[JAcheson]

I read The Hobbit in my early teens, liked it, and received a paperback box set of that and LOTR soon after. I remember that it took me several tries to make it through LOTR. The first time I gave up shortly after the end of Fellowship, and I think I tried a second time and still didn't make it through Two Towers. When I finally made it to Return of the King, I finished that book in a single day!

I remember that as children, my peers and I viewed LOTR as a difficult read, and an accomplishment once you finished it.

I read Catch-22 in college, but I didn't really like it. I still have the book, maybe I should reread it. I have enjoyed a lot of books that were inspired by Catch-22, like some of Harry Harrison's sci fi farces.

It took me about 20 years to finally make it through Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island. I bought the book in high school because I enjoyed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but I wasn't able to get through it. Still, I kept it around because I felt it was a book that I should read. Finally finished it in my 40's. It honestly isn't that great of a book.

I've also read the first half of The Count of Monte Cristo numerous times. I always get to the part where he escapes from prison, which is a good stopping point, but then I never restart it.