What book are you most proud of reading? I read mostly long,

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What book are you most proud of reading?

I read mostly long, dense novels - the kind a lot of people give up on. I feel like I grew a lot as a person after reading each one

The following ones I feel were personal accomplishments - completed goals...

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace - This was the first book that I took as a personal challenge, and it remains perhaps my favorite novel of all time. It's not as difficult as some of the others I've read, but I felt like I was thrown into the fire at first, as I hadn't read anything like it before. It teaches you how to read it, though, so I will always appreciated it for how it helped me improve as a reader.

Gravity's Rainbow/Mason & Dixon/Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon - all of these are difficult reads, but insanely rewarding. All three hold spots in my personal top 10. Thomas Pynchon is, in my opinion, the greatest living American author. I will be rereading each of these for the rest of my life. Unbelievably good.

The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson - More long than difficult. Took me about 8 months to finish it. I felt both accomplished and sad when I finally put this one down. My favorite fantasy series of all time, and it's not even close.

The Dying Grass/Fathers and Crows/Europe Central by William T. Vollmann - Again, difficult but very rewarding. The Royal Family took a long time to read as well, but it wasn't as dense as these. The best historical writer of all time. More nonfiction than fiction, but he does take his liberties. I highly recommend Vollmann if you like the others authors I have mentioned.

The Recognitions by William Gaddis - Okay, this book kicked my ass at first, but by the end it wasn't so bad. Exceedingly gorgeous prose and well-drawn characters. One of the greatest novels I have ever read and another that I felt "trained" me to be a better reader.