I’ve read many books in my life, but one that I want to, but don’t think will is Moby Dick. I haven’t even seen a film incarnation, but the story has always fascinated me. I’ve heard it referenced in so many movies and, of course, know the basic plot, but have always wanted to know the whole story. Maybe if it’s on digital audio I can, but doubt I’d ever read.

Moby Dick has been on my TBR pile for about 35 years now!

House of Leaves is one that I've heard is immersive and weird, but I just can't bring myself to buy it ... House of Leaves - Wikipedia

I read House of Leaves about twenty some odd years ago.

I remember fuck-all about the story, though. The only thing that I really remember are all of the gimmicks with the text making it a pain in the ass to read.

war and peace

Probably part of the reason why I haven't tackled it.

Doooo it

I’d like to read the Harry Potter books at some point but I’ve never really have the motivation to truck through the entire series. I like the movies but the subject matter has never grabbed me enough to bother reading 7 books.

Stephen King’s IT. I’ve started and stopped reading it a few times but it hasn’t quite grabbed me yet. The length is also intimidating, which is weird because I’ve read the uncut version of The Stand which I believe is even longer.

The first Harry Potter book ain't great. They do get better as they go on, but if I hadn't read them to my kid, I wouldn't have read them, and having read them, I know I wouldn't have missed them if I never read them. (If that makes sense.)

I have no problems reading long books, in fact I welcome it, but I read IT back in high school and it started off good, but in the last act it just kind of fell apart for me and got too weird for its own good (a common problem with King books of the era, when he was heavy into coke and booze).

Back in high school, we had to do a reading program. I think it was called Accelerated Reader, or some such thing. Each student would read books, then take tests questioning the story/plot, and then get a certain amount of points. These points were based on the difficulty of the book and how well we scored. We were supposed to accumulate a certain amount of points throughout the class, OR ELSE! I don't know what would happen if we didn't.

Anyway, I wanted to get it over with, so I chose Moby Dick. At the time, even though I was a big reader, it was dense. I hated it, but I finished it and got enough points that I didn't have to do any more for the program. Maybe I'd like it more as an adult...

A few years back, the Harry Potter convention came through my city. My wife is a big HP fan, and wanted to go. I had never read the books, or seen a complete movie, so I figured I'd read up before attending. While I only got through 4 of the books before going, I enjoyed them enough to finish the series. They were pretty quick reads.

As far as OP's questions, I'd like to read the Dune books, but I don't think it'll happen any time soon. Most of my reading is at night before bed, and my impression of the reviews is that the Dune series is dense enough that potentially forgetting who/what/where things are semi-regularly isn't a great plan. Once I have more time to read during the day, I might give them a shot.

I'd also like to personally thank Oldboy for shining a light on Book Talk, the greatest subforum the world has ever known.

I read the first Dune book around 20 years ago, it was pretty good but yeah, definitely not casual bedtime reading.

I devoured Robert E. Howard's Conan books when I was a kid, but someday I want to give Michael Moorcock's Elric series and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan and John Carter books a try.

Percy and Mary Shelley are distant relatives of mine, I read Frankenstein years ago but someday want to give Percy Shelley's poetry a try. I'm usually not much of a poetry reader, but hey, he's family.

Vincente Minnelli's MADAME BOVARY (1949) was on TCM today and, even though I've seen the movie, I've forgotten how it ends so I didn't want to watch it again until I'd read the book (by Gustave Flaubert), which has been sitting on my shelf for a few years. I started reading it on the subway the day I'd bought it and I liked what I read very much but have never carved out the time and attention required for it.

Since Cultshock mentioned Edgar Rice Burroughs above, I want to mention that I pulled one of his non-series paperbacks off the shelf last night and started reading it. It's Land of Hidden Men and has a cover by Frank Frazetta. It's about an American explorer who gets lost in the Cambodian jungle and finds an ancient civilization still thriving there. Again, I've had it on the shelf for years and finally got around to it because I was looking for something that wasn't too demanding.

I'll give any book a shot that has a Frazetta cover (that's how I first got into the Conan books), he's one of my favorite artists.

Yeah, I'd say that about half of IT is pretty good, but the book itself is kind of a slog to get through. It felt like about a fourth of the book was devoted to those kids building a dam out in the woods, and then, by the end, it goes from being about this creepy killer clown living in the sewers to a kind of Lovecraftian riff with the deadlights business.

Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi. I've owned the book since it was published, but have never read its ~1300+ pages.

And, yes Moby Dick. I never read it during high school. Our accelerated English teacher actually *prevented* us from it, dissuading the three or four smartest pupils who actually wanted the class to read it. Said it was "very difficult", "not very rewarding" and "dense". That scared us away from it, as she was a hardass but very great teacher who inspired my love of literature. We read Hamlet instead, a much better play, and also Camus' The Stranger and The Plague, two exceptionally rewarding books. All three of those in the time it would have taken to slog through Moby Dick.

But, for completeness, I'd like to eventually read Moby Dick in my lifetime. Not sure that will ever get ticked off the bucket list, with so many other wonderful books to read, so little time.

I’ve toyed with the idea of reading Alan Moore’s Jerusalem, but doubt I have the patience.

when you finally read Moby Dick, you'll wish you read it the first chance you got.

Stephen King's IT and The Stand.

The Catcher in the Rye. Short enough, so I have no excuse. I've just never done it.

I read all the Harry Potter novels, and thought they got better as they went along. When it was released, we bought 3 copies of The Deathly Hallows, because my wife and I, along with our youngest, all wanted to read it at the same time.

Forget IT but you really need to read The Stand, it's one of King's best. And you don't need the extended edition, the original version is just fine.

Of all the books I had to read in high school, The Catcher in the Rye was one of the only ones I actually liked (To Kill a Mockingbird was the only other one).

And yes, for Geofferson, definitely read The Stand. It’s probably my favorite book.

I was going to mention that one, too. Not sure why I didn't read either of them, in high school, as they seemed to be standard fare for a lot of folks. Maybe not in Canada?

People who said:

War and Peace It's a great book. One of the greatest, and worth the effort.
Madame Bovary I read it for a high school class. Flaubert takes aim at all those silly romance novels and shows the real-world consequences. A foolish woman thinks she's having a grand love affair, but it's vulgar and destructive.
Moby Dick I read it in my late 20s. I liked it. I would not have appreciated it in high school.
Catcher in the Rye I read it for a high school class. I liked it. I tried it again a few months ago, but I couldn't get through more than 30 pages. Now that I'm old, Holden Caulfield had changed from a teenage hero to a self-centered jerk.
The Stand A very good book, probably King's best. I read the long version.
IT Like a lot of King's books, it has a lot of good stuff but he can't stick the landing. (I liked the dam building chapter.)
Harry Potter The first book is a fine children's book. The second book is a cash grab with the same plot. Books three and four were pretty good, but after that they became less fun. The last book was a dreary slog.

Books I want to read:
Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov or Crime and Punishment.
Rabbit Run by Updike. It used to have a good reputation.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig.

Just finished Crime and Punishment - can recommend!

I will include The Bible in my list - just to say I did it. (Likely never will, though.)

I don't recall reading that in high school either. I don't remember too much of what we did read, other than some Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet) and novels like Lost Horizon, The Handmaids Tale, Who Has Seen the Wind and I'm sure a Farley Mowat book but don't know which one (so a lot of stuff by Canadian authors).

I've read both versions of The Stand, the original one during the summer between 9th and 10th grades (I was riveted and could barely put it down) and the extended version when it first came out in hardcover (I still own that one).