Ten Very Intimidating Books!

Posted July 2, 2013 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 36 Comments



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Ten Books That Intimidate Me!



1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. 
And everything else Jane Austen has written.

I want to enjoy Jane Austen. I DO. 
I read one book that I didn’t really love that much. 
But this one is a favorite of Hannah @ So Obsessed With 
so I really want to give it a try and see what she loves about it! 
(I bought the audiobook to help me. I have such a hard time 
with the language!) 

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2. The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.

Okay so I’m technically not intimidated at all by this book. 
I just still have a MASSIVE BOOK HANGOVER from 
The Name of the Wind (my thoughts) and I’m just sitting on it, enjoying it. 
It’s there for me whenever I decide to pick it up!  


*It took me a little over five months to read The Name of the Wind

because when I love a book, I want to savor it and read it slowly. 
So I’ll take my time both getting to and reading through this one. 

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3. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

I’m also really intimidated by The Kite Runner & And The Mountains Echoed 
People have such amazing things to say about his books and 

THAT THEY SOBBED SO HARD when they read them. 
Y’all, that intimidates the heck out of me. 
I am already emotional to a fault where books are concerned. 
These seem like I’m just asking for it!
ONE DAY! 


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4. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.

I know everyone loves them. And I know that I won’t be watching
the TV show without first reading them. (#ReadIt1st) 
But I’ve heard this series has such complex plots, characterizations, etc 
that I just don’t want to start it right now. I like to read multiple books at a time
and I feel like this series would need my complete attention. 
ONE DAY.  

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5. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

Okay so I actually DID read this one despite being completely 
intimidated by it. Thankfully, I had a friend to bounce off all of my crazy thoughts
and ideas and suspicions, which included lots of exclamations points and allcaps. 

I went into this book not knowing a single thing about the story, 

read it, 
and now I can watch the movie…when I get over the book! 
(#ReadIt1st)

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6. Anything and Everything by Sarah Dessen

I’ve read two of her books and I think I was pretty 
scarred and shaken by them both, especially Lock and Key.
I WANT to love her books and I’ve talked to a ton of people about
this before, but I need something less traumatic than the two I picked. 

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7. The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa. 

This one makes me feel a little bit silly but I just loved the Iron Fey books
so, so much – I’m in that group of people that could just eat them. 
I’m so scared to continue with this book because I’m scared they won’t be
as good and I’ll be disappointed. 
DUMB DUMB DUMB. I need to get over this. 

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8. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier.

This one is one that I’ve read already but it is another case of me loving this first book so much that I’m so content to sit with my feelings on it rather than continue with the series. Which is so weird and almost unfortunate because I want to know more, but I just loved this one too much to keep going. 
HELP.


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9. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

I read this one and loved the ending so much that, just like a few others on this list, I’m just not ready to continue with the series. I like where things ended and I’m scared of what’s to come! 

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10. The Jessica Darling Series by Megan McCafferty.

I’ve read the first two books and really liked them. A lot. 
 But I’ve heard they get a little not-great before they finish strong. 
This intimidates me. 

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BONUS:  SERIES FINALES! 

You guys, I can PROMISE you that nobody stresses over the ending of a series like me. I’ve even written about it in a post about Series Finale Fear. It’s awful, dreadful, and it cripples me! 

Despite this awful intimidating fear, I’ve finished a couple of series this year and plan to finish more. But we have some BIG ones coming out soon and I’m 
FREAKING OUT. 

Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series
Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke & Bone series

I’m not even going any further. Just those two will require the help and encuragement of all of my reading friends all over the nation.

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Because of my emotional attachment to books and the characters and stories on the inside, it isn’t difficult for me to be very intimidated by certain books. Different books for different reasons. 


Believe me, there are way more than this! 



What books intimidate you? 

Leave your link and I’ll check out your list! 


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Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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36 responses to “Ten Very Intimidating Books!

  1. I don't know if you do audio books or not, but Game of Thrones is a great audio performance! That might make it less intimidating (or more daunting, as the first book is 28 discs…lol).

    • Someone told me that when I was recently at BEA and I've decided that when I do GoT that I will most likely do my audiobook + print thing. I like to listen and read print at the same time, particularly with the large doorstoppers like that one.

  2. Anna Karenina!!! I totally forgot to add this! Also I loooove Pride and Predjudice! The Lost Prince is not as good as The Iron Fey in my opinion but it is still magical to be back in that world. Mentally prepare. THE END OF SHATTER ME AND DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE SCARE ME TOO…sorry, that is all… 🙂

    • Anna K was really great! I loved it but Leo T was so rambly that if Hannah hadn't been there for all of my capslock and !!! I'm not sure I'd have made it thru. I'm petrified of The Lost Prince but I just need to grit my teeth and DO IT SOON and I don't even know how I will find it in me to do those series finales because you know how ridiculous I get.

  3. I didn't think The Lost Prince was quite as good as the Iron Fey books, but honestly that could have been because I wasn't paying enough attention to the new plot because I was too busy missing the old characters, lol. I am, however, very excited for The Traitor Son.

    • I just love Ash to much that if he isn't front and center WHAT DOES IT MATTER??? I'm kidding. (No, I'm not.) Totally gonna read that thing soon. Especially since the series is moving on pretty shortly. Gotta keep up!

  4. I feel you A Game of Thrones and the rest of books in the series … they are all so hefty!!! But I have enjoyed them (still have to read the 5th book). And I've watched the tv series – it's JUST as good as the books (better in the case of the 2nd season & 2nd book) – so going that route is a pretty good option.

    <a href="http://girlxoxo.com:>Girlxoxo.com</a&gt;

    • I think I want to audiobook the GoT books – heard they were pretty great on audio – and follow along in print. You know how I enjoy that. And then maybe check out the show after I'm done, which will probably take me forever. I'm really slow with the big books, but it's because I love to take my time with them.

  5. I hear you about series enders – it's why Finale and Allegiant made my list.

    The Outlander series is awesome… up until book #4. Read up to that one, and then stop. 🙂

    And, yes – read The Lost Prince. It's not as good as The Iron Fey series, so be prepared for that. There's not much Ash, Meghan and Puck, and those are the characters we've grown to LOVE. But, Ethan is pretty awesome in his own right.

    TTT @ Krista's Dust Jacket

    • Oh goodness, I can't even imagine moving on with the Outlander books! I just LOOOOVE where the first book ended and I'm afraid for what's coming up! And the series is so long. EEK.

      Maybe I just need to separate myself from Ash and the gang and try to see The Lost Prince as something completely different entirely.

  6. I felt like you do about The Lost Prince. I LOVE the Iron Fey series, so what if this one sucked? What if this one completely ruins one of my favorite series?! It actually only enhanced it for me!

    Also, I'm TOTALLY scared to start Game of Thrones. Mostly because there's a series and all the books are HUGE! Maybe one day I'll read it…

    • I'm glad to see what you say about The Lost Prince because most of what I've seen is that it isn't as great as Iron Fey, which is absolutely one of my favorite series. You've kind of given me hope, which sounds sort of silly. But true.

  7. Read Pride and Prejudice! OMG Mr. Darcy. <3<3<3
    I know nothing about The Lost Prince, but I sure do like that cover!! 😉 😉
    I'm super nervous about the end of the Shatter Me series as well! I know it will be awesome, but I'm scared that what BETTER HAPPEN won't happen! haha

    • T Mafi is such a wild card with her writing that I have no clue about what she's gonna throw at us. She petrifies me, and I love it so much.

      Oh my gosh, Pride and Prejudice! You're such a rockstar! I actually bought a GREAT audiobook so I can read along with the print and nag Hannah as I go along. I truly believe she's the one that can get me thru it since she's like the expert on it and all since she has 8520e98083 copies and knows it by heart.

  8. The Name of the Wind is on my list…although I finally made it through a whole epic fantasy with A Game of Thrones (yes so many plot threads to keep up with) this year. So maybe I will get round to it eventually.

  9. I'm pretty sure P&P is everyone's favorite Jane Austen! 😉 Well, except me since I love Persuasion, but P&P is so close. You'll love it, trust me. I also really want to read Rothfuss, Tolstoy, Martin, and A Thousand Splendid Suns but am SO intimidated by them all! As far Jessica Darling goes, I really loved the later installments, so give them a try. I was worried, but I needn't have been. And DotF is the best of the series. I think once you accept that it's easier to just move on and read more great stories from Marillier because they ARE amazing, just not AS amazing. I hope you get to these soon (and so do I!) since they're all wonderful.

    • I want to get to them all soon, but I'm not in a huge hurry because I have this great contentment to just sit tight and bask in how happy I am where most of them ended. I LOVE a great book hangover and can enjoy one for more than a year before I pick up the next installment and it doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, I've often re-read the book (even the big books) before I've moved to the second books. Like, I'd love to read DotF again before I move to the next book. Or maybe never even move on. (Kidding. It's just that Daughter is so PERFECT.)

  10. I totally agree with your thoughts on Pride & Prejudice (or in my case ANY classic). I'm actually reading that one now..and man, it's slow going. I've heard amazing things about The Name of the Wind..just can't get past its beastly size! Same for Game of Thrones. AND I'm right there with you in regard to the freaking out over the final book in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series. I'm equal parts terrified and crazy excited!

    • I LOVE classics, especially Steinbeck and even Charles Dickens. I just have a hard time with Jane Austen which is so funny to me because everyone just talks about her so much and loves her so much. I did buy a GREAT audiobook recently for P&P so I'm hoping that will help me. The Name of the Wind is one of my alltime favorites. I love it SO MUCH. I audiobook'd that one as well, but I did it super slowly and over like five months and can remember so many details and enjoyed every single second, every word.

      I can barely think about Smoke and Bone without freaking out. Seriously.

  11. The Lost Prince wasn't quite Iron Fey (I completely get your on them ASH?!) but we do see our favs for a bit. I think it is worth the read. 🙂 Also, on series finales? I tend to wait an extra year or so. . .I have trouble letting go. Great list! ~Kristina

    • It takes a village to get me thru a finale. That's not a joke. I have to find good reading friends to move me along, and I usually take a few pages at a time. It just breaks my heart to close out a story. BUT I love re-reads. It's just reading the ending for the first time is so heartbreaking to me. BOO. And the anticipation leading up to the finale is just killer.

  12. Ah yes, Pride and Prejudice made my list as well! I feel like I'm missing out, but ew classics! And I almost put Game of Thrones as well. I own the first book and I know everyone raves about them, but I'm really not that interested and it's such a big book… Bleh!

    • I love good classics, particularly modern classics but I do have a hard time with many of them. I think we have to be able to enjoy what we're reading, ya know?! The chunky books ARE so intimidating but I don't usually have a terribly hard time starting and getting thru them, but GoT has me up in arms because I've just heard how complex it is and I like to read several books at a time – I don't want to have to focus so hard on a plot!

  13. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book of all time. I've never read anything else by Jane Austen, but I can tell you that P&P is amazing. It's definitely worth a try.

    • I'm gonna try it, I just have to buckle down and give it a go. I turned on my audiobook and tried to give it a listen while I was cooking once and it was just over my head, so that tells me I need to SIT DOWN with it and listen and follow along in print instead of flippantly listen and follow along like I normally do. It's the language that I have such a hard time with – I'm sure I'll enjoy the story if I can actually make out what the characters are talking about.

  14. Oh Asheley you really do need to read Pride and Prejudice. It's a fantastic story and not very long. I'll be interested to hear how you enjoy "reading" it via audiobook! And same with A Game of Thrones – it's a well-done high fantasy that you should try to make time for. hee I totally get your fear of continuing series – I'm definitely prone to those feelings as well. On the bright side, though, I generally don't find those fears justified, so I hope you won't either!

    • I agree with not finding my fears justified, but I do get those anticipatory anxious feelings and they bother me so much. Very intimidating. I'm excited about the audiobook version of P&P that I picked up – it worked out so well for Anna K!

  15. Pride and Prejudice is where it's AT. I even got the baby board book for Lucy. True story! It takes a few pages to get into the Austen dialogue, but I know you'll love the drama and the swoon and the wit and humor of Austen!

    Also, it's time to carry on with your Iron Fey reading. The Lost Prince does NOT dissappioint!

    • I need to go ahead and tackle the Jane Austen beast, huh? I tried to turn on the audiobook with my book while I was cooking (like I often do) and just couldn't follow along in an informal way. I'm gonna need to actually pay attention because the language is so far over my head and they just go so fast with it! That dialogue is a monster, but I'm determined!

      OH THE IRON FEY, I love it so. I'm SO SCARED.

  16. Amy

    Seeing everyone else's list makes me feel like writing up one of my own shouldn't have been so hard! (I had such a hard time that I SKIPPED this week's TTT altogether!) But I have read a number of the books here, and I can totally understand your desire to let your love ruminate some more. The Wise Man's Fear is EXCELLENT, and I really enjoyed The Lost Prince.
    The Outlander books are just…I love them. The second book is pretty much tied for my favorite of the whole series with the first one. SO good.
    And Game of Thrones–you're COMPLETELY right about those books needing your undivided attention. In fact, when I read them, I literally don't read anything else. Total emersion! I have heard that the audio of those is outstanding, too :-).

    • I should just go ahead and read The Lost Prince, particularly before the next book comes out. I have no doubt in my mind WHATSOEVER The Wise Man's Fear is absolutely stellar, but I'm so not in a hurry 1) because I'm still hungover from the first book and 2) the third book is just not out yet. I'm content with that one to just sit in my love for Kvothe, the early years.

      I'm scared of moving ahead with the Outlander books! I loved the first one SO HARD. I have the next two on the shelf but they just sit there looking pretty!

      Today I was thinking about GoT, and I've almost convinced myself to just wait until they're done. I'm just not interested right now. Sad, but true. Bu when I do them, I'm totally audiobooking those bad boys while following along. Yep!

  17. I didn't do this TTT but I thought about it and a lot of your picks would have been mine too. I'm petrified of Game of Thrones (it's so MASSIVE) and a little intimidated by Patrick Rothfuss. Also, I TOTALLY get your Jane Austen fear. I have read Pride and Prejudice, but have tried and failed to read Sense and Sensibility and Emma. Like twice. I love the films though! I think Austen is kind of like Shakespeare. Hard to translate from the reading, easier when those flowery lines are acted out on screen. So I think the audiobook is a great idea:)

    Awesome list!

  18. 1. Pride and Prejudice on your list makes me laugh. I love it so, but I will be totally fine if you don't! I will certainly be hoping that you do but I'll still love you if you're like BOO! THIS BOOK SUCKS.

    4. I kind of want to read A Game of Thrones, too, but do you SEE how many books there are and just how many pages they all have? My heart just stops at the thought.

    5. YAY ANNA KARENINA! You totally rocked that book and I LOVED emailing with you about it 🙂

    8. I own Daughter of the Forest but still haven't read it! I need to get on that one.

    10. Oh Jessica Darling. I will be verrrry curious about your feelings on these if you ever continue!

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