Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Book List: Intimidation


The Book List is just a short and fun meme hosted by lovely Rebecca from Lost in Books that allows you to share books and make a list of books! Who doesn't love lists?!?
This week's list is:

Three books that intimidate you.

 
I had to read it in my first year of college as part of English Lit course. Now, it all wouldn't be all that scary if it was here in the US but it was in Poland, my English was good but not great and I thought I went to study English philology to master this language before I tackled Old English. As it turned out, I was wrong. Not only did I have to read Beowulf in its entirety, in its original language (not the modernized version) but I also had to write an essay on it!!!! I don't think I will ever read Beowulf again.


Atlas Shrugged2. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

I own this book, I have owned it for years now and it's not the size that's intimidating. I started reading it once, read about 100 pages and realized I had no idea what I just read about. I am hoping to one day try reading it again and maybe then I'll be more comfortable with this book.

The Illustrated Brief History of Time, Updated and Expanded Edition3. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Need I say more?! My husband actually read it and understood the scientific babble in there but I refuse to even try. I know, I'm stupidly stubborn this way but I am awfully intimidated by science altogether.

10 comments:

  1. Oh, didn´t you know Stephen Hawking was for men only? ;)

    I did enjoy the edition of Beowulf I read, though, but I am some kind of language nerd.

    On the whole I don´t let books intimidate me very often nowadays. If I don´t want to read them I don´t want to read them. Period.

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  2. Ayn Rand- I understand. I'm not really intimidated by her so much as bored to death. But I'll give her another try one of these days...

    I love Stephen Hawking. I got The Universe in A Nutshell for Christmas when I was 14- the illustrations really do help and it's relatively short.

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  3. Wow, we really must have some similar tastes, or the same fears! :D
    We read Beowulf my senior year of HS and I enjoyed it but could only get through it because we were assisted by the teacher. My goodness I admire you reading it in the old English. My teacher played a tape of someone reading it aloud in Old English and it sounded like gibberish to me, LOL!
    I read A Brief History of Time and Hawking was pretty good about keeping it simple for the layperson, although at times not quite enough. Great book though.

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  4. I am so with you on the last 2. And Beowulf was so not worth reading. At least not in high school English class. Ugh.

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  5. I have not read any of these so I guess, to me they'd be a bit intimidating as well...LOL

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  6. I agree with your list, but oddly enough, my son loves Beowulf!

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  7. Good list! I would definitely add Beowulf to mine too. I've read Atlas Shrugged a couple of times but I'll admit to skimming some of the longer philosophical passages. And as for Stephen Hawking ... I'm married to someone with a physics degree so I can just ask him for a summary and leave it at that!

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  8. Well Lily -
    I tried Atlas Shrugged in high school. It got ditched right away.

    I would never read Beowolf... perhaps in audio...

    and Stephen Hawkings has a simple version of one if his books I may try at some time.. via audio.. listening is so much easier.

    But if you REALLY want to read any of these book I know you can do it! Perhaps all as insomnia cures. :)

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  9. I invested in A *Briefer* History of Time, and I am still intimidated by it! :-)

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  10. Ulysses was one that I've started over and over and put down, over and over. Don Quixote sounds fascinating...in theory. And Anna Karenina? Yikes. It's so classic and yet so ???

    Love your lists....consider watching the Beowolf with Gerard Butler, that's going to sweeten it up!

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