My Literary White Whales [CC] 

I read The Odyssey a couple of years ago after having been intimidated by it, and I found it really interesting and not hard to get through at all. There may be a reason it's been in the public eye for so long. I, Claudius I watched when it was a tv series starring Derek Jacobi and have wanted to read ever since, but I haven't ever prioritized it. Beloved is sitting on my shelf, waiting for me (staring at me). Good luck with these, and truly there are fewer really intimidating books than we make out there to be !

Love this video idea! I finished Anna Karenina and I can't imagine I will be jumping into more Tolstoy long novels any time soon - but I wish you luck!

I feel the same way about Russian authors and Tolstoy in particular. I was excited to find a graphic novel version of it. I think it will be the way I’ll read it. You might want to try the old PBS version of I, Claudius. It really helped me make sense of the book.

Beloved is amazing and definitely worth reading. It is very heavy and I recommend going into it when you are in the mood for a horror book. The audiobook read by Morrison is also fantastic 😊

I have an easier time getting into Beloved around autumn/Halloween since it gives big ghost story vibes too.

Beloved is going to mess you up emotionally. Just expect to cry. It’s a beautiful story though ❤️

I was dared to read War and Peace when I was fourteen. Not the best reason to read, but I had no problem following the story and was surprised by how much the story drew me in

I haven’t read Beloved for the same reason. A white whale for me along those same lines is the Chanel Miller memoir Know My Name. I know it’s going to be emotional and make me so angry I keep not reading it. The only other true white whales I have is Shakespeare (any of his plays). I’m afraid I won’t get why people love him so. I even bought the No Fear Shakespeare versions! FYI I so wanted to love The Odyssey and The Iliad. It was truly like reading a Kafkaesque book to me. It made zero sense. PS I like the idea of Tolstoy. Maybe I’ll try a short story.

I feel the same way about Russian literature