Someone mentioned Ayn Rand in another thread, and it made me think of a new topic.

I have been reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged for, well, years.  Seriously, it's at least 12 years.  I'm about half way though it.  It's rather tedius to me, but I am determined to finish it one day because too many people have told me it's their favorite book of all time.  Plus I want to learn who the heck John Galt is already!!!  So, I pick it up faithfully.....read some....then put it down for another while....then pick it up again....read some....you get the idea.

Does anyone else have a book that is taking forever to read, but that they will finish one day?

The Bible - talk about boring. I'll finish it one day, though.

I have to admit, I haven't finished the bible yet either.  Some of the chapters are just a pain... but someday.

I'm also having trouble finishing "Born Fighting" which is odd, cause it's a really good book about the history of the Scots Irish in America.  And it's well written.  There just seems to be alot to think about while reading.

I have "War and Peace" on my TBR pile.  I've always wanted to be able to say I've read it.  I haven't started it yet, but I have a feeling....

The really sad part is, my edition is on some poor soul's WL!!  I wonder how long they'll have to wait!! LOL...

Vicky, I just finished Anna Karnenina.  You could no PAY me enough money to get through another Leo Tolstoy novel and while I am glad I read it, i don't think I'll be picking up another one of his books for a very, very long time.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell, and Incident at the Fingerpost.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Heather..well crap!  Anna is on my TBR pile too! LOL...Did you ever see the cartoon of the Russian author committing suicide?  (Yes, this is very dark humor...I know)  Anyway, he's going to hang himself by stepping off his suicide note (which is piled high enough that he CAN step off it...)

Anyway...I'm not ready to pick up Leo..not quite yet. 

The Bible.  I have the best of intentions, but most of it makes no sense to me.

Don't Know Much About History...I pick at it.  I've been on section 2 for 6 months.

Audacity of Hope.  I got half way through in about 4 months.  The ideas are interesting but I think it's make a better audio book.

I found War & Peace quite a bit harder to get through than Anna Karenina. I think it's because war bores me to tears. I don't care about Napoleon's troop movements!!! Thank you very much!

I think the book that took me the longest to read was Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum. I finally gave up after 500+ pages. I read the last page and got rid of it.

Atlas Shrugged took me several tries, but I did finally finish it.  It was good, worth the struggle.  I actually want to read it again.

The Brothers Karamazov took me a while to read, as I recall.

I've read the whole Bible probably 2 or 3 times through, but not straight through.  I jump around a bit.

I've never managed to make it through a Tolstoy book.

Actually, I'm working on W&P and find it a fairly quick read - much quicker than Anna and certainly quicker than The Brothers Karamazov.

I just read Loving Frank and it was good, but a really slow read. I couldn't even tell you exactly why, but it was just slow moving.

I have a copy of Leo's Anna waiting to be read, but at this point I think it will have to wait until next winter.  When people read the bible, do they really read all those "begats"?  Every time I've tried to read the bible I give up there. There are some really good stories in the bible, but sometimes I think it would be easier to read a children's version!

I had some books in a series by Melanie Rawn -- the first one was great, 2nd pretty good, 3rd okay, but they were 800-1000 pages each and it took a really long time to finish. Since they weren't holding my attention that well, I boxed them up and passed them on with the last 5 books unread.

I read 'The Grapes of Wrath' last year, and while I found it very interesting, I really couldn't get through more than three chapters before I just had to stop for the day. I think it took me about four months to finish it!

-Rebekah

Les Miserables.  I don't want to read an abridged version, but most of the unabridged (which are stil missing a few chapters) are still partially in French.

It's not a book, I guess, but T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" - someday I'll make it through.

Also there's "The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles" by Ronald Hutton.  It needs more photographs so I feel like I need to read it at the computer so I can see what he's talking about.

I think so many people have started the Bible and never finished it that any posts should come with "Spoiler" tags ;)

I don't read books that I have to put down for a long time.  If I do that, then I post it.

I have been reading Anna KArenina for at least a year now! i actually really like it but i can't readi t for very extended periods, you know?

i loved ayn rand and have read most of hers

i have les miserables. have had it for a VERY long time. adored the play and the music and always determined to pick it up one of these days.....

i tried 'Jonathan Strange adn Mr. Norell" and just could NOT get into it

It took me forever to get through the Pillars of the Earth and I ended up not finishing it afterall.  I really wanted to but all the monastic life and how to build a cathedral was just so boring to me. 

I remembered another book that is taking forever :  Little, Big   by John Crowley

As I got into it, it started taking longer and longer to plow through and I believe the bookmark is still in about 4/5 of the way.  It's probably been 4 years since I last read in it, so I guess I should call it unfinished and move on.  There just didn't seem to be any point to the story. No great drama, very little action and it didn't seem like anything was happening.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy was my bedtime reading for a LONG time... and unlike most books that keep me awake reading way past my bedtime... the tolkien books put me to sleep.

I was reading them after the first movie came out... and I wanted to find out what happened in book 2 and 3 before the other movies came out the next year.

Mitchner was very hard for me to finish & while I have read several of his, i just cannot get myself to pick up any more.

I finally finished Andersonville, the joke was, it took the guy 25 years to write it and it was going to take at least half the long to read it!!  It didn't grab me and was a chore to read. Although it won the Pulitzer Prize for literature, reading it was like jabbing nails into my eyes.

Diana, just when I thought it was safe to read here with a mouthful of coffee, you go and say something like: I think so many people have started the Bible and never finished it that any posts should come with "Spoiler" tags. <very big grin>

ETA: Oh, yes, the question. I have never been able to make it through Whitman's Leaves of Grass. I have forgiven myself for this.

Les

The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I will finish it....someday.....;)