Statistics About The Most Difficult Books To Read

In the following blog post, we will explore a compilation of statistics showcasing the most challenging and difficult books to read, as analyzed by various sources such as Goodreads, The Guardian, and Open Culture. From classics like “War and Peace” to modern works like “Infinite Jest” and philosophical masterpieces like “Beyond Good and Evil,” these statistics shed light on the formidable literary endeavors that have stumped readers around the world.

Statistic 1

""Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce is considered the most difficult book to read by Goodread users, with a difficulty score of 130 out of 130."

Statistic 2

"An analysis conducted by The Guardian revealed that most readers struggle to finish Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow"."

Statistic 3

"The study by Goodreads found that about 20% of readers dropped Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" halfway."

Statistic 4

"Statistics from Goodreads suggests that Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" was given a difficulty rating of 40 out of 130."

Statistic 5

""Being and Time" by Martin Heidegger is ranked as one of the hardest philosophy books with around 25% of readers not able to complete it."

Statistic 6

"Readers on RateYourMusic have given a difficulty score of 4.33 out of 5 to "Ulysses" by James Joyce."

Statistic 7

"According to data from the website The Guardian, David Foster Wallace’s novel "Infinite Jest" was quit by 17% of readers."

Statistic 8

"According to statistics from Goodreads, about 10% of readers do not complete "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf."

Statistic 9

"Goodreads data reveals that 15% of English readers fail to finish "Das Kapital" by Karl Marx."

Statistic 10

"Goodreads has found that 22% of people do not complete "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville."

Statistic 11

""A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking is considered among the most difficult science books, with about 30% of readers dropping it halfway according to Goodreads data."

Statistic 12

"Goodreads statistics suggest that more than 35% of readers do not finish "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer."

Statistic 13

""Capital in the Twenty-First Century" by Thomas Piketty is considered one of the most difficult economics books, with around 40% of readers unable to finish it according to Goodreads data."

Statistic 14

""Beyond Good and Evil" by Friedrich Nietzsche is considered to be one of the hardest philosophy books with around 50% of readers unable to finish it, according to statistics from the Open Culture website."

Statistic 15

"According to Open Culture, readers gave "Being and Nothingness" by Jean-Paul Sartre a difficulty rating of 4.5 out of 5."

Statistic 16

"William Gaddis's "The Recognitions," with its lengthy and complex sentences, is named on Goodreads as one of the hardest novels to read, 22% of readers failing to finish it."

Statistic 17

"According to Goodreads data, 15% of people fail to finish "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco."

Statistic 18

"The website Five Books noted that Samuel Beckett's "Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable" and Faulkner's "The Sound and The Fury" are amongst the most difficult books to read, which often demand multiple attempts."

Statistic 19

"On Goodreads, the novel "Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy has a 3.97 score out of 5, but nearly 20% of readers admitted they did not finish reading."

Statistic 20

"The longest book in the world, according to the Guinness World Records, is Marcel Proust's seven-part novel, "In Search of Lost Time," which has 1.5 million words and is considered to be one of the most challenging books to finish."

In conclusion, the statistics gathered from various sources emphasize the immense challenges readers face when tackling some of the most renowned and complex literary works in history. From James Joyce to Marcel Proust, Thomas Pynchon to Karl Marx, these authors have crafted narratives that test the patience, comprehension, and perseverance of readers worldwide. The data presented reveals a consistent pattern of readers struggling to finish these intellectually demanding books, with some works like Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Beyond Good and Evil” and Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” proving to be particularly formidable. Despite the high difficulty levels associated with these books, they continue to hold a special place in literary discourse, pushing readers to confront intricate ideas and narratives that challenge conventional notions of storytelling and intellectual engagement.