List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

Literary Boot Camp: "Difficult but Rewarding" Books Per Goodreads

Complex novels can expand your horizons, break your heart and satisfy your soul. Such novels can also strain your nerves, test your patience and ruin your day. Either way, finishing such books can give you bragging rights. Next time a gymrat friend cracks that superior grin and invites you to join him for his "extreme" workout, tell him you'd rather stay home and read Thomas Mann. Who's smug now?
Read More
1,146 users · 7,847 views
 
from goodreads.com · made by putzberger
avg. score: 4 of 50 (8%)
required scores: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 
type to search

How many have you finished?

Page 1 of 2
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
1
Cormac McCarthy
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
2
William Faulkner
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
3
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Molloy (Samuel Beckett)
Molloy
4
Samuel Beckett
The Recognitions (William Gaddis)
The Recognitions
5
William Gaddis
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
6
James Joyce
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
7
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Labyrinths (Jorge Luis Borges)
Labyrinths
8
Jorge Luis Borges
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial
9
Franz Kafka
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
10
Leo Tolstoy
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
11
Joseph Heller
Foucault's Pendulum
Foucault's Pendulum
12
Four Quartets
Four Quartets
13
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
14
Ralph Ellison
The Magic Mountain (Thomas Mann)
The Magic Mountain
15
Thomas Mann
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
16
Ice
Ice
17
The Book of Margins
The Book of Margins
18
The Waves (Virginia Woolf)
The Waves
19
Virginia Woolf
Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
Infinite Jest
20
David Foster Wallace
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
21
Leo Tolstoy
Hopscotch (Julio Cortázar)
Hopscotch
22
Julio Cortázar
The Death of Virgil (Hermann Broch)
The Death of Virgil
23
Hermann Broch
The Age of Wire and String
The Age of Wire and String
24
Under the Volcano (Malcolm Lowry)
Under the Volcano
25
Malcolm Lowry
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
In Search of Lost Time
26
Marcel Proust
The Changing Light of Sandover
The Changing Light of Sandover
27
Montano's Malady
Montano's Malady
28
The Book of Nightmares
The Book of Nightmares
29
Paterson
Paterson
30
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
31
Thomas Pynchon
Late Nights on Air
Late Nights on Air
32
The Icarus Girl (Helen Oyeyemi)
The Icarus Girl
33
Helen Oyeyemi
Owls Do Cry
Owls Do Cry
34
Tinkers
Tinkers
35
The Museum of Eterna's Novel
The Museum of Eterna's Novel
36
Mason and Dixon
Mason and Dixon
37
Men of Maize
Men of Maize
38
The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Brothers Karamazov
39
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Mulligan Stew
Mulligan Stew
40
Page 1 of 2
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'Literary Boot Camp: "Difficult but Rewarding" Books Per Goodreads'
The 20 Best Literary Novels of 2015, Per Goodreads Voters
The 20 Best Literary Novels of 2015, Per Goodreads Voters
225
20
Difficult Books That Aren't Actually That Difficult
Difficult Books That Aren't Actually That Difficult
9,537
80
Goodreads Popular Literary Fiction Books
Goodreads Popular Literary Fiction Books
3,115
100
The Next 300 From Goodreads Popular Literary Fiction Books
The Next 300 From Goodreads Popular Literary Fiction Books
2,597
300
Best Women-Authored Books Per Goodreads
Best Women-Authored Books Per Goodreads
16,812
205
The 100 Weirdest Books Ever Per "Goodreads"
The 100 Weirdest Books Ever Per "Goodreads"
5,681
100
Twenty Million Readers Can't Be Right: "Commonly Loved Books We Hate" Per Goodreads
Twenty Million Readers Can't Be Right: "Commonly Loved Books We Hate" Per Goodreads
2,074
100
Best Books of Each Decade, 1800-2015, Per Goodreads
Best Books of Each Decade, 1800-2015, Per Goodreads
1,798
22
Best Books of the 2010s (So Far) Per Goodreads
Best Books of the 2010s (So Far) Per Goodreads
848
100
Best Horror Books of 2017 Per Goodreads
Best Horror Books of 2017 Per Goodreads
224
45
Goodreads' 200 Most Difficult Novels
Goodreads' 200 Most Difficult Novels
169,966
200
Goodreads Most Difficult Novels: 2021 Update, Now Much Longer
Goodreads Most Difficult Novels: 2021 Update, Now Much Longer
1,847
353
Goodreads' Top 100 Literary Novels of All Time
Goodreads' Top 100 Literary Novels of All Time
17,955
100
Literary Peahen's Five Star Goodreads
Literary Peahen's Five Star Goodreads
7,527
125
Goodreads "Best Literary Fiction" (Sort Of)
Goodreads "Best Literary Fiction" (Sort Of)
2,323
528
50 "Postmodern Genius" Novels Per Goodreads
50 "Postmodern Genius" Novels Per Goodreads
3,134
50
50 Greatest American Novels of the 20th Century Per Goodreads
50 Greatest American Novels of the 20th Century Per Goodreads
1,966
50
Best Feminist Fiction Per "Goodreads"
Best Feminist Fiction Per "Goodreads"
1,157
100
"The Great American Novel" Leading Contenders, Per Goodreads
"The Great American Novel" Leading Contenders, Per Goodreads
1,031
50
Best Experimental Fiction Per Goodreads
Best Experimental Fiction Per Goodreads
940
100
Take Out the Trash: "Guilty Pleasures" Per Goodreads
Take Out the Trash: "Guilty Pleasures" Per Goodreads
877
50
The Definitive Horror Book List, Per Goodreads
The Definitive Horror Book List, Per Goodreads
839
100
Most Inaccurate Historical Fiction Per Goodreads (And Me)
Most Inaccurate Historical Fiction Per Goodreads (And Me)
689
80
What People Are Reading on a June 2022 Weekend, Per the Goodreads Twitter Account
What People Are Reading on a June 2022 Weekend, Per the Goodreads Twitter Account
405
80
E's 5 Star Reads Per Goodreads
E's 5 Star Reads Per Goodreads
380
85
Books in Suzy Boot's Kindle
Books in Suzy Boot's Kindle
350
254
Guy's Literary Fiction 400: Literary Fiction Classic and Contemporary
Guy's Literary Fiction 400: Literary Fiction Classic and Contemporary
1,012
418
Literary Hub: Reviews of Literary Fiction
Literary Hub: Reviews of Literary Fiction
346
167
Goodreads M (Books in My Goodreads)
Goodreads M (Books in My Goodreads)
160
31
Libros Goodreads H (Books in My Goodreads Mainly Written by Men)
Libros Goodreads H (Books in My Goodreads Mainly Written by Men)
122
39
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN