Classics Without All the Class discussion

What classics do you consider the monsters?

Anna Karenina strikes me as a monster read as does Atlas Shrugged.

I, so, agree with you about Atlas Shrugged. That book seems so daunting for me. War and Peace, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and Les Misérables fit the monster category for me too.

Angie wrote: "I, so, agree with you about Atlas Shrugged. That book seems so daunting for me. War and Peace, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and Les Misérables fit the monster category for me too."

Our Techtator, Jared, recently listened to Atlas Shrugged on audio and loved it. He seemed to get a lot out of it other than the usual propagada you usually hear. So now he's harassing me to read it. I'm so intimidated!

The Tators got together and kind of thought for our purposes we'd label the Monsters 650 pages or more for our bookshelves, but that doesn't mean ones a bit shorter can't be considered monsters for discussion purposes.

Karena wrote: "The Tators got together and kind of thought for our purposes we'd label the Monsters 650 pages or more for our bookshelves, but that doesn't mean ones a bit shorter can't be considered monsters for..."

So true. In my head, Madame Bovary felt like a monster, but has far less pages... :)

Angie wrote: "Karena wrote: "The Tators got together and kind of thought for our purposes we'd label the Monsters 650 pages or more for our bookshelves, but that doesn't mean ones a bit shorter can't be consider..."

haha and for a little while there

The Age of Innocence did seem like a monster to some of us!

Karena wrote: "Angie wrote: "I, so, agree with you about Atlas Shrugged. That book seems so daunting for me. War and Peace, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and Les Misérables fit the monster category for m..."


I have a friend, who did the audio as well and seemed to really enjoy it. I am thinking audio, if one likes it, might be a great approach for some of the monsters. I have considered giving Atlas Shrugged a chance since I have heard good things about the audio.

Bleak House

Not just the size of it but all the characters and the plot strands too.

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "Angie wrote: "Karena wrote: "The Tators got together and kind of thought for our purposes we'd label the Monsters 650 pages or more for our bookshelves, but that doesn't mean ones a bit shorter can..."

So true! The beginning was so difficult to get through to me that it seemed way longer than what it actually was.

Karena wrote: "Angie wrote: "I, so, agree with you about Atlas Shrugged. That book seems so daunting for me. War and Peace, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and Les Misérables fit the monster category for m..."

Good to know! I may have to go for the audio when/if Atlas Shrugged gets picked. :)

The Count of Monte Cristo. My unabridged copy is 1250+ pages with another 100 pages of endnotes.

Reading it at the moment though and despite its length it's not a heavy going read at all.

Louise wrote: "The Count of Monte Cristo. My unabridged copy is 1250+ pages with another 100 pages of endnotes.

Reading it at the moment though and despite its length it's not a heavy going read at all."

I think I've been gushing somewhere else on this site about The Count of Monte Cristo but it's still one of my all time faves. Even at that whacking great length it didn't feel like a slog. Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea on the other hand, is a mere pamphlet but boy did I feel every. Single. Stilted and short. Sentence, Yes. Indeed it was. Dull.

Karena wrote: "What classics do you consider the monsters?

Anna Karenina strikes me as a monster read as does Atlas Shrugged."

I really want to give Atlas Shrugged a go. I just see it on the shelf and chicken out!

At 1200 pages, Les Miserables is a monster but I love it so. So worth reading.

I've heard nothing but good about The Count of Monte Cristo; that's been on my list for a long time. I read Atlas Shrugged years ago; I know I completely missed the point because mostly it seemed like a bad romantic potboiler. I should probably get it back out sometime.

The three monsters on my list for this year include Gone with the Wind, The Count of Monte Cristo, and War and Peace. Maybe that is too ambitious, but maybe not! I read Anna Karenina already this year and loved it which has really motivated me to tackle War and Peace.

Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady is indeed a Monster read. It is over 1500 pages. I was going to buy a copy today, but the only copy the bookshop was torn a bit. I might buy one from amazon as a Valentine's Day present for myself.:))

Ulysses, and I still have not conquered it yet.

The Pickwick Papers is a long read, it's 757 pages one I have. Other copies go into 800 to 1000 pages. The Sam Weller character is the best just because of his accent.
"My wision is limited."

From time to time I think of reading Kristin Lavransdatter but that seems a bit overwhelming to me.

Brittany wrote: "Ulysses, and I still have not conquered it yet."

THIS!
Ulysses is the book I always want to read but I never start...so long and scary...

I read Atlas Shrugged right after I graduated from college. I picked up a used paperback copy at The Literary Guillotine for $5. It wasn't what I expected -- I actually really liked it. Some parts are a bit tedious (the speeches) but I found it hard to put down.

Monster books for me include War and Peace, Ulysses, and Infinite Jest.

I'm a Stephen King fan so monster books are the norm. The Stand was one massive brick. As were it and a couple of the Dark Tower books. Oh, and 11/22/63! That was a long one for sure.

Gone With The Wind was a monster but I tackled it no problem. I'm totally up for tackling Ulysses. Same with Les Miserables.

Not too stocked about Anna Karenina.
Kinda dredding it big time.

I forgot about Roots, and the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin.
Also, the Outlander series from Diana Gabaldon.
Though, not all of those are on our shelves. I was just sharing some that I've gotten through.
The Satanic Verses was another that wasn't 650 pgs, but felt like it was.

I've also tackled some non fiction monsters.

Pillars of the earth is definitely a monster book but definitely worth reading. The Stand is also a monster book and also one of my all time fav books

Trish wrote: "Pillars of the earth is definitely a monster book but definitely worth reading. The Stand is also a monster book and also one of my all time fav books"

I couldn't agree more, and I would love to read it one day specially that I have this one since for ever on my to-read list.

Another monster book that happens to be a favorite of mine is Crime and Punishment. I enjoyed every bit of it specially as it drew close towards the end.

My first required reading monster book was Roots and that was fantastic (although I liked the mini-series better).

My first non-required monster book was The Stand and that started my love affair with Stephen King books during my 20s. I read Crime and Punishment a few years back and I still find myself thinking about it every so often. Amazing writing!

Les Miserables was last year's tackle and I loved it. Many parts made me cry. Now on my list is Gone with the Wind and a re-read of Tale of Two Cities.

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset is a monster read.

Also The Passage by Justin Cronin and Under the Dome by Stephen King.

"Brothers Karamazov" is a monster read! I read the half, and can't seem to summon my courage to finish it though it's very interesting!

Jessica wrote: "Karena wrote: "Angie wrote: "I, so, agree with you about Atlas Shrugged. That book seems so daunting for me. War and Peace, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and Les Misérables fit the monster..."

I lisened to Anna Karenina on audio from the library and liked it. It's what hooked me on audio. I listened to aa/22/63 by Stephen King and it was awesome. Now I always listen to audio on the way to/from work, and then read another paper or Kindle book at home at bedtime and at lunchtime. I get in more books this way!

Margaret wrote: "From time to time I think of reading Kristin Lavransdatter but that seems a bit overwhelming to me."

This is my #1 monster read for 2013 (my middle name, Kristin, came from this book, and I have never read it in 60 years!). The other monster reads for me will be Gone With the Wind, The Passage by Justin Cronin, Under the Dome and the Stand, by Stephen King, and Pillars of the Earth by Follett. This is so far......

I'm trying (again) to read The Pickwick Papers, Volume II, having given up on it twice before. It's the only Dickens that I would classify as a monster.

Ulysses was my monster read. It took me a few (seven!) tries to get through the entire thing. For years I called it my Everest.

It's worth the time and trouble, though.

MIDDLEMARCH BY George Eliot

The Far Pavilions is 950 plus pages, but I loved it.

Mansfield Park is one of my current monster reads.

Armadale by Wilkie Collins can be considered a monster read.

And in Dickens you almost always need to be patient. Because the great things take sometimes a long time to happen in the book. They are slow monsters!

I think that the length of the book isn't as good as the "density" or style of the writing as an indicator of difficulty; I always struggle with Franz Kafka, even though his stories are short.

I've attempted War and Peace and The Silmarillion three times each, but I've yet to finish either. Not only are they long, they both have a large cast and I find myself going back constantly to remember who the characters are.

The Woman in White

East of Eden

Illiad and Odysee are long and amazing, as Don Quixot.

Atlas Shrugged is certainly a monster, but it's worth reading. Same with Les Mis. Anna Karenina was good but Brothers Karamazov was one of the hardest things I've ever plugged my way through. I'm daunted by the idea of War and Peace, though, and I can't WAIT to be done with a Song of Fire and Ice. Normally long fantasy books are good, but these are just slogging through. The first one was the only decent one.

I found Don Quixote took a lot of effort to get through. I got bogged down with The Aenied in places as well. The Metamorphoses by Ovid, while a hefty read, is possible to read through quickly.

How could I have forgotten to include The Odyssey -- one of my favorite monster reads of all time.

The History of Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson is another one with 1700+ pages.

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "The Woman in White

East of Eden"

I listened to the Woman in White during a road trip a few years ago. I had no idea it was a monster book, it was lots of fun! Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was definitely a monster for me. Took me a few tries to actually get into it, but once the story gets going, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Jean wrote: "LaLaLa Laura wrote: "The Woman in White

East of Eden"

I listened to the Woman in White during a road trip a few years ago. I had no idea it was a monster book, it was lots of fun! Jonathan Stran..."

I have Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell on my shelf that I picked up at a library book sale and I've been so tempted to crack it. Glad to hear it's worth trying.

I'm currently trying to work my way through Gone with the Wind. It is by no means difficult, but I did have to take a break about half way through and read something else. I have resumed my reading and hope to have it done before I start back school (which should be accomplished fairly easily).

I agree with Anna Karenina (as I'm currently reading it).
Les Miserables
War and Peace

Also Bleak House and
David Copperfield