Which books kicked your butt?

[ksm32]

One might say Finnegans Wake also has this feature, with the way the first & last sentences are related.  And of course it's also a worthy mention on this thread, although some folks are still debating whether it's actually a book or not. 

More like a visit?..

[zeebo]

...Anyone every read any of Harold Lamb's history books? Things like Hannibal, Ghengis Khan, Suleiman, or the founding of Constantinople? I really like all of these. ...

This sounds cool, I find the Constantinople era particularly interesting.  Gonna check this out thanks.

BTW, "Hardcore History" podcast has some pretty good, funny, or horrible insights on various historical periods, people, and cultures....

Thanks for the tip, gonna check this out as well.

[WildCard]

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[Mind Flayer Monk]

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Ah yes, there is a balrog in the woodpile.

Most memorable for its bad poetry
"Oh uncool bush! Unloose this passle Of furry cats that you hassle!"
-Tom Bombadil (Tim Benzedrene)

[West of the Rockies]

Don't know that it kicked my butt, but I did not enjoy As I Lay Dying or The Stranger.

[UnscreenedCaller]

Linear Programming and Game Theory kicked my butt big time because it works and I will go to my grave not understanding why it does, or the brain of the genius who worked it out. Two decades later, and I still have a headache from it.

[zeebo]

Linear Programming and Game Theory kicked my butt big time because it works and I will go to my grave not understanding why it does, or the brain of the genius who worked it out. Two decades later, and I still have a headache from it.

There was a math book I had in school, on discrete mathematics.  It was a harmless-looking, thin volume, that started out with friendly little Venn diagrams and simple combination/permutation problems.  Within three weeks I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.  I didn't even understand what the symbols meant or the equations were doing, much less how to approach these crazy abstract logic problems.  Luckily I dropped out on the last possible day and switched to a much more accessible statistics class which turns out by sheer luck I actually ended up using later in real life.

[Evil Twin Of Zen]

from one of my invented distractions, i thought this one well done..... twice
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10799/

[bigchucka]

Linear Programming and Game Theory kicked my butt big time because it works and I will go to my grave not understanding why it does, or the brain of the genius who worked it out. Two decades later, and I still have a headache from it.

For poker specific books/interviews of that nature, look up David Sklansky.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Ah yes, there is a balrog in the woodpile.

Most memorable for its bad poetry
"Oh uncool bush! Unloose this passle Of furry cats that you hassle!"
-Tom Bombadil (Tim Benzedrene)

  I miss the old National Lampoon.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

Maybe they're good books but were just too long, or complicated, or dense, or weird.  Here's mine:

You talked about Ulysses in another thread (I can't remember where)
"A Form of Literary Anarchy: If you want to understand Ulysses, you should read about its obscenity trial."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/06/the_most_dangerous_book_reviewed_james_joyce_s_ulysses_is_illuminated_by.html

[zeebo]

You talked about Ulysses in another thread (I can't remember where) ...

Cool article, thanks.  Yep in the Book Club thread I recommended a weekly podcast which has been a fun and illuminating way to try and approach it.  And since I finally made it past chapter one, I still have a sliver of hope that it won't end up on my kicked-my-butt list. 

[yumyumtree]

I finished Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese last month. I recommend it unless you are put off by graphic descriptions of diseases, disfigurements, operations, etc.

[Blinko]

Old Testament

[b_dubb]

Jack and Jill

[SredniVashtar]

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon.
I got through it, but damn.  I was a fractured man for weeks.

I am genuinely impressed that there are people on this forum who have read Gibbon. There are some books that are so long that you feel you have to give them a go before you eventually check out. There are some long stretches of tedium in it, and then you will find a phrase that sticks in your head, or a footnote that makes you smile unexpectedly. That said, it is not particularly approachable and you will need a lot of willpower to plough your way through it all. Likewise with Proust, there are very good bits, but a couple of volumes are about as close to unreadable as you could get. Albertine is the most tedious figure in fiction. The fact I always remember about Gibbon is that he suffered from elephantiasis of the testicles.

Anyway, thought I'd try and resurrect this thread - people made some good points on it.

[Kelt]

C.J Cherryh... anything by C.J Cherryh.

I think that was the first time I realised that female authors just didn't do it for me.

That Harry Potter woman has done nothing to change my opinion.

[GeorgieForPresident2216]

It used to be things like Analytical Analysis of Multi-Dimensional Partial Differential Equations with Boundary Conditions.  Now it's stuff like Walmart's Winter Flyer.

[3OctaveFart]

I would say 'unpleasant experience' instead of 'kicked your butt'- but Dickens's Bleak House.

He is overly ornate, wasteful and more badly dated than the majority of his peers, which is saying something in an era of wind.

This is not counting so much of the postmodern dreck I read in grad school.

[basswood]

"The Door in the Sky: Coomaraswamy on Myth and Meaning" Ananda K Coomaraswamy, selected, and with a preface by Rama P. Coomaraswamy.

It might well have had this cover upon it:

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[b_dubb]

Finnegans Wake

[Mind Flayer Monk]

I would say 'unpleasant experience' instead of 'kicked your butt'- but Dickens's Bleak House.

He is overly ornate, wasteful and more badly dated than the majority of his peers, which is saying something in an era of wind.

This is not counting so much of the postmodern dreck I read in grad school.

Not a huge fan of Dickens myself. It all seems rather weak when compared to the stuff the Russians were putting out at the same time.

[3OctaveFart]

For someone whose art displayed a compassion for the poor and working classes, he showed very little at home.
He was a terrible husband and father.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078555/The-dark-heart-Dickens-How-writer-abusive-husband-seduced-woman-26-years-junior.html

[albrecht]

Fernando Pessoa. But, unlike Finnegan's Wake which I gave up and instead just went on a drinking binge and figured that would be better way to see Dublin anyway, but because I had/have to stop every few paragraphs often just to think, or dwell. I wish I knew Portuguese but translation seems to still be ok. He is profound and interesting. "Book of Disquiet" is something that everyso often I picked up and re-read. (ps: thought "Bleak House" was good but agree long-winded but that was the point and still applies, to some degree, with legalism of vast estates so still a valid book for students to read.) Gibbon etc. I'm always amazed to recall Senators "reading Gibbon again" back in the old days. ha ha. Maybe so, but takes some dedication. Latest foray for me is picking up Durants "Story of Civilization" series  sometimes. Somehow I have acquired two full sets? Though I don't like some of his views I enjoy his work (History of Philosophy is a good beginner text.) Harvard Classics (and Landmark Books for younger people) are a must have for the book shelf. Pick up any one and kill an hour with no problems and learn something. I wish schools still made people read the old books.

[zeebo]

Not a huge fan of Dickens myself. It all seems rather weak when compared to the stuff the Russians were putting out at the same time.

I'd tend to agree, but at the same time must confess The Brothers Karamazov kicked my butt. 

[Kelt]

For someone whose art displayed a compassion for the poor and working classes, he showed very little at home.
He was a terrible husband and father.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078555/The-dark-heart-Dickens-How-writer-abusive-husband-seduced-woman-26-years-junior.html

Don't ever use The Daily Mail as a source of information.

If The Daily Mail tells you the sky is blue I would suggest double and triple checking.

[Nick el Ass]

The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm a huge J.R.R. Tolkien fan, but have struggled with the Silmarillion over the years... and it is the only book of his I just can't get through no matter how hard I try.

\ and I hate Stephen Kings It.

[SredniVashtar]

I would say 'unpleasant experience' instead of 'kicked your butt'- but Dickens's Bleak House.

He is overly ornate, wasteful and more badly dated than the majority of his peers, which is saying something in an era of wind.

This is not counting so much of the postmodern dreck I read in grad school.

Disagree about BH. It has padding, sure, but it was written in serial form, remember. And,  just as today when thinking about series like Breaking Bad, it has dull stretches. But that doesn't ruin the best bits. Read Orwell's essay on Dickens for a balanced summary of the writer, if you haven't already. BH has a bad last 100 pages, yes, And Esther is a terrible character (like so many of his female characters that aren't parodies) but there is greatness, there. It is not always a crime to skip bits in books, however big their reputations. Take, Pickwick Papers, probably his most enjoyable and funniest book, but full of bits you can easily glance over without missing anything.

[SredniVashtar]

I'd tend to a gree, but at the same time must confess The Brothers Karamazov kicked my butt.

I re-read most of FD the last year or so. Nabokov didn't rate him much and there are a lot of these very Russian conversations about the Russian soul and things that outsiders might not care much about. The idea that civilisation can be redeemed by the Russian people and all the rest of it. 'Karamazov' has great things, like the poema of Ivan, but it can get bogged down in boring stuff over who killed the old man. Also the stuff about Kolya Krasotkin was a hangover from his previous idea that the novel would be all about children, and got carried over into this darker work. It makes it all seem too baggy and doesn't really need to be there. There is a dark humour that he got from Gogol,  that often isn't recognised in the West, where we see him as utterly serious, but there are episodes of insane humour (like the made Father Ferapont) that don't always get noticed.

[SredniVashtar]

Finnegans Wake

Finnegans Wank, really. The most self-indulgent book ever written.