I don't know.
I've read a lot of books that I didn't understand that well yet seemed to contain great and wise truth. Sometimes I've read them again. And again. And still didn't really understand them all that well.
Here are a few of my favorite difficult reads:
Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder
At the Existentialist Cafe
Chemistry: A Novel by Weike Wang
Lincoln in the Bardo
The Gold Bug Variations
Colorless Tsukuru Tasaki and anything else by Haruki Murakami
Penguin Anthology of Twentieth Century Poetry
Zen and Zen Classics
Dreamers by Knut Hamsen
Meditations on the Parables of Jesus
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
Yeah...I had more than a few books I didn't understand. Which sadly meant I couldn't enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
I haven't heard of any of these books. Now what does that tell you? :) I'll check some out. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteIt tells me that these are pretty obscure books!
DeleteI have heard great things about Lincoln in Bardo. I haven't yet read Haruki Murakami, although I keep meaning to. I worry that his writing will go over my head. But I guess I'll really never know unless I try.
ReplyDeleteHave a great rest of the week!
Murakami writes like a dream. Literally.
DeleteThe only one on your list that I've read is Lincoln in the Bardo. It was such a wild, crazy ride that I'm not sure fully understanding it was ever even an option!
ReplyDeleteI loved it, nevertheless.
DeleteI had Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on my shelf for years and final gave it away. A few months ago, I came across another copy and decided I really wanted to read it. Now I'm not sure! :)
ReplyDeleteI've read it over and over. It made me look at life completely differently.
DeleteThese are all new to me but yes I've had that problem too.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you on Lincoln in the Bardo (A big ole WT?) as well as the Colorless Colonel (oiy) and the Zen the Art of Motorcycle.....
ReplyDeleteI love your twist on this week's TTT post!!
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to my TTT post this week:
https://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2017/09/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-that-were.html
I've had my share of books that I didn't really "get" either, or had trouble understanding. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance always gets me with that title! Although I'm not that familiar with the book itself. I should see what it's about...
ReplyDeleteI've recommended it to oodles of people and not one of them has ever come back to me and told me they liked it.
DeleteHaven't read any of these yet, but maybe I should give them a try. Not sure if I'd understand either, but it would be intriguing to try :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd write them all down if I were you.
DeleteBooks that I don't understand drive me crazy! I think it's my left brain-ness but I just can't handle it! I do want to give Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance a try because I've heard so much about it but I suspect I'll need some Excedrin handy for the headache it will induce!
ReplyDeleteIt's brilliant, I think. And it seemed to pull together philosophies that seemed very different.
DeleteI listened to Lincoln in the Bardo, but I didn't quite get the hype...
ReplyDeleteLauren @ Always Me
I have to be in the right mood to persist with books that are hard to understand but they can absolutely be the most rewarding reads. One that comes to mind for me is Babel 17 by Samuel R. Delaney. The entirety of my goodreads review for the book: "An extremely creative book that has stuck with me despite the fact that I was not smart enough to understand most of it."
ReplyDeleteI love that review.
DeleteGood list, though I've never read any of these books!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of any of these, but I definitely get not understanding the book! I think this happens to me in textbooks and classics more often than not. :/
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Novelistic Narration!
I liked Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance a lot when I was young, but when I read it again upon it's return as a New Age philosophy, I was totally confused by the many articles and essays written ABOUT it. Sometimes we just have to take a book as random thoughts from a random person's mind. (example Anne Lamott, sometimes)
ReplyDeleteI just finished Lincoln in the Bardo and it was so lovely.
ReplyDelete