Emma Keeling | Contributor
If you’ve been searching for a hard book to read, look no further! Well, maybe you haven’t necessarily been searching for a hard book and I can’t really remember the last time I was like “Yes! I’m going to pick up this huge/difficult book and read away!” I’m sure you’ve never had that thought cross your mind either. However tough it may be, I’ve never regretted picking up a solid, not-so-easy read and finishing it. Actually, I feel quite accomplished. Below is a list of books that are certainly more on the difficult side of leisurely reading and why they’re difficult, but deserving.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are the adventurous stories of Frodo Baggins, a hobbit in Middle Earth. He is given a ring, the ring to rule them all, and taxed with the challenge of destroying that ring before it gets in the hands of an evil, power hungry being, Sauron. I have never read a series with more backstory than this one. Because of the in-depth background, it becomes easy to get completely lost in the world that is Middle Earth. The stories are mostly narrated through Frodo, the main characters, point of view, but Tolkien shakes up the normal way stories are usually written. He may throw in a supporting characters POV chapter, deepening the readers understanding of the already quite developed characters and goes back and forth occasionally between two settings in the story. This keeps the reader engaged with not just Frodo and the backstory, but with all characters and the present plotline. Tolkien has certainly created a whole new world out of these books, and it can be challenging to keep track of all the places, characters, and directions he explains. The story can be slow moving at times, and I sometimes listened to the audiobook while following along with the physical book. It kept the pace going and made the whole book much more enjoyable, not just the exciting parts.
If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings books, check out the movies!
It by Stephen King
Chances are, you’ve probably heard of It either because you like horror stories or you’ve heard about/seen the movies. It is the story of seven children/adults living in Derry, Maine who are forced to deal with an evil entity, It. It feeds off the fear of people, preferably young children and takes the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The story switches from the children’s point of view to the adults’ point of view and back again many times (same people, same problem, 27 years later). Stephen King took five years to write this book, and once you see a physical copy, you’ll know why, and you may think it would take you five years to finish it. What I’m saying is, it’s not a short read – the original publication actually had over 1,100 pages. While this does make a book maybe harder to finish, it’s not the primary reason I’ve coined it difficult. I had to fully immerse myself in this book for about a month in order to finish it. I was reading every chance I had and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. The story is quite heavy and at many times emotionally taxing which, for me, made it challenging but also made me want to keep reading. King does something with It that I have yet to find in any other novel and when I finally finished, I couldn’t read another book for a couple months. That’s how heavy and complicated It was.
If you are a fan of the book, check out the movie!
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
I read this story my freshman or sophomore year of high school (over 4 years ago), and right away, two things come to mind now – it had a darn complicated story line and it probably wasn’t appropriate for a 14- or 15-year-old reader. With that being said, adults can surely appreciate the novel for what it is – a social, political, and ethical narrative about the essence of good and evil in the world. It takes place in the Land of Oz and tells the story of Elphaba Thropp, a green-skinned girl who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The book is split into five parts, each a different setting and time which I felt to be the most difficult part. Every section had a different mood and it wasn’t always easy adjusting to that mood when a new section came along. Furthermore, Elphaba isn’t the easiest character to relate to – not only does she live in a fictional land and have green skin, she’s also a little dark at times and not always friendly. However, there is a light at the end of this tunnel. Having the insight of why the Wicked Witch of the West is such a notoriously evil character and some in depth background of the Land of Oz is very rewarding and interesting, especially if you enjoyed the original 1900 Frank Baum novel The Wizard of Oz or it’s 1939 film adaptation like I did.
Want to read the original Wizard of Oz novel? Check it out here! Also be sure to check out the 1939 film adaptation by clicking here!
Emma Keeling is a third-year student at BGSU studying Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Her favorite genres of book include mystery and horror and her favorite author is Stephen King. She can usually be found curled up on the couch studying, reading, or watching movies. To easily contact Emma, email her at emmamk@bgsu.edu.
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