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

Most Difficult Books

The hardest books to read according to a survey on Goodreads. I do not agree with all of them- Alice in Wonderland and Chronicles of Narnia are pretty readable! If you want a few that are worth the difficulty, just ask!
949 users · 13,420 views
 
made by Tara
avg. score: 59 of 530 (11%)
required scores: 1, 20, 39, 59, 94 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 14
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
1
James Joyce
Finnegan's Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegan's Wake
2
James Joyce
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
3
William Faulkner
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
4
Herman Melville
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
5
Thomas Pynchon
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
6
Leo Tolstoy
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
7
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Infinite Jest (1996) (David Foster Wallace)
Infinite Jest (1996)
8
David Foster Wallace
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
9
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Heart of Darkness
10
Joseph Conrad
Naked Lunch (William S. Burroughs)
Naked Lunch
11
William S. Burroughs
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
12
Leo Tolstoy
The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Brothers Karamazov
13
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
14
Vladimir Nabokov
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Les Miserables
15
Victor Hugo
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
In Search of Lost Time
16
Marcel Proust
House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)
House of Leaves
17
Mark Z. Danielewski
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
The Name of the Rose
18
Umberto Eco
Catch 22 (Τζόζεφ Χέλερ)
Catch 22
19
Τζόζεφ Χέλερ
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
Atlas Shrugged
20
Ayn Rand
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
21
James Joyce
Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)
Mrs. Dalloway
22
Virginia Woolf
Absalom, Absalom! (William Faulkner)
Absalom, Absalom!
23
William Faulkner
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
A Clockwork Orange
24
Anthony Burgess
Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco)
Foucault's Pendulum
25
Umberto Eco
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities
26
Charles Dickens
To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
To the Lighthouse
27
Virginia Woolf
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
28
Miguel De Cervantes
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
29
Charles Dickens
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
30
Cormac McCarthy
The Stranger (Albert Camus)
The Stranger
31
Albert Camus
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
32
Toni Morrison
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The Scarlet Letter
33
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
Wuthering Heights
34
Emily Bronte
The Idiot (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
The Idiot
35
Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
The Count of Monte Cristo
36
Alexandre Dumas
The Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie)
The Satanic Verses
37
Salman Rushdie
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
38
Milan Kundera
The Crying of Lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon)
The Crying of Lot 49
39
Thomas Pynchon
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial
40
Franz Kafka
Page 1 of 14
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'Most Difficult Books'
Difficult Books That Aren't Actually That Difficult
Difficult Books That Aren't Actually That Difficult
9,408
80
Really, Really Difficult Books
Really, Really Difficult Books
40,813
155
Very, Very Difficult Books
Very, Very Difficult Books
2,933
101
Complex, Difficult Books That Are Worth the Effort It Takes to Read Them
Complex, Difficult Books That Are Worth the Effort It Takes to Read Them
2,641
60
I'm Sure You Haven't Read These Most Difficult Books?
I'm Sure You Haven't Read These Most Difficult Books?
626
10
The Millions' World's Most Difficult Books
The Millions' World's Most Difficult Books
535
21
Difficult Books to Read
Difficult Books to Read
486
10
The Culture Trip's 12 Difficult Books You May Be Assigned Freshman Year
The Culture Trip's 12 Difficult Books You May Be Assigned Freshman Year
417
12
The Guardian: The 10 Most Difficult Books to Finish
The Guardian: The 10 Most Difficult Books to Finish
225
10
Weird Books That Are Difficult to Explain but Totally Worth Reading
Weird Books That Are Difficult to Explain but Totally Worth Reading
1,142
101
Literary Boot Camp: "Difficult but Rewarding" Books Per Goodreads
Literary Boot Camp: "Difficult but Rewarding" Books Per Goodreads
1,068
50
Books That Are Difficult to Finish Reading
Books That Are Difficult to Finish Reading
688
19
Books G Found a Difficult Read
Books G Found a Difficult Read
494
35
Kids Books on Difficult Subjects
Kids Books on Difficult Subjects
270
28
Goodreads' 200 Most Difficult Novels
Goodreads' 200 Most Difficult Novels
169,441
200
Top 100 Most Difficult Novels
Top 100 Most Difficult Novels
107,596
100
Movies That Are Difficult to Watch All the Way Through
Movies That Are Difficult to Watch All the Way Through
18,569
44
Goodreads Most Difficult Novels: 2021 Update, Now Much Longer
Goodreads Most Difficult Novels: 2021 Update, Now Much Longer
1,767
353
52 Difficult Movies to See (In Terms of Availability, Plot, Length, or Content)
52 Difficult Movies to See (In Terms of Availability, Plot, Length, or Content)
1,027
52
Famous Movies That Are Difficult to Finish Watching
Famous Movies That Are Difficult to Finish Watching
849
50
Difficult but Worth It
Difficult but Worth It
819
32
Movies That Are Difficult to Rewatch
Movies That Are Difficult to Rewatch
581
20
81 Difficult, Challenging, And/Or Idiosyncratic Films
81 Difficult, Challenging, And/Or Idiosyncratic Films
541
81
Dalkey Archive Press: Important Works With a Reputation for Being "Difficult"
Dalkey Archive Press: Important Works With a Reputation for Being "Difficult"
493
68
Difficult Reads
Difficult Reads
487
20
Movies Infamously Difficult to Watch
Movies Infamously Difficult to Watch
479
70
10 Most Difficult to Watch Movies of All Time (The Cinemaholic)
10 Most Difficult to Watch Movies of All Time (The Cinemaholic)
411
10
What Do You Find Difficult to Do?
What Do You Find Difficult to Do?
409
38
Movies Most Difficult to Understand
Movies Most Difficult to Understand
381
25
Difficult but Worth It 2
Difficult but Worth It 2
365
13
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