couldn't make it through the chapter on the different types of whales 😂

I really liked you viedo and especially your appproach towards these novels! There are also a lot of books that I am planning on not reading (including Ulysses, anything by Cormac McCarthy and The Silmarilion, for example). But sometimes you get surprised! I listened to Moby Dick on audio, and I think that it is definitely the way to go if you'd like to give it a try. I sometimes zoned out of the descriptions a bit, and overall really enjoyed the story. I'm also listening to Proust currently, and I do actually recommend it! Although there are lots of ideas discussed, I don't think it's philosophical in a dry way. It feels more like someone telling you a story, and sometimes digressing a bit and sharing their general thoughts on life with you because one element of the story reminded them of it (if that makes any sense). And it's very funny, which I was not expecting because I don't think people talk about this aspect of Proust's writing a lot. And about Tolstoi: I have not read War and Peace, and honestly am not planning to anytime soon. But I did unexpectedly pick up and read Anna Karenina last month, and I found it great! It is long and there are some passages that dragged a bit in my opinion, but I found the exploration of the interpersonal relationships fascinating and timeless, and (again) I loved the humor of it!

Good morning. Atlas Shrugged is the only book I have thrown across the room and the only book I have ever put in the garbage. Don Quixote is one of my favorite books. Instead of reading The Testaments I would suggest the book I Who Have Known Men. It's translated from French. Have you ever read Underworld by Don DeLillo? That's my next mammoth.

Infinite Jest is not worth it. It is not a hard book as many claim it to be, it's just one of those books where you sit down to read it and instantly start making grocery lists and doing your taxes in your head. It's a meditation practice seeing that the brain has been wondering if cereal is a soup and trying to refocus on the book. Richard Brautigan is an acquired taste. I like everything I have read of his but I would not recommend him to anyone. Have you read Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac? If not, it has the same feel as On the Road and can be read in an afternoon. That would be a good way of seeing if On the Road is worth your time.

Ben at Doom Antidote (his channel name could be spelled differently) read Marcel Proust and it took him an ENTIRE YEAR! No, thank you. In every single wrap up video he always called it “in search of lost flipping time” 😅

(Regarding Wuthering Heights) Don’t do it.

I don't know if I will read Moby Dick either. It will almost definitely be on audiobook and but who knows what the next fifty years have in store. I started Portrait of An Artist As A Young Man I started three times on aidiobook. In one day and I couldn't get into it. I didn't know Dubliners was easier, having had such trouble with his shortest book turned me off wanting to try either of them. 'I have never met a woman who liked Infinite Jest' there is never a truer sentence. I read Anthem by Ayn Rand years ago and I was excited to read more of her novels and then I learned more about her and was like 'how about not.' I read the Art of War because I write fantasy, I don’t remember it. It is written like a list of proverbs. Not the most engaging. Wuthering Heights was brutal to me. I could see you enjoying it though as it looks at the complicated dynamics of intergenerational trauma. I think the story is definitely written yo be toxic not romantic and in some ways is more ethical than Jane Eyre who views Rochester as a good guy. But I'll take Jane Eyre every day because Jane is a very kind and wonderful heart of the story and that character does not exist in Wuthering Heights. It does end in hope not cruelty, about how we can break the family cycles but it is so dark and nihilist before that it was not pleasant for me. Though many people think the quality of prose and acknowledgment of the characters' flaw makes it interesting all the way through. I too am really excited to read Don Quixote. I plan to read it on audiobook one day. If you ever wanted to casually buddy re-read it. I think that would be fun.

Wow! Your description of people who read and enjoyed Atlas Shrugged, made me question who I am. I am an African American female who read this book 3 times. I enjoyed the characters and sometimes I wonder, "Where Is John Gault"?

I highly recommend reading The Original Scroll version of On The Road. It drops the "characters" and uses the names of real life people. Also includes the censored bits which are mostly LGBTQ+ focused. Once you understand which people were actually lovers, it changes a lot. If you need a big satisfying ending maybe avoid this though. In real life someone's dog got his jaws on the original scroll manuscript and tore up the original ending like a chew toy. No joke. The book ends a bit like The Diary of Anne Frank ("this is the final entry").

War and Peace wasn't all that hard of a read. I read it in a couple weeks, I think. I liked parts of it better than others but I enjoyed the overall experience and remember the characters fondly. I have actually been planning to reread it.

People who call Wuthering Heights a love story have never actually read it, I think. What it is is extremely atmospheric. When I read it, I felt like I was physically there with the characters in a way I have rarely felt with anything else I've read. It isn't a favourite of mine, but I admire what it does. Had Emily Brontë lived, I think she would have surpassed her sister Charlotte in terms of ability and literary renown. Ulysses was very interesting for me. I read it in about five days several years ago, and recently actually bought an anniversary copy to reread. It is structured in very interesting ways, and that's part of the enjoyment of reading it. I do think you'd benefit from having a primer or reading guide for it. I'm not particularly a fan of Dubliners, and I think A Portrait of the Artist is a bit pretentious, but Ulysses does follow the same character from Portrait for part of the story, so I would say start with Portrait if you want to tackle Ulysses. Portrait is well written, for sure. I liked Moby Dick for the friendship between the narrator and another sailor, but, to be honest, the ending fell kind of flat for me, and I was disappointed by it. You're not missing out on anything by not reading On the Road or The Silmarillion. I didn't find much of merit in them anyway. Don Quixote is funny, though some of the episodes are better than others. War and Peace is interesting, but Anna Karenina is probably a better story. Anna feels more like a story, while W&P feels more like a history, or like he's using fictional characters to tell a history, a bit like Victor Hugo with Les Miserables.

Well, I’ve read Moby Dick three times and it got better every time.

Oh yeah, I forgot--- Brautigan. I haven't read the collection you own, but I have read "In Watermelon Sugar", "The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western" and "Trout Fishing in America". Of the three, I probably like "The Hawkline Monster" the most, as it has a plot of sorts, though still trippy. I liked "In Watermelon Sugar" for what it was, and it is a quick, short read. I read "Trout Fishing in America" a few years back, and, maybe it was because I was older, but it just didn't do anything for me. I know it is his most widely read book, but of the three of his I've read, I liked it least--- but, again, I read the other two in my late teens/early twenties, so, who knows? Fun fact--- my high school guidance counsellor loaned me "In Watermelon Sugar" to read, because she knew I was reading a lot of books from the 1960s and 1970s. I think she had forgotten that she had highlighted some naughty sections in her copy.

Good for you for knowing what doesn't work for you! I think Moby Dick and Don Quixote are well worth reading, really didn't care for Ulysses nor On the road personally. I loved Fountainhead by Rand and has atlas shrugged on my TBR, also Infinite Jest because my friend (we are both liberal minded female) loved it, but it took her almost an year to finish. I want to read it because I listened to his Consider the lobster audiobook last year and was highly entertained. If you are curious, maybe start with Consider the Lobster and decide to commit to Infinite Jest. ..... then again, there are SO many books we want to read already!!😂

I know many people who are reluctant to read long books, which I don't understand. All else being equal, I don't see any difference between reading three 300-page books over a three-week period (my normal reading pace) and reading one 900-page book over the same time period. Actually, nothing makes me happier than being in the middle of a long book that I love -- although they may be harder to find than enjoyable short, page-turning novels. Otherwise, I do agree with your take on most of these books, most of which I do not intend to read either -- although I did enjoy War and Peace.

I read Emily Brontë and Don Quijote when I was In high school and I loved them !!!

I agree with many of your choices! Dubliners is quite short and easy to read, I really liked it! Portrait, though, not so much. I think the big misconception with Wuthering Heights is that it's a love story, it's really not. It's kind of its own world because of the location and the atmosphere so it doesn't read similarly to a more modern story about toxic relationships, whether it's a romantic one or something else. I feel like I would be really bothered by a story about a toxic relationship set in our times, but Wuthering Heights felt a bit more distant in some weird way.

I loved Moby Dick because it was not what I was expecting. The writing style changes throughout the novel in a way that I haven't seen in classics. The beginning is actually pretty funny at times. There are parts that read like an adventure novel. There are parts that are heightened and feel almost like a Greek drama. And of course, the infamous middle that is more like Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle. I think if you ever feel like reading it, just skip the history/tedious stuff if you're not into it. I was into it but I absolutely understand those were aren't.

Don't read a book because of your polical biases. If there's a book that might challenge your political worldview then you should definitely read it. Ar the very least you might understand your political adversy a bit more.

Okay, some thoughts: "Atlas Shrugged" and Ayn Rand are anti-socialist, "the individual above all else" stuff. Ted Cruz has worn out his copy. Not worth the time. In terms of "Infinite Jest," I think the image it has a dude or bro book (and it does have that image) is somewhat mistaken. For one, I don't think half of these dudes have actually read it, but have it on their shelves. But there are definitely a lot of women fans of the book, I know a bunch of them. Tess Gunty actually talked about it in an interview I liked, though she also admitted that if it had been written by a woman and not the "wunderkind literary male genius" of the moment, and editor would have cut it down far more ruthlessly. I think it has some of the most accurate writing on depression I have ever read, somehow honestly capturing the feeling. "Wuthering Heights" was a giant disappointment for me. So many people I know and love actually love the book, but I do not. Yes, it is very toxic, not a love story, many of the characters are unlikeable--- but these are not my big complaints. The narrative bores me to tears. We have a narrator who is being told a story. Okay, that's fine. Passive, but fine. But then the people who are telling him the story will, within their story, say, "And then I ran into so-and-so, who told me this story," and there will be a story within that, where somehow, everyone remembers everyone's dialogue verbatim and imitates their accents completely. I find it a tiring narrative structure, and would like to just have more happening NOW. Not a read for me. With all Pynchon, but particularly "Gravity's Rainbow", I think so many readers go into it with a sense of "This is a difficult book." and are kind of overwhelmed before they even start. Sometimes I think it is better to just jump in without any feeling of "Is this book too smart for me?" I make that mistake all the time. And the truth is, it's a book, and I will either like it and take something from it, or I won't. Having said this, "The Crying of Lot 49" is probably the easiest entry point to Pynchon, and maybe trying "V" before "Gravity's Rainbow" is a good idea. I'm with you on Tolkien. But Tolstoy is worth it, though time consuming, in my opinion.

War and Peace is an amazing reading experience. I had a little printed sheet with all the character names and nicknames at the beginning, but after reading a bit, you don't really need it. I admit I started it thinking I was climbing a mountain, but it is NOT a slog. Tolstoy writes amazing characters.

Richard Brautigan lives on my bookshelf and has for many years. Every once in a while, I pull him off the shelf and read a poem or two or In Watermelon Sugar, or Trout Fishing in America. He is my quintessential go-to sixties poet guy. He still has the best poem of the definition of Man/with his hat on/is about five inches taller/than a taxicab - ever written. Keep him on your shelf. He's worth pulling off and having a look at from time to time.

I love Melville and I think there are versions that edit out the really tedious parts. For very challenging books, that I am intimidated by, I have been using audio versions. That’s how I got through Infinite Jest and Ulysses.

Oh man, #297! Ok. Moby Dick: I had to read it for a book club and I loved it. I loved the digressions (a cilantro feeling). I'm the last person who would like a whaling book, but I kind of can't describe it: his writing is so interesting. Maybe read part of it and then decide, nope, not for me? This book made me a better person, the richness. Ulysses: have tried. Find it impossible. Did like Dubliners and Portrait of an Artist (inspired enough to do a paper on it!) but not sure that really prepares you for this tome. (Liking when people say: skippable!) Infinite Jest: tried. Nope. This one, Atlas Shrugged, Art of War: Absolutely, your comments. (The fan base they appeal to.) Also AS, feel I'm supposed to read it, don't want to. Wuthering, just haven't. The comments in the comment section make me more intrigued. Don Quixote I intend to. Sounds readable enough. Richard Brautigan: your video comments sound quite valid. Oh, War and Peace! Diligently read it for book club and... There are some juicy chunks. Yes the names are very annoying. Who is who. (I made a chart but my feeling now afterwards is that you can let a lot of that go.) What it's like behind the front, the disorganization - interesting. That has stuck with me. The whole thing didn't knock my socks off, especially during reading, but having read it... It is good. Yes Anna Karenina is great, I wouldn't say it necessarily prepares you for W&P. On the Road, thanks for what you said! (Cross another off obligation list!) Tristam Shandy - really? Not even in my realm of must reads. Okay I should read The Hobbit and perhaps LOTR. I'm not a fantasy fan either. Proust: tried. It remains a maybe. Will probably take your advice on the Atwood and read Handmaid's Tale, then stop. Gravity's Rainbow: ughlk. Had such trouble starting. DNF. 🙏

I read Dublineers and i found it interesting but i'm not going to read 600 pages of that style of writing. I didn't liked Wuthering heights but i really liked The testaments. Don Quixote is funny. One of the worst thing that education makes to people here in Spain is making teens read Don Quixote before they are ready to appreciate it.

@supposedlyfun - good call on Moby Dick. Unless you're reading as an academic exercise, extracting symbolism and analyzing writing and storytelling methodologies, just watch the Gregory Peck/Richard Basehart film from 1956.

Read WUTHERING HEIGHTS!!! You won't regret it!!! ❤️

Portrait is not difficult at all, but even though I loved it and liked Dubliners (read the story "The Dead" if nothing else), I have zero desire to read Ulysses. None.

I started reading Moby Dick about 10 years ago and only got about 25% into it before putting it down. Mostly, I thought the narrator was obnoxious. He reminded me of one of those Reddit know-it-alls that tries way to hard to be witty and cerebral. The fact that Melville did a good job of portraying such an annoying person is to be commended, but the book wasn't for me.

Hi. Thanks for what you do. I enjoy most of your commentary. Don Quixote is fun. Moby Dick is more readable than it appears at first sight. Brautigan’s In Watermelon Sugar offers fabulous writing and an interesting insight into that era. A Confederate General at Big Sur, and Trout Fishing . . . are all good. Also, all are very short so the investment is small. On The Road, while it has real historical significance, but though the characters are interesting, the story is boring and writing is bad. Real bad, actually. I enjoyed it when I was young. But I was young. Your thoughts on Ulysses mirror my own except that have read Dubliners and The Artist as a Young Man and enjoyed them. And I will one day read Ulysses. I think I’ll enjoy it. I share your thoughts in Infinite Jest though I do suppose I’ll read it, or try to, one day. One day I hope to read at least the first volume of Proust, though I don’t expect to like it. Haven’t read War and Peace but those I know who have read it did love it. Anna Karenina is great. Really great. I appreciate and share your thoughts on Tolkien in toto. Loved The Hobbit when in JHS. These books, and fantasy generally, are for kids, and not for me. Pynchon is difficult. I’ve read only Crying and “V”. The former was boring and the latter was just difficult to understand or enjoy. And difficult now to recall. Like you, I loved The Handmaid’s Tale, and have no interest in a sequel. Loved the Madadam trilogy and highly recommend it. Finally, Wuthering Heights is one of the most extremely boring books I’ve ever read through to the end. It sucks. It sucks. A lot. Your tastes and mine are much the same (except that I have little interest in gay lit, if only because I’m not gay). And I share surprisingly many of your thoughts. Though I do like medium long books, say in the 450 to 750 page range. Now, let me share with you some popular titles that I either did not finish because I could not and some that I did but wish I hadn’t wasted my time. First among these is Wuthering Heights. Then: Life of Pie, The English Patient, Midnight’s Children, The Goldfinch, The God of Small Things, The Scarlet Letter, The DaVinci Code, Harry F Potter- though I normally give a book 100 pages I quit that one after a paragraph, The Wizard of Oz-and I’ve never watched the movie, Sophie’s Choice, and Gaijin-though I am one. I’m sure there are others I’ll think of as soon as I send this message, but I suppose you get the drift. Many of these books may have been well written (not the Dan Brown thing or Harry F Potter) but they are plain and simply boring. So finally then, my favorite read (fiction)of the past few years: A Fine Balance Thank you again for your hard work.

I'll start by saying: There is no arguing with taste. I read Moby Dick and liked it. At one point the narrative alternates between chasing the whale and allegorical chapters. Just read the pursuit sections. Ulysses - I tried so hard! Rand could not write! Atlas Shrugged is just a boring and repellent lecture. Already read WH and it was gripping. If you want a novel pooulated by people in dire need of chemical psychology, dive in. Brautighan - Read Confederate General from Big Sur. It was fun, but Vonnegut is more fun. Try Uncle Rich, see how you feel. I genuinely enjoyed War and Peace. I particularly like "realistic" novels. Social life, battle scenes - Tolstoy delivers. He also lectures the reader on history. Just go around that material.

Hi Greg, & as always, thanks. I’ve come late again to this vid but have to put a plug in for Moby Dick. IMHO: in addition to being Melville’s prophetic take on what would become manifest destiny & the spasms of violence that America would perpetrate against the indigenous people & natural environment of its portion of the continent, it’s also believe it or not very funny! It’s THE Great American Novel!! Re the others-I agree to some extent with you about all of them & ad determined to never read anything by JF Wallace & nothing else by A Rand (ugh, gross…🙄). 🥰🥰

Prologue: for whatever reason, even since I was a baby I would NOT eat meat and no threat, no amount of reasoning, pleading, cajoling could convince me to do it - to this day. I just don't like it! Wanting to read or not something must be the same, arguments simply won't work. But: 1.The Art of War is not a work of fiction, leave it 2.for some books there is, I think, a time window that allows one to enjoy them, afterwards it becomes a hardship. That's the case for Silmarillion, Wuthering Heights, Don Quixote, Kerouac, Moby Dick (after more than 20years I still think with awe about scenes from the latter - not sailing, whaling or knots) 3.I didn't think about the importance, profound philosophy aso of Tolstoy and Proust, just dug in and read - and enjoyed and loved them. But couldn't read Gravity's Rainbow although my 'practically twin' brother adored it. Haven't got Infinite Jest but enjoyed The Broom of the System. 4.I read some Brautigan stories, he's good but something about him scares me. 5.I would never try to read Sterne or Ayn Rand they are just like meat for me. Nor Testaments - didn't like Handmaid's Tale, although I love a lot of Margaret Atwood's books. 7.(and most important I think)PLEASE READ DUBLINERS & PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST, I'm sure you'll like them. Just don't think of them as your gate to Ulysses, read them for what they are. SORRY FOR THE RANT!

"The Art of War" was interesting and not a hard read. It was cool in a historical way and because it shows up in so many different books. I am not at all an intimidating/soldier-like person, so.....

I've read one Richard Brautigan novella / short story, for school, and recently reread it. I still liked it. It was *So The Wind Won't Blow It All Away* . Maybe you could give it a go. I'm considering to try some more. Other things by the Beat Generation ( *On The Road* (= superfluous and overrated) , *Howl* ) I did not care for very much. From the list I've read 4 titles and I could have done without them. There are sooooo many more books out there, you should read what appeals to you. 🙂

I think you should read all the books on that list that challenge your ideas and make you feel uncomfortable.I was attracted to your channel because I’m not like you and you have opened my mind to topics that I find uncomfortable…. I think that’s the zone we all grow in Skip the books that are long and not ideologically challenging

Reading Dostoevesky is reading philosophy. He is the OG existentialist.

What a list! I can't recommend you read anything that you (who knows your likes and dislikes) have discounted, but these are a few thoughts on the books I have read. I struggled through Moby Dick. The endless 'natural history' as the blurb euphemistically puts it is very off-putting, but if you can get through that the symbolism and description of human interaction is amazing. Ulysses I read in my 20's and whilst there is amazing writing, the imprenetrable nature of most of the book makes it a very demanding read. WH is not a romance. It is about obsessive love that leads to revenge and shows the very depth of human behaviour. A horrible mirror to what we are capable of doing. My favorite is the Proust. When I read the first book in translation to English, I could not believe that such a beautifully written book existed. I was often transported into the narrative. What he did for our understanding of what we percieve of as Time is nothing short of a miracle. I went on to read the entire 6 volumes and didn't regret a moment of the time spent on it.

Declan Kiberd's 'Ulysses and Us" is THE indispensible Reader's Guide to James Joyce's extraordinary novel Forget Moby Dick, take on Ulysses, but don't do it alone! It is an astonishing piece of literature. Really, honestly, you MUST read Ulysses and Declan Kiberd reveals all and holds your hand through all the difficult passages. Atlas Shrugged is morally and politically abhorrent. Pro-fascistic writing can be summarily dismissed without right of appeal. Richard Brautigan is definitely worth a punt. I've read 'Sombrero Fallout' and 'So the Wind Won't Blow it All Away', and yeah I guess they are a bit hippy, but that's no problem personally for me. I enjoyed them and am a bit surprised to find that I've not read more of his works - have I got a copy of 'In Watermelon Sugar' somewhere? So, he probably fits into the "On the Road" and "Infinite Jest' category and I guess if beat stuff annoys you then you are correct to give them all a swerve. Do you read Tom Wolfe? Tolkien is definitely not worth the effort. The worst kind of fantasy, interminable characters, fictional histories and boring. Exhausting is right. I've read the first three books of Proust. It's good stuff, but also exhausting and other books from my TBR start shouting loudly "How long are you going to be with that read?" But now I've taken a break jumping back in at book four when I can recall less and less about the first three books makes picking it up again at that point, or even starting again, just not an attractive proposition. I totally agree with you on The Testaments. My feeling is that it could only, at best, water down 'A Handmaid's Tale', which is excellent as it stands. Though I love other Margaret Atwood books, like you, I don't want to go there.

Excellent video!!!💯💯💯

I don’t like War and Peace😂 I tried several times to get into it, only to finally give up and watch the BBC miniseries. They cut out a lot but I didnt even mind because I thought the book was too slow anyway. The show was easier to get into but I found it mid.

I like your t-shirt. Wuthering Heights did it for me. It's one of the few I've reread several times. I have to admit I like listening to it on audio. It might be the same pull that people who like true crime or serial killers, except the subject matter is untenable relationships and surviving our families and our personal situations.

WHATTTTTT you need to read Wuthering Heights (sorry not trying to be crazy in your comments just want to show my love!)

I know one Booktuber who is a woman who loves Infinite Jest: The Left Handed Reader. I find Ayn Rand to be more the dude-bro book than Infinite Jest. So out of all of these books, I most probably would read Infinite Jest.

Greg, you are right to avoid reading The Testaments. I read it, and while it more than satisfied my curiosity about the inner workings of Gilead, it blunts the impact of The Handmaid's Tale.

I read MOBY DICK three times in my life and it was a different book each time I read it. The first time was when I was in my teens. I skipped the boring parts such as the sermon at the beginning of the book. I was a Christian of a sorts then. I did not understand why the whale was supposed to be God. The second time was when I was in college, and I read it for a class. I did not skip any part but I liked it although I did not love it. The third time was about ten years ago. I read it because I wanted to know why everyone said it was great. I read it slowly as it was not a library book. I was amazed. I understood some of the symbols and why people said the whale was God. I was no longer a Christian but I had read the Bible and could get, I think more of an objective view. It was a wonderful read. I loved the prose. I could see why so many said it was a great American read.

The Freudian slip of "master-piss"! Hahahahaha!

I am a firm believer that while reading is educational, it should, above all else, be enjoyable. I do not think that to be considered well-read that you need to read every single novel that exists, no matter how popular. Read what you enjoy.

Hi. Love your thoughts. Proust you read because you love language and you love poetry and you want to slow down. Infinite Jest you read because you might also like to sit and watch Jackson Pollock paint or a famous mathematician work through a problem; not because you understand all of what they say, but rather you gain from simply being in the presence of someone who is at the top of their craft, watching them work is thrilling.

I expected you to list Mein Kampf. You know, because Adolf was a big meanie.

My New Year’s Day first read all in one day was The Dead by Joyce, which was perfect for the day and an amazing read. It definitely got me interested in reading more by him and trying one of the smaller novels or more short stories. I highly recommend starting there with The Dead.

I agree with not reading a few of these books that I have read and several that I haven't. I will disagree with War and Peace . It is an achievement but it is also a really great story. The names can be a challenge and there are some slow chapters about war, but for me it was such a good book because of the characters. I know several people who found it intimidating but once they got into it, they were hooked. I don't love Wuthering Heights but it is meant to show a toxic relationship so it definitely succeeded at that.

I've read three, and of those, I would only encourage you to read War and Peace. I saw an article listing the chapters that one can safely skim; wish I could remember where. I had the link to the article at the time I read War and Peace, but I wound up skimming only two or three of the philosophical chapters. It is a great book.