Infographic: 25 Books for the Hardcore Reader
Are you up for a challenge?
PopSugar compiled a listicle of 25 books for the hardcore reader, which eBook Friendly has helpfully reorganized into the infographic you see below.
What do you think of the list?
The books are described as "reads that are lengthy, intense, vastly elaborate, or any combination", but I think PS is cheating a little. They listed, for example, the omnibus Hitchhiker’s Guide and Game of Thrones. When taken one book at a time, neither series is overwhelming (although the GoT omnibus is a tedious read).
I also think that Gone with the Wind was not a difficult read – long, yes, but not difficult.
Are there any titles you think should be added to this list?
Comments
JIm Mack October 13, 2016 um 6:40 pm
Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
JCL October 13, 2016 um 6:48 pm
Irving and Mailer. The rest; no, I don’t think so.
toddes October 13, 2016 um 6:52 pm
Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
Marie October 13, 2016 um 7:14 pm
I loved The Prince of Tides as a teenager, and it’s fairly long, but I don’t recall it being difficult. I think I’d call it more of a literary family history / potboiler. That’s one I’d probably take off the list, and replace it with Middlemarch by George Eliot, which I found challenging when I first tried to read it, but switched to audio after 150 pages and fell in love with it. It’s definitely a better fit for this list than The Prince of Tides or The Hitchhiker’s Guide (which I also love), IMO.
Thanks for sharing this, Nate.
Tom S October 13, 2016 um 8:08 pm
A reasonable enough list, I’ve read near half of these, and have several more in my eBook collection that I have yet to read. Ditto on adding Infinite Jest, Gravity’s Rainbow. I want credit for those.
For translated works (Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, Count of Monte Christo, War and Peace etc), I would be careful about which translation you pick. Don’t go for the cheap public domain texts, which can be painfully bad.
poiboy October 13, 2016 um 9:42 pm
Twilight Series.. that would be soooo painful to get through. LOL
Muratcan Simsek October 14, 2016 um 3:47 am
1Q84? Kafka on the Shore is much better.
No Finnegans Wake, I couldn’t get read it. Most of hte books on this list are not really for the hardcore reader. Whatever that means…
DavidW October 14, 2016 um 8:14 am
If you need it organized into an infographic then you’re not a "hardcore reader".
DavidW October 14, 2016 um 8:15 am
Many of those are easy to read and many challenging novels are not there. That list is just terrible. Unless it’s intended for middle school students?
FSkornia October 14, 2016 um 11:50 am
I didn’t do an author by author check, but it seems to be largely white authors, though at least it’s not just white men.
Surprised they chose Under the Dome from Stephen King, since I believe it is a very unremarkable book. As a self-proclaimed connoisseur, I would think that "The Shining" or its even better stand-alone sequel "Doctor Sleep" would meet the criteria for hardcore readers and be a much better book.
RDaggle October 14, 2016 um 7:03 pm
15 of the 24 books have a movie or TV adaptation.
Remember that, kids, when teacher uses this as an assignment list.