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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.
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1
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
2
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged
3
Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
4
Nightwood
Nightwood
5
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
6
Tender Buttons (Gertrude Stein)
Tender Buttons (Gertrude Stein)
7
A Brief History of Time (Stephen Hawking)
A Brief History of Time (Stephen Hawking)
8
The Female Man (Joanna Russ)
The Female Man (Joanna Russ)
9
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
10
To the Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse
11
Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
12
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean Auel)
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean Auel)
13
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses (James Joyce)
14
Bodies That Matter (Judith Butler)
Bodies That Matter (Judith Butler)
15
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
16
The House of Mirth
The House of Mirth
17
Blood Meridian
Blood Meridian
18
Meeting the Universe Halfway (Karen Barad)
Meeting the Universe Halfway (Karen Barad)
19
The English Patient
The English Patient
20
The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
21
Our Lady of the Flowers
Our Lady of the Flowers
22
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
23
The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
24
Passing
Passing
25
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury
26
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
27
The Recognitions
The Recognitions
28
The Making of Americans (Gertrude Stein)
The Making of Americans (Gertrude Stein)
29
Paradise Lost (John Milton)
Paradise Lost (John Milton)
30
Near to the Wild Heart
Near to the Wild Heart
31
Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco)
Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco)
32
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
33
The Second Sex
The Second Sex
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