Blogmas Day 3: Challenging Books I Want to Read in 2018

Reading books that are outside of my comfort zone is something that I try to do occasionally. But because I find them “challenging”, I don’t read them very often. They are not the kind of books that make me excited when I look at my TBR. Nonetheless, I’ve put together a list of books that I wish to read in 2018 that I might find difficult.

A little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

I have been meaning to read A Little Life ever since my tutor recommended it in a uni class at start of the year. I am actually getting this for Christmas, so there will definitely be a time in 2018 where I pick up the book and read it. It’s really long, so it will probably take me at least two weeks, and that is one of the reasons it may be a challenge to read. I do not read long books very often, as I read fairly slowly. Long books just seem to drag on. Another reason is that it has a very sad plot.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I have owned I Capture the Castle for a really long time. When I received it as a present, I was way to young to read it and have been putting it off reading it because it is a classic. I never get enthusiastic about reading classics; it’s kind of like a chore for me. It would be really great if I at least tried reading this book, as I have owned it for so long.

Monkey Grip by Helen Garner

I was supposed to read Monkey Grip for one of my classes at university. I thought I would be able to read it in time, but I was still in the middle of another book I was reading for the same class, The Handmaid’s Tale. It is an unread book sitting on my bookshelf, and that alone makes me sad I haven’t already read it. It could be difficult to read because it was published in 1977 and is set in Australia. I don’t think I have ever read an Australian classic before.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This novel is another classic. I’ve tried reading Wuthering Heights and I want to read Jane Eyre to see how it differs. I also really like the story, as I have seen the miniseries and thought it was enjoyable.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

This book is personally challenging because I have never read poetry for fun before. The only poetry I have read was Shakespeare in High School. I think I don’t like poetry because I never understand it. This collection was written by a twenty-something-year-old from this century, so maybe I’ll be able to connect with it.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

A lot of you might not think this is a challenging read, but it is for m!! I cannot seem to get into fantasy, but I want to keep trying because I once liked fantasy when I was a kid. I’ve chosen Marissa Meyer because I read her short story in Because You Love to Hate Me and thought it was the best one.

What Happened by Hilary Clinton

I usually stick to reading fiction but occasionally read non-fiction, namely memoirs. I’ve never read one that is not comedy before. I want to read What Happened because even though I’m not American, I followed the election and wanted Hilary Clinton to win. I was very shocked when she didn’t and I want to know “what happened”. This may be a struggle to read because I’m not that familiar with American politics.

• Did you find any of these books challenging?