Most Intimidating Books on Jen's TBR

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is probably one of the most talked about and raved about books there is. The fact that absolutely everyone seems to love it so much is very intimidating to me. I really want to read it but I still avoid picking it up because I don’t want to be disappointed if it doesn’t live up to the hype or my expectations. But I have been wanting to watch the movie for years so I really need to read this book!

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I have actually tried reading this series previously, definitely over 10 years ago now. Unfortunately, I just could not get into the first book at all. But I have purchased the series in the Seven Book Edition box set, with the hope that the smaller volumes would make this series seem a little less daunting.

However I did read The Hobbit for the first time in 2016 and I hated the writing style so much. The story itself wasn’t bad but the writing made that book absolute torture to get through. But I am determined that I will get around to reading this series one day! It will just take a lot of willpower and perseverance.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Classics are already intimidating to me because of the different language that is used and it takes a lot for me to get my head around it. This one is particularly intimidating to me because it is constantly talked about and it’s a lot of peoples favourite book ever. I have actually purchased multiple copies of this book, each one a different pretty edition with the intention of encouraging me to read it. So far, no luck. Although I've been getting the urge to read it again lately, so fingers crossed it will happen!

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

This one is intimidating to me because it isn’t the type of genre that I usually read. I can honestly say that the only reason I purchased this book was because it was written by J.K. Rowling. I knew that it couldn’t be any more different than my beloved Harry Potter series and that it doesn’t have the greatest ratings and reviews. But I bought it anyway because of who the author was. And I do intend on reading it at some point in the future.

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (or just all Brandon Sanderson books in general)

These books are intimidating to me because they are quite chunky books, but more importantly because he has written so many books that I just don’t know where to even start. He is also a much loved author and the plots of his books sound amazing and just like the kind of fantasy that I would love, but the sheer number of books he has written just scares me. I have researched on multiple occasions about the reading order of Brandon Sanderson books and which one is best to start with, but I just end up being completely overwhelmed each time.