33 Challenging Books to Read for the Bragging Rights

Because sometimes you just want to be able to say you finished it!
As an English major, I witnessed a phenomenon unique to that field of study: Students would often brag about which difficult or obscure books they had read, or were reading, or were writing about. James Joyce was a favorite, and the mere mention of Finnegans Wake became a running joke. The bragging was all good-natured, often tempered further with sheepish grins and mannerisms. "Yeah, I read that," we'd laugh. "It's a bad idea, let me tell you.
For those of you also forced to deal with snobbish a-bags, I've compiled this list of 33 books you can read for bragging rights — many of which also happen to be quite good. I know it isn't right to stoop to their level, but sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Read a few of the entries on this list, and name drop them the next time Stuffed Shirt McTweed gets a little haughty.