I'm generally intimidated by books that threaten to replace valuable, thought-provoking book reading time with dreadful amounts of long boring boringness. Let's see if I can come up with a list [in no particular order] of 10 books that intimidate me for The Broke and The Brookish and their Top Ten Tuesday.
1. Atlas Shrugged
, Ayn Rand. 1000+ pages? Check. Subject matter? Not so straightforward. People I know who have recommended it to me? None. 2. Finnegan's Wake
, James Joyce. I want to read James Joyce at some point, but I'm not so excited about the trudging and dissecting and re-reading and analyzing that I fear comes hand in hand with this one...or with Ulysses
...hmmm3. Lolita
, Vladimir Nabokov. Somewhat disturbing subject matter, right? And honestly...I'm a little worried I'll like it and feel like I shouldn't.4. Don Quixote
, Miguel De Cervantes. Again with the 1000+ pages, but this time let's add in the fact that it was written more than a couple hundred years ago--with a twist of translation on top.5. Paradise Lost
, John Milton. Great epic poems in their original originality make my ears hear static. I wish it weren't so, because this is on my shelf TBR.And then let's add anything by:
6. Johann Wolfgang van Goethe...just an unknown to me--who is he? where do I start?
7. Marcel Proust. Right. ditto #6
8. Dante Alighieri. See #5
And:
9. anything paranormal teen thriller romance-ish
10. anything super sci-fi with characters having weird unpronounceable names
Whew. Do those even count? It was a fun exercise, I'll say. It's made me realize that the thing that intimidates me the most is the fear that a book will be a waste of time, or will otherwise be a drudgery or downright painful. It'll be interesting to see if that changes in a decade or so when I'm able to reclaim some of my daily allotted time which has currently been requisitioned by my kiddos. Have you read any of these? Any advice?
, deceptively simple, multi-layered yummy-ness
, I know I'm supposed to say 
, (which was great all around) or 
(except I haven't read it yet) and I was tempted to say 
(which, as my intro to Cather, may always be my first love) but it was 
, although I've never met something of hers that I haven't liked. Her wit and insight are...well, classic.
, I admit to having a soft spot for gruff looking old men who [I imagine] are just teddy bears inside. More than that, though, I love how Tolstoy thinks. 
by Kathryn Stockett. Everyone else is saying it, why can't I? Fairly quick to read, great authorial voice, entertaining, AND something to think about.
by Kathi Appelt. Junior Fiction, winner of the Newbery Honor. I read this book aloud, (consider that if you decide to read it--reading aloud lends itself to a more dramatic, intense experience) to my 11 year-old son, 9 year-old daughter, and 5 year-old daughter (...although it was too intense for her gentle soul and she often left the room.) There is something different about this book. I still don't know if I've wrapped my mind around it, but my kids say it's the best book we read aloud all year.
by Jane Austen. *sigh* This was the last remaining book of Jane Austen's published works that I hadn't read. And may I say it was delightful? Fanny Price wasn't simpering, pious, and pretentious. She felt deeply, I believe, and is often misunderstood. Reminded me most of Sense and Sensibility. 
by Barbara Kingsolver. I seriously need to read more of Barabara Kingsolver's books. The two I've read (this and The Poisonwood Bible) have enchanted me. Not necessarily in the storytelling, but the writing. Her writing makes me cry because of its beauty. There. It's proven. I'm a language geek. 
by Betty Smith. I can't hardly think about this book without wanting to cry. I wish I'd written it. It's so beautiful, so real. I'm thrilled that it's still selling enough copies to be on Target shelves, this is one everybody should read. 
, Neil Gaiman (3.5 stars) Stardust is a fast paced story that includes fairies and unicorns, witches, quests, and the moon and stars, all intermixed with a bit of historical reality. It seemed to be quite similar to the movie; a lot of fun. 
52. 
, Elizabeth George Speare (4 stars) Junior Fiction that won the Newbery Award in 1962, and is still a great read. Portraying Jewish culture under Roman rule, this book shows the great contrast that Jesus' message of love brought to a young man filled with hate.
, Ron Benrey (3 stars) I bought this book for two reasons: first, my friend had dared me to write a cheesy Christian historical fiction book; and second, I thought it was hilarious to find a "Complete Idiot's Guide" to something Christian. I did end up reading it, and although I didn't find much that was really novel (pun intended) it was also a good concise overview of the writing and marketing process.
, Susan Campbell Bartoletti (4.5 stars) A fantastic summary of the five most intense years of the Great Irish Famine, this book also includes many illustrations dating from the period itself. The author does a great job at showing the bleakness and hopelessness of the situation, delivering staggering statistics, while managing to show the hope and courage in various people at the same. This is a great way to get a basic overview of this important time in history. 
56. 
, Joshilyn Jackson (1 star) My disclaimer is this: I don't typically read this genre of book, and I didn't know a single thing about it before reading it (dust jacket was missing, so I didn't even have a synopsis.) I found the characters to be two-dimensional, the writing to be overly done at some points and flat at other points, and the plot unengaging and somewhat predictable. That is not to say that the book is boring, it is quickly paced and spirited, just that the subject matter (heavy & serious) didn't match the writing (lighthearted and jocular), and the result was that I didn't care what happened in the story. Perhaps it would be entertaining if you like to escape into a story you don't have to think about? I can't really say because that's not the reason I read. It's not a book I'd recommend.
, Ellen Baker (4 stars) Moving back and forth in time between 1897, the World Wars, and 1950, this is the story of Dolly striving to be the perfect housewife in 1950 while trying to discover the mysterious history of the Mickelson house that has captured her fascination. There were a couple of dull parts, but the characters were interesting, and the story kept me hooked. The bits of advice gleaned from the Ladies' Home Journal and other decades-old publications were a fantastic addition. 
, Michael Pollan (3.5 stars) I haven't read 
, but much of the information in this book was similar information as Food, Inc. which I'd already seen. It was fairly quick to read, and interesting information as well, although not necessarily new for me. There were a couple of points where the author contradicted his own advice, funny enough--he admonished readers to take lightly all the scientific research, yet then suggests eating much less meat and promotes Omega-3s. I guess that's fairly unavoidable, however, and generally speaking this book is worth the read.
, Robert Alexander (3 stars) I had high hopes for this book: a short, fictionalized account of the last Tsar's last days. Most of the book, however, was rather boring to read. I also felt like I needed to know more of the history to really enjoy the book, which was rather frustrating.
