Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

For this category, you can choose a book that will frighten you (horror, scary relationship, chilly thriller, etc) or a book you find intimiditating (huge book, very old classic, high language level, intimidating author, etc).

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Suggestions:
GR Horror week
Scary books
Best Horror Novels (listopia)
Best Horror Anthologies (listopia)
The 30 Best Horror Books of All Time
Scary books for kids
Horror graphic novels
Horror manga
Horror audiobooks
GR Horror thrillers shelf
Scary psychological thrillers
Aurealis Award for best horror novels
Aurealis Award for best horror novellas
Horror novellas (listopia)
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Intimidating books (listopia)
GR Popular Intimidating Books shelf
Google "Top Ten Most Intimidating Books" for bloggers' lists.
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Optional questions:
- What are you reading for this category?
- Did you choose something scary or something intimidating?
- Why do you find it scary/intimidating?

UGH!!!! I don't want to do it..........

I thought about classics, but i just am not in the mood to slog through one. Possibly The Sound and the Fury.

I think I've settled on The Word of Promise Complete Audio Bible: NKJV. I have tried several times to read a bible but can never do it, mainly because I try to do it from cover to cover and I get lost with all the lineage in genesis and give up. This is on audio and I have had a listen to the beginning of it. Great sound effects and an amazing cast narrating. I'll have to start right away though because its 90 + hours long :/

Also just noticed how many 5 star reviews Les Misérables received from those on my friends list so I'm thinking of possibly switching to that. THAT scares me and intimidates me. It so longggggggggggg. And what if I hate it? And how will I get it done?

Still up in the air for this one. It was hands down the most difficult prompt for me to fill.

No I am NOT going to attempt War and Peace. Just.... hell no!

If all goes well, I'm going to be reading Gone with the Wind for this. The page length intimidates me: I think the only book with about a thousand pages I've ever read was the first Game of Thrones book. Eek!

I loved Gobe with the Wind, If I remember correctly it took me about a week to finish.

I have been trying to read IT for two years already and still thinking in starting. It is a scary book and is huge, enough reasons to be intimidating :(

This is one of the very few prompts next year that I've pretty much locked a book in for. I'm going to read Ulysses - totally intimidating, and I'm not looking forward to it very much at all. But, it has to be done!

I read Gone with the Wind over twenty years ago (damn, I feel old) and it is really, really wonderful. It's long, for sure, but I found it totally engaging and so much better than the movie (which is also fantastic).

As soon as this category suggested there was only going to be one book for me - It. I started it years ago when I was going through my horror phase and gave up because it was too disturbing. So I've already been intimidated out of reading it once!

It's huge as well, as if I needed an extra reason it fits this prompt - my kindle version is 1,396 pages. I might have to start reading a bit before week 45.

Jody wrote: "This is one of the very few prompts next year that I've pretty much locked a book in for. I'm going to read Ulysses - totally intimidating, and I'm not looking forward to it very much..."

The Catching up on Classics group are reading Ulysses as a 3 month long group read - Jan to March. If you're interested in joining. There's a James Joyce fan who seems keen on answering questions, etc. I'm thinking about it. I'm not sure I'd ever attempt it otherwise.

I am planning on reading Foucault's Pendulum, even though I see it has mixed reviews. It has intimidated me since I bought it in 1990! I want to use it for my translated lit challenge (mystery genre) so this may be the year I finally read it. (Or, it may be the year I donate it without reading it.) My 2nd choice is Underworld. I keep looking at it and then choosing a shorter book. It sounds fascinating but challenging!

I'm reading Ulysses for this prompt too! I'm kind of terrified.

All this talk of Ulysses has me getting thinking I should join in! I was going to tackle my first Dickens novel, and someone suggested I trade my Finnegan's Wake from another prompt to become my "book that intimidates".

As a member of the Catching up on Classics group, i've been aware of their plan to read Ulysses... and had no intention of joining. Until you folk came along and are talking of tackling it. How many door stop-sized books can i read in a year? I am determined to read The Stand this year. I think i might tackle Ulysses as well.

Oh dear.

I’d do a buddy read, but it didn’t work out well for me either that other book this year. 😂 I’m reading in order too, so I won’t be ready for quite a while. It will give me time to work up to it at least!

Jody wrote: "This is one of the very few prompts next year that I've pretty much locked a book in for. I'm going to read Ulysses - totally intimidating, and I'm not looking forward to it very much..."

Me too.

Buddy read for sure! If for nothing else so we can commiserate on its craziness.

You all are very ambitious! I will be interested in what your thoughts are. I don't own it so I'm going to pass on Ulysses for 2018.

I'm thinking of reading the new translation of the Odyssey by Emily Wilson. I'm completely unsuccessful at finding a link in the "add book/author" spot, so I'll add it this way: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
It's 656 pages, I'm guessing mostly footnotes. It's translated by a woman and many of her choices have been controversial, but overall it's been widely acclaimed. I'd like to read it and a wrestle a bit with the implications of her version even though it feels overwhelming.

If I find this one is too much, I will try A Little Life, which is 720 pages long and I hear really sad. That's a combination I avoid, but I've heard it's worth it ...

I'm going for The Luminaries because I've owned it for the longest time and never had the courage to pick it up since it's huge but seeing all the great reviews, I think it's time!

Pam wrote: "I am planning on reading Foucault's Pendulum, even though I see it has mixed reviews. It has intimidated me since I bought it in 1990! I want to use it for my translated lit challenge..."

Pam...your selections sound right up my alley. I've been working my way up to DeLillo's Underworld. I have White Noise on tap next year, but I've read End Zone, Falling Man, Zero K and Point Omega this year. I also have Libra in my car ready to go. Good luck with Eco or DeLillo. Should be great reading for you!

I really wanted to go with the intimidates part of the prompt and pick Ivanhoe or The Three Musketeers, but I'm completely burnt out on classics and decided to take a break from them for next year.

When I first saw this category, the first thing that popped into my mind was Cormac McCarthy. I don;t know why he intimidates me. He just does, I guess. I also thought of Moby-Dick or, The Whale... but with two water prompts, I think I'll use it for one of them.

Another option is War and Peace. I was going to read it this year, but I ran into some personal life snags.

Mel wrote: "If all goes well, I'm going to be reading Gone with the Wind for this. The page length intimidates me: I think the only book with about a thousand pages I've ever read was the first Ga..."

I read Gone with the Wind for the long book challenge in 2017, and whew.. It took me about three weeks to get through! Good luck -- it's certainly intimidating!

I think I'm going to use this prompt to tackle long books.. they are always intimidating, sitting there, staring at me.

This is what I've narrowed it down to:
The Luminaries (848 pages)
The Pillars of the Earth (973 pages)
11/22/63 (849 pages)
A Game of Thrones (837 pages)
The Name of the Wind (772 pages)

I was thinking of trying The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956. It’s more intimidating because of its topic, which I understand can be quite grim.
Has anyone tried it?

Probably joining some of you with a long book instead of another scary book, or going with a classic that I normally stray from

LONG BOOKS
A Game of Thrones
Voyager
Gone with the Wind

CLASSICS
Jane Eyre
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility

Laura wrote: "Probably joining some of you with a long book instead of another scary book, or going with a classic that I normally stray from

LONG BOOKS
A Game of Thrones
Voyager
[book..."

Oh, Jane Eyre is so good! And it's a little off the beaten Austen path, but [book:Persuasion|2156] is my very favorite of her works, and I highly recommend it.

Melanie wrote: "Laura wrote: "Probably joining some of you with a long book instead of another scary book, or going with a classic that I normally stray from

LONG BOOKS
A Game of Thrones
Voyage..."</i>

Thanks for the recommendation on [book:Persuasion ready to tackle this challenge ha!

Jumping in on the Gone with the Wind conversation...it's not as intimidating as it sounds. I read it wayyy back in the day in 7th grade and it was a quick and easy read especially if you enjoy angst and melodrama like my 13 year old self did.

My pick for intimidating read is The Lord of the Rings. It's long, has weird languages, and may be boring but I'm going to give it a shot.

Silvia wrote: "I have been trying to read IT for two years already and still thinking in starting. It is a scary book and is huge, enough reasons to be intimidating :("

I too am choosing IT for this category...something about any book over 1000 pages should be considered intimidating!

Ashly wrote: "Jumping in on the Gone with the Wind conversation...it's not as intimidating as it sounds. I read it wayyy back in the day in 7th grade and it was a quick and easy read especially if y..."

I loved Gone with the Wind and it was definitely an easier read for me, even though it was a big fat book. One of my all time favorites:-)

Lord of the Rings though ....Yea thats intimidating. I read the whole series and just wanted to roll over and die. I slogged through trying to keep Sauron and Saruman sorted out, and it was probably some of the hardest reading I've ever done. In the end it was worth it. Amazing story...probably not the best choice for someone who was 6 months pregnant at the time...baby brain. But I am so glad I kept up with it till the finish line.

And the movies.....i just love Viggo Mortensen.

And Legolas ;-)

Gone with the Wind is one of my favorites and one of those books that I wish I could experience for the first time again. Along with 11/22/63.

I'm leaning towards reading A Little Life. The premise doesn't immediately grab me but you can't argue with all the hype and I'm just curious to see what it's all about.

Lonesome Dove. Not only is it a huge book, I've never read a western novel. I heard this was a great book.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Mely- I'm hoping to read Lonesome Dove, too. I have several friends who rated it 5 stars so I may use it for week 20.

When I first read through the list of weekly topics, this one almost made me reconsider. The only book that truly intimidates me is War and Peace... I've started it at least a half dozen times but never even come close to finishing. It's the only book I've ever not finished, and the only book that makes me physically nervous when I think about trying to read it.

Adding War and Peace on top of trying to read 51 other books in the course of a single year? It seems crazy, but maybe crazy is what I need to finally finish this book. It's on the list.

I was intimidated by pretty much all of the compulsory reading we had to do back at school so I sometimes cheated on the reading tests by asking my mother to tell me what the books were about beforehand and also by watching the movie versions. Now I seriously regret that! But I think the 2 books that I was most intimidated by were War and Peace andThe Three Musketeers thus I decided to read the later for this challenge ;)

Kristina wrote: "When I first read through the list of weekly topics, this one almost made me reconsider. The only book that truly intimidates me is War and Peace..."

I hear you. I read it last year, and it took me all damn year to finish. Mind you, I finished another 90-something books in the meantime. It was just a slog, but I had to read it. And now I have! I'm glad to be able to say I've read it, but it's not a favourite.

I started 2 intimidating books today:

The Word of Promise Complete Audio Bible: NKJV
and
Les Misérables



I'm laughing at myself right now😂😩😭

Kristina, if you choose War and Peace, you will have tons of cheerleaders in this group because a bunch of us read it last year as a group read, and like Jody said, it was a struggle at times. So we feel that & give lots of "you can do it!" posts on the thread for that book.

The one I have chosen for this is 'Wait Till Helen Comes'. I find it scary, because it has a ghost, and spooky things.

Kristina wrote: "When I first read through the list of weekly topics, this one almost made me reconsider. The only book that truly intimidates me is War and Peace... I've started it at least a half dozen..."

There's an interesting app being discussed in the off-topic section called Serial Reads that delivers large books in daily doses to spread them out. Maybe check it out! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

All right Laura, Katie, Jody... you've convinced me. I'm going to give it a shot. I originally put it on the list as an "I guess this one?" but now I'm approaching it as "Yes! This one. I will finally read this book!"

You can do it! Go Kristina!

I am planning to read War and Peace for the intimidating book and Les Misérables for the Translation prompt. Is anyone interested in a buddy read? Maybe that's what we need to get through...

I've planned on reading Les Misérables for this week, but I'll reading the Danish translation if I want to get through it.

I have a backup: A Clockwork Orange mostly because the cover scares the *bip* out of me. Just look at it

Yay Kristina!

That's perfectly acceptable, Jana. That's probably how I will choose my book since I already have trouble finishing the challenge :P

Night is an amazing book!

@Jana Night is a great book! I can definitely see how it fits the category because it is a super tough topic, but it's a fantastic read.

Ira, I've been on Goodreads for a few years but not particularly active until recently, and this is the first 'community' activity I've signed up for. What's a buddy read? If it helps me get through this book I'm probably all for it!

I chose Ulysses because the content intimidates me (it’s supposed to be one of the most difficult books to read in English), but I just looked it up and saw it’s also over 800 pages. What have I done to myself?! I thought it was short! 😩 Maybe I’ll start it now ... I might have it finished by the time this week rolls around. ☹️

Kristina wrote: "Ira, I've been on Goodreads for a few years but not particularly active until recently, and this is the first 'community' activity I've signed up for. What's a buddy read? If it helps me get throug..."
A buddy read is when two people or a group reads a book together. I am pretty new to it myself. The idea is to encourage each other to read and possibly discuss what we have read so far.
There is a thread on this group about buddy reads that explains it all. Here it is https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...